RETURN TO ENGINEERING PHYSICS I

GOALS FOR ENGINEERING PHYSICS I AND THE REASON FOR THEM:

Even though this course is called "Engineering Physics", it is really a course for anyone who needs a calculus-based course in introductory physics. In addition to engineering majors, this includes physics majors and people who are majoring in other physical sciences. Check the requirements for the college or university where you intend to transfer to be sure.

Here is a short explanation of what is studied in engineering physics. After the explanation, you will find more specific goals.

THE EXPLANATION

This course involves the study of forces and motion from many points of view. All sorts of things can move from one place to another. For example, a little solid piece of matter can move. This might be a grain of dust or a molecule. It might even be a planet. From the point of view of the whole solar system, even a planet looks like a little solid piece of matter. A physicist would call these things, along with many others, "particles". Forces, of course, have an important influence on how they move.

It also includes the study of things that could move but are not supposed to do that. That would include buildings and bridges, which are supposed to stay put (except for some inevitable vibrations -- see below where vibrations are mentioned).

The effects of motion are not always obvious. A very large group of moving molecules might make up a bowl of soup, a dog, or a planet. We experience this molecular motion as the temperature of the object; if the motion increases so does the temperature. So when you study topics related to temperature and heat, you are studying motion. Of course, the group of molecules might be liquid or gas, and the motion of these molecules would be influenced by the pressure in the fluid.

Sometimes it is a disturbance in a medium that is doing the moving. That is called a wave. So the study of waves in strings, springs, water, or air involve the study of motion. So does the study of any kind of vibration, such as the vibration in a bridge under the influence of wind and people marching across. So does the study of sound waves and light waves, although in the case of light there is no actual medium.

Anything that involves heat, temperature, pressure, elastic materials, moving objects, waves, sound, light, or any kind of vibration is based on physics concepts. This includes engineering, any life science, medical science, chemistry, geology, astronomy, and many other things. Therefore a study of physics is needed as part of the preparation for a study of these and other fields.

People often study physics for its own sake. The same basic laws of nature underlie all of the phenomena mentioned above. Physics itself is the study of these basic laws, and they involve Newton's laws of motion, momentum conservation, energy conservation, and more. Although physicists like the way that these laws unite so many phenomena into a single whole, you do not have to be a physicist to study them. It might be of interest to anyone to see how nature works. We all live in a universe governed by such laws.

THE GOALS

1. One goal of any science course is to allow you to experience the type of reasoning and activities that scientists engage in. That sounds mysterious, but it really just means making theory and experiment agree. The slide show "Whut's a Scientist?" gives you some more explanation about this.
2. During the course, you will be asked to understand and discuss the fundamental principles of mechanics, energy, momentum, thermodynamics, and vibration. Mechanics is a word used to describe the study of forces and motions. See the class schedule for a more complete list of topics.
3. Critical thinking is needed for physics as well as for any other field of human thought. Therefore part of the course asks you to demonstrate critical thinking by means of problem solving on exams and assignments.
4. Communication is important in physics as well as in any other field. Therefore you will be asked to communicate principles and their applications using written laboratory reports.
5. The study of these topics is quantitative. Questions such as "how much motion of how many molecules corresponds to how much pressure and temperature" are important. So you will be asked to apply mathematics to physics problems. The math will include algebra, trigonometry, and calculus.
6. No course can ever present everything there is to know about any field of study. Therefore, you should approach this course from the point of view of "learning how to learn" the subject.