FY527: Physics A
Comment
Entry requirements
Academic preconditions
Students taking the course are expected to:
- Have basic knowledge of vectors and calculus.
- Be able to use the fundamental laws of arithmetic on abstract symbols (do calculations using letters rather than numbers)
Course introduction
make predictions in classical mechanics and electromagnetism, which
prepares the students for their future courses and gives them essential
practice with the mathematical tools they will use in the future.
The
course builds on the knowledge acquired in high school and forms the
foundation for their future studies in chemistry, biochemistry and
molecular biomedicin.
In relation to the competence profile of the degree it is the explicit focus of the course to:
- Give the competence to create mathematical models of physical systems.
- Give skills to solve physical problems using mathematical tools.
- Give
knowledge and understanding of classical mechanics, electromagnetism
and optics. Including the concept of energy, angular momentum,
electrical charge and conservation laws.
Expected learning outcome
The learning objective of the course is that the student demonstrates the ability to:
- Perform simple mathematical derivations.
- Identify the most relevant components of a physical system.
- Describe a physical system with a mathematical model.
- Apply Newton’s laws to predict the future behaviour of a physical system on the basis of a
- mathematical model.
- Compute the electric and magnetic fields from simple charge distributions and currents.
- Analyse the motion of charged particles in electric and magnetic fields.
Content
- Physical quantities and units.
- Motion and kinematics.
- Newton’s laws, forces and momentum.
- Mechanical energy, work and power.
- The motion of rigid bodies and rotation.
- Basic electromagnetism.
Literature
Eric Mazur: Principles and Practice of Physics, Pearson, 2015.
See Blackboard for syllabus lists and additional literature references.
Examination regulations
Exam element a)
Timing
Tests
Mandatory assignments
EKA
Assessment
Grading
Identification
Language
Examination aids
To be announced during the course
ECTS value
Additional information
Exam element b)
Timing
Tests
Written exam
EKA
Assessment
Grading
Identification
Language
Examination aids
To be announced during the course
ECTS value
Additional information
The exam is held as multiple choice test
The examination form for re-examination may be different from the exam form at the regular exam.
Indicative number of lessons
Teaching Method
At the faculty of science, teaching is organized after the three-phase model ie. intro, training and study phase.
The intro phase consists primarily of lecture with a focus on involving the students through questions and discussions.
In the training phase, the students will solve and review problems based on the theory introduced in the intro phase.
Activities during the study phase:
In the study phase it is expected that the students work independently with the material including examples and problems in the book and to study the study phase notes that will be distributed. It is also expected that the students will study the take-home problems that are all important elements of the study phase.
The students can expect to receive feedback from an instructor. Finally it is expected that the students will spend part of the time to catch up and refresh their minds on the problems they have solved in the skills training phase.