Physics 1110,
General Physics 1
If this sign doesn't make you at least crack a smile, take another
look. I took this up in Gold Hill, a quirky little town just west of
Boulder up Sunshine Canyon. (There's a nice restaurant there too!)
Any measured quantities involve UNITS. E.g., you measure
length in meters (or feet, or miles, that's your choice), but the
standard, the unit, is essential. That's where the physics is! If the
story of units (metric units in particular) is not familiar to you,
please take the time to read Chapter 1 of Halliday and Resnick (or,
watch Thinkwell 1.2) right away. That's "background" material
for this course - we won't cover it in class, but I'll assume you know
it right from the start.
Week 1 Highlights:
Welcome to Physics 1!
ROOM CHANGE:
Everyone with a recitation scheduled in room 2B21
(i.e. recitation sections 103, 106, 221, 224, 226, 227, 228, or 229):
you will instead meet in 2B77 (See
below for details)
This week: Kinematics (motion, velocity, and acceleration)
First lecture:
Mon Aug 25 at 9 am (section 100) or 11 am (sect. 200)
in Duane Physics G-1B30.
Recitation sections
will meet Thursday the first week of classes! Don't miss it...
Please buy the required textbooks as soon as you can.
Note: We've gotten a good deal from the
publishers to produce a "bundle". That's
(1) Halliday, Resnick, Walker, "Fundamentals
of Physics", 6th ed, paperback, Part 1/2.
2) Thinkwell Physics CD.
3) Tutorials in Physics (2 volumes, paperback)
and don't forget, 4) a "clicker". ( buy one ASAP, they
may run out in the bookstore due to other classes using them
too!)
All of those are required for the class, and will be used
regularly.
As soon as you buy it,
Register your clicker
(If you don't, you will miss out on your classroom participation points!)
Due this week:
There are always several things due each week:
Pre-tests (due Wed before lecture),
CAPA (Wed evening), Long answer
problems AND tutorial homeworks (due at the start of your recitation on Thurs).
Sometimes
we will also have an online "participation" question for you.
If you lose
track, just go to the weekly assignment page
(No regular assignments due this first week, everything will start up the
second week!)
Reading for this week:
Please read the syllabus (see the link
over on the left of the screen) carefully
Chapter 1 of HRW (Halliday, Resnick,
Walker) and/or Thinkwell 1.2 is important background material.
Look it over - study it if it doesn't look
familiar to you!
Chapter 2.1-2.6 of HRW
and/or
Thinkwell Physics 2.1 (6 segments, they're 10 min each)
Reading before lecture is very important in this class. I will not
simply repeat what's in the book or on Thinkwell. Lecture is for
consolidating your understanding.
Special notes:
- ROOM CHANGE:
Everyone with a recitation scheduled in room 2B21
(i.e. recitation sections 103, 106, 221, 224, 226, 227, 228, or 229):
you will instead meet in 2B77 (Downstairs, through the doors labeled G2B290,
all the way past the help room,
and around to the left in the basement laboratory area.)
- If you're still wait listed, or want to change sections:
There are new sections available at 8 AM or 11 AM Thursdays. Please talk to
Prof. Pollock, or go to the physics office for assistance.
- If you register for Phys 1110 late (i.e. on or after Tuesday,
Aug 26), you must get on the CAPA system right away - please read how
- You can always get your pin number (instantly!) by going to
the CAPA login page and click on the button labelled "pin-getter"
near the bottom of the scren.
We welcome your comments on the class and this website. Send them to Prof. Pollock