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College Physics, Algebra-Based

COGBOOKS COURSEWARE

ISBN: 978-1-913014-23-0
ISBN: 978-1-913014-24-7

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What is your first reaction when you hear the word “physics”? As you begin your exploration of this broad-ranging subject, you may soon come to realize that physics plays a much larger role in your life than you first thought, no matter your life goals or career choice.

Explore the topics covered in College Physics, Algebra-Based

College Physics I

Review and practice of the prerequisite mathematical concepts you will be using to complete various physics problems in this course.

1.1 Algebraic Review
1.2 Ratios and Proportions
1.3 Logarithms
1.4 Quadratics
1.5 System of Linear Equations
1.6 Trigonometry

Review of the various units and measurements you will be using in this course.

Motion along a curved path on a flat surface is described by two-dimensional kinematics. Motion not confined to a plane is described by three-dimensional kinematics. Understanding of both will allow us to apply physics to many situations, and reveal unexpected insights about nature.

3.1 Part 1
3.2 Part 2
3.3 Vocabulary
3.4 Homework
3.5 Videos of Solving Problems

Objects are in motion everywhere we look. Everything from a tennis game to a space-probe flyby of the planet Neptune involves motion. But an understanding of motion is also key to understanding other concepts in physics. An understanding of acceleration, for example, is crucial to the study of force.

4.1 Part 1
4.2 Part 2
4.3 Part 3
4.4 Vocabulary
4.5 Homework
4.6 Videos of Solving Problems

Dynamics considers the forces that affect the motion of moving objects and systems. Newton’s laws of motion are the foundation of dynamics. These laws provide an example of the breadth and simplicity of principles under which nature functions.

5.1 Part 1
5.2 Part 2
5.3 Vocabulary
5.4 Homework
5.5 Videos of Solving Problems

Describe the forces on the hip joint. What means are taken to ensure that this will be a good movable joint? It is difficult to categorize forces into various types. We know that a net force affects the motion, position, and shape of an object. It is useful at this point to look at some particularly interesting and common forces that will provide further applications of Newton’s laws of motion. We have in mind the forces of friction, and deformation.

6.1 Part 1
6.2 Vocabulary
6.3 Homework
6.4 Videos of Solving Problems

Many motions are curved. Recall that Newton’s first law tells us that motion is along a straight line at constant speed unless there is a net external force. We will therefore study not only motion along curves, but also the forces that cause it, including gravitational forces.

7.1 Part 1
7.2 Vocabulary
7.3 Homework
7.4 Videos of Solving Problems

Energy plays an essential role both in everyday events and in scientific phenomena. Not only does energy have many interesting forms, it is involved in almost all phenomena, and is one of the most important concepts of physics.

8.1 Part 1
8.2 Part 2
8.3 Vocabulary
8.4 Homework
8.5 Videos of Solving Problems

Momentum, like energy, is important because it is conserved. Only a few physical quantities are conserved in nature, and studying them yields fundamental insight into how nature works, as we shall see in our study of momentum.

9.1 Part 1
9.2 Part 2
9.3 Vocabulary
9.4 Homework
9.5 Videos of Solving Problems

When considering biomechanics of the human body, the physical therapist is a key health care provider for diagnosis and treatment of muscular ailments and mobility impairments. By examining physics through the eyes of a physical therapist, we see the direct application of most topics in mechanics.

10.1 Part 1
10.2 Part 2
10.3 Vocabulary
10.4 Homework

Force, energy, and power are associated with rotational motion. These and other aspects of rotational motion are covered in this module. We shall see that all important aspects of rotational motion either have already been defined for linear motion or have exact analogs in linear motion.

11.1 Part 1
11.2 Part 2
11.3 Vocabulary
11.4 Homework
11.5 Videos of Problem Solving

Much of what we value in life is fluid: the water we drink, swim in, and bathe in; the blood in our veins. What exactly is a fluid? The physical characteristics of static or stationary fluids and some of the laws that govern their behavior are the topics of this module.

12.1 Part 1
12.2 Homework
12.3 Vocabulary
12.4 Homework
12.5 Videos of Problem Solving

The very definition of a fluid is something that flows, so it’s only natural that when studying the physics of fluids we often study fluids which are in motion, or fluid dynamics.

13.1 Part 1
13.2 Vocabulary
13.3 Homework
13.4 Videos of Problem Solving

What is heat? How do we define it? How is it related to temperature? What are heat’s effects? How is it related to other forms of energy and to work? We will find that, in spite of the richness of the phenomena, there is a small set of underlying physical principles that unite the subjects.

14.1 Part 1
14.2 Vocabulary
14.3 Homework
14.4 Videos of Problem Solving

Energy can exist in many forms and heat is one of the most intriguing. Heat is often hidden, as it only exists when in transit, and is transferred by a number of distinctly different methods. Heat transfer touches every aspect of our lives and helps us understand how the universe functions.

15.1 Part 1
15.2 Part 2
15.3 Vocabulary
15.4 Homework
15.5 Videos of Problem Solving

Basic physical laws govern how heat transfer for doing work takes place and place insurmountable limits onto its efficiency. This module will explore these laws as well as many applications and concepts associated with them. These topics are part of thermodynamics—the study of heat transfer and its relationship to doing work.

16.1 Part 1
16.2 Part 2
16.3 Vocabulary
16.4 Homework
16.5 Videos of Problem Solving

College Physics II

Review and practice of the prerequisite mathematical concepts you will be using to complete various physics problems in this course.

1.1 Algebraic Review
1.2 Ratios and Proportions
1.3 Logarithms
1.4 Quadratics
1.5 System of Linear Equations
1.6 Trigonometry

Review of the various units and measurements you will be using in this course.

In this module, we begin with the study of electric phenomena due to charges that are at least temporarily stationary, called electrostatics, or static electricity.

3.1 Part 1
3.2 Part 2
3.3 Homework
3.4 Example Problem Videos

In this module, we shall examine the relationship between voltage and electrical energy and begin to explore some of the many applications of electricity.

4.1 Part 1
4.2 Part 2
4.3 Part 3
4.4 Homework
4.5 Example Problem Videos

The flicker of numbers on a handheld calculator, an ultrasound device sending a signal to a computer screen, the brain sending a message for a baby to twitch its toes — these and many other examples of electricity involve electric current, the movement of charge.

5.1 Part 1
5.2 Homework

Electric circuits are commonplace. Some are simple, such as those in flashlights. Others, such as those used in supercomputers, are extremely complex.

6.1 Part 1
6.2 Part 2
6.3 Part 3
6.4 Homework

Magnetism plays many important roles in our lives. Physicists’ understanding of magnetism has enabled the development of technologies that affect our everyday lives. The iPhone in your backpack, for example, wouldn’t have been possible without the applications of magnetism and electricity.

7.1 Part 1
7.2 Part 2
7.3 Part 3
7.4 Homework

Faraday and Henry independently demonstrated that magnetic fields can produce currents. The basic process of generating emfs and, hence, currents with magnetic fields is known as induction; this process is also called magnetic induction to distinguish it from charging by induction.

8.1 Part 1
8.2 Part 2
8.3 Part 3
8.4 Homework

What do an ocean buoy, a child in a swing and the beating of hearts all have in common? They all oscillate—-that is, they move back and forth between two points. All oscillations involve force and energy.

9.1 Part 1
9.2 Part 2
9.3 Homework

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound? The answer to this question depends on how you define sound. If we define sound in terms of physics, then there was a sound, even if nobody was around to hear it.

10.1 Part 1
10.2 Part 2
10.3 Part 3
10.4 Homework

The beauty of a coral reef, the warm radiance of sunshine, the sting of sunburn, the X-ray revealing a broken bone, even microwave popcorn—all are brought to us by electromagnetic waves. These widely varied phenomena are different manifestations of the same thing—electromagnetic waves.

11.1 Part 1
11.2 Homework

When light interacts with an object that is several times as large as the light’s wavelength, its observable behavior is like that of a ray; it does not prominently display its wave characteristics. We call this part of optics “geometric optics.”

12.1 Part 1
12.2 Part 2
12.3 Homework

If you have ever looked at the reds, blues, and greens in a sunlit soap bubble and wondered how straw-colored soapy water could produce them, you have hit upon one of the many phenomena that can only be explained by the wave character of light.

13.1 Part 1
13.2 Part 2
13.3 Homework

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