General College Physics

Wisconsin Lutheran High School

Week 5 (Sep. 9 - 13)

Reading: PSE Chap 4, Motion in Two dimensions

Topics: This week, we broaden our discussion from one-dimensional to two-dimensional kinematics. We will apply this to understanding projectile motion and circular motion.

Quiz on Monday this week.

Week 5 Homework Problems:

Soccer problem: A soccer player kicks a ball with an initial speed of 4 m/s at an angle of 30 degrees above the horizontal. How much time is the ball in the air before it lands on the ground? What is the maximum height the ball reaches? What is the ball's range? What is its velocity at the top of its flight (magnitude and direction)? What is its velocity at the moment it strikes the ground? And what is its velocity at the moment it is halfway up to its maximum height? Solution.
Artillery problem: An ambitious artillery officer wishes to fire a projectile from ground level so that it goes through a small window in a distant tower. The window is 30 meters above ground level. The tower is 8 kilometers from the launch point. The gun is aimed 30 degrees above the horizontal. What must be the muzzle velocity so that the projectile goes into the window? Assume that there is no wind or other drag acting on the projectile while in flight. Solution.

General College Physics

Return to course website.

Course syllabus

General College Physics is a year-long introductory college-level course for advanced (typically junior or senior level) students at Wisconsin Lutheran High School. It is a dual-credit course offered at Wisconsin Lutheran High School in collaboration with Wisconsin Lutheran College. This means that students enrolled in the course have the option of receiving credit for a four-credit algebra-based laboratory science course from the College.

During the first semester, we will primarily study the science of motion and its relationship to forces. Topics include: dimensional analysis, measurement, uncertainty, estimation, 2 dimensional kinematics, projectile motion, newton’s laws of motion, force diagrams, centripetal force, circular motion, conservation of energy and momentum, torque, angular momentum, oscillations, and gravity. During the second semester, we will explore a number of inter-related topics including: heat, thermometry, the laws of thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, optics, electromagnetic induction, radiation, atomic theory, and nuclear physics.

Emphasis on theoretical topics, careful thinking, laboratory experiments, and problem solving makes this course challenging. My aim is to help you succeed in this course, and to have fun while learning physics. So please do not hesitate to contact me with any problems you may run into this semester!

Course textbook: The course will be organized around a book: the Pocket Guide to accompany Physics for Scientists and Engineers (4th edition) by Serway. (I’ll call this PSE for short.) I would highly recommend obtaining a copy of this book. It is inexpensive, compact, and well-written. It will make a very handy addition to your home science library. If you don't want to buy it, I will have copies to loan out for the semester.

Course time and location: The course meets on a rotating schedule in WLHS 223—the science wing on the first floor of WLHS.

Professor: Dr. Kuehn from Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) is the professor for this course. Contact info: kerry.kuehn[at]wlhs.org

Registration for College Credit: Wisconsin Lutheran College is requiring students in this course who are interested in obtaining college credit. Please apply in the application link below for each class you are wishing to apply for college credit. This must be approved by Friday, September 27.

https://admissions.wlc.edu/register/foundations

Once students apply we will wait for Wisconsin Lutheran College to confirm eligibility and requirements for college credit and communicate out further information. Please reach out to Mr. Davis if you have any questions.

Teaching Assistant contact info: The Wednesday course sections (beginning in September) will be overseen by a teaching assistants. Alyssa Ebeling is an upper-level physics major at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Contact info: alyssa.ebeling[at]wlc.edu

Course websites: In addition to the course information provided through WLHS’s OnCampus system, we will be also using a website I’ve designed for this course: www.greatphysics.com/WLHS/

Homework exercises: I will assign weekly homework problems. These are designed to deepen your understanding of lecture material and to prepare you for the quizzes and tests. I do not intend to grade your homework solutions; I will merely give you credit for handing in your best attempt by the due date. Late work will receive reduced credit.

Laboratory exercises: Some of our weekly assignments will include laboratory work. Labs will typically take up at least two class periods. Your laboratory notebook pages must be submitted by the assigned due date. More details about the required format and expectations will be discussed before the first laboratory period. You will need to order/purchase a dedicated laboratory notebook. Here are guildlines on what to include in your laboratory notebook.

Quizzes: We will have in-class quizzes almost every week on Monday. To prepare for quizzes, you should read the assigned book chapter (at least once), review the lecture material, complete all of the homework problems, and review the homework solutions.

Tests: We will have a midterm exam before the end of the first (and third) quarters and a comprehensive final examination before the end of the second (and fourth) quarters.

Software: Logger Pro 3.15 Is an excellent data analysis software package. Download for Wndows 10, 8.1, 7, and for macOS 10.14, 10.13, 10.12, 10.11, 10.10. For more details on how to download and install Logger Pro click here.