General College Physics

Wisconsin Lutheran High School

Week 1 (Aug. 14, 15)

Welcome to General College Physics at Wisconsin Lutheran High School! The sidebar (to the right) has some basic information about this course, such as the Professor's contact information and the textbook we will be using. You might wish to take a look at that first.

Reading: PSE Chap 1, Physics and Measurement

Reading: Chapter 1 of Pocket guide to accompany Physics for Scientists and Engineers (PSE) by the end of the week.

Topics: units, dimensions, and dimensional analysis

Week 1 Exercises: Below are some homework exercises involving the concepts of dimensional analysis. You will see problems like these on the quiz next week. You may (and perhaps should!) work on the homework exercises with a friend or accomplice, but you must write up and submit your own solutions electronically via the online course management system (OnCampus). To receive full credit, your solutions must be submitted by the due date. Late work will receive partial credit.

Dimensions and units: Write down both the dimensions, and the MKS units of the following quantities: speed, acceleration, density, and force.
Wave speed dimensions: The speed of a wave traveling on the surface of the ocean depends only on (i) its wavelength and (ii) the acceleration of gravity. Using the technique of dimensional analysis, find a mathematical formula for the speed of the wave. Answer: v is proportional to sqrt(g * lambda).
Kinetic energy dimensions: When an object is moving, it is said to have "kinetic energy". The kinetic energy, K, depends on two things: the mass of the object and its speed, v. Use the technique of dimensional analysis to find how K depends on m and v. Afterwards, look up the formula for kinetic energy; were you right?
Hydrostatic pressure dimensions: When a submarine descends into the depths of the ocean, the pressure on the hull increases. The pressure is the force per unit area of the water pushing inward on the surface of the submarine. Use the technique of dimensional analysis to find how the pressure, P, depends on three quantities: the depth, y, the density of the water, d, and the acceleration of gravity, g. That is: find P = P(y,d,g). Look up the formula for hydrostatic pressure; were you right? Answer: P is proportional to the product of density, depth, and the acceleration of gravity.

Quiz: not yet (it's the first week!)

Classroom problems: As a reminder, these are some of the problems we worked out in class…

Dimensions and units: the universal gravitational constant, G, that appears in Newtons' universal law of gravitation, and energy, E, that appears in Einstein's formula E=mc^2.
Dimensional analysis: determine how the frequency of a stretched vibrating string depends on its length, tension, and mass per unit length.

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, two dimensional kinematics, projectile motion, newton’s laws, 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 loosely 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. Best contact info: kerry.kuehn[at]wlc.edu

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 Assistants One day each week (beginning in September) the course will be overseen by teaching assistants Richard “Ricky” Hill and Henry Brown. Both are physics major enrolled at Wisconsin Lutheran College.

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: II will assign weekly homework problems. These are designed to deepen your understanding of lecture material and to prepare you for the quizzes and tests. Although I do not intend to regularly grade your homework solutions, I will occasionally do “spot checks” to make sure that you are keeping up with the material. I plan to give credit for submitting your best attempt by the assigned due date (typically Sunday late afternoon). Late assignments 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 scanned and submitted electronically as a single file 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 final exam before the end of the second quarter, and a comprehensive final examination before the end of the fourth quarter.

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