Overview

PHYS 201 is a junior, non-calculus course that provides a general overview of simple harmonic motion, heat and elementary thermodynamics, and electrical theory.

Outline

Theory Section:

• Elasticity and Fracture
• Simple Harmonic Motion
• Heat and Kinetic Theory
• Thermodynamics
• Electrostatics
• Circuit Theory

Experimental Section:

1. The Simple Pendulum
2. Thermal Expansion of Water
3. Charle's Law
4. Specific Heat and Heat of Fusion
5. Ohm's Law
6. Charging and Discharging of a Capacitors

Evaluation

To receive credit for PHYS 201, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent) and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. You must also get a total lab mark of at least a 50 percent to pass the course. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

Giancoli, Douglas C., 2005. Physics, 6th. ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Other materials

The course materials include a student manual, a study guide, an assignment manual, a lab manual and Graphical Analysis software. The laboratory package is borrowed from the library at no cost to students.

Special Course Features

A compulsory lab component requires that students perform labs in a place of their choice using materials borrowed from Athabasca University Library, and some household items. Lab evaluation is based on written reports about the experiments performed.

Please go to the physics home lab schedule for more information regarding a potential Physics Lab Tutorial Week.