Course

Mechanics

Faculty
Science & Technology
Department
Physics
Course Code
PHYS 1110
Credits
5.00
Semester Length
15 weeks
Max Class Size
36
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Lab
Course Designation
None
Industry Designation
None
Typically Offered
Fall
Winter

Overview

Course Description
This course is a calculus-based physics course intended for students pursuing further studies in engineering, physics, or other physical sciences. Topics covered in this course include linear kinematics and dynamics, energy, momentum, rotational motion, angular momentum, simple harmonic motion, heat, thermodynamics, and heat engines. This course includes a weekly lab.
Course Content

Math Tools

  • SI units
  • dimensional analysis
  • vectors and scalars
  • vector components and unit vectors
  • vector addition, subtraction, and multiplication
  • cross product and dot product
  • derivatives and antiderivatives

Kinematics

  • position, displacement, velocity, and acceleration
  • motion plots
  • 1D, 2D, and 3D motion under constant and time-dependant accelerations
  • relative motion in 1D and 2D
  • free fall motion
  • projectile motion

Dynamics

  • Newton’s laws in 1D and 2D with constant and time-dependant forces
  • Hooke’s law
  • static and kinetic friction forces
  • gravitational force
  • tension force
  • inertial and non-inertial reference frames
  • centripetal force and circular motion

Energy

  • work and power as dot products
  • work done by constant and variable forces
  • conservative and non-conservative forces
  • work-energy theorem
  • kinetic and potential energy
  • conservation of energy

Momentum

  • centre of mass and systems of particles
  • impulse and momentum
  • conservation of momentum
  • elastic and inelastic collisions in 1D and 2D

Rotational Motion

  • angular position, angular displacement, rotation angle
  • angular velocity, angular acceleration
  • rotational kinematics and dynamics
  • torque as a cross-product
  • moment of inertia
  • parallel axis theorem
  • rotational kinetic energy
  • rotational work
  • massive pulleys
  • conditions for equilibrium

Angular Momentum

  • angular momentum of a point particle and rigid body
  • conservation of angular momentum and inelastic collisions

Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)

  • angular frequency, oscillation period, amplitude
  • position, velocity, and acceleration equations
  • mass-spring systems
  • simple pendulums and physical pendulums
  • energy in SHM

Heat and Thermodynamics

  • heat and temperature
  • zeroth law of thermodynamics
  • specific heat and heat capacity
  • first law of thermodynamics
  • ideal gas law
  • internal energy
  • PV diagrams
  • work done during a thermodynamic process
  • heat engines

Lab Experiments (may include)

  • measurement skills
  • graphing straight line motion
  • accelerated motion in 1D
  • projectile motion
  • friction
  • static equilibrium
  • orbital motion and centripetal force
  • conservation of energy
  • collisions and linear momentum
  • moment of inertia
  • Hooke’s Law and simple harmonic motion
  • ideal gas law
  • heat capacity
Learning Activities

Classroom time will be used for lectures, demonstrations, discussions, problem solving practice, and/or in-class assignments (which may include work in groups). The lab part of this course involves a weekly three-hour session during which students will perform experiments related to the course content to build practical experimental and data analysis skills. Some of these experiments may span more than one week. Work outside of class time may include online assignments.

Means of Assessment

Assessment will be in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The instructor will present a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. Evaluation will be based on the following:

Quizzes and Assignments       10-30%
Tests (minimum of two) 20-40%
Lab Reports and Quizzes 20%
Final Exam    25-40%
Total 100%
Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, successful students will be able to:

  • apply dimensional analysis to deduce the form of an equation and to check an equation for dimensional consistency;
  • use vector components, unit vector notation, and vector algebra to solve problems that involve vector quantities related to forces and motion in 2D and 3D;
  • use the dot product or cross product to calculate physical quantities such as: work, power, torque, and angular momentum;
  • use derivatives and antiderivatives to solve problems involving topics and concepts such as: kinematics, work, power, force, potential energy, torque, impulse, and PV diagrams;
  • interpret graphs of position, velocity, and acceleration as functions of time;
  • solve 1D, 2D, and 3D kinematics problems with constant and time-dependant accelerations;
  • analyze problems that involve relative motion in 1D and 2D;
  • apply Newton’s laws to solve problems in 1D and 2D that involve constant and time-dependant forces acting on objects;
  • distinguish between inertial and non-inertial reference frames;
  • solve problems that involve objects undergoing circular motion;
  • calculate the work done and power expended by a force acting on a moving body;
  • apply the law of conservation of energy and/or the work-energy theorem to solve problems that involve forces acting on objects;
  • apply the law of conservation of momentum to solve problems that involve collisions or explosions in 1D and 2D;
  • define and determine the center of mass for a system of particles and solve problems that involve forces acting on the system;
  • use the parallel axis theorem to determine the moment of inertia of a rigid body about a specified axis;
  • solve problems that involve forces and torques acting on objects that can translate and rotate (for example, rolling objects or massive pulleys) using the rotational analogue of Newton’s second law and/or conservation of energy;
  • apply the law of conservation of angular momentum to solve problems that involve rotating bodies and inelastic collisions;
  • solve problems that involve simple harmonic motion such as: mass-spring systems, simple pendulums, and physical pendulums;
  • solve problems that involve heat transfer and thermal equilibrium;
  • calculate the internal energy of a system given the state variables;
  • apply the first law of thermodynamics to systems undergoing a change of state variables;
  • distinguish between the following thermodynamic processes, and sketch them on a PV diagram: isobaric, isochoric, isothermal, and adiabatic;
  • calculate the work done on or by a system during a single thermodynamic process and/or a cyclical process;
  • explain how heat engines produce mechanical work, and calculate the work done by and the efficiency of a heat engine;
  • state and discuss the precision and accuracy of measurements;
  • determine the uncertainty on a quantity calculated from measured values by propagating uncertainty through a calculation;
  • present data using computer generated plots and determine physical quantities using linear and non-linear regressions;
  • discuss the outcome of an experiment in order to provide appropriate context for the results;
  • communicate details of an experiment (for example, the objective, data, calculations, discussion, and conclusion) in a written report.
Textbook Materials

Consult the Douglas College Bookstore for the latest required textbooks and materials. Example textbooks and materials may include:

Moebs, Ling, and Sanny, Open Stax, University Physics (current edition)

Douglas College, PHYS 1110 Laboratory Experiment Manual (current edition)

Requisites

Prerequisites

BC Physics 12 (C or higher) or PHYS 1107 or PHYS 1108

and

BC Pre-Calculus 12 (B or higher) or MATH 1110.

Corequisites

MATH 1120 must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for PHYS 1110
BC Institute of Technology (BCIT) BCIT PHYS 1140 (4) or BCIT PHYS 1143 (5) or BCIT PHYS 1147 (5) or BCIT PHYS 1151 (5) or BCIT PHYS 1164 (5) or BCIT PHYS 1181 (5) or BCIT PHYS 1288 (5)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU PHYS 114 (4)
Coquitlam College (COQU) COQU PHYS 101 (3)
Fraser International College (FIC) No credit
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU PHYS 1120 (4)
Langara College (LANG) LANG PHYS 1125 (4)
Okanagan College (OC) OC PHYS 111 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU PHYS 140 (4)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU PHYS 120 (3) & SFU PHYS 132 (1) & SFU PHYS 1XX (1)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU PHYS 1XXX (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU PHYS 1103 (3) & TRU PHYS 1105 (0)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU PHYS 111 (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO PHYS_O 111 (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) DOUG PHYS 1110 (5) & DOUG PHYS 1210 (5) = UBCV PHYS_V 117 (3) & UBCV PHYS_V 118 (3) & UBCV PHYS_V 119 (1)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV PHYS_V 117 (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC PHYS 110 (4) or UNBC PHYS 1XX (4)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV PHYS 111 (5)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC PHYS 1XX (1.5)
University of Victoria (UVIC) DOUG PHYS 1110 (5) & DOUG PHYS 1210 (5) = UVIC PHYS 110 (1.5) & UVIC PHYS 111 (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU PHYS 121 (3)

Course Offerings

Summer 2024