Grading: Weekly Quizzes 50%

2 Tests 20 %

Final exam 25 %

Class participation 5%

Class Website: http://www.oocities.org/tonydent2001/ for class notes, quizzes/tests with answers and other class information. You must have an email address to access these web sites AND to receive frequent class updates.

Course Description:

Physical Science is a one - semester course designed for non-science majors. The course is designed to give students an appreciation for the various fields of physical sciences. Physics, Chemistry, Geology, and Astronomy will be studied in a manner that will relate these areas to ones’ everyday life while emphasizing essential concepts. Physical concepts and terms will be emphasized, but some mathematical terms will be discussed.

To gain a working understanding of the basic concepts of physics, chemistry, geology, and astronomy.

Technology Required: Any scientific calculator

Instructional Methods:

Lectures of textbook materials, extensive practices of problems in relation to various equations, homework assignments and weekly quizzes and tests after several chapters. Classroom demonstrations are used to illustrate some key concepts.

by Chapter

1. Measurements: Explain importance/limitations of our senses in making measurements. Distinguish among scientific laws, hypothesis, and theories. Describe the scientific method. Describe the metric system units of length, mass, and time. Obtain a better understanding of the metric system and the SI. Become familiar with common metric prefixes. Explain derived units, especially density. Show how quantities are converted to different units using conversion factors. Explain significant figures and rounding of numbers. Write numbers and perform mathematical operations with power-of-10 (Scientific) notation.

2. Motion: Define motion. Differentiate between scalor and vector quantities. Explain how velocity and acceleration are related. Define g, the acceleration due to gravity. Explain centripetal acceleration and why it is necessary for circular motion. Describe projectile motion.

3. Force & Motion: Relate force and motion. Explain net or unbalanced force. Explain Newton’s first law of motion and relate it to the concept of inertia. Apply Newton’s second law of motion to simple situations. Differentiate between mass and weight. Explain Newton’s third law of motion. Identify the third-law force pairs in simple applications. State and apply Newton’s law of gravitation. Define linear momentum. Define angular momentum, torque and their relationship. Explain the conditions for conservation of linear and angular momenta and give examples.

4. Work & Energy: Define work and list its units. Explain the relationship between work and energy. Define and distinguish kinetic and potential energies. Explain the difference between the conservation of total energy and the conservation of mechanical energy. Give examples of the conservation of energy. Define power and list its unit. Distinguish between electrical power and electrical energy. Identify some common forms of energy. Compare the major sources of energy and energy consumption. List some alternatives energy sources and explain their pros and cons.

5. Temp & Heat: Define temperature. Describe the common temperature scales and convert from one scale to another. Define heat and list common heat units. Explain how specific heat relates heat and temperature. Distinguish between specific heat and latent heat. Describe three methods of heat transfer. Identify the phases of matter. Describe the kinetic theory of gases. Solve exercises involving pressure, temperature, volume and the number of molecules of a gas. State and explain the three laws of thermodynamics.

6/7. Waves: Describe a wave, physically. Distinguish between longitudinal and transverse waves. Identify terms used to describe waves. Identify various portions in the electromagnetic spectrum. Give the speed of light. Define sound. Describe the decibel scale. Explain and give examples of the Doppler effect. Explain the law of reflection. Describe refraction and how light is dispersed. Describe the phenomenon of polarization. Describe the phenomena of diffraction and interference. Distinguish between converging and diverging spherical lenses. Describe image formation and contrast real and virtual images. Describe the human eye as an optical instrument and explain the corrections for common eye defects.

8. E & M: Describe electric charge and current. State Coulomb’s law. Define voltage, and state Ohm’s law. Explain electrical power, and identify the electrical terms needed to describe it. Explain the difference between series and parallel circuits. Discuss some aspects of electrical safety. State the law of poles and describe the magnetic field. Identify the cause of magnetism, and tell whey some materials can be magnetized. Analyze some aspects of the earth’s magnetic field. Identify some electromagnetic interactions and applications. Distinguish between motors and generators. Explain the principle and use of transformers.

9/10. Atomic & Nuclear Physics: Describe atomic models of Dalton, Thompson, and Rutherford. State Planck’s hypothesis. Describe and explain the photoelectric effect. Explain the duel nature of light. Describe Bohr’s model of the hydrogen atom. Explain the formation of line spectra. Describe and explain the operation of the microwave oven. Tell how x-rays are produced, and explain their spectra. Explain how laser light is produced. Explain the significance of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. Describe the quantum mechanical model of the atom.

11/12. The Elements/Chemical Bonding: Explain how chemists classify matter. Distinguish among types of solutions and tell how they form. Tell how the concept of elements developed. Trace the history of the discovery of elements. State which elements are most common in our environment. Define the terms molecule and allotrope. Describe the major features and divisions of the periodic table. Distinguish between ionic bonding and covalent bonding. Describe how hydrogen bonding affects a compound’s properties.

13/14. Chemical Reactions/Organic Chemistry: Distinguish between chemical and physical changes. Balance chemical equations. Identify combination and decomposition reactions. Describe the role of energy in chemical reactions. Identify hydrocarbon combustion reactions. State the factors that affect the rate of reaction. Describe the properties of Acids and Bases. State the relationship among mole, mass, and Avogadro’s number. Use bonding rules to identify valid and incorrect structural formulas. Identify benzene and its relatives. State some uses and properties of aromatic hydrocarbons. Describe the major classes of aliphatic hydrocarbon. Explain and use the concept of constitutional isomers. Identify the structures of some derivatives of hydrocarbons. Explain the importance of polymers.

15. The Solar System: Identify some historical theories of the solar system. State and explain Kepler’s laws of planetary motion. Describe the composition, structure, and motions of the planets. Identify some chemical and physical properties of the planet Earth. Define and explain the Earth’s two major motions. List and compare the physical characteristics of the terrestrial planets. List and compare the physical properties of the Jovian planets. Identify the major differences between the terrestrial and the Jovian planets. List the physical properties of Pluto.

18. The Universe: Describe the Sun’s structure and features. Explain the process by which the Sun produces energy. Describe the celestial sphere and explain its use. Explain the units used to measure the distances in the universe. Explain the difference between constellations and asterisms. Identify and explain different classes of stars. Tell how a nova differs from a supernova. Distinguish among white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. Identify the classes of galaxies. Describe the features and dimensions of the Milky Way Galaxy. State Hubble’s law, and explain its use. Tell how galaxies are distributed in the universe.

19/20. The Atmosphere/Atmospheric Effects: Identify the composition of air. Describe how the atmosphere is divided into regions. Describe why the sky is blue and sunssets are red. Describe the greenhouse effect and its impact on the Earth’s temperature. Identify some important atmospheric measurements and the instruments used to make them. Demonstrate how the elative humidity may be found from psychrometric readings. Distinguish between conventional and Doppler radar. Analyze some local winds and the Earth’s general circulation pattern. Explain how precipitation is formed. Define air masses, and tell how they are classified. Identify various types of local and tropical storm. Describe the aspects of lightning safety and tornado safety. Identify the major atmospheric pollutants. Explain pollutant effects, such as smog and acid rain. Define climate and climatic changes. Explain the possible effects of atmospheric pollutants on climate.

21. Structural Geology: Define the term minerals, identify the physical properties of minerals, and list their general uses. Describe the methods of mineral identification. Describe the three classes of rocks. Identify how rocks are formed. Explain the rock cycle. Describe how igneous rocks are formed. Explain the classification of common igneous rocks. Identify the characteristics of plutonic bodies. Describe the different types of volcanoes, and identify their eruption characteristics. Describe the origin and classification of sedimentary rocks. Identify common features of sedimentary rocks. Describe the origin of metamorphic rocks. Identify the types of metamorphism. List and describe some common metamorphic rocks.