THE KING'S UNIVERSITYTHE KING'S UNIVERSITY| COURSE NUMBER: | PHYS 243 | |||||||||||||||
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| COURSE TITLE: | Wave Motion and Electricity | |||||||||||||||
| NAME OF INSTRUCTOR: | Dr Brian Martin | |||||||||||||||
| CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION: | credits 3(hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 3) | |||||||||||||||
| COURSE DESCRIPTION: | A calculus based course concerned with gravitational fields and potentials,
oscillations and wave motion including an introduction to Wave Mechanics and Quantum Theory. Prerequisites: PHYS 241 Corequisite: MATH 205 |
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| REQUIRED TEXTS: | Free on-line text at OpenStax College - Chapters 16,17,25,27,29-32 http://openstaxcollege.org/files/textbook_version/low_res_pdf/9/physics-lr.pdf | |||||||||||||||
| MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT: |
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| COURSE OUTLINE: |
Physics 243 is the continuation of Physics 241. The course will focus
on three major topics: wave motion, sound and light. Topics considered
will be: 1. Oscillations: the application of Newton's second law to simple vibrating systems will introduce the topic of oscillation. Applications will include the oscillating spring and simple pendulum. 2. Wave Motion: the physics of wave motion will be developed. Included will be a mathematical description of the travelling wave, the principle of superposition, reflection, refraction, interference and diffraction. 3. Sound: the physics of sound waves including measurement of sound intensity, mathematical representation of sound waves, interference and resonance. The Doppler effect and shock wave phenomena will be briefly discussed. 4. Light: combining some very rudimentary ideas about electricity and magnetism this section will introduce the notion that light is an electromagnetic wave. A distinction will be made between mechanical and electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic spectrum and some simple technological applications (radio, microwave etc.) will be considered. 5. Modern wave-particle ideas will be introduced and applied to atomic systems. This section will include a discussion of the spectrum of atomic hydrogen and some very simple ideas from quantum mechanics. In addition to the topics discussed above, the historical and cultural dimension of the ideas of physics will, where appropriate, be explored. This will lead to discussions relating one's worldview to one's physics. The discussion of the wave-particle duality, for example, affords a stimulating insight into some of the dilemmas facing 20th century physicists. | |||||||||||||||
Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary
from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult
the course instructor for up to date details.
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