Schedule -- Buehrle

You can find an overview of the readings for this class (plus readings I am not assigning) at: Working Content II

Notes: This schedule is tentative and subject to change. Reading Assignments are online; commentary in WebAssign is due 10 AM the morning of the lecture.

The content column links to slides from the PowerPoint presentation used in class. They will be posted either just before or just after the class takes place. Note that these slides only represent a skeleton of the presentation and do not include solutions to problems and questions posed, derivations, or representations of class discussions. If you miss a class, these notes do not suffice to fill you in on what happened! Be sure to check with someone who actually attended. The files are Adobe PDF files.

 

Date Class Reading Content Quiz

Week 1

Recitation: Surveys and Intro Lab: Survey and Intro
1/28 1

1.Introduction to the class
1.1The disciplines: Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Math
1.1.1Science as making models
1.1.4What Physics can do for Biologists
1.2 Thinking about Thinking and Knowing
1.2.1 The nature of scientific knowledge

Introduction to the Class & Physics Perspective on Chemical Bonds
1/30 2 6.4.1 Energy at the sub-molecular level
6.4.2 Atomic and Molecular forces
Physics Perspective on Chemical Energy

Week 2

Recitation: Lab:
2/4 3 Interlude 2: The Micro to Macro Connection
7. Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics
7.1 Kinetic theory: the ideal gas law
7.2 The 1st law of thermodynamics
7.2.1Organizing the idea of energy
7.2.2Enthalpy
First Law Quiz 1
2/6 4 7.2.3Thermodynamic equilibrium and equipartition
7.3.1The 2nd law of thermodynamics: a probabilistic law
Energy Sharing and Distributions

Week 3

Recitation: Lab:
2/11 5 7.3The 2nd law of thermodynamics
7.3.2Implications of the second law of thermodynamics: entropy
7.3.2.1Why entropy is logarithmic
7.3.2.2Consequences of the second law of thermodynamics
7.3.2.3A way to think about entropy -- sharing
7.3.2.4Entropy and heat flow
Entropy & Second Law of Thermodynamics Quiz 2
2/13 6 7.3.3 Free energy
7.3.3.1Motivating the Gibbs free energy
7.3.3.2Gibbs free energy
Free Energy

Week 4

Recitation: Lab:
2/18 7 7.3.4 How energy is distributed
7.3.4.1Boltzmann distribution
7.3.4.2Boltzmann distribution and Gibbs free energy

Boltzmann Distribution

Quiz 3
2/20 8 4.2.4Electric forces
4.2.4.1Charge and the structure of matter
4.2.4.2Polarization
4.2.4.3Coulomb's law
4.2.4.3.1Coulomb's law -- vector character
4.2.4.3.2Reading the content in Coulomb's law
4.2.4.4The electric field

Recap: Electric charge, force, and energy

Week 5

Recitation: Lab:
2/25 9 8.1The electric field
8.1.1The concept of field (technical)
8.1.2Making sense of the idea of field
Energy sharing model
Review for Exam1 -Sample Questions

Fields: Examples and some simple models

Quiz 4
2/27 10

MIDTERM 1

Week 6

Recitation: Lab:
3/4 11 8.2The electric potential
8.2.1.1A simple electric model: a line of charge
8.2.1.1.1Line charge integral (technical)
8.2.1.2A simple electric model: a sheet of charge

Electrostatic potential

3/6 12 8.4 Capacitance
8.4.4 Two parallel plates
8.4.2The capacitor

Capacitance

Week 7

Recitation: Lab:
3/11 13 8.5Electric current
8.5.1Quantifying electric current
8.5.2Resistive electric flow: Ohm's law
8.5.3Ways to think about current: A toolbox of models

Moving Charges: Current

Quiz 5
3/13 14 8.5.4Kirchoff's principles
8.5.4.1 Applying Kirchoff: Examples
8.5.5Electrical energy and power

Kirchoff's Principles

Week 8

Recitation: Lab:
3/25 15 8.3.1Screening of electrical interactions in salt solution
8.3.1.1Debye length
8.3.2Nernst potential

Electric Interactions in Fluids and the Nernst Potential

Quiz 6
3/27 16 9.Oscillations and Waves
9.1Harmonic Oscillation
9.1.1Mass on a spring
9.1.1.1Hanging mass on a spring
9.1.1.2The pendulum

Harmonic Oscillation

Week 9

Recitation: Lab:
4/1 17 9.1.2Damped Oscillators
9.1.2.1Damped oscillators - the math (technical)
9.1.3Driven harmonic oscillators: resonance

Damped Oscillation

Quiz 7
4/3 18 9.1.5Quantum Oscillators -- discrete states
9.2Waves in 1D
9.2.1Waves on an elastic string
9.2.2Wave pulses
9.2.2.1Propagating a wave pulse - the math
9.2.3Wave speed
9.2.4Superposition of waves in 1D

Superposition

Week 10

Recitation: Lab:
4/8 19 Review for Exam2 -Sample Questions">

Catching up/ Review

Quiz 7
4/10 20 Review for Exam2 -Sample Questions Key MIDTERM 2

Week 11

Recitation: Lab:
4/15 21 9.2.5Sinusoidal waves
9.2.6 Summing different wavelengths -- spectral analysis
9.3 Sound waves
9.3.1The nature of sound
9.3.2Analyzing sounds

Sinusoidal Waves

4/17 22 9.2.4.2 Standing waves

Standing Waves

Week 12

Recitation: Lab:
4/22 23 10Three models of light

Three models of light

Quiz 8
4/24 24 10.1The ray model of light
10.1.1Basic principles of the ray model

The Ray Model

Week 13

Recitation: Lab:
4/29 25 10.1.2Flat mirrors
10.1.3Curved mirrors
10.1.3.1Curved mirror equations
10.1.4Lenses
10.1.4.1Lens equations

Mirrors and Lenses

Quiz 9
5/1 26 10.2The wave model of light
10.2.1Electromagnetic radiation and Maxwell's rainbow
10.2.2Huygens' principle and the wave model
10.2.2.1The math of Huygens' principle
10.2.3Two-slit interference
10.2.4Diffraction
10.2.4.1Interference from two wide slits

The Wave Model

Week 14

Recitation: Lab:
5/6 27 10.3The photon model of light
10.3.1Basic principles of the photon model
10.3.1.1Reconciling the wave and photon model - sort of

Quantization of Atomic Oscillations

Quiz 10
5/8 28

Guest lecture: Physics of Cancer (Prof. Losert)

Week 15

Recitation: Makeup labs
5/13 29 10.4Color and light
10.5 Interactions of light with matter
10.5.1Visual implications
Sample Final Questions
Sample Final MC Questions
Sample Final Sol
Provided Formulas and Constants

Final Exam

05/16 Time: 6:30 - 8:30 PM Location: TYD 0130
University of Maryland

Contact

Edited by D. Buehrle May 2014