Physics 152 Home Page

Introductory Physics II, Spring Semester 1998

Sir Issac Newton (1642 - 1727) founded the science of physics as we know it today. He single-handedly invented the calculus and discovered the force laws that govern the motions of all common objects. In particular, his detailed solution of how gravity causes the planets to orbit the sun represents the first major triumph of physics and gave us the ability to predict exactly where and when a celestial object would be in the future. We will derive his work in detail in Physics 152.

INSTRUCTOR: Mark Lee (Office Hours: Wed. 3:30 - 5:00, Thu. 9:00 - 10:30 Room 163; Phone 982-2197)

TA: Anthony Campillo (Office Hours: Thu. 1:00 - 4:00, Room 220; Phone 982-2233)

GRADER: TBA

TEXTBOOK: Physics for Scientists and Engineers (3rd ed) by Paul A. Tipler (Worth Publishers)
Other possibly useful texts are on reserve at the Science Engineering Library in Clark Hall

Course Description

Physics 152 is the second course in the four course introductory sequence (Physics 151, 152, 251, 252) intended for students considering a major in physics, astronomy-physics, math, engineering, chemistry, or who simply want a rigorous introduction to physics. Physics 152 uses the concepts of Newtonian mechanics developed in Physics 151, principally force laws and conservation principles, and uses them to analyze in depth several fundamental problems in classical mechanics, including Newtonian gravity and the orbits of planets, harmonic oscillations (simple, damped, forced, and coupled) and resonance phenomena, wave motion (including sound and light waves), and basic thermodynamics.