91463 Physics Preparatory Workshop

Prerequisites: none

The workshop aims to impart or refresh high-school level Physics knowledge in preparation for studying Fundamentals of Physics I (20113), Fundamentals of Physics for Biology Students I (20123) and Fundamentals of Physics (20125). These are required courses in various programs of study in the Sciences and are included in some of the transfer options to other universities. The workshop is intended for students with no prior knowledge of Physics, students with a 3-point matriculation level knowledge of Physics, as well as students who took Physics on a 5-point level but need to refresh their knowledge.

Structure: The workshop is based on nine weekly 4-hour face-to-face sessions. The material is drilled through assignments checked by the tutor. There is no final exam and participation is not mandatory. The workshop is offered twice a year, in the spring and summer semesters.

Topics: Reading graphs – especially those describing place, time and velocity. Vectors – operations with vectors, equilibrium problems; the concepts of position, time, velocity and acceleration. Newton’s second law – the concept of mass; units of force, distance and time. Work and energy – the relationship between force and work; kinetic energy and potential energy. Impulse and momentum – linear momentum; elastic collisions and inelastic collisions. Harmonic motion – simple pendulum. Gravitation – Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation. Electric charge – charged particles; electric charge units; Coulomb’s Law. Electric field – calculating the intensity of the electric field of a single charge. Electric potential – calculating the potential surrounding electric charges. Electric current and resistance – Ohm’s Law.