PHYSICS
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- LUCA TOMASSETTI
- Credits
- 9
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- FIS/01
Training objectives
- This course includes both lessons, that take place in the classroom, and laboratory activities. The purpose of the lessons is to let the student to develop a good knowledge of the physical phenomena and of the physical laws, describing and explaining the different concepts to the student both from the theoretical and from the practical point of view, preferentially using practical examples belonging to the biological field. In this way, the contents of this course may help the student to develop a personal knowledge that is useful to properly attend the classes of the following academic years.
The laboratory activities are organized so to let the student develop the capability to deal with standard scientific instrumentation and to practically observe the effects of the physical laws presented during the lessons. Before they perform the laboratory activities, the students attend theoretical lessons devoted to the explanation of the basic concepts regarding data analysis and the estimation of experimental errors.
Main acquired knowledge
- knowledge of the point mass kinematics, in particular in the cases of linear and circular trajectory;
- knowledge of the dynamics laws and of the laws of the forces (gravitational force, normal force, elastic force, friction, centripetal force);
- knowledge of how to calculate the work of a force, for both conservative and non-conservative forces, and the mechanical energy of a system based on point masses;
- knowledge of statics and kinematics of ideal fluids, of the effect of the surface tension and adhesive forces, and of the kinematics of real fluids;
- knowledge of the first and second law of thermodynamics, of both ideal and real thermal engines, and of their efficiency, of the definition and meaning of entropy;
- knowledge of the electric field and of the electrostatic potential, of the equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium properties of charged conductors and capacitors;
- knowledge of Ohm laws and Kirchhoff laws;
- knowledge of the magnetic field and of the interplay between magnetic fields and electric currents;
- knowledge of geometrical optics, and of the properties of diopters and lens;
- knowledge of the main methods for data analysis, regarding the determination of the value of physical quantities, both in direct and non-direct way, and the verification of physical hypothesis.
Basic acquired capabilities
The students will be able to:
- use the proper terminology and expressions to describe and analyze physical phenomena;
- apply the concepts that were presented during the lessons to describe, understand and explain physical phenomena;
- experimentally obtain the value and the uncertainty of a physical quantity and experimentally verify physical hypotheses;
- write a scientific report to explain and discuss the experimental activity they performed. Prerequisites
- No formal prerequisites are required, however, a basic knowledge of algebra, trigonometry, differential and integral calculation is necessary.
Course programme
- The first part of the course (about 18 hours) is devoted to the presentation of the point mass kinematics and dynamics, and this part includes the topics of work and mechanical energy. In detail, the topics of the first part are: scientific method; units of measure and reference systems; one dimensional motion; motion with uniform velocity and with uniform acceleration; two dimensional motion: parabolic and circular motion; laws of dynamics; presentation of some noteworthy motions; work and kinetic energy; potential energy; mechanical energy.
The second part of the course (about 10 hours) is devoted to the fluid properties. This is also a preparatory part for the laboratory activities, as that is also based on the properties and features of liquid systems. In detail, the topics of the second part are: fluids properties; fluid statics: Stevinos law, buoyancy, Pascals principle, principle of communicating vessels; kinematics and dynamics of the ideal fluids: continuity equation, Bernoullis theorem; dynamics of the real fluids: viscosity, laminar motion, Stokes force, sedimentation, centrifuge; molecular phenomena: surface tension, capillary action.
The third part of the course (about 20 hours) is devoted to the electric and magnetic fields and to phenomena connected with the current circulation in conducting systems and with optics; these topics are also preparatory to the laboratory activities. In detail, the topics presented in this part are: Coulombs law; electric field; electrostatic potential; Gauss theorem; conductors, systems of charged conductors; capacitors; electrical circuits; Ohms laws; Kirchhoffs laws; charge and discharge of a capacitor; magnetic field; interplay between magnetic fields and electrical currents; interplay between electric fields and magnetic fields, electromagnetic waves; geometrical optics; reflection and refraction; Snells law; diopters and lenses; thin lenses equation.
The fourth part of the course (about 8 hours) is devoted to thermodynamics. In detail, the presented topics are: centigrade grade; calorimeter; thermal capacity, specific heath; microscopic explanation of temperature; phase transitions; first law of thermodynamics; thermal engines; efficiency; Carnots cycle; Carnots theorem; second law of thermodynamics; entropy.
Those four parts correspond to the 7 CFU of classroom lessons; the detailed version of the program can be found following the following link Informazioni utili -> Programmi del corso available in the left menu. The last part of the course (16 hours) corresponds to the other 2 CFU and includes both the lessons that are devoted to the presentation of the laboratory activities and to the explanation of the data analysis methods and the practical activities in the physics laboratory. In detail, the topics presented in this part are: the operation of measure; direct measures; measure uncertainty: casual and systematic errors, precision and accuracy; average; standard deviation; uncertainty of the average value; distribution of the casual errors, Gaussian distribution; calculation of the experimental uncertainty in case of non-direct measures; linear extrapolation; least square method; linear correlation coefficient; chi-square test. Didactic methods
- The course is organized in theoretical lessons and guided activities that take place in the physics laboratory. The course includes 72 hours (9 CFU). Lessons take place in the classroom on a weekly basis, the topics are presented and explained using the classical blackboard, so to have a rhythm for the exposition that allows the students to properly attend the lesson. The concepts are presented in a way that allows to stress the application of the scientific method, highlighting the used models and their experimental verification. The basic physics laws are presented so to discuss their validity and possible interconnections with other laws/topics.
During the laboratory activity, the students are grouped and they carry out the laboratory activity in a pair.
During the semester it is also possible to follow the lessons of a tutor that is at students disposal to answer questions concerning the topics of the Physics course. The tutor also suggests to the students some questions/exercises that are useful in view of the passing of the final examination; the exercises are carried out by the tutor, that promotes the cooperation of the students, so the students can test their knowledge. Learning assessment procedures
- The aim of the final examination is to test both the knowledge and the deepening of the topics presented during the course and the reasoning skills of the student. The exam is written with multiple-choice questions and open-questions. It is graded in thirtieths (the minimum grade is 18).
All the questions refer to all the topics of the course, and are prepared so to test both if the student has understood the topics of the course and the reasoning skills of the student. Reference texts
- Fondamenti di Fisica, VI edizione, Serway & Jewett, EdiSES
Fondamenti di Fisica 6/Ed., James S. Walker, Pearson
Fisica con fisica moderna (terza edizione), Douglas C. Giancoli - Ed. Ambrosiana, Milano
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