Physics

Steve Carabello

Links for Physics 150/250

General Resources
Similar Courses
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 13

Note: All ratings are my initial personal opinions of the quality of the Web sites, nothing more.
Also: if I didn't think the sites were good, they wouldn't be here. So, one star isn't bad, it's just at the low end of "good enough to link."

General Resources	Rating	Description
Physics at Penn State Harrisburg	?	The Instructor's web pages.
The Learning Center	***	The Learning Center at PSH, located in Olmsted C-216. A peer physics tutor is available there.
NSF Proposal Font Advisory		Part of why I want people to get into the habit of formatting their papers properly: the National Science Foundation (and the U.S. Patent Office, and others) may return your proposal without review, if it does not follow the proper format.
Hyperphysics	****	A very well laid out Web site with descriptions of a wide variety of physics concepts. Very useful as review material.
Mechanics Animations	*****	Useful animations for the whole course. Some specific ones are also linked in the chapter-specific sections below.
Student Resources for the 10th Edition of Young and Freedman's University Physics	****	Includes some good multiple choice problems, etc.
Self-Assessment Tests	***	from the Cutnell and Johnson text
Tippens Physics, 7th Edition	***	Includes online quizzes, interactive applets, etc.
Physics Evolution	****	An applet showing some of the historical evolution of physics, through key people and places.
The Scientific Revolution	**	Excerpts from Brooklyn College's course "The Shaping of the Modern World"
My Links page	?	Many links covering many general physics areas.

Similar Courses	Rating	Description
Physics at University Park	*****	Note: Click the link for Physics 211
Lecture Notes and Sample Exams	****	from Dr. Michael R. Gallis, professor of physics at Penn State Schuylkill.
Physics 207	**	from the University of Delaware. Quite similar to Physics 211 (including several sample exams under the Exams link), plus includes some very useful study tips for any physics course.
Physics 211	**	from the University of Illinois. Very similar to our Physics 211. Much of the information is password-protected, but the Practice Exams are still accessible, and they also use Interactive Examples that are very good (and aren't linked from the first link).
Physics 152: Exam Archive	**	from Purdue University. Very similar to our Phyisics 211. This link takes you directly to the archive of practice exams; some other useful information is there as well.
All Physics Undergraduate Courses	**	from Purdue University. Look at the course titles to find those similar to ours. Most include practice exams, lecture notes, useful links, applets, etc.
MIT OpenCourseWare	*****	Several of the courses include sample exams, and actual given exams, with solutions. Some also include video files of the lectures themselves. Scan through the course titles to find ones similar to this course.
Glenbrook South Physics: Classroom Tutorial	*****	A very nice online text, designed for the high school level. Includes sample questions and problems (including multiple choice), with solutions.

Chapter 1: Measurement and Problem Solving	Rating	Description
A View from the Back of the Envelope	***	Teaching tools using approximation
Estimation	***	A shockwave game to get a feel for lengths, areas, volumes.
A Sense of Scale	**	A visual comparison of various distances
Powers of Ten	****	Applet: A visual representation of the scale of things.
A Newer, "Playable" Nanoguitar	**	News Story: "Its strings are really silicon bars, 150 by 200 nanometers in cross-section and ranging from 6 to 12 micrometers in length (a micrometer is one-millionth of a meter; a nanometer is a billionth of a meter, the length of three silicon atoms in a row). The strings vibrate at frequencies 17 octaves higher than those of a real guitar, or about 130,000 times higher."
Significant Digits Tutorial	**	Pay special attention to "The Two Greatest Sins Regarding Significant Digits"
The Gimli Glider	****	Discussion: Due to confusion with units, mechanical problems, and other very unusual issues, a Boeing 767 airliner runs out of fuel, and makes an emergency landing on an abandoned Royal Canadian Air Force Base that had been converted into a drag strip.
Fat fingered typing costs a trader's bosses £128m	***	News Story: Units can be extremely important: "He wanted to sell one share in a new telecoms company called J Com, for 600,000 yen (about £3,000). Unfortunately, the order went through as a sale of 600,000 shares at 1 yen each.... Despite Mizuho's attempts to rectify the mistake, some estimates put the possible financial damage to the firm at about 60 billion yen -- a figure that may be big enough to destabilise the securities arm of what is one of the four largest financial groups in the world." Also listed: "November 2002: A market maker confused the price of Ryanair shares in euros and sterling, sending the London quote up more than 61 per cent, from 404.5p to 653.7p."
Significant Figures Applet	***	Applet: try a variety of numbers, to make sure you know the rules for significant digits.

Chapter 2: Kinematics: Description of Motion	Rating	Description
Distance versus Displacement	***	Applet: Draw any path, and it give numbers for both the distance and displacement.
Kinematics in 1-D	***	Animation: showing position, velocity, and acceleration graphs.
Instantaneous Speed	***	Applet and Discussion: Finding instantaneous vs. average speed, looking at a distance vs. time graph. See also the Applet and discussion about instantaneous velocity vs. average velocity for an object moving around in a circular path.
Integration	***	Applet and Discussion: understanding integrals in the context of looking at areas of graphs.
The Moving Man	****	Java: click on the link for "The Moving Man," to see a good Java simulation of a person moving. Drag the man around and view his position, velocity, and acceleration graphs. Or, move the position, velocity, or acceleration arrows, to see how he moves as a result.
GraphLab	***	Applet: Simple but useful: change the values of x_o, v_o, and a, and see what effects that has on x vs. t and v vs. t graphs.
Galileo and Einstein	****	Lecture notes, quotes, and analysis, from a class at the University of Virginia. The lecture notes, plus the links to Galileo in his own words, are especially helpful for those curious to learn more.
Inclined Plane	***	Animation and Discussion: One of Galileo's experiments, for a ball rolling down an inclined plane. From The Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy.
Hammer and Feather	****	Video: from NASA, dropping a hammer and a feather on the moon during one of the Apollo missions.
Free fall in a vacuum: penny and feather	*	Video: 3.16 MB MPEG movie, from the University of Iowa

Chapter 3: Motion in Two Dimensions	Rating	Description
Net Force Applet	****	Applet: Shows the vector sum of three forces, both as arrows, and as components and magnitudes. Very much like our vector addition lab (that uses the force table).
Vector Animations	**	Animations: See especially the "Vector Addition" animation
Vector Addition	**	Shockwave, to get used to drawing and interpreting vectors and vector sums. Try all the buttons to see what they do.
Vector Addition, Subtraction	*	Applet: view components, magnitude, and direction, for vector arithmetic
Vectors	***	Flash Gizmo
Bomb Drop Animation	*	Animation
Cannon/Monkey Drop Applet	****	Applet. Or see this page for a step-by-step challenge
Cannon and fixed target, with and without air resistance	**	Applet
Projectile: cannon firing your choice of: tankshell, golfball, baseball, bowlingball, football, pumpkin, adult human, piano, Buick.	****	Flash. Adjust angle, initial speed, height of cannon, with or without air resistance. Use a tape measure to find distances (at any angle).
More about projectile motion	***	Applet
Kinematics in 2-D	***	Animation
Relative Motion	***	Applet

Chapter 4: Force and Motion,	Rating	Description
Free Body Diagrams example	*	Animation
Applet: Inclined Plane	***	Applet: One mass starts at rest on an inclined plane (that is allowed to have friction!), and is connected by a string (that passes over a massless, frictionless pulley) to a hanging mass. Shows the free body diagrams for each mass, and the answer for the acceleration of the system.
Applet: Atwood Machine	**	Applet: Two masses connected by strings pass over a massless frictionless pulley. See the acceleration that results. While the applet itself isn't all that special, it includes a more useful link to a derivation of the equations used in Atwood Machine problems.
Circular Motion and Tension	***	Animation
Car on a Level Track	***	Animation. Note that, while F_net is shown here, it would not show up on any free body diagram.
Car on a Banked Track	***	Animation. Note that, while F_net is shown here, it would not show up on any free body diagram.
Banked Track Tutorial	****	Applet. Adjust speed, track incline, coefficient of friction; turn on/off velocity, acceleration, and force vectors.
Car Coasting Through a Vertical Loop	****	Animation
Car Failing to Coast Through a Loop	*****	Animation
Conical Pendulum	**	Animation. Note that the acceleration is shown, but it is not itself a force.
Aerodynamic forces	***	Animation. The forces shown are: T=Thrust, D=Drag, W=Weight, L=Lift. The velocity is also shown, though it is not a force.

Chapter 5: Work and Energy	Rating	Description
Force and Work - Applet	**	Applet: Take a box, and drag it around on the screen, simulating lifting it up and down (doing work against gravity), or sliding it along the surface (doing work against friction). Notice the difference between conservative and nonconservative forces.
Lecture: loop, wrecking ball	****	Video: Conversion of Gravitational Potential Energy to Kinetic Energy: Click on Lecture 11 video, and go forward to 28:30 for the loop, 45:45 for the wrecking ball
Converting Potential Energy to Kinetic Energy on a Frictionless Ramp	**	Animation
Racing Balls	***	Applet. Can you explain why this happens?
Converting Potential Energy to Kinetic Energy Rolling Down Various Ramps	*	Animation
Roller Coaster Physics	****	Flash Gizmo, including hill height and friction.

Chapter 6: Lindar Momentum and Collisions	Rating	Description
1-D Collisions	***	Applet: adjust the masses and speeds, make it elastic or completely inelastic, etc.
Virtual Air Track	***	Applet: similar to the applet above, but with more options: adjust the mass of each cart, each cart's initial velocity, and how inelastic the collision is (alpha=1.0 represents a perfectly elastic collision).
2-D Collisions	*****	Lesson and Applet: Adjust speeds, angle of impact, degree of elasticity, etc.
Ball-bearing "rocket cart"	*	Video
Cart and thrown bag	*	Video
inelastic and elastic collisions with a bowling pin	**	Video
Double ball bounce	**	Video

Chapter 7: Circular Motion and Gravitation	Rating	Description
Circular Motion	****	Animation: Circular Motion and Centripetal Acceleration as a Limit
Uniform Circular Motion	***	Flash Gizmo
Projectile and Satellite Orbits	**	Applet
Satellites in Earth/moon orbit	**	Applet: Can you find a stable orbit?
Applet: Orbit	**	Applet: Click-drag to determine the initial velocity vector, and see the (possible) orbit that results.
Kepler Motion	****	Applet
Gravity Simulator	*	Applet
Orbit Simulator	***	Flash gizmo. See also: ExploreLearning.
Earth and Mars	*	Applet: Confirm Kepler's Third Law
Newtonian Mountain	*	Applet: Possible paths of a projectile fired horizontally from a cannon, using a figure from Newton's Principia
Newtonian Mountain II	***	Applet: Another applet showing possible paths of a projectile fired horizontally from a cannon, using the same figure from Newton's Principia
Gravity model	*	Video
NASA's Near-Earth Objects database	**	Information and Applets: Click on the links for each of the objects to find some rather nice, interactive applets showing their orbits, and those of all the planets.
Astronomy Animations	****	Animations: Especially useful for this chapter are: Ptolemy's Model for a Superior Planet, Ptolemy's Model and the Phases of Venus, Copernicus's Model for a Superior Planet, Copernicus's Model and the Phases of Venus, Kepler's First Law, Kepler's Second Law, Tidal Effects on a Planet and Satellite, Spring and Neap Tides on the Earth.
Circular Motion and Centripetal Force	**	Applet, useful for showing centripetal force and angular momentum.

Chapter 8: Rotational Motion and Equilibrium	Rating	Description
Statics - Beam	***	Applet: shows the force vectors for a horizontal beam, attached to a wall by a hinge, holding up a sphere, and being held up by a wire. You can adjust many things, and view the resulting force vectors.
Static Equilibrium (stacking books)	***	Applet: "How far can you move the top book out without the pile crashing down?" Try to get the top book as far to the right as possible. You can get it beyond +50!
Toilet paper roll inertia	*	Video
"Squeezatron" Angular Momentum demo	***	Video
Bicycle wheel angular momentum demo	*****	Video
Animations for Physics Web Quizzes	***	Animations: From Mike Gallis, instrutor from Penn State Schuylkill. Includes: airplane travelling in straight line angled upward, block on string spinning on frictionless table, mass dropped onto a spring, clay fired at disk and sticking.
Circular Motion and Centripetal Force	**	Applet, useful for showing centripetal force and angular momentum.

Chapter 9: Solids and Fluids	Rating	Description
Physlets	***	Applet: a simplified view of atomic motion. Under "Version 3" click on "Molecular" then click on "Start" or "Mixture"
Using Pascal's Principle to break a bottle	***	Video and Discussion: "One particularly useless but nonetheless interesting application of Pascal's principle is the dropping of the bottom out of a glass bottle. If the bottle is filled to the top with water, then any pressure exerted on the water is transmitted undiminished to the bottom of the bottle, which has a larger area. The multiplied force can pop the bottom out of the bottle."
Archimedes' Principle	***	Applet: View buoyant forces in liquids, similar to our first lab.
Buoyancy and Stability	***	Flashlet: Useful if you would like to apply the ideas of Archimedes' Principle, one step beyond what we cover in class.
Misinterpretations of Bernoulli's Law	*****	Course Content: A very good discussion of how Bernoulli's Law is often misinterpreted (including in our textbook).
Archimedes	***	A very interesting site by Chris Rorres, especially notable for his translating Archimedes' arguments to modern mathematical terms, and extending his work using new mathematical tools, in Completing Book II Of Archimedes's On Floating Bodies
Uses for glycerol (web page)	**	Course Content: Related to Lab 1: if you're curious about what glycerol is and what it's used for. "Glycerol: A Jack Of All Trades"
Uses for glycerol (.pdf)	**	Course Content: if you're curious about what glycerol is and what it's used for.

Chapter 13: Vibration and Waves	Rating	Description
Simple Harmonic Motion and Uniform Circular Motion	**	Applet
Spring and Pendulum	****	Shockwave
Applet: Damped Oscillator	***	Applet: adjust the mass, spring constant, and damping force, and see the resulting motion.
Acoustics and Vibration Animations - Dan Russell, Kettering University	*****	Animations and Descriptions: many types of waves
Wave Animations	****	Animations: From Mike Gallis, instrutor from Penn State Schuylkill.
Sine Wave Applet	***	Applet: Shows superposition of two waves. Includes amplitude, frequency, phase, and sum.
Superposition Principle	***	Applet: Standing Waves and Superposition
Bar Waves Applet	***	Applet: Bar/String normal modes of vibration. From http://www.falstad.com/.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster	****	Information, useful in discussing resonance.

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