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Science One Physics

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Exam Resources:
Past exams appear below
Study guide:

Okay, time to study. Wait! Are you hungry? Thirsty? Need to go to the bathroom?  No? Okay, lets go! 
Step one: think some motivational thoughts. Visualize acing the physics exam. Maybe put on "Eye of the Tiger" or other motivational music. Wait, no. Turn the music off. Too distracting. Okay, it's seriously time to stop screwing around. Study!


Where should we start? How about WAVES?  Start by reading the class notes and doing the clicker questions:

notes
clicker questions
notes
clicker questions
notes
clicker questions
Now make sure you know how to do Assignment 8 and read through the Assignment 8 solutions.
Look through the waves learning goals to make sure you know how to do everything.

Okay, your butt is falling asleep from too much sitting. Stand up and do 30 jumping jacks. Drink some water. You don't want to get dehydrated.


All right. On to QUANTUM MECHANICS. Read through the notes and do the clicker questions below. Refer to the notes on quantum mechanics if you are confused about some part.

notes
clicker questions
notes
clicker questions
notes
clicker questions
notes

clicker questions /bonus notes

Do the Mastering Physics Questions if you haven't already. Make sure you know how to do Assignment 9 and have a look at the Assignment 9 solutions.
Look through the quantum learning goals to make sure you know how to do everything.
You may want to read through the notes on quantum mechanics to consolidate your understanding.

Good work! You may now send one text / Tweet / Facebook post, or alternatively, watch a funny cat video on Youtube. 


All right, back to work! Read the notes on ENTROPY part 1 and part 2. Have a look at Assignment 1 and the Assignment 1 solutions. Here are the entropy learning goals:
Time to look around your room and think knowingly to yourself that the mess is not your fault at all since the blame rests squarely on the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Ready to move on? Okay: ELECTROSTATICS! Start with the basic stuff from the first week (redo the clicker questions and worksheet, and check your answers).
slides    notes
slides  notes   worksheet  solutions
 
Redo the tutorial: Electric Field and read the Solutions. Make sure you can do Assignment 2 and read the Assignment 2 solutions.

Same deal with the material on potentials:

slides     notes
slides     notes    worksheet    solutions

Make sure you can do Assignment 3 and read the Assignment 3 solutions.

Next up: Gauss' Law and currents: read the notes, do the clicker questions, do the worksheet. Check your answer after each question.

slides   notes   worksheet   solutions slides   notes   worksheet   solutions  


 Redo the Potentials and Gauss tutorial and read the Solutions.  Make sure you can do Assignment 4 and read the Assignment 4 solutions.

Have a look through the electrostatics learning goals to make sure everything looks familiar.


Okay time for some soul searching. Ask yourself: do I suck at CIRCUITS? If yes, try extra hard during this next bit. If no, still do this next part, but smile and nod a lot.
Here are the notes. Make sure to redo the worksheet and check your answer with the solutions. Whip out the circuits PHET if you want.

slides  notes   worksheet   solutions
slides   notes

Now, redo the Current and Circuits tutorial and check your Solutions. For some practice test questions, try the circuits questions on this midterm and check your asnwer with the solutions. There are more circuits questions on this  midterm  with solutions.

Have a look at the Current and circuits learning goals.

You're doing great!

Now, by the twin miracles of CUT and PASTE, here's a detailed study guide for the remaining MAGNETISM and INDUCTION parts. You've seen this recently, so you may not need to spend as much time here.

Read the Feb 22nd notes and do the clicker questions, checking your answers.
Read the Feb 24th notes, redo the worksheet, and check the worksheet solutions after doing each question.
Redo the
Magnetism tutorial and check the Solutions after doing each question.
Think through the steps to do the problesm 2,4, and 5 from Assignment 5. Read through the Assignment 5 solutions after going through each question.

Read through the March 1 notes and do the clicker questions, checking your answers.
Read through the  March 3 notes  (to the end of the magnetism part) and to the clicker questions, checking your answers.


Think through the steps to do  Assignment 6. Read through the Assignment 6 solutions.

Have a look over the Magnetism Summary.


Look at the magnetism goals in the Magnetism and Induction Learning Goals. If there is anything you don't feel comfortable with, look back at the notes, talk to other students or the instructors, or post a question on Piazza.

Read the induction part of the  March 3 notes  and do the induction  clicker questions.
Read through the March 8 notes and do the clicker questions checking your answers.
Read through the March 10 notes and do the clicker questions checking your answers.


Redo the Induction tutorial and check the Solutions after doing each question.
Think through the steps to do  Assignment 7. Read through the Assignment 7 solutions.

Look at the induction goals in the Magnetism and Induction Learning Goals. If there is anything you don't feel comfortable with, look back at the notes, talk to other students or the instructors, or post a question on Piazza.



Finally, practice test questions:
Exam question from last year and solutions.
Exam question from the previous year and solutions. Note: some solutions are here.

Probably a good idea to redo this year's
THIRD MIDTERM   and check the  SOLUTIONS, as well as the FOURTH MIDTERM and SOLUTIONS.

And from last year, the third
midterm with solutions and the fourth  midterm and solutions.

Here is the previous year's third midterm with solutions and the fourth midterm with midterm questions


Finally, here are some extra practice problems on quantum mechanics:

Note: For quantum mechanics, I only expect you to be responsible for what I covered in class. See the class notes, or the notes on quantum mechanics. Some of the questions below are not relevant for this class, so you will have to decide which correspond to the covered material. Specifically, I don't expect you to do questions on the photoelectric effect (shining light on metals).

multiple choice questions with solutions

more multiple choice questions with solutions

long answer questions with solutions




Midterm 4 Resources:

Your test will focus on Magnetism and Induction.

Below is a  super-detailed study guide. One way to study would be to go through the steps below, but if you have another approach that has been successful in the past, don't feel that you have to do things in the way I suggest below. If at any point you don't understand a concept or solution, ask other students, talk to/e-mail an instructor, or post a question on Facebook/Piazza.

Read the
Feb 22nd notes and do the clicker questions, checking your answers.
Read the Feb 24th notes, redo the worksheet, and check the worksheet solutions after doing each question.
Redo the
Magnetism tutorial and check the Solutions after doing each question.
Think through the steps to do the problesm 2,4, and 5 from Assignment 5. Read through the Assignment 5 solutions after going through each question.

Read through the March 1 notes and do the clicker questions, checking your answers.
Read through the  March 3 notes  (to the end of the magnetism part) and to the clicker questions, checking your answers.


Think through the steps to do  Assignment 6. Read through the Assignment 6 solutions.

Have a look over the Magnetism Summary.


Look at the magnetism goals in the Magnetism and Induction Learning Goals. If there is anything you don't feel comfortable with, look back at the notes, talk to other students or the instructors, or post a question on Piazza.

Read the induction part of the  March 3 notes  and do the induction  clicker questions.
Read through the March 8 notes and do the clicker questions checking your answers.
Read through the March 10 notes and do the clicker questions checking your answers.


Redo the Induction tutorial and check the Solutions after doing each question.
Think through the steps to do  Assignment 7. Read through the Assignment 7 solutions.

Look at the induction goals in the Magnetism and Induction Learning Goals. If there is anything you don't feel comfortable with, look back at the notes, talk to other students or the instructors, or post a question on Piazza.

Now do the practice midterm and exam questions below, checking your answers.
If there are types of questions you consistently get wrong, talk to people about it.

Here's last year's midterm and solutions.

Here are some practice questions for the previous year's midterm and exam:

Solutions for the midterm questions and exam questions.

Note: circuits was one of the main topics on these practice tests. Your midterm will have much less focus on circuits since we've covered that in the first midterm. However, some concepts from circuits could show up (e.g. in Faraday's law questions).






Midterm 3 Resources


All the usual study tips (see below) still apply. Make sure you know how to do all the clicker, worksheet, tutorial, and assignment questions.

Here are some practice questions for last year's midterm with solutions.

Here are some practice questions from the previous year's  midterm and exam:

Solutions for the midterm questions and exam questions.

We've also added a practice electrostatics assignment on Mastering Physics in case you run out of things to do.



The exam will be a similar format to the midterm, but longer. There may be a question that asks you to explain something, so pay attention to the learning goals such as "explain...".

See the updated
learning goals. The exam covers everything with a slightly higher weight on the material that hasn't been tested yet (orbits, thermodynamics).

Here is last year's exam plus solutions.

Here is another exam plus solutions. Note: you are not responsible for the questions on waves. Here are more exam questions on thermodynamics and solutions.



Midterm 2 Resources:

Midterm 2 will cover  energy and work, relativity, and rotations, up to the Nov 6th lecture.

-See the
learning goals for this midterm. This is what we usually base the questions on.
-Almost of your study time should be spent doing practice problems. Read through the solutions only after you have done the problem. If you got it wrong, and don't understand the solution or you don't understand why your way was wrong, ask someone about it (in person, on Piazza, or by sending one of us an e-mail).


Here is a practice midterm from last year. Look at the solutions only after you have come up with an answer for the question. 

Another practice midterm and solutions. This one did not include rotations.
 

Here are some more practice questions from last's years December exam that include rotational questions. Here are solutions.

For multiple choice practice, you should make sure to redo all the clicker questions from the classes:

Energy and rotations clicker questions   
Relativity clicker questions

 I've also put up a Mastering Physics practice assignment with a whole bunch of conceptual questions.
 
For long answer questions, the best practice are the old test questions (below), and the worksheet, assignment, and tutorial questions. Make sure to have a look at our solutions for these.

-More relativity practice problems:

Time dilations, length contraction, simultaneity:

Problems 1-6,8,9b from here.    Solutions

Problems 1,2,4,5,6 from here.    Solutions
Problems 1,2,3,4,6,10b from here.    Solutions

Mass, energy, and momentum:

Problems 3,5,6,10 from here.    Solutions
Problems 3,4,7 from here.    Solutions
Problems 1,2,5 from here.    Solutions

-More energy/work practice problems:

-practice problems about energy, potential, and work.


-More rotations practice problems:

Here are some extra practice problems on rotational motion.
Some answers to these are under "files" on the Science One Physics Facebook page.
Note: these are all really similar to the practice problems from the last midterm, except I replaced p -> L, x -> theta, etc...



NEW : Notes on predicting the future with Newton's second law (including a discussion of Euler method, antidifferention method, and area method). Also a mechanics summary sheet.

How to study for the midterm:

-have a look at the learning goals for this part of the course. This is what I refer to when making up midterm questions. For each item, do some practice problems (see next item and last item), or write down an explanation for items that ask you to explain something. Everything you need to use will be in the notes from class. Note: the learning goals and class notes are a much better guide to what you need to know than the textbook. 

The midterm will be a combination of short answer conceptual questions plus written questions.

For the conceptual questions, good practice are the clicker questions from class, the "stop to think" questions in the textbook chapters, and the "Conceptual Questions" (not "Exercises and Problems") at the end of each chapter.  Specifically, "Conceptual Questions" from chapter 1 (3-8), chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4 (1,2,3,4,7), chapter 5 (any), chapter 6 (4,5,6,9,13,18), chapter 7 (any), chapter 9, and chapter 10 are good.

For the written questions, good practice are the worksheet problems, tutorial questions and written homework problems. Try to do them without looking at the solutions. Read through the solutions AFTER you do the problem on your own. 

It is generally not useful to study by reading through solutions without first doing the problem.

Ask your instructors or your peers for help if there is a question you don't feel that you understand.

Here is a practice midterm from last year. Look at the solutions only after you have come up with an answer for the question.

Another practice midterm from last year and solutions

-try some extra sample problems (for example these PRACTICE PROBLEMS. Some answers for these problems put together by last year's class are here:  answers)


Tips for success in Science One physics:

-Ask questions, either during or outside of class, if you don't understand something. Science One has a very low student to instructor ratio compared to other first year classes -- take advantage of this! Please don't feel shy about coming to talk to your instructors after class, during office hours, or at other times if we're available. Our job is not to judge you but to help you learn, so you should not worry that your question is too basic or will seem "dumb." Often, your classmates can also help you out. 

-Work hard during in-class activities and tutorials. Discuss things with your neighbors if you are instructed to. Ask questions if you get stuck. This is your opportunity to figure out what you don't understand, and have us there to help you right away. 

-Do all the reading assignements and homework. Again, ask questions (to your classmates or to your instructors) if you get stuck. 

-Try to follow our advice (which will be posted here later on) about how to study for the midterms and exams.