Science
One Physics
Resources
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:
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.
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:
- To
state the Second Law of Thermodynamics and explain why it is
fundamentally different from other laws of physics that we have learned
about
- To explain why heat always flows from hotter to colder objects
- To explain the microscopic definition of entropy
- To evaluate two macroscopic configurations of a system and determine which has higher entropy
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).
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:
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.
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.
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.