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PHYS 143: Mechanics and Thermal Physics

12 lectures · 3 weekly contacts · Practice questions

Course Overview

To prepare students to succeed in the PHYS 143 examination through conceptual understanding, technical competence and application to unfamiliar problems.

Mechanics: lectures 1 to 8. Thermal physics: lectures 9 to 12.

Course Structure

Each week is taught in three contacts. Every lecture provides a slide deck, a tutorial sheet and a supplementary note. All files are PDF. Each lecture page also has its own twenty multiple-choice practice questions, which run in the browser, for practice and not assessment.

  1. Contact 1: build the physical idea.
  2. Contact 2: develop the model and method.
  3. Contact 3: apply, integrate and transfer.

Weekly routine: attend all three contacts, attempt the tutorial before the answers, review the supplementary note, and use the deck checklist to find gaps.

Weekly Programme

Official course listing (University of Ghana) ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Mock exam · 50 questions in 2 h 30 min · jump to the end of the course

Mechanics

Lectures 1 to 8

Thermal physics

Lectures 9 to 12

End of course

Mock exam

Fifty questions drawn at random from past examination questions across the course, in 2 hours 30 minutes, with the timer on screen and answers shown only at the end. For practice, not assessment.

50 questions2 h 30 minLectures 1 to 12

Take the mock exam

Why This Course Matters: Research-Informed Learning

How foundational physics connects to modern research.

Vectors and nuclear reaction kinematics

The vector methods of Level 100 describe how momentum and energy are shared among the products of a nuclear reaction.

Statistics and uncertainty quantification

Measurement uncertainty, fitting and model comparison are the same ideas used to constrain the parameters of nuclear models.

Differential equations and reaction dynamics

Equations of motion with random forces, the Langevin equations, describe how a heavy nuclear system evolves during a reaction.

Programming and physical models

Scientific computing turns a physical model into numbers that can be compared with experiment, as in the KEWPIE codes.

Course Information

Reference material, expected skills and applications

Reference material

Prescribed text: Young and Freedman, University Physics, 15th edition. Each deck lists its reading.

Textbook chapters by lecture
LectureChapters
1 VectorsCh. 1
2 MotionCh. 2 and 3
3 Newton's lawsCh. 4 and 5
4 Work and kinetic energyCh. 6
5 Potential energyCh. 7
7 Impulse and momentumCh. 8
8 RotationCh. 9 and 10
9 Temperature and heatCh. 17
10 Thermal propertiesCh. 18
11 First lawCh. 19
12 Second lawCh. 20

Expected skills

Physicist's Toolkits

  • Vector and component methods
  • Free-body diagrams
  • Graph interpretation
  • Estimation and dimensional analysis
  • Limiting cases
  • Conservation laws
  • Checking answers

Problem-solving framework

Identify, Set Up, Execute, Evaluate.

Further skills

  • Switching between representations: situation, diagram, graph, words, equation and number
  • Calculating with units and checking sign, magnitude and direction

Applications

Examples drawn from the lecture decks include the following.

  • Projectile motion
  • Vehicle safety and collisions: airbags and crumple zones
  • Rotating machinery: the flywheel
  • Thermal expansion of structures: gaps in railway rails
  • Internal-combustion engines and diesel compression
  • Heat engines and refrigerators