crowell. newtonian physics

Newtonian Physics Benjamin Crowell Book 1 in the Light and Matter series of introductory physics textbooks www.lightandmatter.com Newtonian Physics The Light and Matter series of introductory physics textbooks: 1 Newtonian Physics 2 Conservation Laws 3 Vibrations and Waves 4 Electricity and Magnetism 5 Optics 6 The Modern Revolution in Physics Newtonian Physics Benjamin Crowell www.lightandmatter.com Light and Matter Fullerton, California www.lightandmatter.com © 1998-2002 by Benjamin Crowell All rights reserved. Edition 2.1 rev. 2002-10-20 ISBN 0-9704670-1-X To Paul Herrschaft and Rich Muller. Brief Contents 0 Introduction and Review 15 1 Scaling and Order-of-Magnitude Estimates 35 Motion in One Dimension 2 Velocity and Relative Motion 54 3 Acceleration and Free Fall 75 4 Force and Motion 99 5 Analysis of Forces 115 Motion in Three Dimensions 6 Newton’s Laws in Three Dimensions 137 7 Vectors 147 8 Vectors and Motion 157 9 Circular Motion 169 10 Gravity 183 Exercises 203 Solutions to Selected Problems 211 Glossary 217 Mathematical Review 219 Trig Tables 220 Index 221 Contents Motion in One Dimension 53 2 Velocity and Relative Motion 54 2.1 Types of Motion 54 2.2 Describing Distance and Time 57 2.3 Graphs of Motion; Velocity 60 2.4 The Principle of Inertia 64 2.5 Addition of Velocities 67 2.6 Graphs of Velocity Versus Time 69 2.7 ∫ Applications of Calculus 69 Summary 71 Homework Problems 72 3 Acceleration and Free Fall 75 3.1 The Motion of Falling Objects 75 3.2 Acceleration 78 3.3 Positive and Negative Acceleration 81 3.4 Varying Acceleration 84 3.5 The Area Under the Velocity-Time Graph87 3.6 Algebraic Results for Constant Acceleration 89 3.7* Biological Effects of Weightlessness 91 3.8 ∫ Applications of Calculus 93 Summary 94 Homework Problems 95 1 Scaling and Order-of- Magnitude Estimates35 1.1 Introduction 35 1.2 Scaling of Area and Volume 37 1.3 Scaling Applied to Biology 44 1.4 Order-of-Magnitude Estimates 47 Summary 50 Homework Problems 50 Preface 13 A Note to the Student Taking Calculus Concurrently 14 0 Introduction and Review 15 0.1 The Scientific Method 15 0.2 What Is Physics? 17 0.3 How to Learn Physics 20 0.4 Self-Evaluation 22 0.5 Basics of the Metric System 22 0.6 The Newton, the Metric Unit of Force 25 0.7 Less Common Metric Prefixes 26 0.8 Scientific Notation 27 0.9 Conversions 28 0.10 Significant Figures 30 Summary 32 Homework Problems 33 [...]... reform physics texts is steaming ahead, but despite excellent books such as Hewitt’s Conceptual Physics for non-science majors and Knight’s Physics: A Contemporary Perspective for students who know calculus, there has been a gap in physics books for life-science majors who haven't learned calculus or are learning it concurrently with physics This book is meant to fill that gap Learning to Hate Physics? ... Matter series of introductory physics textbooks, and as implied by its title, the story line of the series is built around light and matter: how they behave, how they are different from each other, and, at the end of the story, how they turn out to be similar in some very bizarre ways Here is a guide to the structure of the one-year course presented in this series: 1 Newtonian Physics Matter moves at constant... Learning calculus and physics concurrently is an excellent idea — it’s not a coincidence that the inventor of calculus, Isaac Newton, also discovered the laws of motion! If you are worried about taking these two demanding courses at the same time, let me reassure you I think you will find that physics helps you with calculus while calculus deepens and enhances your experience of physics This book is... Buddhism a scientific pursuit? 0.2 What Is Physics? Given for one instant an intelligence which could comprehend all the forces by which nature is animated and the respective positions of the things which compose it nothing would be uncertain, and the future as the past would be laid out before its eyes Pierre Simon de Laplace Physics is the study of light and matter Physics is the use of the scientific... series The boundary between physics and the other sciences is not always clear For instance, chemists study atoms and molecules, which are what matter is built from, and there are some scientists who would be equally willing to call themselves physical chemists or chemical physicists It might seem that the distinction between physics and biology would be clearer, since physics seems to deal with inanimate... of physics that apply to molecules in a test tube work equally well for the combination of molecules that constitutes a bacterium (Some might believe that something more happens in the minds of humans, or even those of cats and dogs.) What differentiates physics from biology is that many of the scientific theories that describe living things, while ultimately resulting from the fundamental laws of physics, ... is emphasized over breadth, but we can’t seem to create a physics textbook that covers a manageable number of topics for a one-year course and gives honest explanations of everything it touches on The publishers try to please everybody by including every imaginable topic in the book, but end up pleasing nobody There is wide agreement among physics teachers that the traditional one-year introductory... Laplace, those laws could in principle be used to predict every- Section 0.2 What Is Physics? 17 thing about the universe’s future if complete information was available about the present state of all light and matter In subsequent sections, I’ll describe two general types of limitations on prediction using the laws of physics, which were only recognized in the twentieth century Weight is what distinguishes... you I think you will find that physics helps you with calculus while calculus deepens and enhances your experience of physics This book is designed to be used in either an algebrabased physics course or a calculus-based physics course that has calculus as a corequisite This note is addressed to students in the latter type of course It has been said that critics discuss art with each other, but artists... Waves 1 vibrations 2-3 waves 14 the definite integral the fundamental theorem of calculus The Mars Climate Orbiter is prepared for its mission The laws of physics are the same everywhere, even on Mars, so the probe could be designed based on the laws of physics as discovered on earth There is unfortunately another reason why this spacecraft is relevant to the topics of this chapter: it was destroyed attempting . Newtonian Physics Benjamin Crowell Book 1 in the Light and Matter series of introductory physics textbooks www.lightandmatter.com Newtonian Physics The Light and. physics textbooks: 1 Newtonian Physics 2 Conservation Laws 3 Vibrations and Waves 4 Electricity and Magnetism 5 Optics 6 The Modern Revolution in Physics Newtonian Physics Benjamin Crowell www.lightandmatter.com Light. Crowell www.lightandmatter.com Light and Matter Fullerton, California www.lightandmatter.com © 1998-2002 by Benjamin Crowell All rights reserved. Edition 2.1 rev. 2002-10-20 ISBN 0-9704670-1-X To Paul Herrschaft and