Announcements:
- About 90 students completed the Intro assignment on WebAssign, deadline
extended to Monday
- Tips on using WebAssign
- Labs start next week (even-numbered sections) or following week (odd)
See lab schedules posted in hall.
- Lab manuals are available in the bookstore
- Laptop computers are not needed in class, but may be useful in lab.
- Keep your own class notes separate from what you will turn in today.
Review RWP1 - Pizza Problem
Chapter 1:
All of physics is based on empirical (experienced or experimental) evidence, which requires measurements to be made. These measurements must be standardized and sufficiently precise in order to make comparisons with other scientists so that a meaningful discussion can be made as to whether a theory is or is not supported by experimental findings.
Qualities of good measurement standards
US National
Institute of Standards and Technology
Bureau International
des Poids et Mesures
SI Unit notation and dimensions:
[length] = m
[mass] = kg
[time] = s
Becoming familiar with mks units:
· Distance from floor to waist of your instructor
· Length of forearm (fingers to elbow)
· Width of your smallest fingernail
· Thickness of a single page from your physics textbook
· Mass of your physics textbook (in kg), weight in pounds (lb)
· Mass of a nickel coin (in grams)
· Your heart rate (in Hz)
· Slow walking speed
· Highway speed
· Number of seconds in a year
Why is it wrong to show extra digits when reporting numbers?
Minute Paper:
Assignments: