MIDTERM Time Allotment Learning Competencies (*MELC)

Unit 1: 1 session ● *Solve measurement problems involving conversion of units, expression of measurements in scientific
Measurement and notation
Data Analysis ● *Differentiate accuracy from precision
● *Differentiate random errors from systematic errors
● Use the least count concept to estimate errors associated with single measurements
● *Estimate errors from multiple measurements of a physical quantity using variance
● Estimate the uncertainty of a derived quantity from the estimated values and uncertainties of directly
measured quantities
● Estimate intercepts and slopes—and their uncertainties—in experimental data with linear dependence
using the “eyeball method” and/or linear regression formulae
Unit 2: 1 session ● *Differentiate vector and scalar quantities
Vectors ● *Perform addition of vectors
● *Rewrite a vector in component form
● Calculate directions and magnitudes of vectors
Unit 3: 2 sessions ● *Convert a verbal description of a physical situation involving uniform acceleration in one dimension into
Kinematics: Motion a mathematical description
Along a Straight Line ● Recognize whether or not a physical situation involves constant velocity or constant acceleration
● *Interpret displacement and velocity, respectively, as areas under velocity vs. time and acceleration vs.
time curves
● *Interpret velocity and acceleration, respectively, as slopes of position vs. time and velocity vs. time
curves
● *Construct velocity vs. time and acceleration vs. time graphs, respectively, corresponding to a given
position vs. time-graph and velocity vs. time graph and vice versa
● *Solve for unknown quantities in equations involving one-dimensional uniformly accelerated motion
● Use the fact that the magnitude of acceleration due to gravity on the Earth’s surface is nearly constant
and approximately 9.8 m/s2 in free-fall problems
● *Solve problems involving one- dimensional motion with constant acceleration in contexts such as, but
not limited to, the “tail-gating phenomenon”, pursuit, rocket launch, and free-fall problems
Unit 4: 2 sessions ● *Describe motion using the concept of relative velocities in 1D and 2D
Kinematics: Motion ● Extend the definition of position, velocity, and acceleration to 2D and 3D using vector representation
in 2-Dimensions and ● *Deduce the consequences of the independence of vertical and horizontal components of projectile
3-Dimensions motion
● *Calculate range, time of flight, and maximum heights of projectiles
● Differentiate uniform and non-uniform circular motion
● *Infer quantities associated with circular motion such as tangential velocity, centripetal acceleration,
tangential acceleration, radius of curvature
● *Solve problems involving two-dimensional motion in contexts such as, but not limited to ledge jumping,
movie stunts, basketball, safe locations during firework displays, and Ferris wheels
● Plan and execute an experiment involving projectile motion: Identifying error sources, minimizing their
influence, and estimating the influence of the identified error sources on final results
Unit 5: 4 sessions ● *Define inertial frames of reference
Newton’s Laws of ● Differentiate contact and noncontact forces
Motion and ● Distinguish mass and weight
Applications ● *Identify action-reaction pairs
● *Draw free-body diagrams
● *Apply Newton’s 1st law to obtain quantitative and qualitative conclusions about the contact and
noncontact forces acting on a body in equilibrium (1 lecture)
● *Differentiate the properties of static friction and kinetic friction
● Compare the magnitude of sought quantities such as frictional force, normal force, threshold angles for
sliding, acceleration, etc.
● *Apply Newton’s 2nd law and kinematics to obtain quantitative and qualitative conclusions about the
velocity and acceleration of one or more bodies, and the contact and noncontact forces acting on one or
more bodies
● Analyze the effect of fluid resistance on moving object
● *Solve problems using Newton’s Laws of motion in contexts such as, but not limited to, ropes and
pulleys, the design of mobile sculptures, transport of loads on conveyor belts, force needed to move
stalled vehicles, determination of safe driving speeds on banked curved roads
● Plan and execute an experiment involving forces (e.g., force table, friction board, terminal velocity) and
identifying discrepancies between theoretical expectations and experimental results when appropriate
Unit 6: 4 sessions ● *Calculate the dot or scalar product of vectors
Work, Energy, and ● *Determine the work done by a force (not necessarily constant) acting on a system
Energy Conservation ● *Define work as a scalar or dot product of force and displacement
● *Interpret the work done by a force in one-dimension as an area under a Force vs. Position curve
● Relate the work done by a constant force to the change in kinetic energy of a system
● Apply the work-energy theorem to obtain quantitative and qualitative conclusions regarding the work
done, initial and final velocities, mass and kinetic energy of a system.
● Represent the work-energy theorem graphically
● Relate power to work, energy, force, and velocity
● *Relate the gravitational potential energy of a system or object to the configuration of the system
● *Relate the elastic potential energy of a system or object to the configuration of the system
● *Explain the properties and the effects of conservative forces
● Identify conservative and nonconservative forces
 ● Express the conservation of energy verbally and mathematically
● *Use potential energy diagrams to infer force; stable, unstable, and neutral equilibria; and turning points
● Determine whether or not energy conservation is applicable in a given example before and after
description of a physical system
● *Solve problems involving work, energy, and power in contexts such as, but not limited to, bungee
jumping, design of roller-coasters, number of people required to build structures such as the Great
Pyramids and the rice terraces; power and energy requirements of human activities such as sleeping vs.
sitting vs. standing, running vs. walking. (Conversion of joules to calories should be emphasized at this
point.)
Unit 7: 4 sessions ● *Differentiate center of mass and geometric center
Center of Mass, ● *Relate the motion of center of mass of a system to the momentum and net external force acting on the
Momentum, Impulse, system
and Collisions ● *Relate the momentum, impulse, force, and time of contact in a system
● Explain the necessary conditions for conservation of linear momentum to be valid.
● *Compare and contrast elastic and inelastic collisions
● *Apply the concept of restitution coefficient in collisions
● Predict motion of constituent particles for different types of collisions (e.g., elastic, inelastic)
● *Solve problems involving center of mass, impulse, and momentum in contexts such as, but not limited
to, rocket motion, vehicle collisions, and ping-pong. (Emphasize also the concept of whiplash and the
sliding, rolling, and mechanical deformations in vehicle collisions.)
● Perform an experiment involving energy and momentum conservation and analyze the data identifying
discrepancies between theoretical expectations and experimental results when appropriate
FINAL TERM
Unit 8: 2 sessions ● *Calculate the moment of inertia about a given axis of single-object and multiple- object systems (1
Rotational lecture with exercises)
equilibrium and ● Exploit analogies between pure translational motion and pure rotational motion to infer rotational motion
rotational dynamics equations (e.g., rotational kinematic equations, rotational kinetic energy, torque-angular acceleration
relation)
● *Calculate magnitude and direction of torque using the definition of torque as a cross product
● *Describe rotational quantities using vectors
● *Determine whether a system is in static equilibrium or not
● *Apply the rotational kinematic relations for systems with constant angular accelerations
● *Apply rotational kinetic energy formulae
● Solve static equilibrium problems in contexts such as, but not limited to, see- saws, mobiles,
cable-hinge-strut system, leaning ladders, and weighing a heavy suitcase using a small bathroom scale
● *Determine angular momentum of different systems
● *Apply the torque-angular momentum relation
● Recognize whether angular momentum is conserved or not over various time intervals in a given system
● Perform an experiment involving static equilibrium and analyze the data— identifying discrepancies
between theoretical expectations and experimental results when appropriate
● *Solve rotational kinematics and dynamics problems, in contexts such as, but not limited to, flywheels as
energy storage devices, and spinning hard drives
Unit 9: 3 sessions ● *Use Newton’s law of gravitation to infer gravitational force, weight, and acceleration due to gravity
Gravity ● Determine the net gravitational force on a mass given a system of point masses
● *Discuss the physical significance of gravitational field
● *Apply the concept of gravitational potential energy in physics problems
● *Calculate quantities related to planetary or satellite motion
● Apply Kepler’s 3rd Law of planetary motion
● *For circular orbits, relate Kepler’s third law of planetary motion to Newton’s law of gravitation and
centripetal acceleration
● Solve gravity-related problems in contexts such as, but not limited to, inferring the mass of the Earth,
inferring the mass of Jupiter from the motion of its moons, and calculating escape speeds from the Earth
and from the solar system
Unit 10: 3 sessions ● *Relate the amplitude, frequency, angular frequency, period, displacement, velocity, and acceleration of
Periodic Motion oscillating systems
● *Recognize the necessary conditions for an object to undergo simple harmonic motion
● Analyze the motion of an oscillating system using energy and Newton’s 2nd law approaches
● *Calculate the period and the frequency of spring mass, simple pendulum, and physical pendulum
● *Differentiate underdamped, overdamped, and critically damped motion
● Describe the conditions for resonance
● Perform an experiment involving periodic motion and analyze the data—identifying discrepancies
between theoretical expectations and experimental results when appropriate
● *Define mechanical wave, longitudinal wave, transverse wave, periodic wave, and sinusoidal wave
● *From a given sinusoidal wave function infer the (speed, wavelength, frequency, period, direction, and
wave number
● Calculate the propagation speed, power transmitted by waves on a string with given tension, mass, and
length (1 lecture)
Unit 11: 2 sessions ● *Apply the inverse-square relation between the intensity of waves and the distance from the source
Mechanical Waves ● *Describe qualitatively and quantitatively the superposition of waves
and Sound ● *Apply the condition for standing waves on a string
● *Relate the frequency (source dependent) and wavelength of sound with the motion of the source and
the listener
● Solve problems involving sound and mechanical waves in contexts such as, but not limited to,
echolocation, musical instruments, ambulance sounds
 ● Perform an experiment investigating the properties of sound waves and analyze the data
appropriately—identifying deviations from theoretical expectations when appropriate
Unit 12: 2 sessions ● *Relate density, specific gravity, mass, and volume to each other
Fluid Mechanics ● *Relate pressure to area and force
● *Relate pressure to fluid density and depth
● *Apply Pascal’s principle in analyzing fluids in various systems
● *Apply the concept of buoyancy and Archimedes’ principle
● Explain the limitations of and the assumptions underlying Bernoulli’s principle and the continuity equation
● *Apply Bernoulli’s principle and continuity equation, whenever appropriate, to infer relations involving
pressure, elevation, speed, and flux
● Solve problems involving fluids in contexts such as, but not limited to, floating and sinking, swimming,
Magdeburg hemispheres, boat design, hydraulic devices, and balloon flight
● Perform an experiment involving either Continuity and Bernoulli’s equation or buoyancy, and analyze the
data appropriately—identifying discrepancies between theoretical expectations and experimental results
when appropriate
Unit 13: 2 sessions ● *Explain the connection between the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics, temperature, thermal equilibrium,
Temperature and and temperature scales
Heat ● *Convert temperatures and temperature differences in the following scales: Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin
● *Define coefficient of thermal expansion and coefficient of volume expansion
● *Calculate volume or length changes of solids due to changes in temperature
● *Solve problems involving temperature, thermal expansion, heat capacity, heat transfer, and thermal
equilibrium in contexts such as, but not limited to, the design of bridges and train rails using steel,
relative severity of steam burns and water burns, thermal insulation, sizes of stars, and surface
temperatures of planets
● Perform an experiment investigating factors affecting thermal energy transfer and analyze the
data—identifying deviations from theoretical expectations when appropriate (such as thermal expansion
and modes of heat transfer)
● Carry out measurements using thermometers
● Solve problems using the Stefan- Boltzmann law and the heat current formula for radiation and
conduction (1 lecture)
Unit 14: 4 sessions ● *Enumerate the properties of an ideal gas
Ideal Gases and the ● *Solve problems involving ideal gas equations in contexts such as, but not limited to, the design of metal
Laws of containers for compressed gases
Thermodynamics ● Distinguish among system, wall, and surroundings
● *Interpret PV diagrams of a thermodynamic process
● *Compute the work done by a gas using dW=PdV (1 lecture)
● *State the relationship between changes internal energy, work done, and thermal energy supplied
through the First Law of Thermodynamics
● *Differentiate the following thermodynamic processes and show them on a PV diagram: isochoric,
isobaric, isothermal, adiabatic, and cyclic
● Use the First Law of Thermodynamics in combination with the known properties of adiabatic, isothermal,
isobaric, and isochoric processes
● Solve problems involving the application of the First Law of Thermodynamics in contexts such as, but not
limited to, the boiling of water, cooling a room with an air conditioner, diesel engines, and gases in
containers with pistons
● *Calculate the efficiency of a heat engine
● *Describe reversible and irreversible processes
● *Explain how entropy is a measure of disorder
● *State the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
● *Calculate entropy changes for various processes e.g., isothermal process, free expansion, constant
pressure process, etc.
● Describe the Carnot cycle (enumerate the processes involved in the cycle and illustrate the cycle on a
PV diagram)
● State Carnot’s theorem and use it to calculate the maximum possible efficiency of a heat engine
● Solve problems involving the application of the Second Law of Thermodynamics in context such as, but
not limited to, heat engines, heat pumps, internal combustion engines, refrigerators, and fuel economy