HOME PAGE: Physics of Energy & the Environment- PHYS 161- Winter 1998

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Special Notes:

  • New book on reserve at the science library: Gordon Aubrecht's "Energy" is available on 2-hour reserve. This book does a better job of covering physics concepts than the regular textbook. The latter ("Energy & Problems of a Technical Society") covers environmental issues with greater depth, so keep reading it as well! I highly recommend you check out chapters 3, 4 and the first part of 6 of "Energy."
  • Lecture Activity 2 is due Friday, 20-February in class.
  • Exam 1 was Wednesday, 25-February. See tabulation of exam scores here.
  • See your grades as of 2-24-98 posted here.
  • Final exam is Monday, 16-March at 1:00PM in Rm. 100, Willamette (the usual place).
  • See your grade for the course here. Listed, also, are HW, Exam and other scores.

Administrative:

Current Events in the News:

Internet Resources For This Class

 

Exams and Homework

Homework 1- Due Friday, 16-January in class. See the solutions here.

Experiment activities and homework 2 will be started in lecture on Friday, 23-Jan. This HW is due in lecture on Monday, 26-January by 5PM (in my office if you wish, Rm 144 Willamette).

Homework 2 was due 4-Feb. by 5PM (at the latest). See the solutions here.

Exam 1 is Friday, 30-January. See tabulation of exam scores here.

Homework 3 is due by 5PM Friday, 13-February.

Homework 3.5 is due in class on Monday, 16-February.

Lecture Activity 2 is due in class on Friday, 20-February.

Exam 2 is Wednesday, 25-February.

See your grades as of 2-24-98 posted here.

Exam 1 was Wednesday, 25-February. See tabulation of exam scores here.

Homework 4: before Wednesday evening, go to "week 4" on this web page, and register to do the web search homework on electricity, electric vehicles and fuel cells. You must select our class (UO) and instructor (livelybrooks) during registration. Give your name as the last 4 digits of your student ID. Complete the HW before Wednesday PM (11-March) of this week.

See your grade for the course here. Listed, also, are HW, Exam and other scores.

Lectures

Lecture 1- Introductions and an overview of global warming as an example of how science works.

Lecture 2- Position, velocity, acceleration, force and mass.

Lecture 3- Acceleration, force and mass by experiment.

Lecture 4- Force, mass and acceleration; the force of and acceleration due to gravity; work and energy I.

Lecture 5- More on work and energy, the ubiquitous automobile as an example.

Lecture 6- Recap on work and energy, electricity fundamentals I.

Lecture 7- More electricity fundamentals-- current, circuits, resistance and Ohm's law.

Lecture 8- Experiments day-- What a Watt?; Generating Electricity- Magnets and Currents; Energy Conversion- Gravitational Potential Energy to Electric Potential Energy

Lecture 9- Review of Magnets, Currents and Energy Conversion / Introduction to Heat and Temperature

Lecture 10- More on Heat, Temperature and the "Molecular Model" / Review for Friday's Exam.

Lecture 11- The First Law of Thermodynamics, Latent Heat, Heat Transfer and Heat Capacity.

Lecture 12- Heat Transfer, Heat Capacity, Heat Engines and Efficiency.

Lecture 13- Heat Engines Redux, Heat Energy Transfer, and the World Climate.

Lecture 14- More on the World Climate, Ocean Conveyors and Introduction to Exponential Growth.

Lecture 15- Exponential Growth and its Ramifications for Population and Energy Usage.

Lecture 16- U.S. Energy Use, Energy Sources, Links to Population and GNP, and Predictions for the Future.

Lecture 17- Recap of Energy Use Patterns and Fossil Fuels in the Mix.

Lecture 18- Atoms and Chemistry.

Lecture 19- Chemistry and Biogeochemical Cycles-- In Particular the Carbon Cycle.

Lecture 20- Electromagnetic Radiation and Review.

Lecture 21- Electromagnetic Radiation, Spectrums and Other Dental Tools.

Lecture 22- Solar Energy.

Lecture 23- El Niño/ Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Events and Us.

Lecture 24 - Nuclear Power

Lecture 25 - Nuclear Power II

Lecture 26- Global Warming Redux

Lecture 27- Problem Solving, Energy Conversions, Electric Vehicles & the Kitchen Sink

 

 

Send comments to Dean Livelybrooks, Instructor