PHY111, Physik I HS2020

• Prof. Ben Kilminster
• Webpage
• Office: Y36 J50
• Phone: +41 44 635 58 02
• Email: ben.kilminster@physik.uzh.ch

• Dr. Anna Macchiolo, Dr. Arne Reimers
• Email: annamac@physik.uzh.ch,arne.reimers@physik.uzh.ch

PHY111-HS2020-info-sheet (PDF, 99 KB)

The following texts can be used as reference.  

• Paul A. Tipler, Gene Mosca: Physics for scientists and engineers.  
• Wolfgang Demtröder: Experimentalphysik 1 und 2 (goes into more depth)

Further recommended literature

• Halliday & Resnick : Fundamentals of Physics. 
• "Engfer Skriptum" in german Teil 1 (Mechanik, Hydromechanik) (PDF, 1 MB), Teil2 (Thermodynamik) (PDF, 845 KB), Teil 3 (Elektrodynamik) (PDF, 1 MB) These were used in earlier years.

Additional resources to help with mathematics. 

• MHP: Mathematische Hilfsmittel (PDF, 587 KB) (in german) derivatives, integrals, series expansions, statistics, vector algebra, coordinate transformations, tensors, ... )
• C.B. Lang und N. Pucker: Mathematische Methoden der Physik, Spektrum Verlag, Heidelberg und Berlin.

Formelsammlung Mittelschulphysik (PDF, 396 KB) is also useful for usage of basic formulas.

Exercises will be posted on OLAT here.  Please register and log in immediately to see if you can access the course,  If not, check that your UZH email is registered properly. 

Exercises will be assigned every Wednesday, and will be due the following Wednesday at 18:00. Your teacher assistant (TA) will let you know how to submit your exercises. If you do not turn in your exercises by the deadline, you will not receive credit. 

The first exercise sheet will be assigned on September 17th, and should be submitted to the TA on Feb. 23rd.   The solutions to the first exercise sheet will be presented on Sept. 24th.  

1. 1-D, 2-D motion. 
2. Energy & momentum conservation. 
3. Linear and rotational systems.
4. Fluid dynamics.

Your grade is based on the following assessments : 

• 25%  mid-term examination. Based on lectures Sept.17th - Oct.16th.  The mid-term will be based on the first five weeks of lectures, and the first five written exercises.  What to know for the mid-term (PDF, 176 KB)
• 75%  final examination : 
  •  What to know for the final exam (PDF, 150 KB)
  • Formula Sheet for final exam (PDF, 150 KB)
• Weekly exercises (A minimum grade of 50% on the exercises is required to take the final exam. )  

Attendance is expected and recorded for exercise sessions.  The mid-term and final examination will be composed of questions similar to those presented in the lectures and the weekly exercises.  To prepare for the exam, you should know how to do the derivations and exercises done in lecture, you should be able to solve any of your weekly exercises, and you should practice doing similar exercises from textbooks without assistance.  Practice makes perfect.  You can learn to be a good physicist ... if you want it !

The final exam schedule is located hier. 

Mid-term exam :  Thursday, 29. October 2020, 13:00-14:45 in assigned exercise session.

Final exam :   Tuesday, January 12, 2021, 14:00-16:00, Hörsaal 30

Exam guidelines  :

Exams will be similar in style to the weekly exercises.  A formula sheet with needed equations will be provided to you in the exams.  Other needed formulas should be derived from these.  The formula sheet will be sent to you at least a week before the exam to help you study.  We will provide you with paper and a calculator if needed.  The final exam will be printed in english and in german.   The mid-term will be based on the first six lectures, and the first five written exercises. 

The following are forbidden in exams : 

• Any means of communication (mobile phones, smart watches, etc.)
• Any kind of calculator, laptop, or electronic storage device (besides what we provide)
• Any additional formula sheets or written notes. 

The following will be regularly updated with lecture notes and topics throughout the course.