Overview

This is the first semester of the required physics course for biologists, pharmacists and geologists. The main subjects covered are mechanics and thermodynamics. Knowledge of high school level mathematics is required, including understanding of basic geometry, trigonometry, vectors and calculus (derivatives and integrals). See university course description

 

Format and Requirements

The course consists of two 2-hour lectures per week and one 2-hour exercise session per week. Optional exercises will be assigned and reviewed in the exercise sessions throughout the semester. The final exam is based on and resembles these exercises. The lectures and exercise sessions are conducted in English. Whenever possible, all course materials, including exercises and the final exam will be available in both English and German. The lecturers are Prof. Dr. Dominik Zumbühl and Prof. Dr. Michel Calame.

  • The language of the lecture and the exercise classes is English. For better understanding all exercise sheets are also available in German
  • The exercise classes are optional. Students do not have to hand in solutions of the exercises. However, the participation is highly recommended for the preparation of the exam.
  • The students are distributed in an alphabetic order among their study program (Bio, Pharma, Geo). Bachelor of Arts students and other studies are attributed to Biology for the exercise classes. See overview sheet of the exercise classes here. Exercise classes cannot be changed.
  • The exercise classes start the week after the first lecture, namely on Tuesday/Wednesday, 25./26.09.2018
  • The exercise sheets and solutions are published online in the ADAM folder of the lecture: link  

Schedule

Lectures: Thursdays and Fridays, 10:15 - 12:00, Grosser Hörsaal (1.03)
Exercise session: Schedule

 

Exam

Date: to be announcedTwo hour written exam, similar to problem sets, comprised of all topics from the lecture and exercise classes. The exam will be both in English and German.

Exam regulations (see 

  • A pocket calculator
  • One A4 sheet with handwritten text on both sides
  • A formulary (either one of the recommended ones from the lecture or your own, no notes inside allowed; post-its to mark pages are allowed)
  • A dictionary
  • Devices with wireless internet access are completely forbidden 

 

Literature

The course is based on Physik für Mediziner, Biologen, Pharmazeuten, 8. Auflage (pdf) by Trautwein, Kreibig and Hüttermann (De Gruyter, 2014) in German. The recommended English textbook is Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Vol 1, 6th Edition by Paul A. Tipler, Gene Mosca (Freeman and Co., 2008) or - for a full version including material beyond this course - Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 6th Edition by Paul A. Tipler, Gene Mosca (Freeman and Co., 2008). Specific readings in both books are recommended in preparation for each lecture below. In addition, a German skriptum which covers the topics of the course can be purchased in class or downloaded (pdf). A German version of the Tipler text book, Physik für Wissenschaftler und Ingenieure, 7. Auflage by Paul A. Tipler, Gene Mosca and Jenny Wagner (Springer, 2008) (pdf), is available in online form as is a work book, Arbeitsbuch zu Tipler/Mosca Physik by David Mills and Alexander Knochel (Springer, 2008) (pdf), with practice problems and solutions.

Thursday

Friday

20.09.2018 - Introduction and Math review

Introduction, course organization, outline and expectations; literature; mathematical review: vectors, geometry, trigonometry, derivates, integrals

Trautwein (German): chapters A.3, A.5
Tipler (English): chapters 1-6, 1-7, M-7, M-8, M-11, M-12

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zumbühl

Downloads: NotesSlidesReading

21.09.2018 - Physical Quantities

Physical quantities; units, measurements
 

Trautwein (German): chapter 1. to 1.1.5
Tipler (English): chapters 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zumbühl

Downloads: SlidesExtrasReading

27.09.2018 - Space and Time I

Motion in space; velocity; acceleration

Trautwein (German): chapters 1.2 to 1.2.4
Tipler (English): chapters 2,3

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zumbühl

Downloads: NotesSlidesReading

28.09.2018 - Space and Time II

Motion under constant acceleration; circular motion

Trautwein (German): chapters 1.2 to 1.2.4
Tipler (English): chapters 2, 3

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zumbühl

Downloads: NotesSlidesExtrasReading

04.10.2018 - Mass and Force I

Mass; inertia; Newton's laws; gravity; inertial forces

Trautwein (German): chapters 2. to 2.2.5
Tipler (English): chapter 4

Lecturer: Dr. Mohammad Samani

Downloads: Notes+SlidesReading

05.10.2018 - Mass and Force II

Torque; moment of inertia; angular momentum; centre of mass

Trautwein (German): chapters 2.2.6 to 2.2.9
Tipler (English): chapter 5

Lecturer: Dr. Mohammad Samani

Downloads: Notes+SlidesReading

11.10.2018 - Work, Energy and Power I

Friction, work, energy, power, forms of energy and power

Trautwein (German): chapter 3

Tipler (English): chapter 6

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zumbühl

Downloads: Notes+SlidesReading

12.10.2018 - Work, Energy and Power II

Friction, work, energy, power, forms of energy and power

Trautwein (German): chapter 3

Tipler (English): chapter 6

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zumbühl

Downloads: Notes+SlidesReading

18.10.2018 - Conservation Laws I

Conservation of energy, conservation of momentum

Trautwein (German): chapter 4 to 4.3

Tipler (English): chapters 7, 8 (excluding 7-4, 7-5)

Lecturer: Dr. Taras Patlatiuk

Downloads: Notes+SlidesReading

19.10.2018 - Conservation Laws II

Conservation of angular momentum

Trautwein (German): chapter 4.4

Tipler (English): chapters 9, 10 (excluding 10-4)

Lecturer: Dr. Taras Patlatiuk

Downloads: Notes+SlidesReading

25.10.2018 - Mechanical Properties of Solids

Binding, molecular picture, forms of matter, properties of solids

Trautwein (German): chapter 5 to 5.2

Tipler (English): chaptes 37, 38-1, 12

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zumbühl

Downloads: Notes+SlidesReading

26.10.2018 - Mechanical Properties of Liquids I

Properties of liquids, surface tension, hydrostatics, capillary forces

Trautwein (German): chapter 5.3 to 5.3.2.1

Tipler (English): chapter 13

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zumbühl

Downloads: Notes+SlidesReading

01.11.2018 - Mechanical Properties of Liquids II

Pressure in fluids, hydrodynamics, continuity equation

Trautwein (German): chapter 5.3.2.2 to 5.3.3.1

Tipler (English): chapter 13

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zumbühl

Downloads: Notes+Slides

02.11.2018 - Mechanical Properties of Liquids III

Viscosity, laminar flow, turbulence

Trautwein (German): chapter 5.3.3.2 to 5.3.3.2.4

Tipler (English): chapter 13

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zumbühl

Downloads: Notes+Slides

08.11.2018 - Mechanical Vibrations I

Harmonic oscillators, pendulum, undamped oscillator, damped oscillator, driven oscillations

Trautwein (German): chapter 6 to 6.4

Tipler (English): chapter 14

Lecturer: Prof. M. Calame

Downloads: Notes+Slides

09.11.2018 - Machanical Vibrations II

Anharmonic oscillations, superposition, decomposition, beating, coupled pendulum

Trautwein (German): chapter 6.5 to 6.6

Tipler (English): chapter 14

Lecturer: Prof. M. Calame

Downloads: Notes+Slides

15.11.2018 - Waves I

Propagation of vibrations, acoustics, Doppler effect

Trautwein (German): chapter 7 to 7.4

Tipler (English): chapter 15

Lecturer: Prof. M. Calame

Downloads: Notes+Slides

16.11.2018 - Waves II

Damped waves, anharmonic waves, superposition of waves, Huygens' principle

Trautwein (German): chapter 7.5 to 7.8

Tipler (English): chapter 15

Lecturer: Prof. M. Calame

Downloads: Notes+Slides

22.11.2018 - Waves III

Interfaces, standing waves, music, human voice, ultrasound

Trautwein (German): chapter 7.9 to 7.13

Tipler (English): chapter 16

Lecturer: Prof. M. Calame

Downloads: Notes+Slides

23.11.2018 - Heat and Temperature

Definition of temperature, heat energy, heat capacity, temperature scales, temperature measurements

Trautwein (German): chapter 8

Tipler (English): chapter 17-1, 17-2, 18-1

Lecturer: Prof. M. Calame

Downloads: Notes+Slides

29.11.2018 - Macroscopic Thermal Effects

Thermal expansion, heat transport, internal energy and introduction to 1st law of thermodynamics

Trautwein (German): chapter 13. to 13.2

Tipler (English): chapter 20-1, 20-4, 18-3

Lecturer: 

Downloads: Notes + Slides

30.11.2018 - Dies Academicus

No lecture

06.12.2018 - Ideal Gases

Ideal gas law, change of state, adiabatic changes, gas pressure, kinetic gas theory

Trautwein (German): chapter 9, 10

Tipler (English): chapter 17-3, 17-4

Lecturer: 

Downloads: Notes + Slides

07.12.2018 - Kinetic Gas Theory

Kinetic energy and temperature, equipartition, brownian motion, work, heat capacity, real gases

Trautwein (German): chapter 10, 11

Tipler (English): chapter 17-4, 18-1, 18-2

Lecturer: Prof. M. Calame

Downloads: Notes + Slides

13.12.2018 - Law of Thermodynamics I

Internal energy, 1st law, reversible and irreversible process, entropy

Trautwein (German): chapter 12.1 to 12.4

Tipler (English): chapter 18-3, 18-4, 18-5, 18-6, 18-7, 18-8, 18-9

Lecturer: 

Downloads: Notes + Slides

14.12.2018 - Law of Thermodynamics II

2nd law, energy balance, heat engines

Trautwein (German): chapter 12.5

Tipler (English): chapter 19

Lecturer: Prof. M. Calame

Downloads: Notes + Slides

20.12.2018 - Thermal Properties of Matter

Mixing, solutions, diffusion, osmosis

Trautwein (German): chapter 13.3 to 13.3.7.6

Tipler (English): chapter 20-2, 20-3

Lecturer: 

Downloads: Notes + Slides