PHY2048C (Summer 2026)

Physics Studio A

• Instructor: Prof. Daniel D. Sega (email)
• Instructor’s Office: 1st Floor, Faculty Wing
• Course Times: Summer 2025, Mon./Tue. 9:30 am-11:30am Wed./Thu. 9:30am-12m
• Location: 3rd Floor, Room 309
• Office Hours: 1st Floor, Faculty Wing or Room 309: M to Th 12:20-1:00 pm
• Syllabus: See the most up-to-date PDF version.

Summary

In this course, engineering and science majors will learn about the basic laws of motion in classical mechanics. They will learn how and why objects in our day-to-day move (or stay put) the way that they do, and will know how to predict projectile and rotational motion. They will also learn about the nature of scientific laws and the statistical nature of scientific measurements.

There’s a lot more information about this course – including details about the textbook, who should/shouldn’t take this class, and how your grade is calculated – in the syllabus.

Course Material

The primary “required readings” are in the OpenStax book University Physics 1 and the first section (thermodynamics) of University Physics 2. For one of our experiments in this class (Lab 5), you will be using your phone, and the app phyphox, which you can download here.

Here are some additional resources:

• An excellent, more abridged e-book for this course is available through the FSU Library Fundamental of Physics I. Give it a try if the OpenStax book treatment of a topic does not click with you. Ramamurti Shankar writes in a very particular voice that can help some students.
• This book is based on R. Shankar’s Open Course (Yale University), which is available online. These lectures were, and still are, a helpful resource for me.
• The phone app phyphox will be required in some of the labs, download here.
• Here is a worksheet to practice verbal algebra problems. Problems like this will be use to test your ability of translating English and concepts into equations, an essential skill in this class.
• Here are some examples of extra credit reading questions and mini-essay.

Schedule

Below is a detailed schedule that will list the material covered in each class session, links to electronic copies of any handouts and problem sets, and various course deadlines.

• Mon., May 11: The Structure of Mechanics. Motion in 1D. (Chp. 1 & 3)

  Handout: syllabus

  Homework 1 (Chp. 2 & 4) assigned, due Wed., May 21.

• Tue., May 12: The Structure of Mechanics. Motion in 1D. (Chp. 1 & 3)
• Wed., May 13: Quiz Chp. 1 & 3 (Practice) | Vectors, motion in higher dimensions. (Chp. 2 & 4)
• Thu., May 14: Vectors, motion in higher dimensions, Reference Frames. (Chp. 2 & 4)
• Mon., May 18: Vectors, motion in higher dimensions, Reference Frames. (Chp. 2 & 4)
• Tue., May 19: Newton’s Laws I (Chp. 5)

• Wed., May 20: Newton’s Laws I (Chp. 5)

  Homework 1 due.

  Homework 2 (Chp. 6 & 7 & 8 ) assigned, due Tue., Jun 9

  Extra credit reading: What is a Law of Nature? OR The Mechanistic Universe , due Fri. May 29

• Thu., May 21: Newton’s Laws II (Chp. 6)
• Mon., May 25: Problem-Solving Session | Newton’s Laws II (Chp. 6)
• Tue., May 26: Quiz Chp. 5 (Practice -> Solved) | Work (Chp. 7)

• Wed., May 27: Work | Conservation of Energy in 1D (Chp. 7, 8)

  Lab 1: Measurements and dimesions

• Thu., May 28: Work | Conservation of Energy in 2D (2.5 hr lecture) (Chp. 7, 8)
• Mon., June 1: Problem-Solving Session | Conservation of Energy in 2D (Chp. 8)
• Tue., June 2: Gravitation (Chp. 13)

• Wed., June 3: Quiz Chp. 7 & 8 (Practice -> Solved) | Work (Chp. 13)

  Extra credit reading: What is Space? OR What is Spacetime?, due Mon 23

• Thu., June 4: Multiparticle Dynamics (Chp. 9)

  Lab 2: measuring g (Pendulum)

  Homework 3 (Ch 10 & 11) assigned, due Tue., June 23.

• Mon., June 8: Multiparticle Dynamics (Chp. 9)

  Homework 2 due.

• Tue., June 9: Multiparticle Dynamics (Chp. 9)

• Wed., June 10: Multiparticle Dynamics (Chp. 9)

  Lab 3: Collisions in 1-D

• Thu., June 11: Problem-Solving Session | Multiparticle Dynamics & Gravitation (Chp. 9 & Chp. 13)
• Mon., June 15: Quiz Chp. 13 & 9 (Practice -> Solved)

• Tue., June 16: Rotational Dynamics I (Chp. 10)

  Homework 4 (Math & Ch 12) assigned, due Tues., July 9.

• Wed., June 17: Rotational Dynamics II (Chp. 11)
• Thu., June 18: Problem-Solving Session | Rotational Dynamics I & II (Chp. 10 and Chp. 11)

• Mon., June 22: Quiz Chp. 11 & 12 (Practice -> Solved) | Mathematical methods intermission.

  Homework 3 due

• Tue., June 23: Problem-Solving Session | Rotational Dynamics I (Chp. 11) and II (Chp. 12)
• Wed., June 24: Problem-Solving Session | Rotational Dynamics III (Chp. 13)

• Thu., June 25: Quiz Chp. 11 & 12 (round 2) (Practice -> Solved)) | Simple Harmonic Motion (Ch. 15)

  Handout: Complex numbers

• Mon., June 29: Mathematical Methods | Simple Harmonic Motion (Ch. 15)

• Tue., June 30: Simple Harmonic Motion (Ch. 15)

  Handout: notes on damped harmonic motion

• Wed., July 1: Simple Harmonic Motion (Ch. 15)

  Lab 4: Rotating Frames

• Thu., July 2: Problem-Solving Session | Simple Harmonic Motion (Ch. 15)

• Mon., July 6: Quiz Chp. 15 (Practice -> Solved)

  Homework 4 due.

  Homework 5 (Chp. 12 & 14) assigned, due Tues., July 22.

• Tue., July 7: Waves (Ch. 16)

• Wed., July 8: Waves and Fluid Statics (Ch. 16 & Ch. 14)

  Extra credit reading: What are waves?, due Thu. July 17

• Thu., July 9: Fluid Statics (Ch. 14)

  Lab 5: Archimides and Springs | Pre-lab: read Ch. 14.4

• Mon., July 13: Fluid Statics (Ch. 14)

  Handout: notes on the Navier-Stokes equation and the wave equation

• Tue., July 14: Fluid Dynamics and Sound Waves (Ch. 16 and Ch. 17)
• Wed, July 15: Fluid Dynamics and Sound Waves (Ch. 16 and Ch. 17)

• Thu., July 16: Sound Waves (Ch. 17)

  Lab 6: Speed of sound experiment | Pre-lab: re-read Ch 17.2 and watch this video

• Mon., July 20: Problem-Solving Session | Sound Waves, Waves, and Fluids (Ch. 14, Ch. 16, and Ch. 17)

• Tue, July 21: Quiz Chp. 14, 16 & 17 (Practice -> Solved)) | Sound Waves, Waves, and Fluids (Ch. 14, Ch. 16, and Ch. 17)

  Homework 5 due.

• Wed., July 22: Heat and Thermodynamics I (Ch. 1b) and Ch. 2b)

• Thu., July 23: Thermodynamics I (Ch. 1b) and Ch. 2b)

  Lab 7: Thermal expansion | Pre-lab: re-read Ch 1.3b

[Final Exam Week: July 27–July 31st. (Practice)]