Content and teaching | Assessment | Availability

Module content and teaching

Principal aims

To introduce the style and content of physics at university and to cover key ideas about waves, matter and thermodynamics

Principal learning outcomes

At the end of the module you should: Be able to use dimensional analysis to establish how physical quantities can depend on each other; Know about the solid, liquid and gas phases of matter and how their properties depend on thermal motion and the forces between atoms and molecules; Have a working knowledge of the kinetic theory of gases and how this relates to what is observed in real gases; Be able to explain and use the first and second laws of thermodynamics to solve some simple problems involving heat transfers and work; Be able to recognise the wave equation and solve wave problems involving travelling waves, the Doppler effect, boundary conditions and normal modes in a string or organ pipe; Understand the nature of light: its electromagnetic origin, its polarization and the role of the refractive index; Have acquired a familiarity with the use of complex number notation, and be able to describe interference effects

Timetabled teaching activities

29 Lectures + 10 problems classes

Departmental link

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/teach/syllabi/year1/px145

Module assessment

Assessment group	Assessment name	Percentage
12 CATS (Module code: PX145-12)
B (Examination only)	Examination - Main Summer Exam Period (weeks 4-9)	100%

Module availability

This module is available on the following courses:

Core

• Undergraduate Physics (BSc) (F300) - Year 1
• Undergraduate Physics (BSc MPhys) (F304) - Year 1
• Undergraduate Physics and Business Studies (F3N1) - Year 1
• Undergraduate Mathematics and Physics (BSc MMathPhys) (FG33) - Year 1
• Undergraduate Mathematics and Physics (BSc) (GF13) - Year 1

Optional Core

N/A

Optional

N/A