Physics 5B "Physics for Life Sciences Majors: Thermodynamics, Fluids, Waves, Light, and Optics," 5 units.
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; laboratory, two hours. Requisite: course 5A. Thermal properties of matter, free energy, fluids, ideal gas, diffusion, oscillations, waves, sounds, light, and optics, with applications to biological and biochemical systems. P/NP or letter grading.
The topics covered in this class and approximate schedules are listed below. Chapters listed are from University Physics for the Life Sciences, Update Edition by Knight.
| Week | Chapter(s) | Topics covered | Optional sections |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11.4-11.6 | Thermal energy and temperature | 11.7 Heat pumps |
| 2 | 11.8-11.9, 12.1-12.2 | Entropy, Thermal properties of matter | |
| 3 | 12.3-12.6, 12.8, 13.1-13.3 | Fluids: gases, calorimetry, pressure, buoyancy | 12.7 Thermal properties of gases |
| 4 | 13.4-13.7 | Fluids: fluid dynamics, viscosity | |
| 5 | 14.1-14.6, 15.1-15.3 | Oscillations and waves | 14.7 Damped oscillations, 14.8 Driven oscillations and resonance |
| 6 | 15.5-15.6, 16.1-16.5 | Superposition and standing waves | 15.7 Doppler effect, 16.6 Mathematics interference, 16.7 Interferences in 2 and 3 dimensions, 16.8 Beats |
| 7 | 17.1-17.2 | Wave optics | |
| 8 | 17.3-17.6 | Wave optics | |
| 9 | 18 | Ray optics | 18.7 Thin-lens equation |
| 10 | 19 | Optical instruments |