Physics 10 1st Sem 2014 2015 (Esguerra)

Study Guide for 1st Long Exam v.1 (if needed, an updated
version will be distributed closer to LE 1)
Schedule: TBA
Coverage: 1.1 Initial remarks on Science and Physics; 1.2 How did
we come to realize that the Earth is not the center of the universe?;
1.3 The universe as a mechanism: Newtons laws of motion,
gravity, conservation laws (and entropy)

Type of exam: Expect approximately 30 to 40 % of the exam to be
objective (e.g. true or false, multiple choice, matching type, direct
identification), about 30 to 35% to be brief essay questions (1 to 3
sentence responce) . And about 30 to 35% to be extended essay
questions (8 to 16 sentence response).

References: The main references will be the notes you took during
the lectures and the readings on Copernican Astronomy and
Newtonian Mechanics and Causality taken from Spielberg and
Andersons Seven Ideas That Shook the Universe. Pdfs of the
slides (6 to a page) will be posted online most probably through
uvle one day to one week after the lecture.

Some guide questions:
It will be to your advantage to answer the guide
questions below and the end of chapter questions in the readings.
Do not limit yourself to the text of the powerpoints - they may be
cryptic at times and may not provide enough details.

Part 1 Initial remarks on science (and physics)
State some of the most important ideas in physics
(according to Spielberg and Anderson). Give examples of
traditional and modern areas of physics. Give examples of frontier
areas of physics and describe them briefly. Why are the zero time
and high energy frontiers closely related?. Describe some ideas/
phenomena studied in contemporary physics research
What are the 5 diagnostic features suggested by E.O.
Wilson to distinguish science from pseudoscience? Describe each
in a few sentences. What is Ockhams Razor?

Part 2 Greek views of matter, motion, and the universe
How did the ancient Greeks contribute to our modern
concept of science? Why did they consider a square to have a
higher degree of perfection than a triangle? Why did they associate
perfection with constancy? What did Plato mean by saving the
appearances? How, if at all, is the Allegory of the Cave related
to their approach to natural philosophy?
What is meant by diurnal motion, annual motion,
precession of the equinoxes?How were the Greeks able to establish
that the Earth is spherical? What are the main features of the two
domains view of the universe? How are the celestial and terrestrial
domains different?
How is Ptolemy's description of the universe different
from earlier descriptions by the likes of Aristotle and Eudoxus?

Part 3- Competing Models of the Universe I
Cite astronomical observations that competing models of
the universe had to explain or account for
Briefly explain the function of the epicycle, deferent,
eccentric and equant. Also explain why Ptolemy had to introduce
each of these specific devices.
Compare and contrast the Copernican and Ptolemaic
explanations of retrograde motion, different times between 1st to
last quarter and last quarter to 1
st
quarter moon phases, change in
apparent size of the moon. (It might help to use diagrams.)
How were the first and second models of Copernicus
different?What were the philosophical /theological objections
to the Copernican model?
Enumerate and explain the scientific objections to the
Copernican model? Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the
Copernican model vis-a-vis the Ptolemaic model in the context of
16
th
century Europe (i.e. after Copernicus died but before Galileos
observational discoveries)

Part 4 Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo's astronomical
observations
What was the Tychonic model? Why was Tycho Brahe
able to observe orbital anomalies and other changes in the night
sky that his predecessors could not?
Briefly explain each of Kepler's 3 laws of planetary
motion.(It might help to use diagrams.)
Cite the important astronomical observations made by
Galileo, and their significance with respect to the geocentric-
heliocentric debate.

Part 5- Galileo's studies on motion
Compare and contrast the Aristotelian and Galilean
conceptions of motion, particularly for falling motion, horizontal
motion, and projectile motion.
How did Galileo arrive at his conclusions that objects fall
with uniform acceleration, and that force is not necessary to sustain
horizontal motion?
How are the position vs. time, and velocity vs. time
graphs of uniform motion (i.e. constant velocity) different from
accelerated motion?
Differentiate the following models of the universe:
Eudoxus, Aristotle, Aristarchus, Copernicus v.1, Copernicus v.2,
Kepler v.1 (before me worked with Brahe), Kepler v.2 (after he
worked with Brahe), Tychonic
How did Galileo respond to thefollowing objections:
(supertyphoon, complicated fall,horses, earth will break)
to the Copernican model using his discoveries in mechanics.

Part 6 Newtonian Synthesis
Among Galileos responses to the Aristotelian objections
to the Copernican model, which one is most seriously flawed from
the viewpoint of Newtonian mechanics?
Can you differentiate situations when objects are
accelerating and when they are not? For example, is a car driving
in a circle at a constant speed of 60 km/h accelerating? Why or
why not?
Use your own words to explain each of Newton's 3 laws
of motion. (You may emphasize your statements with equations
when appropriate.) Cite some situations that demonstrate each law
in action.
How is the motion of a falling apple similar to the
motion of the orbiting moon?
Galileo observed that objects fall with a constant
acceleration that is independent of their mass. How do Newton's
theories account for this observation?
Explain the statement Newton's laws of motion are
axioms while Kepler's laws of planetary motion are empirical
laws.

Part 7 Others
-It will help if you can match book titles with authors.e.g
Galileo=Siderius nuncius; Newton=Principia etc.
-Give examples of mistakes made by Galileo, Kepler, Copernicus,
and Brahe.
-Name and state Keplers Laws of Planetary Motion. Can you
apply Keplers 3
rd
Law to numerical examples?
-The Greeks made several mistakes but they also got some things
right - cite examples.