Welcome to the Physics 111 website!
This site is primarily for the Physics 111 students at Central
Connecticut State University, but all interested in the Physical Sciences are
very welcome to make use of content and send me comments and suggestions. The
Physics 111 is a course for non-science majors and has a laboratory component.
Pre-requisites
In the pursuit of any endeavor, some basic tools are necessary. In the Physical
Sciences, basic mathematics is the tool that allows us to express and explain physical
phenomena simply and concisely. In Physics 111, the mathematics required is
basic algebra, the kind of algebra that you use or will use in your everyday
transactions. The use of algebra in Physics 111, does not only make the
physical concepts easier to express, but also the physical applications makes
the algebra easier to understand and apply in everyday life.
Success in Physics
Physics is the most fundamental of all the sciences. We study Physics
starting from very basic and simple concepts and work our way up. Subsequent
work depends on the previous concepts. Concepts are added one at a time
and used over and over again before additional ones are introduced.
Understanding the initial building blocks thus makes subsequent work
easier and easier. It is thus imperative that one understands the
initial simple basic concepts which are later put together to explain more complex
physical phenomena. There is also often a common thread that runs through the whole
course, and similar concepts and relations are used over and over again. To be successful
in studying Physics, one thus needs to understand the simple initial concepts and also
look for common threads throughout the course.
