 “Physics” comes from the ancient Greek word for nature  Physics is defined as the study of matter, energy, and the interactions between them; in other words, it’s the study of everything  All other sciences rely on the fundamental ideas of physics

 Physics is an organized way of looking at nature  Physicists ask how and why questions about nature  How does an object behave as it falls?  Why does an object exhibit this behavior as it falls?  They look for predictable patterns as they explore these questions  Turn these patterns into mathematical models (equations) that then be applied to any situation

 Classical Physics - Deals with the behavior of objects that are neither too large nor too small, which move at relatively slow speeds - Main players Galileo and Newton  Modern Physics - Studies the very small or very large or objects traveling at speeds close to the speed of light - Most notable players Einstein, Bohr, deBroglie, Heisenberg, Schroedinger

 We will study classical physics  The branches we will focus on are - Kinematics: description of motion - Dynamics: causes of motion - Waves: movement of energy - Sound: what sound is - Electricity: what electricity is and how it behaves

 Grades are based on tests (~75%), labs (~15%), and homework (~10%)‏

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 Be respectful  Be prepared  Follow all safety rules and teacher directions

 Textbook  Calculator  Pen and pencil  Notebook with paper

 Physics looks for relationships in natural observations and represents those relationships mathematically  This can be done by graphically representing data that is collected and finding a mathematical function that can represent the data  A function is a math equation that shows how two variable ( x and y) relate to one another

The Foot Equation  What is a mathematical relationship between foot size and height?

 Collect data from a number of individuals on their foot size and their height  When collecting data make sure to limit as many other variables as is possible  Record the data in a data table

 Plot a graph of foot size vs. height  Do not connect the dots  Place the independent variable on the x-axis

 Use a “best fit line” for the data – also known as a regression line  Calculator will be used to find this line

 What do you predict the shoe size of a 68” person to be?  How tall would you predict a person with an shoe size of 7 to be?