Click
to download the PDF file.
Physics 101 - General Physics I is a first year course for students pursuing a program
in the biological sciences. This page contains links to typed versions of
lectures given by Dave Boal. The lectures are stored as PDF files and can be
read by Adobe Acrobat Reader (click
to download a free copy from Adobe). Canadian spelling conventions are used.
Click to download the PDF file.
Sample problems
Links are provided to 130 pages of sample problems and their solutions drawn from assignments and
examinations over several years. The problems are organized according to topic as
indicated by the titles. These problems are more algebraic than the numerical questions
found in most first-year textbooks.
Exams, assignments, marks
Copies of old final examinations (including answers, but not complete solutions) are available in PDF format.
2001
2002
2006
2008
The distribution of letter grades varies from semester to semester according to the abilities of
the students in each class. As a rough guide as to what to expect, the distribution of grades for large-enrolment
courses in the Faculty of Science is:
18% A, 35% B, 33% C, 6% D, 8%F
Lecture notes
Lecture 1
- Speed and velocity
Lecture 2
- Acceleration
Lecture 3
- Relative motion and projectile motion
Lecture 4
- Centripetal acceleration
Lecture 5
- Dynamics
Lecture 6
- Friction
Lecture 7
- Problem solving
Lecture 8
- Viscosity and drag
Lecture 9
– Drag forces in cells
Lecture 10
- Work, kinetic energy
Lecture 11
- Conservative forces
Lecture 12
- Centre of mass and collisions
Lecture 13
- Rotational kinematics
Lecture 14
- Angular acceleration
Lecture 15
- Angular momentum and torque
Lecture 16
- Moments of inertia
Lecture 17
- Rotational work and energy
Lecture 18+19
- Statics
Lecture 20
- Oscillatory motion and pendula
Lecture 21
- More on oscillations
Lecture 22
- Standing and travelling waves
Lecture 23
- Beats and Doppler shift
Lecture 24
- Power and intensity
Lecture 25
- Pressure
Lecture 26
- Pascal's principle
Lecture 27
- Buoyancy and fluid flow
Lecture 28
- Bernoulli's equation
Lecture 29
- Viscosity
Lecture 29x
- Viscosity expanded version
Lecture 30
- Random walks
Lecture 30x
- Random walks expanded version
Lecture 31
- Diffusion
Lecture 31x
- Diffusion expanded version
Lecture 32
- Temperature and heat
Lecture 33
- Kinetic theory of gases
Lecture 34
- Physical properties of matter
Lecture 35
- Mechanics of biomaterials
Lecture 36
- Entropy and the second law
Lecture 37
- Latent heat and specific heat
Supplement #1
- Cell sizes and structures
Supplement #2
- Movement and motors in the cell
