Welcome to Phys 105hs, How Things Work I. This is a web-based college-level Physics course for high school seniors offered during the Fall 2004 semester. This is a course in conceptual physics that focuses on objects that involve motion, mechanics, liquids, heat,  gases, and sound. It considers objects from our daily environment (baseballs, frisbees, roller coasters, vacuum cleaners, rockets, clocks and much more!) and  focuses on  their principles of operation, histories, and relationships  to one another. Students will be sent a set of CD's, which contains edited lectures of PHYS 105 as taught at U.Va by Professor Lou Bloomfield. Homework sets will be submitted via WebAssign, a computer based homework and test taking delivery system. The lectures are not rehearsed, but are edited versions of live lectures given in Phys 105 at UVa. Assignments and administrative information related to the course have been edited from the CDs.  You will  find the lectures and demos interesting and stimulating. Other forms of communication will be through a Yahoo chat room, Blackboard listserve, and regular email. It will be the responsibility of the student to have sufficient computer capability to meet the requirements of the course. Students will be treated as if they were College students and are expected to be quite independent. Most of the lectures start with a question and proceed to discuss the physics surrounding the question. From the discussion of specific applications we arrive at the general physics principles. The case studies assigned for homework are quite informative and provide an excellent way to study and learn physics concepts.  More details about the course and additional resource information can be found on the course website.

After I get confirmation that you have registered, I will set up a user name and password on WebAssign for you. I will notify you by email and you will be able to log on to WebAssign. You then should learn how to submit homework and take exams on WebAssign. The CD's will be sent by UPS  to the address on your registration form.  Please RSVP via email when you have received the CDs.  

The recommended text is the second edition of How Things Work, ISBN 0-471-38151-9 .  You are welcome to buy the book online such as Amazon.com. You may also get it from the UVa book store. The phone number is 434-924-3721.  In the second edition the chapter on water steam and ice is on the website and not in the book. You will need access to the website material, which is located at http://rabi.phys.virginia.edu/HTW/book.html. Note that in the table of contents you can click on the blue type, which is the material not in the book, and it will come up on the website. This material is actually contained in the longer first edition.

To view the Lectures and Demonstrations on the CDs in real media format with your computer, you will need RealOne Player. You can download it from the internet for free. The website is at http://www.real.com/realplayer.html.

To view or read the  Lecture Slides and notes, which are in PDF format, you will need the software program Acrobat Reader. You can download Acrobat Reader for free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

Please click on the other links and learn more about the details of this course.