Physics101 Fall 2025 (Term 251)

 

 

Course Description & Grading Policy | Lecture Schedule | Lab Policy | Lab Schedule | Office Hours | Old Exams 

 

WELCOME TO PHYSICS101 Fall 2025 (Term 251)

 

Announcement 


 


Be aware of: Code of Academic Honesty  ميثاق النزاهة الأكاديمية

Formula-Sheet-Phys101

 

 

 

Phys 101 Course Description & Grading Policy (Term 251)

Course Description:

The topics covered include particle kinematics and dynamics; conservation of energy and linear momentum; rotational kinematics; rigid body dynamics; conservation of angular momentum; Gravitation; simple harmonic motion; the statics and dynamics of fluids.

Textbook:

"Principles of Physics", by Halliday, Resnick and Walker, 10th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2014).

Teaching Method:

The course material will be presented in lectures (3 hrs. per week). Problem solving techniques will be shown in recitations (1 hr. per week). The understanding of concepts learned in the lectures will be strengthened by laboratory work (3 hrs. per week). All classes (lectures and recitation) will start from the first week. Labs will start from week #2.

Course Learning Outcomes: On successfully completing the course the students can:

1. Solve kinematic problems involving motion of a point particle in one, two, and three dimensions including vector operations with an overall average of 50% in exams.

2. Formulate and apply Newton’s laws that govern the mechanics of a point particle and score an average of 55% in exams.
3. Understand the concepts of mechanical energy and linear momentum and apply their conservation laws to analyze simple mechanical systems with an average of 50% in exams.
4. Solve kinematic and dynamic problems involving rotation of a rigid body about a fixed axis and smooth rolling motion and score an average of 50% in exams.
5. Extend the rules of basic mechanics of translational motion to circular and orbital motions and score an average of 55% in exams.
6. Solve problems related to static equilibrium of extended bodies under the action of forces and/or torques and score an average of 55% in exams.
7. Analyze and solve basic static and dynamic fluid problems and score an average of 55% in exams.
8. Explain the oscillatory motion in one and two dimensions and solve problems for simple mechanical systems and score an average of 50% in exams.
9. Operate basic Laboratory equipment, collect and plot data, write results and draw conclusions in a concise report and score an average of 70% in lab grade.

Attendance Policy:

1. A DN grade shall be given to the student who has 3 or more unexcused absences in the LAB.
2. A DN grade shall be given to the student who has more than 12 unexcused absences in lecture + recitations,
3. A Student who has a valid excuse (from KFUPM Students Affairs) for his/her absence must present it to the instructor no later than one week after resuming classes.
4. One extra point is given to the student who has 5 or less unexcused absences in the lecture + recitation.

 

Assessment:

Grading Policy %
Class Work 15
Lab Work 15
First Major Exam: exam time: 120 minutes, consists of 20 MCQ 20
Second Major Exam: exam time: 120 minutes, consists of 20 MCQ20
Final Exam (Comprehensive covering Chapters 1 – 15): exam time: 180 minutes, consists of 30 MCQ
30
Total 100

a) Classwork (with an average score of 12.0/15):
The class work score shall be derived from the student’s performance in the quizzes. At least 6 quizzes shall be given over the semester period.
b) Lab work (with an average score of 12.0/15): The lab score shall be derived from lab reports.
c) Exams: All exams will be in-person in Dhahran and of multiple-choice type (MCQ). A sheet of important formulae (not definitions) will be provided in all exams. Specific dates and locations of the exams will be announced 1-2 weeks earlier. Students are not allowed to bring mobile phones and smart watches inside the exam hall.
d) Final Letter grade: based on a curve model.
e) It's the student’s responsibility to check the classwork and/or lab work grades with his/her instructor before they are submitted to the coordinator. Once submitted, they will not be changed.


Make-up Exam Policy:

A student who misses an exam with a valid excuse must present an officially authorized document to the course coordinator within 3 days after the date of the exam in order to take a make-up exam. However, if he/she misses the Final Exam with a valid excuse, he/she will get an “IC” grade in the course and will take a make-up exam in the following semester. If he/she does not have a valid excuse issued by KFUPM’s Student Affairs, the score for that exam will be zero. Personal excuses are not accepted.



 

Phys 101 Lecture Schedule (Term 251)


Week Day Date Topics Chapter Sec Useful Links
1 Sun
Tue
Thu
24 Aug.
26
28
Measuring things, including lengths
Length, time, mass, (powers of ten), Dimensional Analysis
Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration
01
01
02
1
2,3
1-3
Significant fig,
 
Motion in 1D
2 Sun
Tue
Thu
31
2 Sep
4
Constant acceleration, Free fall, Graphical Integration
Vectors and unit vectors, adding vectors by their components. 
Multiplying Vectors
02
03
03
4-6 
1,2
3
Calculus, Graphing
Vectors
Thursday Sept. 4, 2025 – Last day for dropping courses without a permanent record
3 Sun
Tue
Thu
7
9
11
Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration.
Projectile motion, Uniform Circular Motion
Relative Motion in 1D and 2D
04
04
04
1-3
4,5
6,7
Motion in 2D
Projectiles
River & boat
4 Sun
Tue
Thu
14
16
18
Newton's first and second laws
Some particular forces 
Applying Newton’s Laws
05
05
05
1
2
3
 
Forces
Gravity Force
 5 Sun 21 Review -- --

Tue
23National Day Holiday 

Thu
25Friction,
061
6 Sun
Tue
Thu
28
30
2 Oct
Uniform Circular Motion
Review
Kinetic Energy and Work
06
---
07
3
 
1, 2
Atwood Machine
Friction1, 2
Circular 1
7 Sun
Tue
Thu
5
7
9
Work done by Weight, Spring, Power
Potential energy, Conservation of Mechanical Energy
Work by an External Force, Conservation of energy
07
08
08
3,4,7
1, 2
4, 5
 Spring 1
 
First Major Exam (Chapters 1-6): TBA
8 Sun
Tue
Thu
12
14
16
Potential energy, Conservation of Mechanical Energy
Work by an External Force, Conservation of energy
Review
08
08
--
1,2
4,5
--
 
Hook's Law1, 2
 
9 Sun
Tue
Thu
19
21
23
Center of mass, Newton’s second law for a system of particles
Linear momentum, collision, and impulse
Conservation of linear momentum, kinetic energy in a collision
09
09
09
1,2
3,4
5,6
Energy
Conservation
COM, Impulse
10  26- 30 Midterm Break   
11 Sun
Tue
Thu
2 Nov
4
6
Collisions in 1-D and 2-D
Rotational Variables, Const. angular acceleration, Linear to rotation
Kinetic Energy and Rotational Inertia
09
10
10
7,8
1-3
4,5
Collision 1D,2D
Inertia
 
Thursday Nov.06, 2025: Last day of dropping course(s) with grade “W” thru KFUPM portal
12 Sun
Tue
Thu
9
11
13
Torque, Newton’s 2nd Law and Work in Rotational Motion
Rolling, Forces and Kinetic Energy of Rolling, Yo-Yo
Torque and Angular moment, Newton’s 2nd Law in Angul. form.
10
11
11
6-8
1-3   4-6
Torque
 
Rolling 1, 2
13 Sun
Tue
Thu
16
18
20
Rigid Body and Conservation of Angular Momentum
Equilibrium, Examples of Static
Review
11
12
--
  7-8
   1,2
 --
Ang. Momentum
Cons. Ang. Mom.
Second Major Exam (Chapters 6-11): TBA
14 Sun
Tue
Thu
23
25
27
Elasticity
Newton’s law, Principle of superposition, Gravitation near Earth
Gravitation Inside Earth, Gravitational potential energy
12
13
13
3
1-3
4 ,5
Young, Shear Modulus
15 Sun
Tue
Thu
30
2 Dec
4
Kepler's laws, Satellites
Fluids, Density, and Pressure. Fluids at Rest, Measuring Pressure
Pascal’s Principles, Archimedes Principle.
13
14
14
6,7
1-3
4,5
Gravity
Orbital
Kepler 1
16 Sun
Tue
Thu
7
9
11
The Continuity Equation, Bernoulli's equation
Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM), Energy in SHM
Pendulums, Circular Motion
14
15
15
6,7
1,2
4
Buoyancy
Bernoulli
Pendulum 1
17 Sun 14 Review   
Final Exam (Chapters 1 – 15): TBA 

I wish you a successful semester.                   PHYS101 Coordinator: Dr. Nidal Dwaikat

 


Phys 101 Lab Policy

 Grading Policy: The lab grade constitutes 20% of the Phys101 course. The grade is distributed as follows:

Reports (points)
Quizzes (points)
Total (points)
101020
  • It is up to the instructor to give pre-lab or post lab quizzes.
  • All students' works (reports and quizzes) should be graded and returned to students one week after the submission. 
  • The final lab grade will be normalized to 14/20.
Lab Attendance Policy
  • A DN grade shall be given to the student who has 3 or more unexcused absences in the LAB. In case of 5 excused and/or unexcused absences, a DN grade shall be also given.
General Lab Policy
  • Using mobile phone is not allowed in the labs. Student should keep their mobiles in their pockets or their bags, any student showing his mobile should be considered as a cheating case.
  • Students must bring the supplies they need such as, Lab notebook (graph notebook), pencil, ruler, calculator, eraser … etc.
  • Students will download the write-up of each experiment from Phys website (Phys 101 Lab Schedule).
  • Students will read the write-up, do the experiment then write the report in their notebooks.
  • Students are expected to work in groups during the collection of data. Then, each student must write his/her own report and answer the questions individually and not shar it with others. Any cheating, copying, or sharing attempts of the lab reports will be dealt with severe consequences according to the university policy.
  • Students should finish their lab work during the lab session and the instructor must collect all the reports before leaving the lab.
  • The role of the lab instructor is not to give a lecture. The instructor will spend the lab period interacting with students, monitoring their performance and answering their questions. 
  • According to the Labs safety guidelines, food and beverages are not allowed in the labs.
  • The student must leave the lab space in a clean and tidy manner, return the tolls to their boxes, and disconnect any electrical wires.

 

Phys 101 Lab Schedule (Term 242)

Week Date Write-Up Data Studio File
1 12 Jan. – 16 Jan. NO LAB  
2 19 Jan. – 23 Jan. Significant Figures
Significant F Report
 
Thursday 23 January 2025 – Last day for dropping courses without a permanent record
3 26 Jan. – 30 Jan. Graphing  
4 02 Feb. - 06 Feb. Vectors  
5 09 Feb. – 13 Feb. Constant Acceleration  
6 16 Feb. – 20 Feb. Newton's Laws

NewtonEx1
NewtonEx2
NewtonEx3
7 23 Feb. – 27 Feb.  NO LAB 
8 02 Mar. – 06 Mar. Spring Spring
9 09 Mar. – 13 Mar. Inelastic Collision Ballistic.ds
10 16 Mar. – 20 Mar. Rotational Inertia Rotation1.ds
Rotation2.ds
Rotation3.ds
Thursday 20 March 2024: Last day of dropping course(s) with grade “W” thru KFUPM portal
Eid Al-Fitr Holidays (23 March – 03 April)
11 06 Apr. – 10 Apr. Maxwell's Wheel Maxwell Wheel.ds
12 13 Apr. – 17 Apr. NO LAB  
13 20 Apr. – 24 Apr. Density  
14 27 Apr. – 01 May. Simple Pendulum  
15 04 May. – 08 May. NO LAB  
16 11 May. – 15 May.   
Final Exam (12 - 26 May)

 * The lab schedule may change according to the time of the major exams.

 

Office Hours - Term 242

Need Help in PHYS 101?
Y
ou are encouraged to seek help from any instructor teaching phys101 even if he is not your instructor.

 

Updated on:   29  January 2025

 

 

 

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