- Docente: Giovanni Venturoli
- Credits: 3
- SSD: FIS/07
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
- Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Biological sciences (cod. 0091)
Learning outcomes
The main aim of the course consists in integrating basic knowledge
in classical physics, treating key subjects for the study of
biology, particularly at the cellular and molecular level.
Course contents
Kinetic theory of gases. Discrete and continuous probability distribution. Maxwell's distribution of molecular velocity. Boltzmann's distribution. Physical bases of genetic information. Diffusion. From Brownian motion to Fick's laws. Permeability of a biological membrane; ionic channels. Osmosis. Van't Hoff's law. Osmotic phenomena in physiology. Osmolality changes in plant cells. Dynamics of fluids. Viscosity. Poiseuille's equation and blood flux. Reynolds' number. Stokes' law. Sedimentation and centrifugation. Molecular phenomena in liquids. Surface tension, Laplace's law, contact angles. Capillarity. Geometric optics. Reflection and refraction. The lensmaker's equation. Thin lenses and ray tracing. Resolution limits: Rayleigh's criterion. Resolution of the human eye. Microscope and its resolution.
Readings/Bibliography
Recommended textbook: D.C. Giancoli. FISICA Principi e Applicazioni. Seconda Edizione. Casa Editrice Ambrosiana
Teaching methods
The course consists of lectures. Several exercises and problems of biological interest are discussed and solved.
Assessment methods
Oral examination.
Office hours
See the website of Giovanni Venturoli