Course Policy for PHY 171

Office Hours:

Please feel free to come and see me about problems you are having anytime I am in the office, not just during office hours. In particular, I will always be happy to see you after class. In general, I am on campus all day every day.  You can make an appointment or just drop by.  The one exception is that I will often be in Oxford part of the day on Wednesday.

Textbook: Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Wolfson and Pasachoff.   Activ Physics Cd- rom and workbook by Van Huevelen.

Catalog Description: Physics 171, 172 College Physics (3, 3)General physics course recommended for students of the life sciences. Minimum mathematical preparation requires students to have had courses that include trigonometry. MTH 151,153, or equivalent are strongly encouraged. Co-requisites: PHY 183, 184. Pre-requisite for 172: PHY 171.

Target Audience: PHY 171, 172 is designed to help students develop a quantitative understanding of the basic physical laws of nature, as a basis for further study in the sciences and engineering. This includes students majoring in the physical, biological, and applied sciences, and engineering.

Course Purpose and Objectives: The major goals of the introductory-level physics course are: (1) to provide the fundamental knowledge of physical phenomena which forms the basis for advanced study in the sciences, and to illustrate the ways of knowing common to the sciences, (2) to develop the student's ability to analyze complex phenomena by synthesizing multiple concepts, (3) to show the student how to develop quantitative, predictive, models of real phenomena, and to examine critically the context, and validity of these models, and (4) to enhance the student's ability to understand and utilize concepts which are beyond immediate sensory perception.

Course Description: We will begin our study of physics with the motion of objects as it is the most concrete (least abstract) of the topics we will cover. We will spend about the first half of the course on motion, then move on to a study of waves, light and atoms. There is equal emphasis on understanding the concepts of physics and on learning to apply your understanding to the solving of mathematical problems. Both exams and homework will be composed partially of problems and partially of questions in which you have to demonstrate your knowledge of the concepts by explaining everyday phenomena. For example, you might be asked to both explain in words why an ice skater tucks her arms in when she wants to spin faster and to calculate her new spin rate using the equation for angular momentum. We want you to leave the course understanding how a small number of basic ideas such as conservation of energy can be used to explain many different phenomena.

Mathematical Background Needed: Ideally you should have completed a semester of calculus, but don’t panic if you haven’t. It is very important that you have good algebra skills. We will use only the most basic ideas from trigonometry but you will need to know those very well. If you have any doubt about your mathematical preparation in these areas, come see me right away. We will also use some very basic calculus. As we need them, I will teach you the practical parts of calculus that you need for physics and you will learn the formalism later if you take calculus. This will serve as a good review for those of you that have already had calculus.

Attendance: Attendance is required. I am sure most of you will find that the only way to keep up is to attend class. Class discussions are intended to guide your studies, supplement the material in the text and provide demonstrations of various physical concepts. Hopefully, they will help you gain insights that are not possible merely from reading the text. I expect you to read the sections to be discussed before class. Do not be disturbed if you do not understand fully on this initial reading. You will be given ample opportunity to ask questions and think about the material in class. Part of most classes will be spent on group activities in which you will be engaged with other students in the class working on tasks designed to help you better understand the concepts we are studying. The participation portion of your grade will be based on attendance, whether you come to class prepared, whether you participate in class discussions, and your involvement in the group activities.

If you do have to miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out either from me or one of your fellow students what material was covered, what announcements were made, etc.

Studying: It is very important that you spend some time studying physics almost every day. You will need to read the material assigned for the next class and often you will have a brief written assignment which we will then discuss or extend in small group work the next class. If you come to class unprepared, it will hinder the learning of the whole class. Also, you will find that you learn much more if you work on the end of the chapter problems a little at a time instead of in a marathon session just before they are due. This is not a course in which you can be passive and except to absorb the material. You need to be actively engaged in thinking about the concepts all the time - in class, while reading the book, while doing homework, while doing small group work, and while reviewing for exams with friends. The biggest hindrance to success in this course is procrastination.

Homework: Homework comes in four types: end of the chapter (EOC) problems and questions, Activ Physics exercises, in-class exercises and other exercises.   EOC problems will be assigned for each chapter as we begin each chapter. Typically, homework related to material discussed in one class is due at the beginning of the following class period. One or two Activ-Physics exercisese will be assigned each week.  You will go through the simulation on the computer and complete the corresponding page in the workbook to be turned in.  In-class exercises often have a component to be worked on at home prior to completion in class. In general, they are distributed the day before we will do them in class.  Other exercises are problems and questions that I write myself or borrow from other books. They are treated the same as EOC for grading but may be due at different times. Working of all four types of homework will be necessary to the understanding of the material covered and to performing well on the tests.

Please come and see me if you are having difficulties with the homework. I realize that you will probably work together on the problems. I have no objections to this; in fact, I encourage it. However, I do not expect to get five papers that are exactly identical to one another. If copying persists after an initial warning, academic dishonesty procedures as outlined in the student handbook will be followed. Late homework will not be accepted. Homework will be graded immediately and returned the next class period if at all possible.

Grading: