PHYSICS 2439

UNIVERSITY PHYSICS I

FALL 2009

 

 

Required Texts:   Six Ideas That Shaped Physics, 2nd edition,  by Thomas A. Moore, WCB/McGraw-Hill, 2003.  Units C, N, T

                                Physics Laboratory Manual, 2nd edition, by David H. Loyd, Saunders College Publishing, 1997.

 

Instructor:             Dr. Gerry Clarkson

                                Office:   W-106

                                Phone:   (325) 646-2502 ext. 5407                                  E-mail:  gclarkson@hputx.edu

 

Lecture:                 TTh 9:30-10:50 AM in W-107

Lab:                       F  2:00-3:50 PM in W-107

 

Office Hours:       Office hours will be posted on my office door.  A tentative schedule of office hours is as follows:

 

M            9:00-10:00 AM, 4:00-5:00 PM        Th           8:30-9:30 AM

                                                T             8:30-9:30 AM                                      F              9:00-10:00 AM, 1:00-2:00 PM

                                                W            9:00-10:00 AM

 

                                        I will be available immediately after class if you wish to talk to me briefly on an individual basis.  If you wish to talk to me at some time other than office hours, please feel free to talk to me about an appointment for another time.

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

 

Content and Objectives

 

Physics 2439 satisfies 4 hours of the general education natural science with a laboratory requirement.  In addition it may be counted toward a minor in physics.  Physics also forms an important part of most science programs.  Please consult with me and/or your advisor concerning whether algebra or calculus based physics is appropriate for your program.  In general this course should help you in developing scientific literacy through an appreciation of the contributions of science to modern life and the development of a background of information in physics.  This course should also help you to develop a broader understanding of the descriptive aspects of the physical sciences, a facility for problem solving, and greater expertise in laboratory techniques.  Physics 2439 is the first semester of a two-semester, calculus-based, sequence in general physics.  This semester emphasizes Mechanics and Thermodynamics.  The course consists of two 80 minute class periods and a 2 hour lab period per week.  The primary objective of this course is to familiarize you with the fundamental concepts and with the mathematical tools for applying those concepts.  As basic physics is a foundation for many fields of science, an appreciation of the principles of physics is important in fully understanding much of science.  Students will be assessed by exams, homework and laboratory exercises.  The course will be assessed by a pretest/posttest, a departmental survey and responses to question number 5 on the student course evaluation.

 

Format

 

Class time will be used for some lecture, discussion, demonstrations, hands-on activities, and questions.  I am available during office hours and at other times to discuss any aspect of the course.

 

Prerequisites/Corequisites

 

Math 2351

 

 

 

 

ASSIGNED READING AND COURSE SCHEDULE

 

Assigned Reading

 

Please read the material assigned prior to the class.  This will give you the needed background for each class.  Our discussions and activities will assume that you have read the appropriate material in your textbook.  We will not necessarily talk about everything mentioned in your text.  You are responsible for all assigned material whether it is discussed in class or not.

 

We will discuss 2-3 chapters per week.  I will try to indicate each class what you should be reading for the next class, however if you are coming to class it should usually be obvious what chapters you will need to have read for the next class.

 

I plan to have tests at the following intervals:

 

                                Test 1     Chapters C1-C5

                                Test 2     Chapters C6-C13

                                Test 3     Chapters N1-N7

                                Test 4     Chapters N8-N14

                                Test 5     Chapters T1-T5

                                Final       Chapters T6-T9, comprehensive

 

Please note that this schedule is tentative and may be altered, including the number of tests to be given.

 

The scheduled final time is Monday, December 14 from 8:00 AM-10:00 AM.

 

 

GRADING

 

General

 

Course grades will be based on class exams, homework, the lab and a comprehensive final exam.  These will be weighted as follows:  class exams-35%, final exam-15%, homework-25%, lab-25%.  No extra credit work will be allowed.

 

Exams

 

The class exam will consist of approximately 50% conceptual questions.  These questions will present a situation and ask a question which you will be asked to answer and give a short explanation based on physical principles.  The other 50% of the exam will be problems similar to homework problems.

 

Makeup Exams

 

Students will have the option of improving their class exams by taking a makeup exam which will be averaged with the original grade.  Those taking the makeup exam must arrange to do so within one week of the original exam.  All makeup exams will be given by arrangement with the instructor outside of regular class time.  Students missing a scheduled exam with an excused absence must take the makeup exam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homework

 

Homework problems allow you the opportunity to test your understanding of the text material.  Problem solving is essential to the field of physics and the development of good problem solving skills is invaluable for further study in the sciences.

 

Homework assignments will be due one week after they are assigned unless otherwise indicated in class.  Homework will be due at the beginning of class.  Late homework may be turned in up to the beginning of the following class period for 90% credit: after this time late homework will receive no more than 50% credit.

 

Homework should be submitted in a proper form for grading.  Your assignments should be neat and legible.  It may be helpful for you to write on one side of the paper only and to begin each new problem on a separate sheet of paper.  Include your name and other pertinent data on each sheet.  All sheets should be stapled together.  Show your work.  It is usually helpful to box all important results and your final answer.  Please attempt all problems and ask for help when you get stuck on a problem.

 

Lab

 

The primary goal of lab is to provide a foundation in experimental science so that students may ultimately carry out independent research.  In the lab you should develop skills in observation, measurement, data recording and analysis, and drawing conclusions from experimental data.

 

A lab assignment consists of reading the lab manual and completing the pre-lab before lab time, performing the experiment, and completing the laboratory report.  Read the experiment before lab in order to familiarize yourself with the theory and experimental procedure before doing the lab.  You must perform the lab experiment in order to do the lab report.  The format for the laboratory report is found in your lab manual.  Be sure to report all required information.  Your work must be neat and legible.  Remember to use significant figures properly.  Show your calculations.  Pre-labs are due at the BEGINNING of the lab period.  Lab reports are due one week after the experiment is performed, at the beginning of the lab period, unless otherwise indicated.  Late work will be penalized in the same fashion as homework (90% for work turned in by the next lab period, no more than 50% credit thereafter).

 

Final Exam

 

The final exam will include material covered since the last class exam as well as material from previous exams.  The final will have both conceptual questions and problems.  The final will be given at its scheduled time:  Monday, December 14 at 8:00 AM.

 

Attendance

 

Please note that the Howard Payne attendance policy states that a student cannot receive a passing grade in a course unless they have attended at least 75% of the scheduled classes.  Failure to attend at least 75% of classes (lecture + lab) will result in a grade of F.  Failure to attend at least 75% of the labs will result in a score of 0 for the lab portion of the course.

 

Cheating

 

The first incident of copying, plagiarism, or other form of academic dishonesty will result in a score of 0 for that part of the assignment.  The second incident will result in a score of 0 for the entire assignment.  The third incident will result in a grade of F for the course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assignment of Grades

 

It is my intention to assign grades according to the following scale:

 

                                90-100%       A                                                             60-70%          D

                                80-90%          B                                                             0-60%            F

                                70-80%          C

 

Final grades may be curved slightly in your favor, but do not count on that.

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Textbooks which may be of interest for this class College Physics, by Sears, Zemansky and Young, Addison-Wesley, 1990; and Conceptual Physics, by Hewitt; Little, Brown and Company, 1985 among other introductory texts.  You may also be interested in one of the problem solving texts which are available for introductory physics, such as College Physics, by Stanley; Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1987.  I have some materials that can be made available to you.  There will also be computer software available for your use in the physics lab.

 

Journals which will have articles relating to subjects discussed in this class are American Scientist, Physics Today, Science, Scientific American, and The Physics Teacher.

 

 

SUGGESTIONS

 

1.       Attend class and lab.  For most students regular, active attendance is an extremely important key to mastering the material.

 

2.       Read the assigned material before class.  This will allow you to better appreciate class discussion, ask questions and contribute your insights to the rest of the class.

 

3.       Think of class as an active exercise on your part.  Ask questions about things you do not understand from the reading or from previous discussions.  Asking questions will not only benefit you, but it will likely benefit others in the class and will also benefit me in that I will not have to guess at what I should be trying to explain better.  Also feel free to raise questions on related topics of interest to you, even if they are not directly mentioned in the reading or class discussion.

 

4.       If you would like to discuss something in more detail than time permits in class, please feel free to see me on an individual basis.

 

5.       Do the assigned homework.  If you have questions, ask.

 

6.       There will probably be free tutoring available within the Physical Science Department.  Please make use of this service if you find it helpful.

 

               

PHYSICS LABORATORY GUIDE

 

1.      Unless otherwise indicated the laboratory exercises will be taken from the lab manual.  Be aware that some minor modifications in the procedure may be necessary due to equipment availability and so forth.

 

2.      Experiments will generally be performed in groups of 2-3 students.  Groups do not have to remain the same throughout the semester.

 

3.      You are to read the information and instructions for the laboratory before performing the experiment.

 

4.      The lab manual contains a pre-laboratory exercise for each experiment.  This pre-lab is to be completed and turned in by each student before starting the experiment.  This pre-lab exercise will count for 10% of the lab grade.

 

5.      A complete lab report is to be turned in by each student.  The report will generally be due no later than the week following the day the experiment is performed.  See the syllabus for the policy concerning labs which are turned in late.

 

6.      A complete lab report includes the completion of the sections found in the lab manual:  Data Tables, Calculation Tables, Sample Calculations, and Questions.

 

7.      You may work with your lab partners both during and after the lab, but the reports must be written up separately and everyone is responsible for their own calculations.

 

8.      Students are expected to conduct themselves in a safe manner at all times when in the laboratory.  There should be no horseplay or unauthorized experiments performed.  Any questions concerning safety should be answered before continuing with an experiment.