Section #: 611820
Class Time: MW 2:00PM -- 3:15PM
Room: 7/272
Instructor: Douglas H. Laurence
Office: 7/135
Office Hours:
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For this course, you will be required to have the following materials:
- Textbook: Physics, 5th edition, by Walker. This book can either be bought by volume (volume 1 is required for this course) or as a complete text with all volumes.
- MasteringPhysics: The homework for this class will be assigned through online software known as MasteringPhysics. You can buy an access code for MasteringPhysics alone or you can buy it as a package with the textbook from the bookstore. Either way, you need a copy of the text and an access code for the homework. Read the "Homework" section below for information on MasteringPhysics.
- Other Materials: A scientific calculator, not a graphing calculator or other type of programmable calculator, which will not be allowed on exams
There are two more references I would recommend. For math, noting beats Paul's Online Math Notes, which provide an excellent review of all necessary math. For physics, MIT's Physics II lectures from 1999, given by Walter Lewin, are sort of the gold-standard for online lecture videos for physics. YouTube still has the videos uploaded, and a playlist for them can be found here. Note that these videos are with calculus, but they can still provide a lot of useful information for our course without calculus.If you need more reference materials, feel free to ask me and I'll be more than happy to recommend additional sources.
The exams will be a mixture of multiple choice questions and free response problems. There will be 10 multiple choice questions worth 2.5 points each (total of 25 points) and 3 free response problems worth 25 points each (total of 75 points). There will actually be FOUR available free response problems, of which you only need to answer THREE; you CANNOT do the fourth problem for extra credit. The material covered on each exam is going to break down like:
- Exam 1: Chapters 19 - 21
- Exam 2: Chapter 22, 23
- Exam 3: TBD
Homework will be assigned through MasteringPhysics (course code laurence31495), with roughly one assignment due each week, though it depends on how long a particular topic takes us to cover in class; you will be able to see the homework schedule through the MasteringPhysics website. To access MasteringPhysics, you must go to the following website: http://pearsonmylabandmastering.com. This website, speficically, offers a 2 week free trial for MasteringPhysics in case you need time to purchase your access code. I will discuss how to register for this 2 week free trial on the first day of class.
While each homework assignment will vary in the number of questions asked, each assignment will be worth the same number of points, i.e. each homework assignment will be equally weighted. Some homework assignments which have a lot of subject matter to cover will have extra credit questions assigned. Each homework assignment will also be available for you to turn in late up to one-week after the due date, so even if you're running a bit late, make sure to turn it in! If, for any legitimate reason, you absolutely need an extension for your homework, please let me know before the due date of the homework, and I'll be happy to provide you a reasonable extension.
Tentative Course Schedule:
| WEEK | MONDAY | WEDNESDAY |
|---|---|---|
| January 7 | Electric Forces and Fields | Electric Forces and Fields |
| January 14 | Class Cancelled | Class Cancelled |
| January 21 | Martin Luther King, Jr., Day | Electric Forces and Fields |
| January 28 | Electric Forces and Fields | Electric Potential and Potential Energy |
| February 4 | Electric Potential and Potential Energy | Electric Potential and Potential Energy |
| February 11 | DC Circuits | DC Circuits |
| February 18 | DC Circuits | Magnetism |
| February 25 | Exam 1 (Ch's 19 - 21) | Magnetism |
| March 4 | Spring Break | Spring Break |
| March 11 | Magnetism | Magnetism |
| March 18 | Faraday's Law | Faraday's Law |
| March 25 | Exam 2 (Ch's 22, 23) | Geometric Optics |
| April 1 | Geometric Optics | Physial Optics |
| April 8 | Advanced Topics (TBD) | Advanced Topics (TBD) |
| April 15 | Advanced Topics (TBD) | Advanced Topics (TBD) |
| April 22 | Advanced Topics (TBD) | Advanced Topics (TBD) |
| April 29 | Finals Week, No Class | Exam 3 (Ch's TBD) |
*Blue days are days off, red days are exam dates
Grading Scheme:
| Homework | 25 points |
| Lowest-Graded Exam | 15 points |
| Mid-Graded Exam | 25 points |
| Highest-Graded Exam | 35 points |
| Total | 100 points |
|---|
Grading Sale:
| Letter Grade | Points Earned |
|---|---|
| A | 90.0 - 100.0 |
| B | 80.0 - 89.9 |
| C | 70.0 - 79.9 |
| D | 60.0 - 69.9 |
| F | < 59.0 |