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PHYS 111L Syllabus

Wells College, Spring 2006

TR Period 1 (8:15-9:30)
Prof. Xiaoliang (Leon) Zhu

Introduction
Basic Information
Course Materials
Student Resources
Grading Policy
Student Responsibilities
Academic Honesty
Class Schedule

Introduction

Welcome to PHYS 111L, Fundamentals of Physics I. This course is the first of the three-part introductory physics series, intended for scientists, 3/2 engineers, and pre-health-sciences students. To succeed, you "should" have taken high-school physics; courses that cover up to at least the calculus of derivatives (MATH 111 or its equivalent) are a pre-requisite. When these ideas are used, they will be introduced from the ground up, and it's possible that you'll find that calculus is easier to grasp through use of physics examples! With your knowledge of mathematics, please be ready to remain curious about the physical world, and to try to get its workings into your mind. Your physical intuition will develop as you think visually and mathematically. Essentially, we will learn how to describe and explain simple phenomena - motion in a three-dimensional world - using the language of mathematics. It's really about learning to think in the most direct way, about nature.

This semester we will focus on Mechanics, the study of motion. Understanding the motions of objects and their interactions is one of the principal goals of physics. The fundamental laws of mechanics, first enumerated by Isaac Newton in the 17th century, can be applied to an enormous range of phenomena on scales as diverse as dust grains and galaxies, and from the esoteric to the everyday.

In this semester you will learn about the fundamental concepts associated with the study of motion, including velocity, acceleration, inertia, force, work, energy, and momentum. You will see how these concepts are related to each other through the laws of Mechanics--Newton's Laws of Motion and their corollaries, the conservation laws of energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum. Along the way we will apply these basic laws and concepts to different kinds of motion: constant-acceleration motion, uniform circular motion, statics (lack of motion), collisions, rotations.

Physics is a quantitative science. While we will not neglect the qualitative and conceptual aspects of Mechanics, much of the work in this course involves setting up and solving math problems. You will also need to be able to communicate these results in a variety of ways-- numerical expressions, graphs, diagrams, even "plain English." You are expected to have some exposure to calculus concepts, a working knowledge of college algebra, trigonometry, and basic geometry, and an understanding of elementary science concepts (e.g., scientific notation, significant figures, units and dimensions, graphing).

Basic Information

Instructor:	Prof. Xiaoliang Leon Zhu	Email:	xzhu@wells.edu
Office:	202A Zabriskie	Phone:	x3287
TA:	Melanie Jones	Email:	mjones@wells.edu
Class:	TR Period 1 (8:15-9:30 pm), 202 Physics Building
Lab:	TR 1:45-4:30, Zabriskie
Final Exam:	Thursday, May 18, 9:00-noon, 202 Zabriskie
Office hours:	MW, 2-4pm, 202A Zab
TA Hours:	7-8pm Mon, 8-9pm Wed, 2-3pm Fri, 202C Zab

Course Materials

The following materials are all required for this course:

1. Fundamentals of Physics, 6th ed., by Halliday, Resnick, Walker.
2. A simple scientific calculator with trigonometric functions, to be used for arithmetic only. The use of calculator graphing, algebra, or programming functions will not be permitted for any exam, nor will PDAs, cellphones, etc.

Student Resources

1. This course Web site will have course information and announcements, homework assignments and solutions, exam solutions, etc. It is imperative that you have access to the Web and an email account that you check regularly.
2. If you cannot come to my regular office hours, or need additional help, please set up an appointment (by email, by phone, or in person) to see me outside of class.
3. In the Physics/Chemistry library, you'll find other books: Hecht's Physics; the previous text; Tipler's Physics and Giancoli's Physics for Scientists and Engineers: very clear and a bit more advanced; Schaum's Outline Beginning Physics: the classic student resource; Harcourt/Brace/Jovanovich's Outline College Physics. You'll also find the student study guide and the solutions manual from Halliday.

Grading Policy

At the end of the semester, your overall grade will be determined from your performance on exams, homework, and labs, weighted as follows:
30% Cumula tive final exam grade
30% Three in-class exams:
    15% Highest grade
    10% Middle grade
5% Lowest grade
25% Overall homework grade
15% Overall laboratory grade

Letter grades will be assigned according to the standard scale of 90% for A, 80% for B, 70% for C, and 60% for D. Overall numerical grades will not be rounded (i.e., 89.9 is still a B).

Despite the firm cutoffs mentioned above, a "curve" of sorts will apply to numerical grades. Because exam scores in particular rarely correspond to the standard letter grade cutoffs, each raw exam score will be converted into a rescaled numerical grade, guided by the mean and standard deviation of the raw score distribution. It is these rescaled grades that are combined into an overall grade. Lab scores and homework s cores will not be rescaled. A rescaled numerical grade will never be lower than your raw score.

Any requests for a regrade of an assignment or an exam must be made no later than one week after the item is returned. Keep in mind that for a regrade I will look at the entire assignment/exam, not just one problem, and may raise or lower your score. Regrade requests (including those for online homework) should be accompanied by all your work.

Exams

There will be three in-class midterm exams, as well as a cumulative final exam. They will all be closed-book and closed-notes. However, you can make your own formula sheet for each exam, so that you can focus your studying on understanding rather than rote memorization. You may use a scientific calculator for arithmetic only; all memory registers and programs must be cleared.

Exams will consist of both conceptual and problem-solving questions, similar to homework and in-class examples. Unless told otherwise, you must show your work on each exam problem in order to receive full credit. Detailed exam solutions will be posted to the course Web site after each in-class exam has been graded.

The purpose of exams is to test your understanding thoroughly and to distinguish among levels of performance. In order for exams to be effective assessments, raw scores will usually be lower than the expectations created by the "standard" grade cutoffs. The numerical grade rescaling is designed to map your performance onto the standard grade cutoffs.

In general, there will be no make-up midterm exams. If you need to miss a midterm exam for a serious, documentable reason, your final exam grade will be substituted for your "lowest" midterm exam, making your final exam worth 35% of your overall grade. This policy is designed in part to handle unavoidable situations like medical or family emergencies, or previously scheduled academic or athletic events. You must contact me as soon as you know of the conflict (before the exam if at all possible), and you must provide sufficient documentation in a timely fashion. (An example of unacceptable documentation is a slip of paper stating only that you visited the health center, with no indication of the severity of your illness.) Do not make the mistake of simply presuming that your situation or documentation merits an excused absence; that determination is not your prerogative. If your absence is unexcused, you will receive a grade of zero for the exam.

A make-up final exam will be given only for students with legitimate, documentable reasons as explained above.

Homework

In general, weekly homework assignments will be due before class every Thursday. The pace of the class and changes to the schedule may necessitate different due dates, which will be announced in class. Homework assignments will be posted online.

Each assignment will be weighted equally. Responses will be graded for correctness, although for some problems incorrect responses may earn partial credit for the effort. You must show all work legibly in order to receive credit.

Your lowest two assignment percentages will be dropped in calculating your composite score. Again, this policy compensates for the unavoidable circumstances that may prevent you from submitting homework on time (e.g., illness, scheduled event, Internet failure, etc.). Late homework will not be accepted or excused.

Teamwork can be a very effective way of learning, so I strongly encourage you to interact with your classmates on homework problems. However, do not mistake teamwork for plagiarism; the work you hand in must be your own, not copied, reworded, or paraphrased from someone else's work.

Final Grade Adjustment

Throughout the semester, you will be asked in class to answer conceptual and quantitative questions on the material, both individually and in small groups. Your responses will be graded primarily on participation, although correct responses will receive a small bonus. These activities allow you to demonstrate your sincere effort and active engagement.

At the end of the semester, the results of these exercises will be used to adjust your overall grade. Students who have participated significantly more than the class average will earn an adjustment of up to five percentage points. Students who participate at an average level will earn up to three percentage point. Students who participate significantly below the class average will not earn a grade adjustment. This adjustment cannot lower your grade, but may help if you are at a borderline. Because this is an adjustment rather than a formal component of your overall grade, absences will not be excused.

Student Responsibilities

1. Above all, you have the right to expect courtesy from your fellow students, and the same will be asked o f you. Courtesy includes the expectation that everyone will come to class ready to learn, willing to interact, and able to ask or answer questions freely. Courtesy also implies that you arrive on time and stay until the end of class. Disruptions or distracting behavior will not be tolerated.
2. You are responsible for all topics discussed in class, as well as class announcements. Although attendance is not mandatory, you will be at a serious disadvantage if you do not attend class. Class absence does not excuse you from your responsibility.
3. You are responsible for the material covered by the reading assignments. The content and pace of the class will assume that you have read the textbook before the class in which those topics will be discussed.
4. You are responsible for the material covered in the homework. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of doing the homework assignments! Just as with other areas of learning, your physics problem-solving skills will improve only by practicing conscientiously and consistently. You will diminish the learning value of homework if you leave it for the last minute, or cope by relying on others' efforts.
5. Attend your assigned lab section and follow the instructions.
6. Ask for clarification on anything you find unclear, ambiguous, or unspecified. This includes both course policies and physics topics. Ignorance is never a valid excuse.
7. Know the rules concerning withdrawals and incompletes,

I may withdraw a student from a course due to excessive absences as defined in the course syllabus. Withdrawals after the drop/add period will result in course entries on the academic record with grades of W or WF as assigned by the instructor(s). A student who withdraws or is withdrawn for excessive absences after the midpoint withdrawal deadline of the semester (date to be specified in the Schedule of Classes) is assigned a grade of WF, except in those cases in which the student is doing satisfactory work and the withdrawal is recommended by the Office of Student Affairs because of emergency or health reasons.

For withdrawals before the midpoint, I will generally enter a grade of W even for technically failing grades, if I judge that you have made a sincere effort in the class. It is possible to earn a grade of WF before the midpoint; don't assume otherwise! You are expected to officially withdraw in a timely fashion once you have made that decision.

Academic Honesty and Honor Code

I take issues of academic honesty very seriously, and it is your and my responsibility to uphold the College's Honor Code. This means, among other things, that I will not hesitate to report my suspicions of dishonesty to the College.

PHYS 111L Class Schedule
Spring 2006 (Will be updated constantly)

The schedule below is approximate and subject to modification, possibly including exam dates. Significant schedule changes w ill be announced in class. You are expected to read the relevant textbook sections before the material is discussed in class. Note that the midpoint withdrawal deadline is 7 March.

Class	Date	Reading	Topic
1	T 31 Jan	(1.1-1.7)	Course Introduction
2	R 2 Feb	2.1-2.8	1D Kinematics
3	T 7 Feb	3.1-3.7	vectors
4	R 9 Feb	3.7	vectors
5	T 14 Feb	3.7, 4.1-4.4	2D/3D Motion
6	R 16 Feb	4.5-4.9	2D/3D Motion
7	T , 02/21	5.1-5.5	Force & Motion
8	R, 02/23	5.6-5.7, 6.1-6.4	Force & Motion
9	T, 02/28	Exam I	Ch1-ch6
10	R, 03/02	7.1-7.7	Energy & Work
11	T, 03/07	8.1-8.4	PE & Energy Conservation
12	R, 03/09	8.5-8.7	Energy Conservation
13	T, 03/14	9.1-9.5	Systems of Particles
14	R, 03/16	9.6-9.8, 10.1-10.2	Systems of Particles
15	T, 03/21		Spring Break
16	R, 03/23		Spring Break
17	T, 03/28	10.3-10.6	Collisions
18	R, 03/30	Exam II	Ch7-ch10
19	T, 04/04	11.1-11.3	Rotation
20	R, 04/06	11.4-11.7	Rotation
21	T, 04/11	11.8-11.10	Rotation
22	R, 04/13	12.1-12.4	Torque & Angular Momentum
23	T, 04/18	12.5-12.8	Torque & Angular Momentum
24	R, 04/20	12.9-12.10	Torque & Angular Momentum
25	T, 04/25	13.1-13.4	Equilibrium & Elasticity
26	R, 04/28	13.5-13.6	Equilibrium & Elasticity
27	T, 05/02	Exam III	Ch11-ch13
28	R, 05/04	14.1-14.5	Gravitation
29	T, 05/08	14.6-14.9	Gravitation
30	R, 05/11	Final Review	Final Review