Physics 103 Mechanics
Fall 1999

Instructor: Dr. Hank Yochum

How to contact me:

I will use the www for communicating, so please consult the web page for class announcements, exam hints, homework assignments, and other useful information.  You will also be submitting work (see OMA below) each class period over the web.

Feel free to call whenever you need to. I tend to check my voicemail and email frequently, so if I am not around, I will get in touch with you as soon as possible. One of the benefits of going to a small college like Sweet Briar is the opportunity to get personalized attention from your professors, take advantage of this in all your courses.

Text:
Fundamentals of Physics, Halliday, Resnick and Walker

Office Hours:
Monday 2 pm - 3 pm
Tuesday 2 pm -  4 pm
also by appointment...
I am generally around the department, so if you are looking for me, look in the physics department whether or not I am having office hours.

Preparation:
You are expected to have working knowledge of algebra and trigonometry. Calculus is a prerequisite for this course, but as some of you may be taking Calculus now, the Calculus you are expected to know will be introduced. If you do not feel comfortable with the level of math on the skills check I handed out, please see me.

Course Objectives:
After this course, the student should be able to:
    describe the motion of objects
    apply conservation laws, momentum and energy
    solve word problems
    apply physical principles to novel situations
    provide a description of how to solve a problem, justifying their choices
    provide different representations for a problem (verbal, graphical, vector, diagrams, or equations)
   
Attendance:
Coming to class is expected. Missing class will make learning the material difficult, as some of what you get out of this course will come from discussion in class with your peers.

Thursday Class Sessions:
For at least the beginning of the semester, the Thursday class session will be used to go over homework and example problems. There may be Thursday sessions that do cover new course material, I will announce these.

Homework Sets:
Homework will be assigned every Wednesday and will be due the following Wednesday. HW will generally consist of questions and problems from the text. Just as one would practice a sport to get good at it, one must practice physics, the HW is your chance to do this.

Waiting to do the HW the night before it is due is a SERIOUS MISTAKE!

I encourage you to work with your peers on the HW. Conversations with your classmates are an excellent way to learn. However, this does not mean you should copy homework.

HW will be graded on a 3 point scale. 3 for a completely correct solution, 2 for a mostly correct solution, 1 for using the correct concept but little else, and a 0 for no effort. Neatness is very important on the HW. A solution that is disorganized but still has the correct answer may not necessarily get a 3 point grade.

One Minute Assignments:
The OMA will consist of a few short questions in regard to the lecture and text. There will be one OMA for essentially every class session, except for Thursdays. An example of an OMA questions is: What did you not understand from today's lecture? The OMA question will be posed on lecture days (MWF) by 3 pm and due the following lecture day by 8 am . Your responses will be emailed to me at hyochum@sbc.edu through the class web page, http://hyochum.physics.sbc.edu.

Tests:
There will be four hour exams plus a final. The lowest of your hour exams will be dropped.

Grades:
Homework sets..................15 %
One minute assignments......5 %
three of four hour exams.....55 %
Cumulative final exam.........25 %

Lab:
Your lab is a separate 1 credit course.

Tentative Course Schedule:
These dates are subject to change...