Physics 103 Mechanics
Fall 2000
MWF 9:30-10:20 am
Thur 8:00-8:50 am

Instructor: Dr. Hank Yochum

How to contact me:
office: 06 Guion
office phone: 381-6357
course web page: hyochum.physics.sbc.edu
email: hyochum@sbc.edu

I will use the world wide web 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.  It is also likely I will communicate quite a bit with email.

Feel free to call my office 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, Sixth Edition, by Halliday, Resnick and Walker, and Problem Supplement #1 for Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday, Resnick and Walker.
We will cover all 12 chapters in this book.

Office Hours:
Monday 10:30-11:30 am
Tuesday 2:00-3:00 pm
Wednesday 10:30-11:30 am
Drop by whenever though.
I am generally around the department, so if you are looking for me, check 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 co-requisite for this course.  I will provide some review of the calculus we will use.  If you do not feel comfortable with the level of math in this course, please come talk to me.

I expect you to have studied the relevant material for each day. Assume that I may give you a short quiz at any time to help motivate you to be prepared for class.  The most common, and perhaps the deadliest habit is to postpone your assault of the material. You are expected to diligently apply yourself, since it is your future you are working for. Assume that I may give you a short quiz at any time to help motivate you to be prepared for class. The best advice I can give you is come to every class, take good notes, read the book, do the problems, talk with your classmates, and keep up. I know these sound trivial, but they are all too often ignored.

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/Class participation:
Attendance, timeliness, and participation are critical to the learning process and an integral part of this course.  Failure to attend class on the day an assignment is assigned or due does not mean that you may turn in a late assignment without penalty. There are certain aspects of the course for which the information can be obtained only in class, thus, a student who misses class will miss material they will need on quizzes and tests. There will be no makeup quizzes.
Not only are you required to come to class, but you must TAKE PART IN CLASS.   I reserve the right to make class participation a part of your grade in any percentage I choose.

Grades:
Homework sets............................................................20 %
One minute assignments and class participation..............5 %
Three exams..................................................................50 %
Short quizzes........................................................... .....5 %
Cumulative final exam...................................................20 %

Homework Sets:
Homework will be assigned on the class web page every Friday and will be due the following Friday.  HW will generally consist of 10-12 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.  Late HW will receive a grade penalty to be decided at the discretion of the instructor. 

Waiting to do the HW the night before it is due is a SERIOUS MISTAKE!  Waiting to study the night before is an even bigger 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.  If you do not understand the HW, the tests and quizzes will reflect this.

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 will not necessarily get a 3 point grade. Simply stating the answer to a problem which requires several steps will receive NO CREDIT.  HW problems MUST be solved in a clear, logical way. 

An answer to a HW problem which is given with no units will automatically be given a 1 out of 3 regardless of correctness.

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 and test days. The OMA question will be posed on lecture days (MWF) by 5 pm and due the following lecture day by 8 am . Amazingly, past class averages for OMA's were only around 75 %.  There is no reason why the OMA should not help your grade!  The OMA is not graded for correctness, only attempt.  Your responses will be submitted to me through the class web page, http://hyochum.physics.sbc.edu.

Tests:
There will be three hour long tests and a cumulative final exam.  I will hold a review session outside of class before each test.  

Since I can't write exams in such a way that I know in advance precisely how difficult they are, I can't give you an advance guarantee of points resulting in a specific grade. I will give you specific feedback after exams and anytime you ask. I encourage you to see me at any time for my assessment of your work.

Quizzes:
From time to time you will be given a short quiz.  These may be announced or not announced.  If you keep up with the reading and hw these quizzes should not be difficult.  I expect to give you at least 3 quizzes.  Being absent on a quiz day will result in a zero for that quiz.

Lab:
Physics 121 lab is a separate 1 credit course.  I STRONGLY encourage all students enrolled in this course to take the corresponding lab.  The lab will undoubtedly help you learn physics and get a better grade in  this course.

Tentative Course Schedule:
All parts of this syllabus are subject to change by the instructor.  Any change will be communiated to the class in a timely fashion.

last updated August 23, 2000