Physics 171 General Physics I
Fall 2005
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:30-10:20, Thursday 8:00-8:50, Guion Room 012

"It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment - science is no exception"
- Freeman Dyson

Course Description from SBC Catalogue
Phys 171: Gen Ed Reqs: IIIQ V8A
A study of Newton's Laws, the conservation laws of classical mechanics and their application to physical systems, and wave motion. Four hours lecture. Prerequisites/Co-requisite: Math 123, Calculus I.

Course Goals:
Put very broadly, students will increase their conceptual and mathematical understanding of the laws of classical mechanics while enhancing their critical thinking and problem solving skills. 

Course Objectives:
Learning objectives for students who have completed Physics 171 and 172:

Students should develop a solid functional understanding of physics. They should be able to:

• describe and explain physics concepts including knowing where and when they apply
• apply concepts in new contexts
• apply physics concepts when solving problems and examining physical phenomena
• translate between multiple-representations of the same concept (for example: between words, equations, graphs, and diagrams)
• combine concepts when analyzing a situation.
• critically evaluate explanations of physical phenomena

Students should improve their communication, interpersonal, and questioning skills.
They should be able to:

• express understanding in written and oral forms by explaining their reasoning to peers
• learn to better access their own understanding of a topic
• demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of physics in written assignments
• present a well-reasoned argument supported by observations and physical evidence
• evaluate oral arguments, both their own and those espoused by others
• function well in a group

Students should begin developing expert-like problem solving skills. They should be able to:

• satisfactorily solve standard textbook problems
• solve more challenging problems, including questions involving : multi-step problems, multi-concept problems, and problems requiring qualitative reasoning

Students should retain and/or develop student cognitive attitudes and beliefs that are favorable for learning physics with deep understanding.
They should:

• believe that understanding physics means understanding the underlying concepts and principles instead of focusing on knowing and using equations
• see physics as a coherent framework of ideas that can be used to understand many different physical situations
• see what they are learning in the classroom as useful and strongly connected to the real world
• be cognizant of the scientific process/approach and how to apply it
• indicate a willingness to continue learning about physics and its applications
• see themselves as part of a classroom community of learners

Communication
I will use the world wide web for communicating, so please consult the web page for class announcements, exam hints, homework and reading assignments, links to interesting physics sites and other useful information.  You are responsible for checking the course web page for information as not all announcements will be made in class.

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, Seventh Edition, by Halliday, Resnick and Walker. Wiley.

Preparation and Tutoring:
You are expected to have a working knowledge of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and Calculus. If you think your math skills need work, please come talk with me. A math review assignment will be given on the first day of class.

I expect you to have studied the relevant material for each day as defined by the assignments web page. This generally means reading about topics in your textbook before they are discussed in lecture. Lectures generally address confusing issues from your readings as opposed to replacing your reading. Assume that I may give you a short quiz at any time to help motivate you to be prepared for class.  Some quizzes may simply test whether you have read the appropriate days material. 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.

Weekly tutoring sessions will be led by a qualified physics major (Jenariel Kotonias). Tutoring hours will be postsed the first full week of classes.

Attendance/Class participation:
Attendance, timeliness, and active participation are critical to the learning process and an integral part of this course.  Coming to class late is distracting to students in the class and irritates professors. 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 (see my statement on late HW). 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..............................................................30 %
Three exams...................................................................40 %
Short quizzes........................................................... ......10 %
Cumulative closed book final exam................................20 %

I reserve the right to alter the grade scale (though this is unlikely....), BUT only in ways that are advantageous to the student.

Homework Sets:
Homework will be assigned on the assignments web page approximately every Friday and will be due the following Friday.  HW will generally consist of 10-12 questions and problems from the text. I will randomly choose a few of the HW problems to grade for correctness. Just as one would practice a sport to get good at it, one must practice physics; the HW is your chance to do this.  Turning in late HW is disrespectful to your classmates and your instructor and in general will be seriously penalized (if accepted at all). Waiting to do the HW the night before it is due is a SERIOUS MISTAKE! 

I encourage you to take advantage of the free departmental tutoring and to take advantage of my help. I also 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.  One rule to go by when working with classmates: if you don't understand what you are writing down, don't turn it in. If you do not understand the HW, the tests and quizzes will reflect this.  

The ability to communicate your technical work to others is vital to your success as a scientist, engineer, or educated citizen.   In this course, in addition to getting homework problems correct, it is your job as a scientist to communicate effectively how you solved the problem.  This may mean using words to describe what you are doing instead of simply writing down equations. This also means your solution should be organized. Since this is the second semester of this course sequence I expect to see solid written work. It is best to do a problem and then transcribe your solution in a neat form to another piece of paper. I will take off for unorganized but correct work.  I also reserve the right to take points off your HW (even when fully correct!) for messy solutions or solutions where you arrive at the correct answer but by unclear or illogical means.  

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. An answer to a HW problem which is given with no units will automatically be given a 1 out of 3 regardless of correctness. Solutions to the HW will be available outside my office door shortly graded HW is returned.

Tests:
There will be three hour long tests and a cumulative final exam.  If students wish, 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
I will give frequent quizzes. These may be announced or not announced.  If you keep up with the reading, the text checkpoints, and homework these quizzes should not be difficult.  I expect to give you at least 8 quizzes.  Being absent (or late) on a quiz day will result in a zero for that quiz. I will drop the lowest quiz grade.

Lab:
Physics 131 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 more physics and to learn useful experimental skills. The lab will also likely help you get a better grade in  this course.

Tentative Course Schedule:
The following is a tentative schedule to give you an idea of the pace of the course. I will keep a dynamic web based schedule where I will post topic information, all assignments, test dates, etc. that will be updated every day or so.

How to Succeed In This Course
Much of this I just stated, but it is worth going over again. The course topics that we will cover in Physics 172 took hundreds of years to figure out and develop. These topics were first understood by some of the smartest folks around. Don't be surprised if you have to think hard and work hard to master the material! You can perform very well in this class if you follow this time-tested system:

• Read the chapter material before lecture and recitation. If you read it first, it'll sink in faster during lecture. We won't repeat what's in the book - especially definitions. Lecture is for making sense of what's in the text!
• Take notes on your reading and try to write down questions you may have. If you ask those questions in class, we'll will try to answer them.
• Come to class. Stay involved in class. Come to office hours and go to the free tutoring sessions.
• Start the homeworks early. Give yourself the time to work and understand. Remember that it's possible to have a perfect homework score by putting in the time and effort. But first: Do the reading. Don't try the homework until you finish the reading.
• Work together. Physicists (as well as just about everyone else) often work in groups. You need to do your own thinking, but talking to others is a great way to sort out your thoughts.
• Don't get behind. It's very hard to catch up.
• Please, get help early if you feel you are struggling with any aspect of the course (from physics tutors, your professor, your classmates) We're here to help!

last updated 8/24/2005
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