PHYSICS 0104

Fundamentals of Physics

Note: This syllabus is available on the WWW at

http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~cls/p0104

TERM 00-2 (SPRING 2000)

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• • Lecturer: Dr. Chandralekha Singh

  • Office: 218 A Allen Hall

  • Office hours: M 10-11am, F 11.50am-12.50pm or stop by anytime

  • Phone: 624-9045 and 624-9045

  • E-mail (BEST WAY TO CONTACT ME): singh@bondi.phyast.pitt.edu

  • Lectures: MWF 9-9.50am

  • Text: Fundamentals of Physics, Halliday, Resnick and Walker, 5th edition, Wiley, 1993

  • Teaching Assistant: Hsuan-Yi Chen

  • Teaching Assistant E-Mail: hschen@phyast.pitt.edu (office: 315 Allen, Phone: 624-2755)

Course Description

The major goal of this physics course is to enable you to develop logical reasoning skills to explain or predict diverse phenomena in everyday experience, and to become good problem solvers and independent learners. I encourage you to participate fully in class discussions. Physics knowledge is hierarchical: new concepts rely heavily on solid understanding of prior material. I strongly encourage you to ask questions to clarify your doubts. Remember that all questions are good questions, and there is a good chance that if you are having trouble understanding a concept, others are also struggling with the same concept. "Plug-and-chug" approaches to physics are neither useful for developing problem solving, reasoning and higher order thinking skills that I hope you will develop nor likely to produce satisfactory results on examinations. I also want you to remember that struggling is a very natural part of learning. Do not get discouraged. The lecture material will follow the text fairly closely, and most of the assignments will be drawn from the text. Hence it is a good idea for you to purchase the text or have regular access to it. There will be a copy (or copies) on reserve in the Physics Library in OEH. In this course we will cover most of Chapters 1-14 and 16. It is highly recommended that students read the relevant chapter ahead of time. Occasionally there may be material covered in lecture which is not in the textbook; students will be responsible for such material. Students are expected to have a working knowledge of calculus.

Homework

Homework is an integral part of learning the material of this course. There will be regular reading assignments questions, exercises, and numerical problems assigned every Monday in the class. Your homework will NOT be collected. However, almost every week in the recitation there will be a quiz based upon the questions/problems. Understanding, rather than memorization of homework is important so that you can do a wide variety of similar questions/problems. Learning how to work in group is a valuable skill. In a few recitations, you will be allowed to work in a group of three. Recitation performance will count approximately 16% in determining the final grade.

Due to the importance of the homework in helping you learn and apply the conceptual matter under discussion, and to prepare for examinations, you are highly encouraged to try as many of the assigned problems/questions as possible before getting help. Solutions for the homework will be provided in the physics library. The in-term examinations will involve problem solving to demonstrate mastery of the material, and the best preparation will be a thorough understanding of the assigned problems and questions. I expect to schedule some review time during the term.

Peer Instruction

To ensure that you are understanding the underlying concepts covered during the lecture, I will interrupt the class several times during each lecture to pose a conceptual question. You will be asked first to think about the question by yourself, and later discuss it with your neighbor. Then, I will poll the class to see how many of you obtained the correct answer.

Study Resources

A Resource Room will be available throughout the semester for help in understanding physics concepts and completing homework assignments. The room is available from 9am to 6pm, Monday through Friday, in room 223 Old Engineering Hall (OEH). Help is also available through the Physics Help Desk, located on the first floor of the Cathedral of Learning. Hours are 11-5, Monday - Friday.

Grading Policy

There will be three in-term exams and a 1.50 hour cumulative final examination. The final examination is already scheduled by the University; it is in the Fall Term course schedule. The in-term exams are expected to fall on:

• • Exam #1 M, Feb. 14

  • Exam #2 M, Mar. 13

  • Exam #3 M, Apr. 10

The lowest performance of the three in-term exams will be dropped. The course grade is expected to be determined by two in-term exam grades (23% each), the final exam (38%), and the recitation grade (16%). In practice the recitation performance often determines which side of a borderline (e.g., A to B or C- to D) the final grade will fall on. There will be no make-up midterm examinations.

Assignments

Assignments will be given in class on Mondays.

Up To Date Information

In the recitation class in the second week of classes all students are required to take a pre-test. This will test your intuition about the everyday physics that you encounter. This test is mandatory but it will not be graded. This test will count as a regular quiz.