PHYSICS 0174

Basic Physics for Science and Engineering I

Note: This syllabus is available on the WWW at

http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~cls/courses/p0174

TERM (Fall 2001)

• Lecturer: Dr. Chandralekha Singh

• Office: 218 A Allen Hall

• Office hours: Mon 11 am-12 noon, and Wed 12 noon-1pm or stop by anytime you find me in the office

• Phone: 624-9045

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

• Lectures: MF 10-10.50am, W 10-11.50am (Masonic Temple)

• Text: University Physics (extended), Young and Freedman Vol I (Custom Edition), 10th edition, Addison Wesley

• Teaching Assistant: Yvette Blair (office:306 OEH, phone:624-1826)

• Teaching Assistant E-Mail: yvb1@pitt.edu

Goals and Objectives

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.

Course Description

The lecture material will follow the text fairly closely, and many 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 in volume except fluids and thermodynamics. It is highly recommended that students read the relevant chapter ahead of time. There will also be assignments that will not be from the book. Students are expected to have a working knowledge of calculus.

Online Stuff using Courseweb

Useful information including assignments for this course are available at the Courseweb site for this course. You can log on to this site by going to http://courseweb.pitt.edu and typing your university unix user name and password. This site can also be used for discussion forums related to this course in which your instructor and fellow classmates can participate.

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. This assignment will not be collected. The solutions will be posted in the physics library the same week by Thursday. You are strongly encouraged to work on the questions/problems yourself before you consult the solutions in the physics library. There will be a quiz in the recitation every week based upon the homework questions/problems assigned the previous week. The questions/problems will not be exactly the same as homework problems but will be based upon the same principles. If you understand the reasoning/concept behind the homework questions/problems you should have no problem doing well on the quiz. However, if you try to memorize homework problems, you will not do well on the recitation quizzes. Often in the recitation, the quiz will involve group problem solving. The group problems will pertain to some real life situation related to the homework for that week. These concept rich (real life) problems will be more challenging and stimulating than the textbook problems and will help you appeciate how physics applies in everyday situations. They will also teach you good problem solving strategy which includes planning, implementation, and evaluation. The group work will count as a quiz and will be graded exactly as an individual quiz (all the group members present will receive the same score for the group work). Quiz performance will count approximately 15% 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 they are discussed and solutions presented. 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.

Effective Problem Solving Strategies

Since the goal of this course is to develop your reasoning and problem solving skills, I expect you to solve physics problems employing effective problem solving strategies, which includes analysis, planning, implementation and reflection rather than solving the problems haphazardly. I will model this method in class, and it will be necessary to follow this method to receive any partial credit in weekly quizzes and exams.

Physics Exploration Center

For a good understanding of physics concepts learned during the lectures, you will be assigned a few hands-on problems each week which involve the use of the Physics Exploration Center (PEC). PEC is a learning center (entrance through Physics Resource Room, Thaw 311/312)where lecture demonstrations have been modified and turned into small experiments for you to explore. Concrete experiences provided by the hands-on activities are very important for conceptual understanding of physical phenomena. Exploration assignments will count for 10% of your final grade.

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 311/312 Thaw Hall. Help is also available through the Physics Help Desk, located on the first floor of the Cathedral of Learning. Hours are 11am-5pm, Monday - Friday.

Grading Policy

There will be three in-term exams and a two hour cumulative final examination. The final examination date is in the University schedule of classes. The in-term exams are expected to fall on:

• Exam #1 M, Sept 24

• Exam #2 M, Oct 15

• Exam #3 M, Nov 12

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 (20% each), the final exam (35%), and the recitation grade (15% for quizzes and 10% for PEC homework). 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 will be given in class on Mondays.