W10
Closing Time
Closing Time
Update 3/11: you can edit your response in this week's quick survey; I've added a new option "I do not give any permission to share my videos." My apologies that this option was not originally included! (I thought you were allowed to check none of the boxes, but this wasn't the case.)
Announcements
Grades through Week 10: Link to grade sheet using your P40B ID.
Grade concern form: if you want Prof. Tanedo to double check something when finalizing grades at the end of the term, please fill out this short form to remind him of any past excused late assignments. (Examples: students who transferred in during week 2 are exempt from week 1 assignments.) You may fill this form out multiple times, once for each concern. Due: Fri, March 12
Grade appeal form: if you know that there is a problem with a grade, then please record a 5 minute explainer video making your case for why one of your grades should be improved. There are two types of appeals: reviewer mistakes, and your mistakes. You may fill this form out multiple times, once for each concern. Due: Fri, March 12
Optional, but appreciated
The following does not contribute in any way to your course grade.
Post-Class Pedagogy Survey
Our flipped classroom/explainer video course is experimental. To examine whether this type of course format is beneficial to students, we have a brief survey and with the option for a follow up discussion with an education researcher. Prof. Tanedo would appreciate it if you take some time to fill in this survey. Due: Fri, March 12 (optional, but appreciated)
iEval
iEval is UCR's way of letting students give anonymous feedback. Here's how it'll be used: (1) I'll receive a copy of the responses with no identifying information and will use this to adjust my teaching style, (2) the university will use this information when they evaluate me for tenure later this year.
By the way, use #2 can sometimes be problematic. Women and minority faculty tend to get lower course evaluations, and there's some evidence that part of the reason may be because they don't "look like professors."
"Reevaluating teacher evaluations in higher education," Toni Feder
Physics Today 73, 1, 24 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.4386
Letter of Rec. Request
This year Prof. Tanedo is applying for the UCR Academy of Distinguished Teachers' Junior Excellence in Teaching Award. If you are willing to write me a letter of recommendation, please send a copy to Prof. Michael Anderson (mganders@ucr.edu) with "Prof. Tanedo JET Letter of Rec." in the title.
Additional lectures (from Spring 2020) are linked at the bottom of the page.
Tue: end of course logistics, sample "Rube Goldberg" (pre-pdf, post-pdf)
Thu: AMA (list of questions, pre-pdf, post-pdf)
Review some of the main ideas from each week this course by putting together a Rube Goldberg machine Physics 40B prompt for the ages.
Take a deep breath and reflect on what you've accomplished in this course. This class is not easy, let alone remote learning during a pandemic. You not only got through this course, but you have video evidence of your mastery of the material. Be proud of what you've accomplished.
No chapters from Knight!
Due Wednesday.
Submission link: Quick Survey #10
No Mastering Physics!
Due next Monday. You have no time limit on this one.
Submission link: Week #10 Explainer (Rube Goldberg Machine!)
Prompt: Make a video that presents a convoluted Rube Goldberg-like physics problem that touches on as many ideas from this course as possible. You don't have to solve it. You don't have to put in actual numbers. But come up with the craziest hypothetical final exam and present it as a video. Make it silly. More details below.
To be assigned Wednesday, due next Monday.
Submission link: Week #10 peer review of Week #9 Explainers (please submit 4 times, one for each peer review)
Peer Review Assignments; if a video is missing, please email the reviewee directly. They need to (1) email you the link to their video and (2) submit using this week's submission form. (Note: submitting via the form won't update the peer review assignments.)
Officially, you have until the end of this week to submit extra credit videos. I will accept videos until I actually sit down and watch them all, which will be some time after this Friday (but the exact date is not clear).
Submission link: Extra Credit
This week is different! Rather than solving a silly physics problem, you will propose an extra-silly physics problem.
Please record a video that proposes a silly "extra long physics problem" that uses topics from as many chapters as you can cover. You can go over 5 minutes for this video.
You've spent all quarter doing really silly problems from the book. Who put all of that ideal gas into these ideal, insulated pistons, anyway?! All of the problems have been somewhat contrived scenarios to get you to apply the principles we've learned. In this video, I'd like you to take it to the extreme and imagine what a super contrived, convoluted, insane final exam could look like in this course.
Make up some really arbitrary sequence of events where you ask a series of physics questions about topics in the course. Imagine that you are writing a comprehensive final exam, but it's just *one* long question with some really contrived scenario. The rules are:
Each sub-question needs to be something that you could in principle calculate in this course. Make sure you state each sub question clearly.
You don't need to put in explicit numbers.
The problem must be solvable if there were explicit numbers.
Use at least one idea from each of the following
gravity (ch 13)
fluids (ch 14)
harmonic motion/waves (ch 15 - 17)
thermodynamics (ch 18 - 21)
The sillier the better!
Important: you do not have to solve the problem!
Criteria: I would like to see that you can identify some new things that you can do after taking this course by creating silly tasks that require these skills. You are welcome to make fun of the types of problems we've done all quarter. Have fun with it. It's been a long quarter, let's laugh together.
Grading rubric (approximate percentages):
40% - cover at least one topic from gravity, fluid dynamics, waves, and thermodynamics.
20% - explicit questions that you ask must be solvable (in principle) if we put exact numbers to it
10% - creative transitions between pieces of the problem
20% - ask the type of questions that reflect a clear understanding of the material
10% - silly or mocking textbook physics problems
Some inspiration for a Rube Goldberg Machine from OK Go:
More Rube Goldberg inspiration from The Incredible Machine 2
"World’s largest Rube Goldberg machine lights up Christmas tree" via the Guinness Book of World Records
Wallace and Gromit is a shining example of bad Rube Goldberg machines, here's The Snoozatron.
"Why is it so hard for me to float/swim but huge ships can :("
Check out this link from SDSU
"Have you finally learned how to spell 'refrigerator'? LOL"
I have to pause every time I say it. It reminds me of the Sophia Vergara shampoo sketch on SNL.
"Is an Iron Man suit possible?"
You should really be asking UCR Prof. Suveen Mathadu, our superhero expert
"Are there aliens?"
Check out the Drake equation.
Is it possible for a black hole to eat another black hole?
Yes! And you would detect gravitational waves...
Art history reference: Saturn Devouring His Son, Nerdwriter1 video about it
Tell us about dark matter
There's probably about one dark matter particle per mug of coffee. (With some assumptions about the dark matter.)
Anime recommendations
Music recommendations
Frank Turner, Positive Songs for Negative People
Here's my backup plan for lecture material if there weren't any Q&A questions:
3blue1brown: on Bayes theorem
This class has been amazing. It's been a hard quarter for all of us, and I appreciate each of you who rose to the occasion to bring your best to this course. The mornings spent doing live lectures and the time we spent talking to one another in interviews were some of the highlights of the term for me. It has been a privilege to help guide you in this class—but everything you've accomplished is 100% because of how bright, creative, and resourceful you are. For that, you get my applause. Bravo.