PHYS161 Spring 2020

Lecture times & Location

(Section 01xx): Tuesday & Thursday (TR), 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM, PHY 1412

The material discussed in the lecture will treat essentially the same material as in the text but offers from a rather different perspective. It is essential to follow the lectures to do well in the course. Material for exams will follow the lectures as much or more than the book.

Teaching Assistants, Discussion Times & Locations

The discussion section has several functions. One is to provide students a chance to ask questions to clarify issues raised in lectures and the book. A second is an emphasis on problem-solving. To help make the problem-solving component compelling, the sections will generally work on at least some of the current week’s homework assignment – before they are due. Given this, it is strongly in your interest to attempt the homework before the discussion section. This will enable you to ask the TA to focus on section on those problems which are giving you trouble.

Textbook

Math Background

MATH140 is a pre-requisite for this course while MSTH141 is a co-req. You are expected to know differentiation, integration, elementary algebraic manipulations, and trigonometric rules. If you do not know any math step discussed in class, be sure to ask and we can clear that up in the discussion sessions.

Homework

Homework assignments are hosted via the online service Expert TA. You must submit your answers for the homework problems using the ExpertTA (see below).

There are several advantages to electronic homework submission:

1. You will know right away if your answer is right or wrong
2. If you give a wrong answer, you can go back and try again to see if you can get the correct solution. You will be allowed 5 attempts for each question, so don’t waste them.
3. You are graded only on your final answers and get your score when you are done.
4. The site also has a tutorial capability that you may find helpful.

Note that the software may randomize the numbers each time you make a new attempt on a problem, so be careful and remember that other students working on exactly the same problems are likely to have different numbers. The best way to do physics problems is first to work out carefully a general analytical solution to the problem and then plug in the numbers at the end. This is especially true if the numbers are being randomized each time so everyone has different numbers.

Why You Need to do the Homework: One of the main ways you can understand Physics is by doing the homework. Do not wait until the night before it’s due to start working on your homework. The homework can be expected to be difficult and it counts a lot towards your final grade in enabling you to succeed on your exams. A sure way to get an F in this course is to not do the homework or not give yourself enough time to work on it.

You will begin the registration process for Expert TA when you access the Intro to XTA.

Quizzes

You will have about one quiz a week. Quizzes will be closed book, but all you may have a sheet of formulae with you (This will help you prep for the exams). You will take the quizzes online through ELMS and once you begin will have fifteen minutes to complete. The quiz problems will be largely straightforward conceptual questions and are intended to check your basic competency in topics from the prior week's lecture content. If we have more than 10 quizzes, I will drop your lowest quiz score before computing your average.

There will be no makeups for missed quizzes. If you have a valid, documented excuse for missing the quiz, you will be exempt.

Exams

All exams are closed book. A single 8.5 x 11-inch sheet of paper will be allowed for formulas for each semester exam. The three semester exams will each be 50 minutes long, making it imperative to get to class on time those days. The lowest semester exam score will be dropped. The final exam is cumulative and will be 2 hours long. You may have one formula sheet for the final.

Campus Policies

It is our shared responsibility to know and abide by the University of Maryland’s policies that relate to all courses,

which include topics like:

• Academic integrity
• Student and instructor conduct
• Accessibility and accommodations
• Attendance and excused absences
• Grades and appeals
• Copyright and intellectual property

Please visit www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html for the Office of Undergraduate Studies’ full list of campus-wide policies and follow up with me if you have questions.

Course Policies

Communication

I will clearly post all announcements, assignments, due dates, and other important information on the course ELMS page. I will also use ELMS to send course-wide emails when necessary. It is your responsibility to find such information on ELMS. Please check the page regularly for updates. I will be rather inflexible in dealing with problems that arise due to your failure to know things that have been posted on ELMS.

That said, your TA and I will be happy to answer any other questions about course material, trouble with assignments, etc as they arise. Please feel free to send me a message via ELMS at any time for such reasons.

Attendance

Your TA and I will be paying attention to who is here, who is participating, who comes to office hours, etc. Playing along in these ways will be beneficial to you in the event of borderline performance in the course. All that said, if you already know this material well, and you're only taking the course to earn required credit, I will not be offended by your occasional absence in the classroom, and you will not be penalized for it, as long as you are present for exams and quizzes, all of your assignments are turned in promptly, and your performance is satisfactory.

If you need to miss a deadline or an exam for a religious observance or other legitimate reason, please notify me in advance, and preferably ASAP. If you miss an exam due to illness or emergency, please get in touch ASAP after the fact. In all cases, a makeup exam will be arranged accordingly.

If the university is closed due to inclement weather or some emergency situation on or near an exam day or other important date, I will contact you on ELMS with further instructions.

Grading

Tentatively the grading will be based on the following weights:

• Semester exams - 40%
• Homework - 10%
• Quizzes – 10%
• Final Exam (Cumulative) – 40%

Grades are not given, but earned. Your grade is determined by your performance on the learning assessments in the course.

Homework solutions will be posted on the ELMS page. Late homework will incur a 10% penalty for every day past the due date. Exams will be returned to you with clear marks.

If you would like to review any of your grades (including the exams), or have questions about how something was scored, please email me to schedule a time for us to meet in my office.

I am happy to discuss any of your grades with you, and if I have made a mistake I will immediately correct it. Any formal grade disputes must be submitted in writing and within one week of receiving the grade.

Final letter grades are assigned based on the percentage of total assessment points earned. To be fair to everyone I have to establish clear standards and apply them consistently, so please understand that being close to a cutoff is not the same this as making the cut. It would be unethical to make exceptions for some and not others. Some curving is possible, but not guaranteed.

General Comments

Physics is a naturally cumulative subject; the knowledge learned at each stage builds upon a previous knowledge. Do not fall behind! If you find yourself in trouble, seek help. Attend the discussion section and ask questions, or go to office hours. Don’t wait until just before the exam.

My office hours are 1:00 - 1:50 PM in PHY 3117 Wednesdays. If you wish to meet outside that time window, please schedule an appointment at davidbuehrle.youcanbook.me