Most recent entries are listed first:

Weekly announcements posted Apr 25:

Final exam is Saturday, May 5, 4:30 PM, EAST side of Coors Event Center. Seating is NOT random - where you sit depends on your TA - please see the map on the "Exam and grade info" link !

LAST recitation HW, due May 3: Problem 22 on page 412.
Please also add c) What is the wavelength? d) What is the shortest string on which this can be a standing wave. Hint: a gram is not a kilogram.

CAPA #14 is in the bins. (Last one!)

Reading: We are currently in Ch. 16. (Coming up next: Ch. 17)

Exam #3 is now graded. Exam answers, histogram, and access to gradegetter can be found on the "Exam and grade info" link off on the left.

Click on "Homework and answers" at the left to get the most recent homework solutions. This week's solutions should be posted Friday before 5 pm.

Weekly announcements posted Apr 18:

Exam #3 is now graded. Exam answers, histogram, and access to gradegetter can be found on the "Exam and grade info" link off on the left.

Recitation HW, due April 26 (Note: that's the week after the exam): Problem #70 on p. 390 of the textbook. And, in addition , please add the following two parts:
b) If the object was placed at rest at the center of the earth, would it be in equilibrium? If so, is it "stable", "unstable", "neutral", or "metastable" equilbrium? (See p 347 for definitions of these words if you've forgotten) Explain your answer briefly but clearly.
c) If the object was placed at rest not at the center of the earth, and not out at the radius of the earth, but somewhere in between, at distance "X" from the center of the earth, what would the resulting motion look like? (What would the period be?) Explain your answer briefly but clearly.

Reading: We are currently in Ch. 15. (We will skim/skip 15.6-7) (Coming up next: Ch. 16)

Click on "Homework and answers" at the left to get the most recent homework solutions. This week's solutions should be posted Friday before 5 pm.

Weekly announcements posted Apr 11:

CAPA #12 is in the bins, due Thur Apr 19.

Exam #3, Apr. 17 This exam is cumulative, as always, but the focus is on chapters 9-12. The format of the exam will be the same as that of previous exams. Do you remember where to go for your exam? (See "Exam and grade info" link on the left)

Due to the exam, there will not be any new "long answer HW" problem due April 19. The CAPA distributed this week is due Thursday evening (not Wed.).

Reading: We are currently in Ch. 13, and will be covering Ch. 14 soon.

Click on "Homework and answers" at the left to get the most recent homework solutions. This week's solutions will be posted Friday before 5 pm.

Weekly announcements posted Apr 4:

Recitation HW, due April 12: Problem #38 on p. 309 of the textbook. And, in addition , please add the following two parts:
c) Suppose air friction applies a constant torque of 0.0012 m*N, how much work does air friction do during each subsequent rotation?
d) How many rotations does the frisbee make before it stops spinning?

Reading: We are currently in Ch. 12, rotating motion. We'll be starting Ch. 13 soon.

Click on "Homework and answers" at the left to get the most recent homework solutions. This week's solutions will be posted Friday before 5 pm.
Exam #2 has been graded. Solutions and gradegetter are available under the "Exam and grade info " link on the left. Exams were handed back at recitation Thursday Mar 22.

Weekly announcements posted March 22:

Exam #2 has been graded. Solutions and gradegetter are available under the "Exam and grade info" link on the left. Exams were handed back at recitation Thursday Mar 22.

Recitation HW, due April 5 (after break): Problem 68 on page 281 of the textbook. This is about an inelastic collision.

Reading: We were in Chapter 10 and have moved to Chapter 11. After break, we will start Chapter 12 on rotating motion.

Click on Homework and answers at the left to get the most recent homework solutions. This week's solutions will be posted Friday before 5 pm.

Weekly announcements posted March 16:

Exam 2 information is now available. Go to the "Exam and grade info" link on the left side of this page.

Recitation HW, due March 22: Problem 36 on page 259 of the textbook. Please give both magnitude and direction of the velocity. Note: The number associated with a nucleus' name is the atomic number - the mass of the nucleus is proportional to that number. So, U(238) means Uranium has a mass of 238 atomic mass units, also called "amu", or "unified mass units", or just "u". Appendix C tells what that is in kg, but you really don't need to know that conversion to solve this problem.

Recitation HW, due April 5 (after break): Problem 68 on page 281 of the textbook. This is about an inelastic collision.

Reading: We were in Chapter 10 and have moved to Chapter 11. After break, we will start Chapter 12 on rotating motion.

Exam #2 has been graded. Solutions are now posted soon under the "Exam and grade info" link on the left. Exams will be handed back at recitation Thursday.

Click on Homework and answers at the left to get the most recent homework solutions. This week's solutions will be posted Friday before 5 pm.

Weekly announcements posted March 9:

The CAPA distributed this week is due next Thursday evening (not Weds.).

There is no recitation homework due the week of the exam.

Reading: We have finished Chapter 9 and are starting Chapter 10.

Exam #2: March 13. Covers Chapters 5-8. The format of the exam will be the same as that of Exam #1. Do you remember where to go for your exam? (See "Exam and grade info" link on the left)

Click on Homework and answers at the left to get the most recent homework solutions. This week's solutions will be posted Friday before 5 pm.

Weekly announcements posted March 2:

Due March 8: Textbook problem 52, Chapter 8, page 209. Parts a, b, c, and d.

There is no recitation homework due the week of the exam.

Reading: We are finishing Ch. 8. Please read to the end of Chapter 9.

Exam #2: March 13. Covers Chapters 5-8. The format of the exam will be the same as that of Exam #1. Do you remember where to go for your exam? (See "Exam and grade info" link on the left)

The CAPA distributed this week is due next Thursday evening (not Weds.).

Weekly announcements posted Feb. 23:

Recitation homework due March 1: Problem 59 on page 160 of the textbook. Please add a part B: Suppose mu_k = 0.35 and you push the trunk across the room a distance of 5 m horizontally at constant speed. The force is exerted in the direction shown in the textbook. How much work do you do? Assume that the trunk has mass 10 kg in part B. (In part A, you don't need the mass of the trunk. In part B, expect a lot of algebra.)

Reading: We are now in Chapter 7.

Weekly announcements posted Feb. 16:

Recitation homework problem due Feb. 22: Chapter 6, problem 16 on page 157. Add this as part b: There is now friction between the table and mass m2. What is the minimum value of the coefficient of static friction (Greek mu with subscript s) necessary to keep the system from starting to move?
Reading: Read Chapter 6.1-6.4 this week We will skip 6.5.
Exam #1 (version 0001) answers are here (pdf format) Version 2 is very similar, the order is different, slight variations. Answers only, for version 0002 is here . (See version 1 to see the explanations/solutions.)
Your own exam score is now available via our gradegetter program

Weekly announcements posted Feb. 7:

There is no recitation homework due Feb. 15 to allow you time to prepare for the exam. There is a short CAPA #4 which will be due Thursday evening at 9 pm rather than Wednesday evening.

Old: Recitation homework 3 is due Feb. 8: Problem #64 on page 90. Add this: Please specify the initial velocity by its magnitude and angle.

Reading: Read Chapter 5 this week
Exam #1 (Chaps. 1-4) is Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 13.
Click on Exam and grade info. at left to find what room you are in. I will hold an informal review/question session the evening before the midterm, Mon Feb 12, 5-6 PM, G1B20. (Come with questions, I will not have any prepared material...)

Week of Jan 24:
Recitation Homework #2 due Feb. 1 is problem 70 on page 44 with this added: c) Sketch one graph with y(t) for both divers. Please define y=0 to be water level. Define "up" to be +. Define "t=0" to be the moment diver #2 steps off the board, i.e. when the first diver passes the board on her way down.
Reading: to Chapter 3.3 on Jan. 26. Probably at Ch. 4.4 on Friday, Feb. 2.
CAPA Homework 2 is in your mailbox in the hall below the lecture room.

Week of Jan 16:
Textbook: Physics for Scientists and Engineers , Third ed., Wolfson and Pasachoff.
Reading: Chapters 1 Doing Physics
Homework 1, Due in recitation January 25.
Textbook ,Chapter 2, problem 36 (page 42). Add part e: Briefly explain (in words, and with sketches) why your answers to c and d are smaller than the respective answers to a and b. Derive clear symbolic formulas for all parts before plugging in any numbers. Show explicitly how the units work out everywhere. CAPA Homework 1 is in your mailbox in the hall below the lecture room.