Physics 2010: General Physics I, Fall 1998
Lectures: Prof. Steven Pollock. (Sec 100: MWF 10-10:50, Sec 200: MWF 12-12:50) G030 Duane
Phone: 492-2495 Email: Steven.Pollock@Colorado.edu
Office: F419 in the Gamow Tower
Office Hours (tentative): M,W 1:30-3, and other times by appointment. (Here is my weekly calendar )
Email/Electronic Office Hours: Steven.Pollock@Colorado.edu (anytime)
Course Website:
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys2010/phys2010_fa98
Lots of additional information, including updates
to this syllabus will be posted there. Check it periodically!
Physics 2010 is the first semester of a 2-semester algebra-based sequence in college level physics. This course is an introduction to many basic and essential ideas of physics. We will cover kinematics (how things move) and dynamics (why they move); we will talk about particles (an idealization of most "things"), waves, and heat. You will be learning a small number of facts, and a larger number of ideas. The intent is for you to develop some intuition about how the world works, learn how to approach, solve, and understand physics problems on both qualitative and quantitative levels, and develop some appreciation of the scientific method. By the end of the 2010/2020 sequence, you should be well prepared for the physics MCATS, but far more important, you should have an increased knowledge and understanding of the physical world.
Required Texts: "Physics " Giancoli, 5th edition AND " Physics 2010 Lab Manual " ‘98-99.
(Lab manual available at the bookstore, or for free , here.)
Prerequisites: You will need a working knowledge of algebra, geometry, and trig at a high school level. No previous physics course is assumed. (College level logic, enthusiasm, curiosity and an open mind will be helpful!)
Reading assignments: These are an essential part of this class! Reading the text before class is very important, as it will allow you to concentrate on understanding the lecture. Lectures will assume you have all done the required readings in advance! A tentative syllabus is here , but more detailed reading assignments will appear at each lecture, for the coming class. (Note! Short multiple choice "reading quizzes" may be given on occasion in lecture without notice)
Homework: HW’s will be administered via CAPA (Computer Assisted Personalized Approach). Assignments will be due every Friday evening by 9 PM. Each week, you will receive a personalized homework assignment (everyone’s homework is slightly different) and a password. You should work on the homework just as you would in any other course, but you will log on to a CAPA server (recent versions of Netscape or IE should work fine, as will telnet) and "hand in" your homework solutions online. You will be told immediately if your answers are right or wrong. If wrong, you may try again with no penalty, up to some maximum number of tries set by the instructor. You can also leave and return to finish or try again later, as long as you are done before the deadline.
CAPA is in use in many schools around the country, and has received enthusiastic praise from both students and instructors! Late homeworks will not be accepted by CAPA. See our CAPA page for more details, including what to do if you have problems. Generic homework solutions will be posted (after the CAPA deadline)
Group study is fine (encouraged!) as long as you always generate your final solutions by yourself.
Labs: Registration for 2010 places you in a lab/recitation section. These are held in Duane G-0090 (basement level). There are 6 labs this semester, each lasting two hours. Each TA will announce policies for grading of recitation quizzes and labs. You must attend the lab/recitation to which you are assigned. You need a quadrille-ruled lab notebook (the kind with a square grid on every page) and a lab manual . You’ll complete the lab write-ups during the two-hour lab section, and hand in your completed lab at the end of the session to your TA. (If you can’t complete the report during the period, you may only take the lab book home after obtaining your TA’s permission and instructions, with their initials in your lab book) Please record all lab data in pen in your lab notebook. You should carefully read and study the lab instructions before coming to lab; otherwise you may not have time to finish. There are some pre-lab questions for each lab, the answers to which must be turned in to your TA at the start of the lab. (They will count as part of your lab grade)
NOTE! To pass this course, you must complete at least 5 labs, regardless of your performance on tests, homework, and quizzes. However, all 6 labs will still count towards your grade.
For those with legitimate written excuses, one missed lab may be made up. It must be made up before the end of the week that follows the missed lab. (Please try to arrange to make it up ahead of time if possible!) See the lab coordinator, Jerry Leigh (492-7368) with your legitimate written excuse to schedule make-up labs.
Recitation: On those weeks when there is no lab, you will still meet in G-0090 with your TA for a recitation. Here, you will discuss physics, ask questions, learn methods for solving homework problems, and sometimes take quizzes, which count towards your grade.
All TA’s will have regular office hours at times and places to be announced . You are free to attend the office hours of any instructor in this course.
Exams: Exams are scheduled for Tuesday evenings, Sept 15, Oct. 13, and Nov. 10 from 7:30-9:00 PM, in locations to be announced.
The final will be Sat., Dec. 12, 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM. (location TBA).
The exams will be closed book, but you will be allowed one 8.5"x11" formula sheet. You can write anything you want on your formula sheet (both sides) but you must write it by hand - no Xeroxing and no typing allowed. There will not be any makeup exams. Persons absent for a serious medical reason, or with prior approval from Prof. Pollock, may be excused from one midterm exam. Medical excuses must be submitted to Prof. Pollock no later than 1 week following the exam.
Grading: The total grade weighting will be 20% for HW sets and quizzes (combined); 12.5% for each of the three midterm exams; 27.5% for the final exam, and 15% for the labs. Scores from lab reports and quizzes graded by TA’s will be renormalized so that each TA has the same average score, to correct for differences in individual grading styles.
Any information in this syllabus is as accurate as is possible at the time of writing. Announcements about changes of any kind will be made in class, and (hopefully) posted here on the web, and will take precedence over this syllabus. You are responsible for what is said in class, whether or not you are in attendance.
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