Lecture: Noon-12:50pm, MWF, Room G1B30, Duane Physics Building.

Recitation: There is a 2-hour recitation/lab meeting once a week in Room G2B83, Duane Physics Bldg . Please note: You must attend the recitation to which you are assigned! See the University Registration Handbook for your recitation time.

Primary Lecturer: Prof. Michael Ritzwoller, phone: (303) 492-7075, e-mail: michael.ritzwoller@colorado.edu, office: Duane F721 (Gamow Tower).  Office hours are anytime, by appointment.

Lab/recitation Coordinator: Prof. Scott Parker,  (303) 492-3292, sparker@colorado.edu.  Regular HelpRoom office hours are listed on the HelpRoom page . Other office hours by appointment.

Texts: "Physics" by D.C.Giancoli.5th or 6th edition (Chapters 1-14). There are no other required or recommended texts for this course. The latest edition is the 6th edition. You can also use the 5th edition.

Required Equipment: One iClicker “clicker”, an electronic transmitter used for audience feedback during lecture.   Purchase your iClicker at the CU bookstore and register your clicker at cuconnect.  

Reading :Reading is an essential part of this course.  Students are expected to have completed the reading assignments prior to lecture. The material in this course is too difficult to learn just by listening to lecture. 

Etiquette: Please turn off all cell phones when entering any classroom. Please do not surf the web on your labtop or text message during lecture. It distracts you and the other students. It is perfectly OK to interrupt the lecture by yelling “Question!”.  Questions in lecture are always good.

Prerequisite: Knowledge of basic algebra and trigonometry. No previous knowledge of physics is assumed, but any previous exposure to science at the high-school level or above will be useful.

Material Covered: This is the first semester of a two-semester survey of introductory physics, PHYS 2010/2020. This is an algebra-based course intended for pre-meds, life-science majors, and other non-engineering students. (Engineering majors, physics majors, and others desiring a calculus-based survey of physics should take the PHYS 1110/1120/1140 sequence.) PHYS 2010 covers classical mechanics, fluids, waves, and heat. PHYS 2020 covers electricity and magnetism, optics, and topics in modern physics including special relativity, quantum mechanics and nuclear physics.

Grading:
3 midterm exams, 14% each: 42%
Final exam: 26%
homeworks(CAPA + Written HW): 20%
lab and recitation activities: 10%

clickers: 2%

Final grades will be assigned on an absolute scale according to your final point total:
A/A-     = 100 - 88
B+/B/B- =  88 - 77
C+/C/C- = 77 - 65
D+/D/D- = 65 - 55
F  < 55

These grade cuts may be lowered (made easier) but they will not be raised (made harder). In the past, the average grade for this course has been the C+/B- cut-off and it will likely be the same this semester, unless there is evidence that this year's students are unusual.

Scores from homework problems and labs which are hand-graded by TA's will be normalized so that each TA has the same average score.

Exams: Evening Midterm Exams will be given on the following dates in G1B20 and G1B30. The final exam will be held in G1B30.

Exam I: Tues., Feb 3, 7:30pm - 9:00pm.
Exam II: Tues, Mar 3, 7:30pm - 9:00pm.
Exam III: Tues, Apr 7, 7:30pm - 9:00pm.
Final Exam: Mon afternoon, May 4, 4:30pm -7:00 pm.

Students requiring extra time for the exam should contact Prof. Parker for scheduling and to provide documentation of the need.

Exams will be closed book. You should bring a calculator and at least two number 2 pencils to every exam. There will be no sharing of calculators during exams. You are allowed to bring a single 8.5" x 11" formula sheet to each mid-term exam and two such sheets to the final exam. You can write anything you want on your formula sheet (both sides!) but you must write it by hand - no photocopying and no typing allowed. There will be no early or late exams given and no make-up exams or quizzes. An absence on one exam may be excused for reasons of health or personal tragedy, but this will require written documentation from a physician, family member, etc. within one week of the exam. You should bring a calculator to every exam. There will be no sharing of calculators during exams. And remember, bring a calculator to every exam.

CAPA: an internet homework system: This course uses an Internet-based homework system called CAPA (Computer Assisted Physics Assignments). In the CAPA system, students receive a personalized homework assignment (every student's assignment is slightly different) with a CAPA ID number. Students log on to a CAPA server via an Internet connection (e.g., your PC or a campus computer) and "hand in" their homework solutions online. The student is told immediately whether the answers are right or wrong and, if wrong, the student can try again, with no penalty, up to a maximum number of tries set by the instructor. Six tries are set in this course. There will be one new CAPA homework each week and it will always be due Friday night at 10pm. If you miss the Fri deadline, there is an automatic extension until 6am the next morning on Sat. More details will be given in class and on the Web page: http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys2010

Laboratories and Recitations:

There are 6 labs, one every two or three weeks, each lasting two hours. You must attend the lab to which you are assigned. You are to complete the lab write-up during the two-hour lab section and hand in your completed lab at the end of the session. You should carefully read and study the lab instructions before coming to the lab. There are some pre-lab questions for each lab, the answers to which you must hand in, on a separate sheet, at the beginning of the lab period. If you know you will miss a lab, you can hand these in earlier, but never later. See your TA for making up missed labs during the two weeks designed for this purpose (the week before Spring Break and the last week of classes). To pass this course, you MUST perform at least 5 labs.

In addition, there are six recitations in which you will complete "Tutorials" -- which are written work for you to complete during the recitation period.

Finally, two recitation periods are set aside to review material (the week before Spring Break and the final week of classes) and also to serve as the periods in which make-up labs must be completed. To make up a lab during these periods, you must see your TA at least a week in advance.

Lecture Notes, solutions. Auxiliary Lecture notes (written by Dr. Michael Dubson) and all other course information will be on the Physics 2010 Web site. The URL is http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys2010

Other information:

Change of registration: To drop the course or change recitation section, go to the Physics Office, room E1B32, Duane Physics. The deadline for dropping without a signature is Wed, Jan 28, 5pm. After Jan 28, a course drop requires Prof. Ritzwoller's signature. After Wed, Feb 25, course drop requires a petition to the Dean. Get the necessary forms from the Physics Office, Room E1B32.

Incompletes: According to the rules of the University, an incomplete (IF or IW) can only be awarded if ".. for reasons beyond the student's control, the student is unable to complete the course requirements". Incompletes can never be awarded simply to protect a student's GPA.

Students with Disabilities or other special needs: If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let Prof. Ritzwoller know early in the semester, preferably before Jan 28, so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. I will need a letter from the Office of Disability Services and you will need to provide documentation of your disability to Disability Services in Willard 322 (phone 303-492-8671).  

Students with religious obligations that conflict with the exam dates should contact me early in the semester so that accomadations can be made.