SYLLABUS
PHYS 141 Principles of Physics – Spring 2005
INSTRUCTOR: Professor Eun-Suk Seo
Rm 3213, CSS building
X5-4855
TEXTBOOK: Serway and Jewett: "Physics for Scientists and Engineers", 6th Edition, Vol. 1 (Thomson: Brooks/Cole, 2004) with PRS (Clickers) & iLrn Student Plug-in CD
LAB MANUAL: "Physics 141 Laboratory Manual," Fall 2004 edition
LECTURE: MWF
LAB: SEC 0102 Th
SEC 0104 Th
DISCUSSION: SEC 0102 Th
SEC 0104 F
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Physics 141 is a 4 credit introductory course in physics with a lab. It is the first semester of a two-semester series. This first semester covers the fields of mechanics, oscillations and waves. The objective of this course is to understand the principles of physics that govern natural phenomena. Simple algebra, trigonometry, and calculus will be used.
COURSE PREPARATION: Reading the textbook before each class is required. You will need to complete a short on-line pre-test using iLrn before some lectures. During the lecture we will focus on the material causing difficulties. You are responsible for all of the material in every covered chapter, regardless of whether or not the material was specifically mentioned in class. Check WebCT for the reading assignment schedule, lecture notes and course related announcements. You can also use the WebCT Q&A board for posting course related questions.
TUTORING: The
Physics Department has a free tutoring service, the Slawsky Clinic,
run by a group of retired senior physicists. It is located in Room 1214 in the
Physics building. The time reserved for PHYS 141 is Monday through Friday,
DISCUSSION: Discussion sessions will give you an opportunity to obtain clarification of the material presented in class, in the textbook, or in the lab. Homework Problems, Quiz Questions, and Lab Experiments will be discussed. This is an opportunity to get help from the TA and from fellow students.
LAB: The experiments in the laboratory are an integral part of this course. You are required to do all of the assigned experiments and complete a lab report for each.
Lab Report: See the Laboratory Manual for a discussion on the format of the reports. Lab reports are due the week after completion of the experiments. Late lab reports will automatically lose 10% of the maximum possible points for each day the report is late. Contact me about extensions in case of sickness, etc. that might warrant an excuse. All late reports are to be turned in to my office. Be sure to read the lab manual before coming to class. You may be asked to present your experiment proposal based on your understanding of the manual. After the lab, you may also be asked to present the results.
LAB SCHEDULE (revised):
|
PHYS
141
Laboratory
Schedule
Spring 2005 |
||
|
Dates |
Experiment |
Title |
|
February 3 |
I |
Errors and
Significance of Data |
|
February 10 |
II |
The freely
Falling Body |
|
February 17 |
III |
Equilibrium
of Forces |
|
February 24 |
|
No lab due
to snow |
|
March
3 |
V |
Ballistic
pendulum |
|
March 10 |
VI |
Centripetal Force and Acceleration |
|
March 17 |
- |
Make Up Labs (1- 6) |
|
March
24 |
- |
Spring Break |
|
March
31 |
IV |
Two-Dimensional Collisions |
|
April
7 |
VII |
Angular
Momentum and its Conservation |
|
April
14 |
VIII |
Simple
Harmonic Motion and Hooke's Law |
|
April
21 |
IX |
The
Pendulum |
|
April 28 |
X |
Standing
Waves on a String |
|
May 5
|
XIII |
Fluid Dynamics |
|
May 12 |
- |
Make Up Labs (7- 13) |
GRADE:
|
Homework & Quizzes |
25% |
|
First Exam |
15% |
|
Second Exam |
15% |
|
Lab |
20% |
|
Final Exam |
25% |
EXAMS: There will be two 50-minute in-class exams and one two-hour final exam. The exam will include problems and conceptual questions. There will be no make-up exam unless prior arrangement is made with the instructor.
Tentative Exam Schedule:
|
Exam 1 |
Monday March 14 |
|
Exam 2 |
Friday April 15 |
|
Final |
Wednesday May 18, |
HOMEWORK: Homework assignments will be made using iLrn every week.
They are due the following week Monday
QUIZZES: There will be a 10 minute quiz at the
beginning of class occasionally on the material covered the previous week
and/or on the material to be covered that week. The quizzes will start at
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Academic dishonesty, including
cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, and plagiarism will
not be tolerated according to the university rule. Students who are
uncertain as to what constitutes academic dishonesty should consult the
University publication entitled Academic Dishonesty. You should also be
aware of the
The Honor Pledge is a
statement undergraduate and graduate students should be asked to write by hand
and sign on examinations, papers, or other academic assignments not
specifically exempted by the instructor. The Pledge reads:
|
|
“I pledge on my
honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this
assignment/examination.” |
Tips for the Lab Report
Science research involves writing a proposal, carrying out experiments, and publishing research papers. In a research proposal you propose an experiment to meet the science goal you want to achieve. You need to justify how the experiment will help understanding of the science you set for your research objective. While conducting experiments, scientists keep record of what they do, analogous to what you will practice with your lab notebook. Specifically, the lab notebook is to keep a record of what you did in the lab and to remind yourself of your findings. To communicate research findings, the results are published in science journals. No matter how great your discoveries, if they are not published no one else would know of your discoveries and the world will not be able to utilize them. Writing a lab report is similar to writing a journal paper for a publication. You should write down your findings in an effective and convincing manner to your peers. Tabulating the data and plotting graphs are the most effective way of presenting data. In addition to writing down your experimental settings, you must perform error analysis to convince people of the reproducibility and validity of the data.
1. Instructions: Read the instructions carefully before you start, again when you are doing the experiment and before you finish to avoid leaving out significant sections.
2. Handwriting: Write legibly, otherwise the TA won’t be able to grade the report. Typing with a word processor using a computer is desired.
3. Measurements: Make sure to use the right scale.
4. Tables: Re-tabulate the data properly in ascending or descending order. Do not hand in a copy of your lab notebook unless it is very neat. When you use computer software, such as Excel printouts, make sure the cells are formatted to reflect the precision of the instrument. For example, 3.000 must not show up as 3.
5. Experimental settings: Write down the experimental settings next to your readings
6. Graphs: Make sure to put in axis titles and error bars
7. Error Analysis and Numerical Calculations
- Quantities: Define quantities (such as A, B etc.) before you use them.
- Systematic presentations: First manipulate the expressions algebraically. Then, write down the corresponding numerical values of the quantities in the equation. Do not substitute numbers into the equations directly. Finally calculate the answer, write it down and underline it.
8. Discussion: Think about the experiment, look at the orders of magnitude, and ask yourself how you might improve the results. Put all thoughts/understanding on the paper.
Tips for Exam
To get full credit, you must show all your work. You will not receive credit if you do not show your work, even if you write down the "right" answer. When answering the "questions", use complete sentences. If the question is a true/false, a multiple choice, yes/no, or other similar question, explain why the answer you chose is the correct one. Your TA will deduct points if your handwriting is illegible, or if your answer is hard to understand because of poor grammar.
Contact Information:
TA: Mr. Joshua King
Rm 3101, Physics building
X5-6194
Lab managers: Mr. Bill Norwood
Rm 3304,
X5-6006
Giza, Thomas E.
Rm 3308,
X5-6005
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves right to make minor changes to meet the specific needs of the class during the semester.