Richard Barrans, Ph.D., M.Ed., Department of Physics and Astronomy
| Office: | PS 110 |
| Phone: | 766-6516 |
| e-mail: | rbarrans@uwyo.edu |
| Office Hours: | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 1:00–1:50 PM |
Anirban (Rana) Bhattachargee (Tuesday and Wednesday)
| Office: | PS 103B |
| Phone: | 766-3162 |
| E-mail: | abhattac@uwyo.edu |
| Office Hour: | Thursday noon–1:00 PM |
Michael Lundquist (Thursday)
| Office: | PS 103E |
| Phone: | 766-3162 |
| E-mail: | mlundqui@uwyo.edu |
| Office Hour: | Thursday 3:00–4:00 PM |
After completion of this course, the successful student will be able to:
How does the world work? How can we find out? These questions are the basis of the science of physics. This course is a one-semester survey of physics for students with a minimal mathematics and science background. It addresses the three major domains of classical physics: mechanics, thermodynamics, and electricity/magnetism. The emphasis is on developing a correct qualitative understanding of physical principles and communicating it clearly rather than on being able to substitute numbers into a formula to produce the expected answer.
Textbook: Conceptual Physics, Tenth Edition, by Paul G. Hewitt, with Practicing Physics workbook, published by Pearson Addison Wesley. Available at the University Bookstore for $144.25 new. The workbook is recommended, but not required. Used the text alone costs $101.00, but the workbook is then an additional $38.70.
Laboratory Manual: Physics 1050 Laboratory Manual. This is a photocopied course packet, available at the University Bookstore for $14.15.
Classroom Performance System (CPS) Response Pad: Available at the University Bookstore. It must be registered at www.eInstruction.com before use in class. The pad itself costs $24, and registration is another $15.00 (?) per term online (credit or debit card required), or $20.00 (?) using an enrollment card from the bookstore. The class enrollment key is N25408C143.
The only formal course prerequisite is completion of MATH 1000 or passing the Mathematics Placement Examination at Level 3. The mathematics demands of the course are at the Algebra I level. Students must manipulate equations to solve for a single variable, manipulate exponents, add and multiply polynomials, and multiply and divide fractions. Necessary vector operations will be presented in class.
If you find yourself struggling, please see me or your teaching assistant for help sooner rather than later. We will do whatever we can to help you succeed.
During my listed office hours, I will be physically in my office, or I will leave a note on my desk stating where I can be found nearby (lab, department office…). You are also welcome to see me in my office any other time that I am there—if the door is open, please come in.
If visiting me in my office is inconvenient, the very best way to contact me is by e-mail. I can pretty much guarantee that I will forget any conversation in class. If I have my wits about me when you speak to me in class, I will ask you to send me an e-mail to remind me of what we discussed. If I forget to tell you to send the e-mail, please send the e-mail anyway.
The hour immediately before class is not a good time to contact me, because I will be concentrating on preparing for class. After class is usually better, unless I am in a hurry to clean up before the next class.
Finally, I am not permitted to disclose your grades by telephone or e-mail, so please do not ask!
The final grade is determined from cumulative points attained. Grading is on a standard scale (90’s = A, 80’s = B, 70’s = C, 60’s = D, < 60% = F).
A total of 1000 points will be available in the course. They are apportioned as follows:
| Item | Points/ea | Number | Points Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-class Examinations 1 & 2 | 101 | 2 | 202 |
| Final Examination Parts 1 & 2 | 101 | 2 | 202 |
| The lowest item of the above will be dropped, for a total 303 points. | |||
| Laboratory | 20 | 12 | 240 |
| On-line reading quizzes | 4 | 24 | 96 |
| On-line drills | 15 | 11 | 165 |
| Written homework | 10 | 9 | 90 |
| Exam reflections | 40 | 2 | 80 |
| On-line surveys | 13 | 2 | 26 |
Each in-class examination and each part of the final examination count as one 101-point test. The exam with the lowest score will be disregarded.
The reading quizzes, drills, etc. can only raise, never lower your grade. Your course grade will be the higher of the score determined above or the average of the four tests (no dropped test).
A passing grade on the laboratory component is required to pass the course. That means that you must earn at least 144 points in lab to pass the course, no matter how many points you receive elsewhere. This applies to either way of calculating your final average.
A note about grades: Your grade in this course reflects only your performance over a 15-week period on a limited set of evaluations. Your grade does not reflect your worth as a person or what I think of you. Because of the limited scope of this course, your grade is not a prediction of your future success or even an evaluation of your potential in any career. In short, do not cause yourself (or your instructor) anxiety by making more of your grade than it really is.
Tuesday and Thursday 9:35–10:50, Classroom Building, room 314. Attendance is expected at all classes.
Each class will include interactive Classroom Performance System (CPS) questions and class work. The CPS response pad allows you to answer questions in real time during a lecture. It provides me with immediate feedback, and gives you an opportunity to immediately apply what you have learned. Class work should be done in groups. This work is a vital component of the class! Please make an effort to solve all class work problems, and to ensure that all members of your group understand each problem and solution.
Student groups for class work are assigned. New groups will form from time to time during the semester.
There are three laboratory sections, meeting at 1:10–3:00 PM in the Physical Sciences Building, room 130. Section 10 meets on Tuesday, Section 11 meets on Wednesday, and Section 12 meets on Thursday.
Students registered for the lecture portion of this course are also required to register for a laboratory session. There are thirteen (13) labs, each worth twenty (20) points. Your lowest lab score will be disregarded; only your top 12 lab scores will be counted toward your semester grade. Laboratory participation is a required, essential component of the course. You must obtain a passing grade (> 60%) in the laboratory to pass the course.
Students should be familiar with each lab before it begins. A Sakai quiz on each lab is due before the first lab session of the week. An exception is the first lab, whose pre-lab quiz is due before the first lab session of the second week. The pre-lab quiz is worth four (4) points of the total twenty (20) points of the lab. A pre-lab quiz may only be submitted once.
Reading quizzes and drills can be accessed on Sakai. Reading quizzes cover the assigned readings and are due immediately before class. There will be 24 reading quizzes, one for each reading assignment, each worth four (4) points. A reading quiz may be submitted for grading only once. The drills review material addressed during the week, and are due on the following Thursday unless there is an in-class exam on Thursday. There will be eleven (11) drills, each worth fifteen (15) points. There is no limit to the number of times you may submit a drill for grading.
It is not necessary to complete a drill or reading quiz in one sitting. You can open it, read its questions, exit without submitting (by clicking on the “Save for Later” button instead of the “Submit for Grading” button), and return to it later. Your answers will be there when you return. Just be sure to submit it before the deadline: I cannot retrieve answers that were not submitted, even if they were saved “for later.”
Homework assignments must be submitted in hard copy, on paper. Do not e-mail a homework without prior arrangements with me.
A preliminary survey will be conducted on Sakai at the beginning of the semester. In addition, an anonymous on-line survey about your experience with the course will be conducted at the end of the semester.
There will be two one-hour exams during the semester and one, in two parts, during the scheduled final exam period. The two in-semester exams and the first part of the final exam will be based on material covered since the previous exam; in other words, these exams are not cumulative. The second part of the final covers the entire course. All four exams, the two during the semester and the two during the final examination period, are equally weighted.
All tests are closed-note, closed-book. A formula sheet will be included with each test, and students may bring one 3" × 5" file card with writing on both sides (two cards for the final). Calculators are permitted. Headgear, audio equipment, and computers are prohibited.
After each in-class test, you will reflect on what led you to answer incorrectly, and explain how to correctly answer the questions you missed. This is the most valuable and informative exercise of the semester, for both the instructor and the students.
Course information, lecture outlines, and homework will be posted on the class web site at www.barransclass.com/phys1050. Reading quizzes, surveys, and drills are accessed through Sakai, which can be accessed at wyosakai.uwyo.edu. Please check the class web site at least once each week for notices and assignments.
Please inform me of anticipated absences before they occur. Notify me of unanticipated absences no later than seven calendar days after the absence. Work missed due to an absence may be made up if the student has an official University excuse or at my discretion. Allowed make-ups are due within seven calendar days of the absence unless other arrangements are made with me within seven calendar days.
If you miss a laboratory due to an anticipated absence, attend another session during the same week to make it up without penalty. Beforehand, please contact both your session’s TA and the TA of the session you will attend to make arrangements. One laboratory absence can be made up by completing the final lab session. If you miss more than one lab for an excused reason, I may either schedule a make-up at another time or pro-rate your missed lab.
Reading quizzes, drills, and surveys are offered on-line and must be submitted by their deadlines. Late submissions will not be received, and cannot be made up without prior arrangement or in the event of an unforeseen crisis. Labs, written homework, and exam reflections will lose 10% of their value for each calendar day that they are late.
Students are expected to respect others’ opinions and abilities, and to help each other during group work activities. Those who disrupt the class or interfere with other students’ opportunity to learn will be asked to leave the class. If you have a cell phone or any other distracting equipment, leave it home, or turn it off and keep it out of sight.
Students are expected to work together on group work, encouraged to work together on labs, and permitted to work together on homework, drills, and test reflections. Students are required to do their own work on examinations: no consultation with another human being, in or out of the class, is permitted.
Academic dishonesty is forbidden and will be dealt with according to University procedures. Academic dishonesty primarily involves a student representing another’s work as his own or assisting another student to represent another’s work as his own. This includes, but is not limited to, signing an absent student’s name to a group work sheet, using another student’s CPS clicker in class, submitting material for grading that is also submitted to another class, “dry-labbing” or recording data in lab that you did not actually observe, submitting a material written by another without proper attribution, and copying or collaborating on exams. A comprehensive description of academic dishonesty can be found at www.uwyo.edu/generalcounselsupport/UniRegs/802, rev 3.doc.
This course fulfills the Physical Science (SP) component of the 2003 University Studies Program. SP courses include basic and applied study of interactions that govern all physical and chemical phenomena. They emphasize the laws of motion, the relationships of space, time, mass and energy, electromagnetic radiation, macroscopic and microscopic views of matter, chemical transformation, and quantum principles. They introduce the scientific approach, its scope and limitations. They provide a term-long laboratory experience (or equivalent substantial experimental work integrated with the lecture).
If you have a physical, learning, or psychological disability and require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible. You will need to register with, and provide documentation of your disability to, University Disability Support Services (UDSS) in SEO, room 109 Knight Hall, 766-6189, TTY: 766-3073, udss@uwyo.edu. Please discuss any special needs you have with me as well.
Information in the syllabus was, to the best of my knowledge, correct when distributed at the beginning of the term. However, I reserve the right, acting within the policies and procedures of the University of Wyoming, to make changes in the course content or instructional techniques during the term without notice or obligation. If any changes to the syllabus become necessary, students will be notified orally in class and on the web site.
| Month | Day | Topic | Reading | Lab |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Fundamentals | 1 | |
| 14 | Motion | Ap. C, ch. 3, Ap. B (opt.), 27–37 | ||
| 19 | Static forces | 82–86, Ap. D | 2 | |
| 21 | Force and motion | ch. 4, 186–191 | ||
| 26 | Impulse and momentum | 91–97 | 3 | |
| 28 | Conservation of momentum | 74–81, 98–105 | ||
| Feb | 2 | Review | 4 | |
| 4 | In-class Exam 1 | |||
| 9 | Work and energy | 110–116, 121–125 | none | |
| 11 | Conservation of energy | 117–121, 59–61 | ||
| 16 | Circular motion | 131 136, 144 148 | 5 | |
| 18 | Torque, angular momentum | 137–138, 150–153 | ||
| 23 | Elasticity | 97, 233–234 | 6 | |
| 25 | Vibrations | 362–365 | ||
| Mar | 2 | Waves | 365–371 | 7 |
| 4 | Waves | ch. 20 | ||
| 9 | Heat and phase changes | 290–296, ch. 17 | 8 | |
| 11 | Entropy | ch. 18 | ||
| 15–19 | Spring Break | |||
| 23 | Review | 9 | ||
| 25 | In-class Exam 2 | |||
| 30 | Gravity | 161–166, 172–173, 192–203 | none | |
| Apr | 1 | Electric charge | 410–427 | |
| 6 | Electric current | 436–443, 446–447 | 10 | |
| 8 | Electric circuits and magnets | 448–451, 458–464 | ||
| 13 | Magnets and charges | 466–472 | 11 | |
| 15 | Magnetic induction | 477–481, 483–485, 488–490 | ||
| 20 | Electromagnetic radiation | 496–499 | 12 | |
| 22 | Radioactivity | 215–220, ch. 33 | ||
| 27 | Fission and fusion | ch. 34 | 13 | |
| 29 | Review | |||
| May | 9 | Final Exam 10:15–12:15 | ||
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Copyright © 2008, Richard Barrans
Revised: 10 March 2010. Maintained by Richard Barrans.
URL: http://www.barransclass.com/phys1050/P1050_Syllabus_S10.html