Spring 2001
General Physics: Mechanics and Particle Dynamics
 
Course Number: PHYS 161 (Sections 0201-0206), 3 credits. 
Prerequisite: Math 141 (Calculus II) 
Textbook: "Physics for Scientists and Engineers", Volume 1, by Serway and Beichner 5th edition. 
Professor: Edward Ott, Room AVW 3329, Phone (301) 405-5033 
Office Hours: To be announced. The teaching assistants (TA's) and the professor will have office hours. Note that you can come to the office hours of any TA, whether you are in that TA's section or not. 
Lectures: MWF:  12:00 PM - 12:50  PHY 1412 
Recitations: The recitations are in room PHY 3301 at the following times. 
Section 0201: Tu: 1:00 PM-1:50 PM
Section 0202: Tu: 2:00 PM-2:50 PM
Section 0203: Th: 2:00 PM-2:50 PM
Section 0204: Th: 3:00 PM-3:50 PM
Section 0205: F:   8:00 AM-8:50 AM
Section 0206: F:   9:00 AM-9:50 AM
Examinations: Exam I Monday, Feb 26
Exam II Monday, April 2
Exam III Monday, April 30
Final Exam 8:00 AM-10:00 AM, Wed., May 23
All exams are closed book with no crib sheets allowed. Calculators are allowed. 
Make up exams for medical reasons: In order to receive a make up exam for medical reasons, you must have a valid written medical excuse, acceptable by the rules of the university.  The excuse must be presented to the professor (not a TA) as soon as possible. Any makeup exams for exams I, II and III will be given on pre-final-exam study day (May 16).
Other exam difficulties: Other valid reasons for not taking an exam at its scheduled time, e.g. religious conflict or participation in     varsity athletics, must be officially excused, and must be brought to the professor's attention well in advance of the exam so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Homework: Homework problems will be assigned in lecture every Monday and will be due in lecture on the following Monday at the beginning of class. Late homeworks will not be accepted without a medical excuse. The three lowest homework grades will be dropped in the computation of your final grade.
Quizzes: Each recitation will begin with a short quiz based on one of the homework problems assigned for that week. The three lowest quiz grades will be dropped in the computation of your final grade.
Chapters Covered
(Note: This schedule is tentative and might slip a bit.)
Week Date  Topics Book Sections Covered
1 1/29-2/2 Velocity, acceleration, vectors 2.1-7, 3.1-4
2 2/5-2/9 Velocity and acceleration vectors, projectile & circular motion 4.1-6
3 2/12-2/16  Newton's Laws 5.1-7
4 2/19-2/23  Dimensional analysis; application of Newton's Laws. 5.7, 1.4-7
5 2/26-3/2  Exam I (ch. 2-5.6)
Applications of Newton's laws, friction 5.7, 5.8    
6 3/5-3/9  More applications of Newton's laws, work 6.1-6.4, 7.1-3
7 3/12-3/16  Kinetic energy, power, potential energy 7.4-6, 8.1-5
3/19-3/23 SPRING BREAK
8 3/26-3/30 Potential energy 8.6-8.8
 
9 4/2-4/6 Exam II (ch. 1-7)
Momentum and collisions 9.1-5
10 4/9-4/13 Center of mass, impulse 9.6-8
11 4/16-4/20 Rotation, toque, rolling 10.1-8, 11.1-2
12 4/23-4/27 Angular momentum 11.3-5
13 4/30-5/4 Exam III (ch. 1-10)
Torque, gravity 11.6, 14.1, 14.3-8
14 5/7-5/11  Gravity, course review 14.9-10
15 5/14-5/16  Course Review, Study

You are responsible for everything in the book sections listed above, plus material introduced
in the lecture that is not in the book.

Grading: (approximate, tentatitive scheme)
  Homeworks 100 pts.
  Quizzes 150 pts.
  Exams I-III 100 pts. each
  Final 250 pts.