The Lecture:

If you have a question during the lecture and you do not feel that it will be beneficial to the class then please wait till after class to discuss the question with me. Often the direction of our discussion will not parallel your book. Because of this it is of great importance that you attend every class. My lectures are designed to give you another angle from which to approach the interpretation of physical principles that are in the text. I recommend that you read the appropriate chapter in the text before coming to lecture. And after the lecture rewrite your notes and re-read the chapter a second time. This technique will help solidify the physical principles we will study this semester. I will make use of the University's stockpile of demonstrations whenever I feel that such a visual aid will enhance the lecture.

Class meeting Time:

Lecture schedule and exam schedule

Lecture Attendance:

I will expect everybody to be here each day. I am aware that life gets in the way of coming to class sometimes and when it does know that you are responsible for getting the notes from the lecture that you missed. It is extremely important for you to attend the lectures because I do not follow the text book's outline verbatim. I will often do problems that are similar or not found in your book as examples in class. Because I do use problems that are in and out of your book you will be at a disadvantage if you try to study solely from you book. You will also find that the exams that I write are based on the lectures and will not be cookie cutter problems from your homework sets. If you come to class and take good, clear notes. You should have no problem doing very well on the exams. Often, I will announce important problems to study and important dates of up coming events such as quizzes and exams.

Homework:

The assigned homework problems are due when they are scheduled to be turned in independent of whether we have covered the topic or not. In lecture it is possible that we may slow down or speed up during the course of the semester. However, the due dates for homework will stand unless I announce otherwise. I will not accept homework after the due date. No exceptions. In order to maintain a level of fairness with respect to homework grading procedures, we will use Mastering Physics (MP). This program will allow us to make sure that every problem in each set of homework that you do will be graded. Homework submission will take place online at http://www.masteringphysics.com . Instructions for logging onto MP are located on a pamphlet included in your text. Along with completing the homework online with MP you are also required to turn in for a grade either a hand written copy or a typed version of your homework in class before the examination on that material. You are responsible for your work. Copy everything that you turn into me or you T.A.

Homework Solutions

Quizzes:

Your quizzes are to be turned in to your T.A. I will not accept them. Because Murphy's Law is in full swing, for your benefit, you are required to make a copy of each quiz before you turn it in to you T.A. It is possible that your quizzes may be lost by yourself or your T.A. If this happens it is your responsibility to provide another copy of the quiz in order to receive a grade.

Quiz schedule

Exams:

In general I do not curve exams. There will be several in class exams and a final exam that will be cumulative. Please rearrange your schedule so that you can take the exams on the official dates allocated by the University. There will be no make-up exams unless absences are caused by illness, death, religious observances or participation in University activities at the request of University authorities. Any excuses must be formally documented. If a valid excuse for missing an exam is presented to me, a make-up exam will be scheduled that is completely different from the exam given to the class, in most cases, slightly more difficult. If the University closes or class in canceled by me, on an exam day because of snow or any other reason, the exam will be given the next day of class. The spirit of the exam will reflect the physical principles that we discuss during lecture. The exams will not be cookie cutter, homework problems. So, do not expect to see homework problems on the exams. It is possible that a homework problem may appear but in general this will not be the case. Quizzes and problems that are covered in lecture are more likely to become exam problems. I will do my absolute best to make sure that there are no ambiguous problems on the exam. During the exam I will not answer any questions that have anything to do with the calculation of the problem. We will follow the seating chart provided by the physics lecture demonstration department. At the bottom of the first page of your exam you will see the declaration of honor. It reads as follows: “I pledge to my honor that I have not given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this examination.” I expect you to write this out and sign your name under it in the box provided. All exams will be copied by the physics department for your convenience in the event that an exam is lost. I will keep the original and the copy will be returned to you. All instances of suspected or direct cheating will be reported to the honor council. Cheating is an extremely serious matter and will not be taken lightly. If you feel like your exam was graded too harshly then you may submit a written page outlining your argument attached to your graded exam. I will review your argument and make a decision in a reasonable amount of time.

How to study for exams:

In your preparations for exams, study the problems that are discussed in lecture. When you study the problems presented during lecture I suggest that you redo the problems and then redo the problems two more times substituting different constant values into the equations. And more importantly reason through your result. For instance: Newtonian mechanics will allow for infinite energies and velocities. Einstein was able to bound velocities by the speed of light. If you were to obtain a velocity for an object that was greater than the speed of light using Newtonian mechanics. Immediately you should stop and check your calculation. This is an example of reasoning through your result. You may also extend your solutions criticism by asking the questions: Is the answer in the correct units? Does this make sense physically? Is the answer a vector or a scalar quantity? The chapter examples in the book are good for practice and grasping the mechanics of solving problems. Same goes for homework problems. However, they are not the driving force or particularly inspiring to me when I write exams. I will write exams that attempt to tie the physical concepts together. Sample exams can be found here. I will sometimes say “this is a good problem to study”. Listen to me in class I will give you all kinds of hints as to what I am considering to put on the exam. Reference other physics text books and look up specific subjects online.

Practice Problems

Total 100%

A message from the Honor council:

The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students.  As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course.  It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism.  For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/whatis.html .

Useful Links:

 http://www.physics.umd.edu/ (Physics home)

http://www.testudo.umd.edu/ScheduleOfClasses.html (Schedule of classes)

http://www.testudo.umd.edu/soc/examspring.html (Final exam Schedule)

http://www.testudo.umd.edu/acad_cal/spring_2006.html (Academic Schedule)