FALL  2004, Sections 0301,0302,0303,0305
MWF,12:00pm-12:50pm; Room PHYS.1410

Professor: Melanie Becker                                       Room 4125 (Physics Bldg.) Phone 301-405-1774  melanieb@physics.umd.edu  Office hours: After class or by appointment.

TAs: Dragos Constantin (0303,0305) and Kaushik Mitra (0301, 0302) Room (Physics) : 4103 (Constantin) and 4223   (Mitra) e-mail: dragos@physics.umd.edu (Constantin); kaushikm@mail.umd.edu (Mitra) Phone:301-405-6010 (Constantin); 301-405-6192 (Mitra) Office hours: Th: 9:00-9:50am, 11:00-11:50am (Constantin); Mitra: M 1:00pm-1:50pm, Tu 1:00pm-1:50pm

General course information

PHYS270: Prerequisites: PHYS.260 and  PHYS.261. Corequisites: PHYS. 271
Credit will be granted for only one of the following: PHYS.270 and PHYS.271 (formerly PHYS 263) or PHYS.273. (formerly PHYS.263).This is the third semester of a three semester calculus based general physics course. The following topics will be covered: Electrodynamics, Maxwell's equations and electromagnetic waves, geometrical optics, interference, diffraction, special theory of relativity  and modern physics.


Required Textbooks:

Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Vol. 2, 6th ed., R.A.Serway and J.W.Jewett (Thomson Publishing).



E-mail: I encourage students to make use of e-mail for quick correspondence with me and the teaching assistants regarding lecture material, homework problems, or whatever. I will also use e-mail to communicate with the class at large. Students are responsible for making sure I have their correct email address.

Sections:The sections will all take place in the Physics Building. Section 0301: Wed., 1:00pm-1:50pm (PHY 1402), Section: 0302 Wed., 2:00pm-2:50pm (PHY 1219), Section 0303: Th.:10:00am-10:50am (PHY 3301), Section 0305: Th: 1:00pm-1:50pm.

Homework:
Assigned weekly on Wednesday and due at the beginning of each section the following week.
Not every problem will be graded. Instead a randomly selected subset of them will be graded. To perform good on the homework assignments, take into account the following guide. Describe in words, why and where equations being used appear in your write-up. Show  your work! Solutions or answers turned in without explanation will NOT receive full credit.
Always write out your solution in algebraic form before you substitute in numerical values. Always carry along correct dimensional units (i.e. mass, length, etc.). Turn in neat homework (points will be deducted otherwise). Box your answers.
Late homework accepted only under dire circumstances. If you know it will be impossible to turn in an assignment on time you must discuss this with me in advance of the due date.
Medical reasons accepted only with a doctors's note. You are encouraged to discuss the homework with others, but what you finally hand in should be your own work. Please make sure you include your name and the homework and course numbers and staple the pages together.
Take into account, that solving all the homework problems on a weekly basis will be crucial in order to perform well in the exams.


Exams and Quizzes: There will be three mid-term exams  and a final exam. Notes and books will not be used in the exams. You will, however, need an electronic calculator with basic scientific functions. Programmable calculators are not allowed in exams.
The mid-terms will take place during class hour (see calendar for concrete dates). Absence from exams will be excused only under dire circumstances. If you know it will be impossible to attend an exam, you must discuss this with me in advance of the exam. Medical reasons accepted only with a doctors's note. Make up exams only in emergency situations.
There will be a 10-15 minute quizz in each section every week, which will be closely related to the homework and the material discussed in class during that week.
Notes and books are not allowed for the quizz. Solving the all the homework and attending to class regularly will help you to be able to solve the quizz.


Grading:
Course grade: Based  on the homework (best 10 count 10%), quizzes (best 10 count 5%), midterms (best 2 count 35%), the final counts 25% and the laboratory, which counts 25%.

Tips for doing well:

• Work all of the homework problems. You are allowed and encouraged to discuss the homework with anyone you wish. However, in order to optimize your learning, you should initially make a serious attempt to solve the problems by yourself.

• Read the material in the textbook both before and after the material is covered in lecture.

• Seek help immediately if you do not understand the material.

• Freely ask questions in lecture.