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Physics
161 - Fall 2004 “General Physics: Mechanics and Particle Dynamics” Professor Fred Wellstood Phone: (301)-405-7649 Office: 0367 Lecture Time: MWF.......10:00am-10:50am, Sections 301,
302, 303, 304 Lecture
Room: 1410
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Lecture Time:
MWF.......10:00am-10:50am, Sections 301, 302, 303, 304
Lecture Room: 1410
Official
Course Description: (3 credits)
Grade Method: REG/P-F/AUD. CORE Physical Science (PS) Course. USP Distributive
Studies Area B: Natural Sciences and Mathematics Course. Pre-
or corequisite: MATH 141. Credit will not be granted for PHYS 171 and PHYS 161
or PHYS 141 or former PHYS 191. First semester of a
three-semester calculus-based general physics course. Laws
of motion, force, and energy; principles of mechanics, collisions, linear
momentum, rotation, and gravitation. Physics clinic,
PHY 1214, MTWHF 11, 2.
Prof. Wellstood’s Office Hours:
Tu, W, Th
from 4-5 PM, room 0367 Physics, and otherwise by appointment.
TA Contact Information:
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Name |
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office |
Phone |
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Chris Fleming |
hfleming@physics.umd.edu |
4210 |
301-405-6191 |
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Bora Sul |
borasul@physics.umd.edu |
4219 |
301-405-6073 |
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Vitaley Zaretskey |
vzaretsk@umd.edu |
4223 |
301-405-6192 |
Discussion Sections:
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Section # |
time |
room |
Teaching Assistant |
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301 |
Tu........ 1:00pm- 1:50pm |
PLS 1117 |
Vitaley Zaretskey |
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302 |
Tu........ 4:00pm- 4:50pm |
PHY 1402 |
Chris Fleming |
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303 |
Th........ 9:00am- 9:50am |
PHY 4220 |
Bora Sul |
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304 |
Th........10:00am-10:50am |
PHY 1201 |
Chris Fleming |
Pre or Co-requisites: Math 141 (Calculus 2). Make sure you
are comfortable with calculus before taking this class. Better yet, you should like calculus since we will be using it
extensively.
Labs: There is no lab with Physics 161.
Textbook: Physics for Scientists and Engineers, by Serway and Jewett,
Volume 1, 6th Edition (Harcourt)
Recommended Texts. There are many books that you may find helpful when Serway is not, including: Physics (Volume 1) by Paul Tipler and Fundamentals of Physics (Volume 1) by Halliday and Resnick.
Grades: A total numerical score will be computed by summing your scores on the final exam, the three midterms, the homework and the quizzes with the following weight:
Final exam 24%
Three midterm exams (11 % each) 33% (No exam scores are dropped)
Homework (written and electronic) 33% (No homework scores are dropped)
Quizzes (lecture and discussion) 10%
A histogram of total scores for the entire class will be plotted. Assuming that the distribution is reasonably bell-shaped, letter grades will be assigned so that students with scores in the top 20% will receive an A, the next lower 40% will receive a B, the next lower 25% will receive a C, and the remaining 15% will be split between D and F.
About the course: Physics 161 is the first course in the
three-semester 161/260/270 sequence in introductory physics intended for
engineering students. Most students who take this class have already taken a
year of Physics in high school. Physics 161 is a CORE physical science course.
The course covers material in classical Newtonian Mechanics including motion of
objects in 1, 2 and 3 dimensions,
Exams: There are three midterms and one final. All exams will be closed book, with no crib sheets allowed, either electronic or paper. I will most likely allow calculators during exams, but I am considering forbidding them because of the messaging and text capabilities built into some units. I will let you know in advance if this is the case. You must take all the exams. If you think you have a reason why you cannot attend an exam, see Professor Wellstood before the exam! If you miss an exam with a valid excuse, a makeup exam will be given. Students are responsible for all material, including that covered in assigned reading, lectures and homework. Material from any part of the course can appear on a test, quiz or homework, whether or not it was covered in the lectures.
FINAL EXAM is SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, from 8 AM to 10 AM in Room 1410
Physics.
Excuses: Turning in late homework or missing an exam is not allowed without a valid documented excuse as defined by the University (medical problem, religious holiday, or serious family crisis). In all cases, a makeup assignment or makeup exam will still need to be completed in a reasonable amount of time to not receive a score of zero for the assignment or exam. The new due date and assignment must be arranged by consulting with Dr. Wellstood as soon as possible after it becomes apparent that there will be a problem. If you are going to miss an assignment because of a religious holiday, it is your responsibility to inform the instructor in advance, so that suitable arrangements can be made.
Homework and Solutions: Homework will generally be assigned on
Friday and due by the following Friday at the start of class. You must submit your answers for the homework problems over
the internet using the Ilearn web site (see below) and in addition you
must turn in your written work showing how you arrived at your answers to all
the problems.
Solutions will generally
be posted on the web by midnight the following Sunday after the homework is
due. To get the solutions, go to www.courses.umd.edu
and log in to webCT.
There are several
advantages to electronic homework submission:
(1) you
have five attempts at each problem to get the correct solution. Thus, you can
try more than once and most students keep at it until they get 100%.
(2) you
will be graded only on your final answers,
(3) grading
is almost immediate.
(4) The Ilearn site also
has a tutorial capability that you may find helpful.
Note that the software will randomize the numbers each time you make a
new attempt on a problem, so be careful and remember that other students
working on exactly the same problems will have other numbers! The best way to do physics problems is to first
work out a general formula for the answer and then plug in the numbers at the
end. This is especially true if the numbers are being randomized each time and
everyone has different numbers. For calculating more complicated expressions,
I’d recommend using an electronic spreadsheet, such as Excel, rather than a
calculator.
Why You Better Do the Homework: One of the main ways you will understand Physics is by doing the homework. Do not wait until the night before it’s due to start working on your homework. The homework is supposed to be hard and it counts a lot for your grade. A sure way to get an F in this course is to not do the homework or not give your self enough time to work on it.
Why You Need to Turn in Written Solutions to the Homework: A serious problem with electronic grading is that it can only check simple equations or numerical answers and it can't to tell you what you did wrong. Thus it can’t check graphs, sketches, diagrams, logical arguments, or written explanations. This is a serious shortcoming because for many problems in engineering, the "answer" is actually the method or argument that you used to find some number or particular result. For these reasons, you are required to turn in written explanations of how you reached your answers. Each week one of the problems will be chosen at random and your written work graded for reasoning, logic, clear explanations and completeness. I should emphasize that we will only be grading one problem each week, but you need to write them all out. While I’d like to have all of your written work graded, there simply aren’t enough resources to allow us to do that. On some occasions, you won’t need to turn in your written solutions, such as the first week. I’ll let you know when this is the case.
Is it hard and time consuming to write out solutions? Yes it can be. On the other hand, it’s something you should be doing for all of your technical classes and is probably the most valuable lesson you can learn. If you aren't writing out solutions to the homework in your technical classes then you have not been receiving adequate training as an engineer. No company is going to give you a paycheck (let alone a big one) for plugging numbers into a computer that then tells you that you just entered the right or wrong answer. If a computer can answer that question, then the company probably doesn’t need you. Real engineers have to explain what they are doing, defend their ideas and analysis in front of other engineers and be able to convince others (including managers who may know nothing about science, math or engineering) that they know what the heck they are doing. You need to be able to write down what you are doing and have it make sense to yourself and others. Learning how to do that does not get any easier in real life when your job, lot’s of money, your company’s future, or someone’s life is on the line. Maybe it helps to remember that although being a good engineer is not easy, being a bad engineer can be fatal.
Getting started in electronic homework submission: To turn in your homework, you need to connect to the web. Go to:
http://east.ilrn.com/ilrn/accounts/login.do?inst=002103
The site is best accessed with a current version of
Windows Explorer running Java 2 through the above link (which takes you
directly to the
To log in, you must click on “First Time User” the first time you go in. In the box labeled “Content or Access Code”, type in the code I hand out in class on the first homework assignment. You have until 10 AM Friday Sept 3 to sign yourself up. After you enter the correct code, you will be asked for some more information. Fill this form out completely and accurately. I particular, any accounts that do not have a valid ID number for a student registered in the class will be deleted. For your password and login name, I’d recommend using the same one you use for WebCT, since otherwise you are going to have to keep yet another one, but its up to you. You also need to fill in a verification question (for example: your mothers middle name is?) and the answer in the next box. This is used if you forget your password. You should have no trouble finding the week’s homework assignment and the rest of the interface appears straightforward. Whenever you finish working on an assignment, make sure that you save/send/submit it, otherwise you will not get credit. You can login as many times as you want, but you will only be allowed five attempts at each problem, and there will be new random numbers for each unsuccessful attempt at the problem.
Academic honesty: I expect you to get together in small groups
and discuss the problems. However, do
not use these discussions as an excuse to copy someone else's solution to the
homework or let someone else copy your solution. That is cheating. The right
way to proceed is to first work through the problems yourself
and arrive at a definite answer. With
this preparation you can then discuss with others and see if you have missed
something. All work you submit
must be your own and should reflect your own understanding. Academic
dishonesty, such as cheating on an exam or copying homework, is a serious
offense which may result in a grade of XF, and suspension or expulsion from the
University. Don’t do it. Details on the policy can be found at
www.testudo.umd.edu/soc/dishonesty.html.
Note on Discussion Sections: You must attend the discussion section to
which you are assigned. Your TA will cover material (homework and exams) that
may not be covered elsewhere. There may
be quizzes during the discussion sections. Please come prepared so you can ask
questions, i.e. read the chapters, review your lecture notes, and try the
homework problems. Remember, the TA is
there to give help when you are stuck, not to dole out answers. You should also
remember that your TA is also a student, in this case a graduate student, and
that they also have to take classes, do homework and teach other sections.
Please be respectful and understanding since they are still learning, are very
busy and are not highly paid for all their effort.
Help with understanding the material: Physics and engineering are cumulative: the knowledge learned at each stage builds upon previous knowledge. Do not fall behind! If you find yourself in trouble, seek help early on. Contact the instructor or one of the TAs, attend the discussion sections and ask questions, or go to office hours. Don’t wait until just before an exam. Help can be obtained by:
· Attending your discussion section
·
Visiting the Slawsky Clinic, in room 1140
· Going to the office hours of your instructor or TA.
· The Learning Assistance Service (2201 Schoemaker Bldg., 301-314-7693) helps students with time management, reading, note taking, and exam preparation skills.
If you find
that you are having more general academic problems, or are having trouble
figuring out what you want to do, I’d recommend that you stop by Room 1120
Physics and talk to Tom Gleason, the Physics Coordinator of Student Services.
Tom graduated from
PRELIMINARY
Schedule of Physics 161 topics, exams, and holidays
for Fall 2004
Week
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Dates
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Main Topics
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Chapter in Serway & Jewett
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1
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August 30 (Monday)
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First day of classes
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Chapter 1 |
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Aug 30 - September 3
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Units, dimensions & 1-D motion
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Chapters 1 and 2 |
2
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September 6 (Monday)
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Labor day vacation
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September 8-10
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1-D motion and vectors
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Chapters 2 and 3 |
3
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September 13-17
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Vectors and 2-D motion
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Chapters 3 and 4 |
4
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September 20-24
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2-D motion
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Chapter 4 |
5
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Monday,
Sept. 27
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Exam I
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September 29 - Oct 1
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Chapter 5 |
6
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October 4-8
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Applications of
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Chapters 5 and 6 |
7
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October 11-15
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Circular Motion
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Chapter 6 |
8
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October 18-22
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Work
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Chapter 7 |
9
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Monday,
Oct. 25
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Exam II
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October 27-29
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Work and Energy
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Chapter 7 |
10
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November 1-5
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Potential energy
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Chapter 8 |
11
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November 8-12
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Conservation of energy
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Chapter 8 |
12
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November 15-19
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Momentum and collisions
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Chapter 9 |
13
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November 22-24
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Rotational
motion
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Chapter 10 |
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November 25-26
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Thanksgiving
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14
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Monday,
Oct. 29
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Exam III
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December 1-3
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Angular momentum
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Chapter 11 |
15
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December 6-8
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gravity
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Chapter 13
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December 10
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Review - Last day of classes
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December 11 (Saturday)
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Exam study day
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December
18 (Saturday)
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Final Exam
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8:00 AM to 10:00 AM,
ROOM 1410 PHYSICS
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