Physics 201 - College Physics
(Texas A&M University, Spring 2015)
Homepage for Sections 501-505, 517
Announcements (updated regularly)
NOTE: all Recitations start in the FIRST week of the semester!
The Help Desk is in MPHY 135, usually open Mon-Thu 9am-4pm and Fri 9am-1pm
Find info on how to get access to webassign here
Find the formula sheets for each exam here
For exams in previous semesters, click here
For info on how to access the online HW "Mastering Physics", click here
For supplementary information (incl. answers to even-numbered HW problems), click here
Lectures
Mon+Wed+Fri
01:50-02:40pm
Room: MPHY 203
(1st
class: Wed Jan 21, last class: Tue May 05, no class on Jan 19 (MLK),
Mar 16-20 (spring
break) and Apr 03 (Good Fri))
Recitations
(MPHY 332) LABS
(MPHY
235)
Sect.
501: Wed,
08:00-08:50am 09:00-10:50am
Sect. 502: Wed,
03:00-03:50pm 04:00-05:50pm
Sect. 503: Thu,
08:00-08:50am 09:00-10:50am
Sect. 504: Thu,
11:10-12:00noon 12:10-02:00pm
Sect. 505: Thu,
02:20-03:10pm 03:20-05:10pm
Sect. 517: Wed,
05:10-06:00pm 06:10-08:00pm
For the
full Lab Schedule, click here
Course Instructor
Dr.
Ralf Rapp
Office
: Cyclotron CYCL-335
Office-Hrs :
Mon+Tue+Fri 10-11am, or by appointment
Phone : 845-1411 (ext. 226)
E-mail : rapp@comp.tamu.edu
Teaching Assistants
All TA's listed below are
responsible for Recitation and Lab in the respective sections.
For
questions on the Lab, Lab-reports or homework/quizzes outside the
standard Lab and
Recitation times, please schedule an appointment
via email.
Sect.
501
Richard
Lawrence
Office : MPHY-403
E-mail: rarensu@physics.tamu.edu
Sect.
502
Zachary Wetzel
Office : MPHY-???
E-mail:
zwetzel@physics.tamu.edu
Sect.
503
Richard
Lawrence
Office : MPHY-403
E-mail: rarensu@physics.tamu.edu
Sect.
504
Curtis
Hunt
Office : MPHY-470
E-mail: cnhunt@physics.tamu.edu
Sect.
505
Steven
Clark
Office : MPHY-303
E-mail: cla07003@physics.tamu.edu
Sect.
517
Laziz Saribaev
Office : ENPH-B03
E-mail:
lsarybaev@physics.tamu.edu
Supplemental Instruction (Group Sessions)
The University
may provide free Supplemental Instruction (SI) sessions to further
improve
your study options. The name of the SI leader
assigned to PHY201 is TBA (email: TBA).
His/Her
sessions are open to all PHY201students, held during the following
evening hours:
TBA
You
are very much encouraged to take advantage of this additional
University resource.
Stay tuned for updates.
Required Material
1.)
TEXTBOOK:
The course will be based on the book
College
Physics,
9. Edition, by Hugh D. Young,
with
Mastering Physics access through eCampus
2.)
LAB ACCESS:
Webassign
Account
3.)
optional:
Student Solutions Manual; Student Study Guide
Scope and Learning Outcomes
The course will
cover basic concepts and applications of Newtonian Mechanics,
Thermodynamics
and Waves+Sound, corresponding to
chapters 1-16 in the textbook.
Upon completion of the
course you will understand the basic laws and formulae in the
above
areas and be able to quantitatively apply them
to pertinent physical situations and problems and
solve
the latter using algebraic methods.
Course Grade
The total course grade is decomposed as follows:
Final Exam (comprehensive) : 20%
4 Midterm Exams : 14% each
Laboratory Experiments : 8%
Recitation (weekly quizzes) : 6%
Online HW (Mastering Physics): 10%
If the grade on
the final exam is better than on one of the midterm exams, that ONE
midterm-exam grade will be replaced by the average of
that midterm and the final.
This DOES NOT apply to a
missed midterm exam (which is counted as zero).
Exams
The
exams are closed book, and are held in the classroom (MPHY 203)
during standard
lecture
times (except for the Final); you should only bring a pen and pocket
calculator,
capable
of evaluating trigonometric functions (sin, cos, tan) and logarithms.
Special
preparatory review sessions will usually be held by
the course instructor on an evening ca. 2-3 days before each exam,
see announcements on top
of page.
For
files of old exams, see here
or here
.
SCHEDULE:
Midterm
1: Mon Feb 16 in class (MPHY 203, 01:50-02:40pm),
material
covered: Chap 1-5
Midterm
2: Mon Mar 09 in class (MPHY 203, 01:50-02:40pm),
material
covered: Chap 6-8
Midterm
3: Wed Apr 08 in class (MPHY 203, 01:50-02:40pm),
material
covered: Chap 9-11
Midterm 4: Fri May 01 in class
(MPHY 203, 01:50-02:40pm),
material
covered: Chap 12+14-16
FINAL:
Mon May 11 (MPHY 203, 03:30pm-05:30pm)
material
covered corresponds to the entire semester (Chap 1-16)
Notes on Lectures
Attendance
in the lectures, as well as taking notes of the material presented,
is mandatory.
Furthermore, you are responsible for all
announcements made in
class (including
information on review
sessions, etc.).
The
material discussed in the lectures, together with the homework
problems, essentially
defines the scope of the
exams. Formula sheets to be used in the exams are
handed out
in the lectures at the time the
material is started to be discussed (this will allow you to get
acquainted with the notation well ahead of the exam).
Notes on Homework and Recitation
The weekly
assignment of homework problems can be found on your Mastering
Physics
account; the problems are dated.
Cooperative work and discussions are encouraged, but every
one of you should generate his/her individual solution set. Questions
can be addressed to your
course or recitation
instructor, who will be happy to help you (preferably during office
hours).
The semester average on your online HW
makes up 10% of your total course grade.
Recitation attendance is mandatory;
each week, a quiz will be given
and graded, which will
determine your
recitation grade. The semester average on your quizzes makes up 6% of
your
total course grade.
Notes on Laboratory Experiments
Lab
attendance is mandatory.
It follows the recitation session of your section each week in
which an experiment is scheduled. You will conduct the Labs using the
Webassign system,
for which you need online
access, see here.
It includes a pre-lab assignment, lab experiment
and post-lab analysis.
Your Lab-instructor
(who is usually the same person as the recitation instructor) will
advise
you on when (typically no more than one
week after the experiment) the Lab reports are due.
In certain weeks there are no formal Labs scheduled, but this extra
time will be used by the
recitation instructor
to provide additional exam preparation or discussion of the solutions
after
an exam.
You
are entited to one make-up lab if you have have to miss a regular one
due to a
University-allowable excuse.
The semester average on your Lab-report grades makes up 8% of your
total course grade
(better than 80% on the Lab
grade is mandatory to pass the course).
Strategy
To
pass the course, you will have to keep up with the material of the
course by
attending
the lectures (besides the recitation
and Lab) and thoroughly work through the weekly HW
problems
(which, in addition, is the best preparation for exams and recitation
quizzes).
Otherwise, pile-up of not understood
material is likely to lead to a failing grade.
It
is impossible to get a passing grade without hard work in this
course.
AGGIE Honor Code
An
Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do.
Also
see http://aggiehonor.tamu.edu/
Any
type of cheating (copying homework, lab reports, during exams,
etc.) is
strictly
prohibited and seriously penalized.
ADA Statement
The
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal
anti-discrimination
statute that provides comprehensive civil
rights protection for persons with
disabilities.
Among other things, this legislation
requires that all students
with disabilities be
guaranteed a learning environment that provides for
reasonable
accommodation of their disabilities.
If you believe you have a
disability requiring
an accommodation, please contact the Department of
Student
Life, Services for Students with Disabilities, in Cain Hall, Room
B118 or call 845-1637; for more info see also
http://disability.tamu.edu/
Department
of Student Life, SSD, will review your concerns and determine,
with you, what accommodations are necessary and
appropriate. All
information and documentation
concerning disability is kept confidential.
Despite
all the above regulations and rules (which are needed for a fair
assessment
of
your grades), we hope that you will enjoy this course, and that you
will achieve
knowledge
that will both be helpful in your further career and provide deeper
insights
into daily life encounters with physics!
If
you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact your
course/
recitation
instructors who shall be glad to help you!