Physics 201 - College Physics
(Texas A&M University, Spring 2016)
Homepage for Sections 502-505, 517
Announcements
(updated regularly)
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 in "Modified Mastering Physics" via eCampus, 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 20, last class: Tue May 03, no class on Jan 18
(MLK), Mar 14-18 (spring break)
and Apr 01 (Good Fri))
Recitations
(MPHY 332) LABS (MPHY
235)
Sect. 502: Wed, 03:00-04:00pm
04:00-05:50pm
Sect. 503: Thu, 09:35-10:35am
10:35-12:25pm
Sect. 504: Thu, 12:45-01:45pm
01:45-03:35pm
Sect. 505: Thu, 03:55-04:55pm
04:55-06:45pm
Sect. 517: Wed, 05:10-06:10pm
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. 502
Curtis Hunt
Office : MPHY-nnn
E-mail: cnhunt@physics.tamu.edu
Sect. 503
Taylor Whitehead
Office : MPHY-nnn
E-mail: twhitehead@physics.tamu.edu
Sect. 504
Joshua Winchell
Office : MPHY-nnn
E-mail: joswinphys@physics.tamu.edu
Sect. 505
Yaodong Zhu
Office : MPHY-nnn
E-mail: yaodongmatt@physics.tamu.edu
Sect. 517
Taylor Whitehead
Office : MPHY-nnn
E-mail: twhitehead@physics.tamu.edu
Supplemental Instruction (Group Sessions)
The University provides
free Supplemental Instruction (SI) sessions to further improve your Required Material 1.)
TEXTBOOK: 2.)
LAB ACCESS: 3.)
optional: Scope
and Learning Outcomes The course will cover
basic concepts and applications of Newtonian Mechanics, Thermodynamics 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 Exams The exams are closed book, and are
held in the classroom (MPHY 203) during standard SCHEDULE: Notes on Lectures Attendance in the lectures, as well
as taking notes of the material presented, is mandatory. Notes on Homework and
Recitation The weekly assignment
of homework problems can be found on your Modified Mastering Physics Notes on Laboratory Experiments Lab attendance is mandatory. It follows the recitation session
of your section each week in Strategy To pass the course, you will have to
keep up with the material of the course by attending AGGIE Honor Code An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or
steal or tolerate those who do. ADA Statement The Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination Despite
all the above regulations and rules (which are needed for a fair
assessment
study options. The name of the SI leader assigned to PHY201 is
Cooper Dixon (email: cwdix@tamu.edu).
His sessions are open to all PHY201students, held during the
following evening hours:
Mon 8-9pm, Thu 6-7pm and Sun 5-6pm in HECC 203
You are very much encouraged to take advantage of this additional
University resource.
The course will be based on the book
College Physics, 10. Edition,
by Young, Adams and Chastain
with Modified Mastering Physics access
through eCampus
Webassign Account
Student Solutions Manual; Student Study Guide
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.
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).
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 .
Midterm 1: Mon Feb 15 in class (MPHY
203, 01:50-02:40pm),
material
covered: Chap 1-5
Midterm 2: Mon Mar 07 in class (MPHY
203, 01:50-02:40pm),
material
covered: Chap 6-8
Midterm 3: Wed Apr 06 in class (MPHY
203, 01:50-02:40pm),
material
covered: Chap 9-11
Midterm 4: Fri Apr 29 in class (MPHY 203, 01:50-02:40pm),
material
covered: Chap 12+14-16
FINAL: Mon May 09 (MPHY 203,
03:30pm-05:30pm)
material
covered corresponds to the entire semester (Chap 1-16)
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).
account (through eCampus); the problems are dated, especially the
lecture tutorials have tight due
dates. 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
recitation quizzes makes up 6%
of your total course grade.
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) and
where 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 entitled to one make-up lab if you 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).
the lectures (besides the recitation and Lab) and thoroughly work
through the weekly HW
problems (which, importantly, 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.
Also see http://aggiehonor.tamu.edu/
Any type of cheating (copying
homework, lab reports, during exams, etc.) is
strictly prohibited and seriously
penalized.
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.
of your grades), we hope that you
will enjoy this course, and that you will achieve
knowledge that will be both 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!