Physics 218 - University Physics

(Texas A&M University, Fall 2016)



Homepage for Sections 544, 546-548, 569



   Announcements (updated regularly)



   Lectures

   Mon+Wed 04:10-05:25pm
   Room: MPHY 203
   (1st class: Mon Aug 29, last class: Wed Dec 07, no class on Wed Nov 23 (reading day))



                    Recitations (MPHY 336)            LABS (MPHY 210/236) 
Sect. 544:      Mon,      12:40-02:00pm                        02:10-03:30pm (210)     
Sect. 546:      Wed,      10:20-11:40am                        11:50-01:10pm (210)    
Sect. 547:      Thu,       02:20-03:40pm                        03:50-05:10pm (210)
Sect. 548:      Thu,       03:55-05:15pm                        05:25-06:45pm (236)
Sect. 569:      Fri,        10:20-11:40am                       11:50-01:10pm (210)

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. 544
        Steven Clark
      Office : MPHY-303
      E-mail:   cla07003@physics.tamu.edu

      Sect. 546
      Sumit Ghosh
      Office : MIST-M215
    E-mail: ghosh@email.tamu.edu

      Sect. 547
      Zachary Wetzel
      Office : MIST-216
      E-mail:  zwetzel@physics.tamu.edu

     Sect. 548
      Sumit Ghosh
     Office : MIST-M215
E-mail: ghosh@email.tamu.edu

     Sect. 569
     Sumit Ghosh
     Office : MIST-M215
E-mail: ghosh@email.tamu.edu



    Supplemental Instruction (Group Sessions)

  The University provides free Supplemental Instruction (SI) sessions to further improve
  your study options. The name of the SI leader assigned to PHY218 is Justin Coe.
  His sessions are open to all PHY218 students, held during the following evening hours:
       Sun, Tue+Thu, 8-9pm, HEC 203 ,
  with an accompanying facebook page.
  You are very much encouraged to take advantage of this additional University resource.

   
   

    Required Material

     1.)  CO-REQUISITE:
       MATH-151 (Engineering Mathematics I) or MATH-171 (Analytic Geometry and Calculus);
       You are expected to be familiar with basic trigonometry and algebra.

     2.)  TEXTBOOK:
       The course will be based on the book
      University Physics, 14. edition, by Young and Freedman,
       with Modified Mastering Physics access through eCampus, see here for instructions.

      3.)  Pre-Lectures:
       Online pre-lectures, which have to be viewed before the pertinent material is discussed in class,
       are based on the FlipitPhysics system, cf. the handout here.  Your access key is rapp218f16.

      4.)  LAB ACCESS:
             Webassign Account , see here for instructions.

      5.)  i>clicker:
       If you do not already have one, you will need to purchase an i>clicker (usually available at the bookstore,
       often with a discount coupon in combination with a book purchase). For registering your i>clicker, see here.

   

     Scope and Learning Outcomes

   The course will cover basic concepts and applications of Newtonian Mechanics, corresponding to
chapters 1-11 and 13-15 in the textbook. This includes kinematics in 1 and 2 dimensions; Newton's laws
of motion; work, kinetic and potential energy; momentum and impulse; rotational kinematics and dynamics
including torque; angular momentum; gravitation and periodic motion. 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 and calculus methods.
The course will also hone your critical thinking, teamwork and science communication skills.

   

    Course Grade

    The total course grade is decomposed as follows:

  • Final Exam (comprehensive)     : approx. 30% (based on achieved learning objectives)

  • 3 Midterm Exams  :       approx. 15% each (based on achieved learning objectives)

  • Laboratory Experiments           :  9%

  • Recitation (approx. weekly quizzes)  :  4% 

  • Online HW (Mod. Mastering Physics):  4% 

  • Pre-lectures and -quizzes (FlipItPhysics) :  4% 

  • In-class quizzes (i>clickers) :  4% 


Find a summary of the learning objectives on which the exam grading is based here.
The conversion to letter grade will follow the standard key of:
A: 90-100%, B: 80-89%, C: 70-79%, D: 60-69% and F: <60%.
The academic student rules can be found here, specifically rule 7 for excused university absences.

    
 

   Exams

    The exams are closed book, and are held as common exams for all PHY-218 sections in room TBA during
evening hours (07:30-09:30pm), including the FINAL on a non-standard date.
You should only bring a pen and pocket calculator, capable of evaluating trigonometric functions (sin,
cos, tan) and logarithms. Special preparatory review sessions will be held by the course instructor upon
request on an evening ca. 2-3 days before each exam, see announcements on top of the page.

    SCHEDULE :
Midterm 1: Wed Sept. 28, material covered: Chaps. 1-3
Midterm 2: Wed Oct. 26, material covered: Chaps. 4-7
Midterm 3: Wed Nov. 16, material covered: Chaps. 8-10
FINAL: Fri Dec. 02, material covered: comprehensive (Chaps. 1-11, 13-14)

 
 

    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 pre-/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 exams).
 
 

    Notes on Homework and Recitation

    The weekly assignment of homework problems can be found on your Modified Mastering Physics
    account (through eCampus); the problems are dated. Cooperative work and discussions are ok,
    but every one of you should generate his/her individual solution set. Questions can be addressed
    to your course or recitation instructors, who will be happy to help you (preferably during office hours).
    Recitation attendance is mandatory. Your recitation grade will be determined by your TA based on
    your participation and active contributions in the recitation sessions, see here for more info.
   

    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) 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.

 
 

    Strategy

    To pass the course, you will have to keep up with the material of the course by viewing
  the pre-lectures, attending the lectures (besides the recitation and Lab) and thoroughly work
  through the weekly HW problems (which, importantly, is the best preparation for exams).
  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 and Academic Integrity

       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 Disability Services ,
   currently located in the Disability Services building at the Student Services
   at White Creek complex on west campus.
   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 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!