Physics 201  -  College Physics

(Texas A&M University, Fall 2004)

Homepage  for Sects. 525-530






   Announcements (updated regularly)


 

    Lectures

    Tue+Thu  5:30-6:45pm
    Room:  Heldenfels 200
     (1st class:  Tue Aug 31,   last class:  Tue Dec 07,
       no classes on Thu Nov 18 (Bonfire Memorial),  Thu Nov 25 (Thanksgiving))
 
 

                              Recitations (Room)            LABS (Room)

  Sect. 525:  Mon,   05:10-06:00pm (HELD121)         06:10-08:00pm  (HELD219)
  Sect. 526:  Mon,   10:20-11:10am (HELD121)         11:20-01:10pm  (HELD219)
  Sect. 527:  Wed,   05:10-06:00pm (HELD121)         06:10-08:00pm  (HELD219)
  Sect. 528:  Wed,   11:30-12:20am (HELD121)         12:30-02:20pm  (HELD220)
  Sect. 529:  Wed,   04:10-05:00pm (HELD121)         05:10-07:00pm  (HELD220)
  Sect. 530:  Fri,       08:00-08:50am (HELD121)         09:00-10:50pm  (HELD219)

     For the Lab Schedule,  click  here
 
 

   Course Instructor

    Dr. Ralf Rapp
    Office          :  Cyclotron (Building 434)  Room 211
    Office-Hrs  : Tue 2-3pm,   Wed 3-4pm, Thu 10-11am
    Phone          :  845-1411 (ext. 226), home: 268-3164
    E-mail         :  rapp@comp.tamu.edu
 
 

   Teaching Assistants

      all TA's listed below are either simultaneously responsible for Recitation and Lab
      in the respective sections, or listed separately. For questions on the Lab, Lab-reports
      or homework/quizzes outside the standard Lab and Recitation times, please schedule
      an appointment via email.

      Sect. 525
      Hong Zhang
      Office  : tba
      E-mail:  hzhang@physics.tamu.edu

      Sect. 526
      Feng Zhang
      Office  : tba
      E-mail:  fzhang@physics.tamu.edu

       Sect. 527
       Hua Chun  Xu
       Office : tba
       E-mail:  hxu@physics.tamu.edu

       Sect. 528
       Ke Feng
       Office  : tba
       E-mail : fengke@tamu.edu

        Sect. 529
        Hong Zhang
        Office : tba
        E-mail: hzhang@physics.tamu.edu

        Sect. 530
        Hua Chun Xu
        Office  : tba
        E-mail : hxu@physics.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 PHY201 is
      Matt Freeman, email: mattaiusthegreat@yahoo.com.  His 50-minute sessions are
     open to all PHY201 students, held in during the following evening hours:
    Tue,  07:00-07:50pm, HECC 209
    Wed, 06:00-06:50pm, HECC 108
    Thu,  07:00-07:50pm, HECC209
     You are very much encouraged to take advantage of this additional University
      resource.
 
 

   Personal Tutoring by International Graduate Students

   The physics department provides another learning resource by offering  free
    personal tutoring sessions with an international physics graduate student (GANT).
   For our PHYS 201 course, the names and email addresses of the GANT's are:
      Simi Chen      (Rapp at TR 5:30pm)      schen@physics.tamu.edu
      Jianxu Lu       (Ford at MWF 10:20am)  jlu@physics.tamu.edu
      Qingqing Sun (Ford at MWF 10:20am)  qsun@physics.tamu.edu
   Each GANT will attend the lectures indicated in the parentheses, and solve the
   complete homework assignments. Therefore, they will be well-prepared to help
     you with any class-material related question. Be aware that these GANTs are
     not native english speakers, but they are eager to improve in this respect, also by
     the tutoring. They are available for individual appointments with you for up to 9 hrs
     per week, Monday through Friday during daytime (i.e., before 8pm) in Held 211.
     To schedule an appointment, contact any of the above  GANTs at least one day
     (preferably somewhat more) in advance by email.
     Again, you are very much encouraged to make use of this opportunity. I recommend
     that you try out the tutoring soon to see whether it could improve your PHYS 201
     skills.     Make sure not to miss out on something useful!
 
 

    Required Material

     1.)  TEXTBOOK:
             The course will be based on the book
               Physics, 6. Edition, by Cutnell and Johnson

      2.)  LAB MANUAL:
           PHY201 Lab Manual  (published by Hayden-McNeil)

      3.) optional:
           Student Solutions Manual;   Student Study Guide
 
 
 

     Scope

    The course will cover the basic concepts and applications of Newtonian Mechanics,
    Thermodynamics and Waves+Sound,  corresponding to chapters 1-17 in the textbook.
 
 

    Course Grade

    The total course grade is decomposed as follows:

      If the grade on the final is significantly better than on one of the intermediate exams,
      the final grade will be used to replace that ONE intermediate exam grade (note that
      this rule effectively makes the final exam worth 35%).
     This DOES NOT apply to a missed intermediate exam (which are counted as zero).
 
 
 

     Exams

   The exams are closed book, and are held in the classroom (HELD200) 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.
    Formula sheets will be provided.  Special review sessions 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  http://faculty.physics.tamu.edu/ford/p201.html  .

    SCHEDULE:
   Intermediate I:     Tue Sep 21, in class (Held 200,  5:30-6:45pm),
                                     material covered: Chap 1-4
   Intermediate II:   Tue Oct 12, in class (Held 200,  5:30-6:45pm),
                                     material covered: Chap 5-7
   Intermediate III: Tue Nov 02, in class (Held 200,  5:30-6:45pm),
                                     material covered: Chap 8-11
   Intermediate IV:  Tue Nov 23, in class (Held 200,  5:30-6:45pm),
                                     material covered: Chap 12-15
   FINAL:   Wed Dec15 (Held 200, 03:30-05:30pm)
                       material covered corresponds to the entire semester
 
 
 

    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

    For the weekly assignment of homework problems drawn from the textbook, cf. the
    main Syllabus  here.
    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).
    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 5% 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.
       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 to hand in the Lab reports which are based on the data you take.
       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.
        Information on policies on missed labs can be found at
       http://faculty.physics.tamu.edu/ford/lab.html .
 
 
 

     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 homework problems (which, in addition, is the best preparation
       for the 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://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor
       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 Room 126 of the Koldus Building or
      call 845-1637; foe more info see also  http://studentlife.tamu.edu/ssd/
       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!