Physics 312
General Physics
Spring 2005
Office Hours:
Monday 3:30-5:30pm in 112 NSCIWednesday 11:30-1:30pm in 112 NSCI
Links to Web info (to help with your project)
Link to Auroral Forecast at the GI
Grades not yet available due to missing information (ie your work)
This syllabus is located at: http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/311_fall_2004.html
Course Syllabus
Prerequisites: Calculus and MATH 302 as well as PHYS 211X and Physics 311. Algebra, trigonometry, calculus and ordinary differential equations will be used extensively.
Materials Needed:
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Required Text: |
Mechanics , 3rd edition, K. Symon. |
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Calculators: |
No calculators may be used during exams. Otherwise, buy yourself a nice one. A basic, simple scientific calculator with trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions is all that you need. |
Lectures: 2:15 - 3:15 PM MWF in 136 NSCI and a recitation session on W from 3:30-4:30PM. The lectures supplement but do not substitute for the reading. Lectures will cover the major topics, emphasizing and discussing the important points. They are not sessions to regurgitate material already written in the text. Your personal participation is important, and it is critical that you read the assigned material before lecture. Time permitting, several lectures will cover special topics beyond the scope of the text. These will be announced before hand.
Homework: There will be approximately
one homework assignment per week. The assignment will be given out (and posted
on the web and in the hall in front of my office) on Wednesdays and will be
due in on the following Thursday by 5:00PM. Place your homework in the appropriate
box in the Physics Department Office. You are encouraged to work with others
on the homework, but make sure the paper you turn in is not simply copied from
someone else. These assignments help me assess your understanding of the material,
and will count toward your final grade.
Late problem sets will not be
accepted.
Problems will be graded each week, totaling about
100 points for each assignment.
Project: There will be a project due worth a maximum of approximately 15% of the course grade. The project will be in the form of a web page on a topic in mechanics that you find interesting and we agree on together. These topics could include biographies of important scientists, scientific projects and scientific ideas. The topic must be agreed to by Feb 4th and must be competed by March 21st. They will be graded both for presentation and content. More details will be discussed in class and on the web project link above.
Hour Exams: Exams will be given during the Friday lecture as follows:
Feb. 28, approx. Chapters 7-9? April 6, approx. Chapters 9-11?
The exams will be closed-book. No calculators are allowed (or needed). The exams will be graded and handed back as soon as possible. Solutions will be discussed and posted.
Final Exam: The final exam will be from 1-3 p.m., Monday, May 9. It will cover the entire course (Chapters 7-13), with some emphasis on the more recent material.
Grading: The course grade will
consist of the following components:
2 hour exams 30 % Final exam 30 % Homework 25 % Project 15 %
Note: I reserve the right to make adjustments to the final grade based on participation and trends in your grades over the semester
Contacting Me: I have office hours as listed above. You can drop by at other times if I'm not busy, or make an appointment. I am (almost) never available before class.
Plagiarism etc: Plagiarism and cheating are matters of serious concern for students and academic institutions. This is true in this class as well. The UAF Honor Code (or Student Code of Conduct) defines academic standards expected at the University of Alaska Fairbanks which will be followed in this class. (Taken from the UAF plagiarism web site, which has many links with good information about this topic)
Special Needs: The Office of Disability Services implements the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and insures that UAF students have equal access to the campus and course materials. We will work with the Office of Disabilities Services (203 WHIT, 474-7043) to provide reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities.
Complaints and Concerns: You are always welcome to talk to me about anything, however, if you have a non-subject matter question or concern that cannot be resolved by me contact the department chair, Dr. Craven, Physics Department Office, room 102 NSCI.
Alternate References: To see
the same topics explained differently, try the following:
Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems, Stephen T. Thornton, Jerry B. Marion An Intro to Mechanics, Daniel Kleppner, Robert Kolenkow Classical Mechanics, Goldstein (graduate level but accessible) Mechanics, L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz (graduate level, classic but difficult) Div, Grad, Curl, and All That: An Informal Text on Vector Calculus, H. M. Schey (very good) Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences, 2nd Edition by Mary L. Boas (excellent math methods text) The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Richard Feynman ( a great set of books...rather deep) Here is a good web site on how to study physics which might be of interest and use: How to study physics
General Advice: Physics is not
something you read and memorize, rather it is something you learn how
to do. Try the following study procedure: