Physics 122: Fundamentals of Physics II Spring 2011 — Lecturer: Pat Harding Check class Blackboard website for latest information: www.elms.umd.edu Overview The purpose of this class is to give you a deep understanding of the fundamental principles that govern physical systems, how they may be used to accurately predict the behavior of objects when they interact with their environment, and how these simple principles lead to more complex phenomena. Topics will include harmonic motion, waves, superposition, light rays, mirrors, refraction and reflection of light, lenses, interference of light, electric and magnetic forces, electric and magnetic fields, electric energy, voltage, and basic circuits. Lectures will be given on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30–1:45 in room 1410 in the Physics lecture halls wing. These sessions will actually be fairly interactive—please come ready to think and respond, not just to take notes! You will also have a one-hour discussion session and a two-hour lab session each week, with a few exceptions: you’ll have no discussion session or lab in the first week of the semester or the week of Spring Break. The discussion session, which meets in room 3301, is structured in a “tutorial” manner to help you explore and solidify physics principles and their consequences, collaborating with your classmates and TA. The lab sessions, in room 3312, present you with rather open-ended investigations that you must plan, carry out, evaluate and explain in teams—there is no “cookbook” for them! You must attend the specific discussion and lab sessions for the course section you registered for. If you miss your normal day for a valid reason (such as illness), you might be able to attend a later discussion session that week; be sure to check with me first. At the end of the semester there will be time available to make up one lab session if you missed one for a valid reason during the semester. Required and optional materials The textbook for this course is “College Physics: A Strategic Approach” by Knight, Jones and Field, published by Addison-Wesley / Pearson. PHYS 122 will cover material corresponding to chapters 14-28. The current edition of the book is the second edition, but the first edition is very similar and is an acceptable substitute that you could obtain used; however, before you run out and buy a used copy, carefully read below about bundled items which affect the economics of buying a new versus a used book: New copies of the textbook are available in a number of packages, bundled with various add-ons, with different ISBN numbers. The most important add-on for this course is MasteringPhysics, a web-based homework system that is a required part of this course. For those who took Physics 121 last semester, your MasteringPhysics account should still be valid. When MasteringPhysics access is purchased with a book, it is valid for twoyears and includes an “eText” version of the book that you can read online if you don’t have your book with you. MasteringPhysics access can also be purchased separately at masteringphysics.com for $54 for a two-year subscription, though that does not include the eText. So that $54 would be an additional cost if you buy a used copy of Knight/Jones/Field that does not include an unused MasteringPhysics access code. A workbook and study guide are available for purchase packaged with the text. The workbook and study guide are not required for this course, but some students may find them helpful. In addition to the textbook, you will need a copy of the “Physics 122 Tutorials and Laboratories” manual, which is a U. of Maryland custom book published by Wiley with ISBN 978-0-4-7056674-9. Finally, for this course you will need to have a “clicker”, or else a web-enabled phone (or other device) with a ResponseWare license that you can use in place of a clicker. My ResponseWare session ID is JPHARDING . You will also need to register your clicker (or other device) at http://my.umd.edu so that it is associated with your student ID. For details and purchasing information, go to http://clickers.umd.edu/ and click on the “Students” tab. The “RF-LCD” model is currently preferred, though the older RF and XR models will also work if you already own one. To summarize: the required materials for PHYS 122 are the textbook; MasteringPhysics access; the tutorials/labs manual; and a clicker or suitable alternative. MasteringPhysics registration and enrollment The regular textbook bundle includes a slim cardboard “Student Access Kit” with an activation code for MasteringPhysics. Alternatively, you can purchase a MasteringPhysics subscription separately at www.masteringphysics.com. Important: If you purchase a subscription online, be sure to specify the standard textbook for the course: Knight/Jones/Field, College Physics, 2nd edition (even if you are using a printed copy of the 1st edition book); otherwise the MasteringPhysics registration system will not let you enroll in our course. Once you have registered, you can log in and “join” our specific course. Enter your Student ID (the 9-digit number on the front of your University ID card, beginning with either “10” or “11”) and the Course ID: MPHARDING89109 . How assignments will be graded MasteringPhysics automatically calculates grades based on your answers (except for free response answers), but the rules for giving partial credit can be confusing. Here is how I plan to set up the grading: • You get a maximum of five attempts to answer each part. For symbolic or numeric questions, each wrong answer before the correct one reduces your score on that part by 10%. For multiple-choice questions, each wrong answer beforethe correct one reduces your score by the fraction 1/(n-1), where n is the number of answer choices. • There is no penalty for opening a hint. However, if you answer the part correctly without opening a hint, you get a bonus of 10% per unopened hint. (You can even look at the list of hint topics without actually opening any of them.) • If you open a hint that contains a question, and you answer that question incorrectly, then your score is reduced by 10%. There is no penalty for leaving a hint question unanswered. If you think you have lost points unfairly for some technical reason, let me know what happened and I will look at your answers and make an adjustment if appropriate.
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