Physics 161 General Physics Mechanics and Particle Dynamics Fall 2008 Professor Wolfgang Losert Final exam time Tuesday Dec 16 from 6 30 to 8 30 PM Syllabus First semester of a three semester calculus based general physics course Laws of motion force and energy principles of mechanics collisions linear momentum rotation and gravitation Pre or corequisite MATH141 Professor Wolfgang Losert wlosert umd edu 3359 AV Williams Bldg 301 405 0629 Office hours 12 30 pm 1 30pm Tuesday 2pm 3pm Thursday email call to make an appointment at other times This course covers basic physical principles in the fields of mechanics Understanding physical principles will require a combination of knowledge of equations e g Newton s Laws and experience through lots of practice in homeworks and discussion sections in how to apply them to real world problems Lecture Tu Th 11 00am 12 15pm PHY 1410 Physics Building Discussion with Teaching Assistants TA starting 9 2 0201 Th 8 00am 8 50am PHY 0405 Dis 0202 Tu 2 00pm 2 50pm PHY 1402 Dis 0203 W 3 00pm 3 50pm PHY 1219 Dis 0204 W 4 00pm 4 50pm MTH 0105 Dis TA Amir Najmi anajmi1 umd edu Required course materials 1 Textbook Knight Physics for Scientists and Engineers Volume 1 Second Edition ISBN 978 0 3 2151671 8 2 Mastering Physics Access Card valid for 2 years and all volumes of Knight i e you should only need to buy this once for the three semester physics sequence ISBN 978 0 3 2151639 8 NOTE if you buy a used book you need to separately purchase access to Mastering Physics the online homework webservice You can buy access e g from www mypearsonstore com We will NOT need the workbook though the bookstore sells a bundle that includes the student workbook 3 RESPONSE CARD RADIO FREQUENCY KEYPADS RF clickers see clickers umd edu for more information on buying and registering your clicker You will be able to use the same clicker in several other classes as well We use RF clickers ONLINE Lecture Materials and grades http www elms umd edu access with your University password already set up ONLINE Homework Mastering Physics http www masteringphysics com Mastering Physics Course ID LOSERTPHYS161F2008 use your university ID as your identification when you register Grading Homework 30 2 Midterm Exams 30 Quizzes and class participation 15 Final Exam 25 Must take the final to pass the class Homework consists of TWO parts 1 Weekly web based homework assignments using Mastering Physics due Tuesday at 10 50 am starting September 8 2 Written step by step solutions to ONE of the problems at the beginning of class the goal is to practice writing out the solution to a problem step by step including the equation steps and written explanations for each step Homework is extremely important as it will help you understand how to apply the equations and concepts covered in class It is extremely difficult to do well in this course without carefully doing the homework Giving explanations for your steps is also extremely important In exams I will give partial credit for correct explanations even if the math is incorrect Quizzes class participation You will need to complete a short quiz at the start of some lectures Class participation will be judged based on the number of clicker questions you answer during lecture you will not be judged on whether you answer the questions correctly If you You will need to complete a short quiz at the start of some lectures Class participation will be judged based on the number of clicker questions you answer during lecture you will not be judged on whether you answer the questions correctly If you participate in 80 of clicker questions you will receive full credit Midterm Exams There will be two 75 minute in class midterm exams tentatively scheduled for Tuesday October 7 and Thursday November 13 These exams will have questions similar to the homework and quizzes Each counts 15 toward your course grade Final Exams There will be a 2 hour final exam The final exam is cumulative It is scheduled for Tuesday Dec 16 from 6 30 to 8 30 PM Discussion You must attend the discussion section to which you are assigned Your TA will cover material that may not be covered elsewhere Please come prepared and ask lots of questions i e read the chapters review your lecture notes and try the homework problems Remember the TA is there to help you when you are stuck not to dole out answers You should also remember that your TA is also a student in this case a graduate student and also has to take classes do homework and teach other sections Tutoring It is very important not to fall behind in this class since each chapter builds on all previous chapters If you fall behind or if you want to avoid falling behind please come to the office hours of your TA or to my office hours You can also use a free tutoring service in the Physics Department the Slawsky Clinic It is run by a group of retired senior physicists It is located in Room 1214 in the Physics building The time reserved for PHYS161 is Mon Fri 11 12 and 2 3 However you can usually get help at any time they are open from10 AM until 3 PM See http www physics umd edu academics ugrad slawsky html Honor Code The University of Maryland College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity administered by the Student Honor Council This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating fabrication facilitation and plagiarism For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council please visit http www shc umd edu To further exhibit your commitment to academic integrity remember to sign the Honor Pledge on all examinations and assignments I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this examination assignment Copyright note lectures and course matter are copyright protected and written instructor consent must be obtained for reproduction and distribution of lecture notes and course material especially for commercial use Week Lecture Dates Main Topics Tentative Schedule as of 8 31 2008 Chapter in Knight 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Sept 2 4 Sept 9 11 Sept 16 18 Sept 23 25 Sept 30 Oct 2 Tuesday October 7 Oct 9 Oct 14 16 Oct 21 23 Oct 28 30 Nov 4 6 Concepts of Motion Units and Dimensions 1 D Motion and Vectors 2 D