PY211 – GENERAL PHYSICS I PHYSICS 211 is a calculus-based course which covers the principles of classical Newtonian mechanics. Topics include: the laws of motion; the conservation laws of energy, momentum and angular momentum; the principles of work and energy; the properties of rotational and oscillatory motion; and the principles of thermal physics. The course emphasizes the development of basic calculation skills and a conceptual understanding of the macroscopic physical world. PY211 Course Organization Spring 2007 Instructors Lecture A1 T,R 9:30-11:00 AM SCI 107 Prof. Karl Ludwig [email protected] Lecture B1 T,R 2:00-3:30 PM SCI 107 Prof. James Stone [email protected] Lecture C1 T,R 5:00-6:30 PM SCI 107 Dr. Jonathan Celli [email protected] Course Prerequisites Completion of one semester of college calculus equivalent to the BU course MA123 is a prerequisite for the course. Please inform the instructor if this prerequisite has not been met so that you may be rescheduled into an appropriate course. In addition, you should now be taking the co-requisite calculus course MA124 or MA127. Textbook Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 6th Edition, Volume I, Chapters 1 - 22 Raymond A. Serway / John W. Jewett, Jr. Brooks/Cole – Thomson Learning Publisher ISBN: 0-534-40845-1 The textbook is available at the Boston University bookstore and from various online sources. The bookstore version comes bundled with a code that will give you access to the WebAssign homework. If you purchase the book elsewhere, it will be necessary for you to purchase separately the WebAssign access. Please note that only Volume I of the textbook is required for this semester. 1Course Syllabus The course will cover selected sections from Chapters 1 through 22 of the textbook with a few exceptions. The detailed schedules of lectures, labs, exams and homework assignments are given on the course syllabus. Please reserve the dates for the two midterm exams. Calculator A simple scientific calculator which has trigonometric and exponential functions and their inverses will be needed for homework and exam calculations. Lectures Attendance at all lectures is expected. Preparation should include the advance reading of the chapter to be covered in a particular lecture. Reading assignments are given on the syllabus for each scheduled lecture. All exams, homework assignments, and labs will be the same for all lecture sections. The combined lecture sections will be graded as a single class, with grade divisions determined jointly by the professors according to the criteria given below. Course Bulletin Board The PY211 bulletin board is located in the main corridor of SCI next to SCI 107. Course Web Site http://webct.bu.edu To access the course website, start at http://webct.bu.edu, select My WebCT at the top right of the screen or find the combined course title CAS/PY211 A1-C1. To login, use your regular BU login user name and Kerberos password. This web site will contain all the course information and a variety of useful physics resources. You will also be able to view your grades, lab assignments, homework assignments, and other resource material. Please note that there is one WebCT site for the course as a whole. Homework There will be a homework assignment given nearly every week of the semester that is not interrupted by a break. We will be using WebAssign this semester. Discussion of problems with other students is encouraged, but the work you submit must be your own since homework makes up a large portion of your grade and this is the best preparation you have for the course exams. You may obtain help from any PY211 staff member in the undergraduate resource room (SCI-121) during the posted hours for PY211. All problem sets are due on Fridays at 5:00 pm of the week of each assignment. Using WebAssign WebAssign is a web-based homework system that we will be using for most of the homework. There is an excellent guide to using WebAssign on the WebAssign web site - please read through this before submitting the first assignment. Please contact Prof. Ludwig if you have any problems, particularly if you have problems logging in. The URL for WebAssign is: http://webassign.net/student.html You need a WebAssign access code. This comes bundled with the textbook (look for a cardboard package about the size of a CD) if you buy the text at the BU Bookstore. If you have a textbook from another source you can also purchase an access code for $11.95 directly from WebAssign with a credit card. To do this log into WebAssign using the information below and then hit the button for registering with a credit card. 2Three pieces of data are required to log on to WebAssign: Username: Use your regular acs login name Institution Name: bu Password: Your password is your BU student number in the form U12345678. No dashes or spaces! * Note that if you have used WebAssign previously at BU, such as in Chemistry, then WebAssign will be looking for your old password. Getting the most out of WebAssign You have six chances to submit each assignment. Use your submissions wisely. Note that you can submit the answers to each question individually - you do not need to fill in answers for the whole assignment first. Each time you submit, WebAssign tells you whether you are right or wrong, and then you get more chances to correct anything you got wrong. Things to keep in mind when using WebAssign Start early. Come to office hours for help. Do not hit the refresh button on your browser since that can count as a submission. Numbers and variables are randomized, so everybody in the class gets a slightly different problem. Grading is done automatically, so everyone is treated equally. Your grade is recorded soon after the assignment deadline. In general WebAssign expects numerical answers to be within 1% of the correct answer, so do not round off until the very end. Discussion Sessions The discussion sessions will be conducted in sections of no more than 27 students, which will meet each week for one hour except as noted in the syllabus. Discussion sessions are not homework problem solving sessions. A Teaching Fellow will lead