Physics 161 General Physics Mechanics and Particle Dynamics Syllabus Fall 2010 Course description General Physics 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 Physics clinic PHY 1214 MTWHF 11 2 If purchasing used books additional software may be required Pre requisite MATH 140 Co requisite MATH 141 Instructor Dr Darrell B Tata 3107 Physics Building 301 405 6024 tata umd edu dtata123 gmail com Office hours Monday 1 00 2 00 pm Wed 1 00 2 00 pm and by appointment In case you miss me by phone e mail is probably the best way to contact me I frequently check my g mail several times a day Sections Lecture MWF 3 00 3 50 pm PHYS 1410 Section 101 Tuesday 3 00 pm 3 50pm Phy 0405 Dis Dojinn Kim Section 103 Tuesday 10 00am 10 50am Phy 1402 Dis Dojinn Kim Section 104 Tuesday 11 00am 11 50am Phy 1219 Dis Dojinn Kim TA Dojinn Kim Office PHYS 0104 Phone 5 8577 e mail immworry umd edu Texts Required Physics for scientist and engineers Volume 1 second edition by Randall D Knight Addison Wesley When you buy your textbook you must get a new copy that is packaged with an access number for Mastering Physics The access number is needed to get on line access to Mastering Physics which is the web based homework collection system If you buy a used copy you will need to also purchase an access number which you can get on line at www masteringphysics com for 44 50 or at the bookstore Be sure you get the second edition of the textbook Lectures Students are required to attend lectures where homework assignments will be given quizzes and exams will be announced and administered and the course material will be presented Preparation Not all material will be directly covered in lectures Students are responsible for reading and understanding all material in assigned chapters whether or not this material is explicitly treated in the lectures Discussion sections Discussion sections will be conducted by the Teaching Assistant and are a forum where students can ask questions about the course material and where problems will be worked out with student participation Lab First Semester of General Physics 161 does not have a lab component Homework Homework will be done through WebAssign Problems will be assigned from the text and or by the instructor at the start of the Lecture Homework will typically be assigned on Monday and due by the following Monday at the start of class You must submit your answers for the homework problems over the internet using the Mastering Physics web site see below Solutions will generally be posted on the web by midnight Wednesday after the homework is due To get the solutions go to www elms umd edu and log in to Blackboard There are several advantages to electronic homework submission 1 You will know right away if your answer is right or wrong 2 If you give a wrong answer you can go back and try again to see if you can get the correct solution You will be allowed 5 attempts for each question so don t waste them 3 You are graded only on your final answers and get your score when you are done 4 The site also has a tutorial capability that you may find helpful Note that the software will randomize the numbers each time you make a new attempt on a problem so be careful and remember that other students working on exactly the same problems are likely to have different numbers The best way to do physics problems is first to work out carefully a general solution and then plug in the numbers at the end This is especially true if the numbers are being randomized each time so everyone has different numbers Why You Need to do the Homework One of the main ways you can understand Physics is by doing the homework Do not wait until the night before it s due to start working on your homework The homework can be expected to be difficult and it counts a lot towards your final grade in enabling you to succeed on your quizzes and exams A sure way to get an F in this course is to not do the homework or not give your self enough time to work on it Getting started in electronic homework submission To turn in your homework you need to go to http www masteringphysics com The site is best accessed with a current version of Windows Explorer If you run into problems check the system requirements Registering and Gaining Access to Mastering Physics In order to turn in your homework you will need to register at the Mastering Physics website http www masteringphysics com To register you need two things an access number and the class ID The access number will be packaged with new copies of the Knight textbook When you buy your textbook you need to get a new copy that comes packaged with a Mastering Physics access number Quizzes There will be five short 15 minute quizzes during the lecture hour Somewhat likely to be on Fridays Each quiz will be worth 3 of your final grade No Quizzes are dropped Quizzes are closed book and closed notes No cheat sheets are allowed All necessary physical constants will be provided by the instructor Exams There will be three 50 minute Hour exams and a one 2 Hr Final exam You must take the Final exam in order to pass Phys 161 All exams are closed book and closed note exams No cheat sheets of any kind are allowed on the exams The exams are closed book and closed notes The exams will include problems to be worked out in similar format as your home work problems typically with sub sections with varying degree of difficulty You are responsible for showing up on time with a working calculator The exam sheets will contain a few numerical physical constants you will need to solve the problems Excuses Turning in late homework or missing an exam or quiz is not allowed without a valid documented excuse as defined by the University medical problem religious holiday or serious family crisis In all cases a makeup assignment or makeup exam must be completed in a reasonable amount of time or you will receive a score of zero for the assignment or exam The makeup test or assignment and the due date must be arranged by consulting with Dr Tata as soon as possible after it becomes apparent that an exam or assignment due date will be missed If you are going to miss an assignment because of a religious holiday it is your responsibility to inform the instructor in advance so that suitable arrangements can be made Final Grade The final grade will be based on the components with the