Syllabus
PHYS 122C, Winter 2008
- Lecture Instructor: Prof. John G.
Cramer
Email: cramer@phys.washington.edu
WWW:
http://faculty.washington.edu/jcramer
Office: B451 Physics and Astronomy Building
Phone: (206) 543-9194
- Tutorial Instructor: Prof. P. S.
Shaffer
Email: shaffer@phys.washington.edu
Office: C208 Physics Astronomy Building;
Phone: (206) 685-2046
- Lab Instructor: Prof. Oscar Vilches
Email: vilches@phys.washington.edu
Office: B445 Physics Astronomy Building
Phone: 206-543-2393 or 206-543-5768
- NOTE: Concurrent enrollment in 122Z Lab is mandatory
- Course WWW:
http://www.phys.washington.edu/1xx/
- Office Hours in the Study Center: Mondays and
Wednesdays, 10:30
to 11:20 AM (i.e., the hour before class)
Also in my
office, B451 Physics and Astronomy Building, by appointment.
- Lecture Hall: Room A118 in the auditorium wing of the
Physics and Astronomy Building (PAB)
- Lecture Schedule: MWF 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM
- Holidays: Monday, January 21 and Monday, February 18.
- Homework: Tycho Homework will normally be due
every Wednesday.
- Course Textbooks:
Lecture: Physics
for Scientists & Engineers, 6th Edition, Paul A. Tipler &
Gene Mosca, W. H. Freeman & Co. (2004);
Tutorial: Tutorials in Introductory
Physics,
L. C. McDermott and P. S. Shaffer;
Laboratory: Physics 122Z Laboratory
Manual (purchase at the University Bookstore before the 1st lab.)
- Weekly Course Schedule:
- The schedule for Phys 122 is available here: http://courses.washington.edu/p122cw08/schedule.htm
- Each line on this
schedule is a link to a .ppt file containing the lecture for that day.
Some lecture files are initially from last year and will be updated as the
class progresses.
- This schedule will be followed as closely as possible, and changes will be
announced as necessary.
Lecture Instructor's Comments
- Welcome to PHYS 122C, the second quarter of a three-quarter sequence of
introductory physics courses for physics and engineering majors. You should
find this course challenging and stimulating, though perhaps it will not fit
your preconceptions of what a university physics course should
be. I hope that you also find it to be interesting and
enjoyable. Have a great quarter!
- The course design is a cooperative effort of many faculty, each of whom
is deeply concerned with providing the most effective learning experience
for every student. Each element of the course (lecture, lab and tutorial) is
essential to your mastery of physics. The three elements are carefully
coordinated, but are not necessarily synchronized. Research has shown that
presenting material in cycles, so that the same topic is approached more
than once from different viewpoints, is a very effective means of
encouraging deeper understanding and long-term retention of ideas.
- You are encouraged to visit with me regularly during my office hours at
the Study Center and also by appointment, by e-mail, by phone,
etc. Get used to the idea of seeing the Professor outside of
class during the quarter; it will pay off for you in many ways as the years
go by! This will not happen unless YOU take the initiative, and
now is a great time to start.
- Memorization of material is not particularly helpful in this class. Your
goal in this class should be to understand how each new topic
is related to all of the previous material, and how the concepts, rules and
formulae fit together and can be applied to solve real-world problems.
Never allow anything to go by that you do not understand. Generally, ask a
question immediately. If it is inconvenient to interrupt, make a quick
note to yourself and inquire later.
General Comments
- Each quarter, the UW Office of Educational Assessment conducts surveys of
undergraduate courses. For many years, the PHYS121-2-3 courses have been among
the courses reportedly requiring the most hours of work per week outside of
class. A typical course will show a span from 5 hours per week to 20 hours of
study per week outside of class, probably including some time spent on
PHYS12__Z. Many courses claim to require at least two hours outside of class
for each hour in class; PHYS12__/12__Z delivers.
- Note that MATH 125: Calculus II is a prerequisite/co-requisite for this
class. However, there is ongoing discussion as to whether MATH125 should be a
strict prerequisite rather than a co-requisite for PHYS122. It is the opinion
of many instructors that students who have already completed MATH125 are at a
considerable advantage in PHYS122. Hence, although it is possible to take the
PHYS121-3 and MATH124-6 as simple co-requisites (i.e. P122C with_ M125, etc.),
students who have no prior experience with either calculus or physics should
seriously consider getting 'one quarter ahead' in the MATH124-6 sequence with
respect to the PHYS121-3 sequence.
- Be aware that many technical majors have a minimum grade requirement for a
core of lower-division technical classes including the PHYS121-2-3 sequence.
Therefore, each student is strongly urged to discuss departmental entry
requirements with their undergraduate or departmental advisors, and plan their
course loads accordingly. The course grading policy is detailed below.
Grading Policy
Concurrent enrollment in PHYS122C and PHYS122Z is
mandatory; students will receive a combined grade for lecture, tutorial and lab.
The final course grade is based on the best two of three midterms, the final
exam, the Tycho lecture HW, tutorial participation and HW, supplemental HW and
lecture exercises (using the new infrared response system), and PHYS122_Z Lab
participation and reports. A summary of the grading policy for this course may
be found in
http://courses.washington.edu/p122cw08/grading.htm. However, the lecture instructor may adjust individual final grades by no
more than 0.1 grade points (about 2.5 % out of 4.0 possible) based on
records from the lecture infrared response system (clicker) and/or the supplemental
homework related to the lecture. All percentages discussed in the policy
statement and in the summary below are used to determine your raw grade, before
this adjustment is applied.
- Midterm exams: There will be three closed-book midterm exams. Each
midterm will emphasize recent material, but may include questions dealing with
topics from far earlier in the course. The exams will include both multiple
choice and essay-style questions. Only the best two of three values of the
z-score [(your score - class average) / (std deviation)] will count toward the
final course grade. Your lowest midterm score (relative to the mean) will be
dropped. After correcting for different average scores on different midterms,
the midterms will contribute 40% to your final raw grade. You are permitted to
bring one 8.5"x11" page of notes (both sides) to each midterm. Calculators are
permitted. Cell phones, radios, etc. are not permitted. Laptop
computers are not permitted, and the use of the text-storage capability
now available on many calculators is not permitted. Exams are to be
your own work; you are not permitted to collaborate with any other
person. The Physics department reserves the right to ask for valid
identification from any student during examinations.
- Note that there will be no make-up exams in PHYS122C. Students with
outside professional, service, or career commitments (i.e. military service,
ROTC, professional conference presentation, NCAA sports, etc.) conflicting
exactly with the exam dates must contact the instructor early in the
quarter to establish alternate examination procedures. Students who miss
an exam without making prior arrangements with the lecture instructor will
drop that exam score. Except for extreme circumstances, a final grade of 0.0
may be assigned to any student who misses two midterm exams.
- Final Exam: A two-hour closed-book comprehensive final exam worth
25% of the final raw grade will take place on Wednesday, March 19 from 2:30 to
4:20 PM for PHYS 122C. This examination will cover material from the
entire course. You are permitted to bring three 8.5"x11" pages of notes (front
and back) to the final exam. Calculators are permitted. Cell phones, radios,
etc. are not permitted. Laptop computers are not permitted, and
the use of the text-storage capability now available on many calculators is
not permitted. You are permitted to bring three 8.5"x11" pages of notes (both
sides) to the final. The final exam is to be your own work; you are not
permitted to collaborate with any other person. The Physics Department
reserves the right to ask for valid identification from any student during
examinations. A final grade of 0.0 may be assigned to any student who
does not take the final exam.
- Exam Re-grades: If you believe that the points on the examination
were incorrectly totaled or if there is a gross error in the grading, you may
return an exam for regrading to Helen Gribble in room C136 PAB, resubmitting the examination no
later than at the beginning of the lecture following the one in which the
exams are returned. You must write a brief note on the front page or attached
to the front page of the exam explaining the possible error in the grading.
Do not make *any* changes or marks on the other pages of the
examination. Portions of each examination are scanned or photocopied. You
should be aware that any request for a regrade may result in a regrading of
the entire exam. Therefore your total score may increase or decrease.
- Labs and Tutorials: Grading policies will be explained in your lab
and tutorial section. Please note that grades for lab and tutorial form a
significant percentage of your overall grade for the course. Also,
completion of most of the lab and tutorial work is required in order
to pass the course. For example, if you complete less than six labs during
the quarter, and do not make up the work, your grade for the entire course
will be 0.0 ! Even completing six of the eight labs will reduce your grade
significantly. Do not skip these important activities!
- Homework:
- Lecture homework will be assigned and collected weekly on Fridays at
11:59 PM through the Tycho
system. Supplemental homework may be assigned and collected during lecture.
- Tutorial homework will be assigned and collected in each tutorial
section. One problem from each assignment will be graded in detail, and will
contribute to your score for tutorials.
- There may be computer projects assigned in the tutorial sections.
Computers are available in the Physics Study Center from 8:30am-5:20pm on
weekdays and at various other locations around campus.
- Your responsibility: Check your grades on the Tycho system every week or two and report any problems to both the lecture
instructor and the relevant TAs (and/or lab/tutorial faculty) immediately.
Lab, tutorial and exam grades should be recorded for your review within one
week from the date that papers are submitted for grading. Tycho homework
grades should be recorded within 24 hours of submission. Supplemental HW
should be recorded every two weeks or so. Grading problems that are reported
in a timely fashion will be investigated and, if action is warranted,
corrected. The lecture, lab and tutorial instructors may choose to ignore
grading complaints that are not reported in a timely fashion.
The Physics Study Center
Students are encouraged to gather and work
cooperatively in small groups in the Physics Study Center located in room AM018
of the PAB. (to reach the Physics Study Center, go down the stairs that circle
behind the Foucault pendulum and proceed toward the end of the hall). Teaching
assistants will be available for consultation during many portions of the day if
your study group needs assistance, but staffing levels will not support much
individual attention. The Study Center is staffed from approximately 9:30 AM to
4:30 PM on weekdays.