Syllabus - Spring 2008
PHYS 123C
- Waves and Modern Physics
Special Links:
Schedule
- Clicker -
Tycho
- Lab -
12x
Sequence - Grading
- Lecture Instructor: Prof. John G.
Cramer
Email: cramer@phys.washington.edu
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. Samuel Fain
Email:
fain@u.washington.edu
Office: B437 Physics and Astronomy Building;
Phone: (206) 543-8444
- NOTE: Concurrent enrollment in 123Z Lab is mandatory
- Course Sequence WWW:
http://www.phys.washington.edu/1xx/
- Office Hours in the Study Center: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30
to 10:20 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 10:30- 11:20 AM
- Holidays: Monday May 28 (Memorial Day).
- Homework: Tycho Homework will normally be due on
Wednesdays at 11:59 PM
- Course Textbooks:
Lecture: Physics
for Scientists & Engineers, 6th Edition, Paul A. Tipler &
Gene Mosca, W. H. Freeman & Co. (2004);
Tutorial:
L. C. McDermott and P. S. Shaffer, Tutorials in Introductory
Physics;
Laboratory: Physics 123Z Laboratory
Manual (purchase at the University Bookstore before 1st lab.)
- Weekly Course Schedule:
Lecture Instructor's Comments
- Welcome - Welcome to PHYS 123C, the last 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!
- Physics 123C - The Physics 123C 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.
- Office Hours - 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.
- Understanding vs. Memorization - 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.
- Lecture Files - Lectures will normally be given using
PowerPoint. After (and perhaps a few hours before) each lecture, the
PowerPoint .ppt file used in the lecture will be made available as a link
from the lecture title on
the Physics 123C Course Schedule and may be used for study and review.
Lecture files will remain on the Web until the end of the quarter, but will
be removed soon after,
- Clicker (H-ITT) Response System - You will need to
purchase a H-ITT Response Unit from the University Bookstore if you do not
already have one. In class, we will have regular interactive sessions
using the response system. At the end of the quarter, your grade may
be increased by as much as 0.1 grade points if you have
registered
your clicker, and if you have regularly participated in the interactive
sessions.
General Comments
- Work Requirements - Each quarter, the UW Office of
Educational Assessment conducts surveys of undergraduate courses. For
many years, the Physics 121-2-3 courses have been among the courses reported
as requiring the most hours of work per week outside 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
Physics 123Z. Many courses claim to require at least two hours outside of class
for each hour in class; Physics 123C/123Z delivers.
- Prerequisite Math - Note that MATH 125: Calculus II is a prerequisite/corequisite for this
class. However, there is ongoing discussion as to whether MATH125 should be a
strict prerequisite rather than a corequisite for PHYS123. It is the opinion
of many instructors that students who have already completed MATH125 are at a
considerable advantage in PHYS123. Hence, although it is possible to take the
PHYS121-3 and MATH124-6 as simple corequisites (i.e. , PHYS123C with MATH126, 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.
- Minimum Grades for Majors -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 PHYS123C and PHYS123Z 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 PHYS123Z Lab
participation and reports. A summary of the grading policy for this course may
be found in http://courses.washington.edu/p123cs08/grading.htm. However, the lecture instructor may adjust individual final grades by
about 0.1 grade points (about 2.5 % out of 4.0 possible) based on
records from the lecture infrared response system. 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 requiring a
knowledge of topics from earlier in the course. The exams will include both multiple
choice and written answer 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 Physics 123C. 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 intructor 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
150 points or 25% of the final raw grade will take place on Monday, June 6 from 8:30 to
10:20 AM for Physics 123C. This examination will cover material from the
entire course. You are permitted to bring three 8.5"x11" pages of notes (both
sides) 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. 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 do so, you must resubmit the examination to
Helen Gribble in room C136 PAB no
later than noon on the Wednesday after 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 weekly through the Tycho
system and is normally due at 9:00 PM on the Wednesday after it is assigned.
- 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 8:30 AM-5:20 PM 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.