Physics 101a: Classical and Modern Physics I

Fall 2010 Syllabus, Information, and Policies

Physics 101 is an introductory course exploring the central ideas of of classical mechanics and thermodynamics with applications drawn principally from the life sciences, but also from astrophysics, forensic science and everyday life. Students intending to major in natural sciences other than physics or astronomy should find that the two semesters of Physics 101-102 provide a solid foundation in classicaland modern physics. Potential math or chemistry majors should take either this or the Physics 105-106 sequence. Non-science majors also may find this course to be a valuable part of their liberal arts program. Physics majors are advised to take the 105-106 sequence, although you may also start the major in Physics 101 and 102 (or even switch into Physics 106 having taken Physics 101 first semester.)

Location and times

We expect you to attend all class meetings, including lectures, recitations and laboratories.

Lecture: MWF 11:30 - 12:30 PM Hilles 109.
Recitation: to be scheduled (one hour per week; we will have at least two sections to accommodate student schedules)
Laboratory: Tues. or Wed. 1:15 - 4:00 PM Hilles 105.

You will be assigned to the Tues. or Wed. section on the basis of a form to be filled out on the first day of class. The results will be posted on a bulletin board outside H105; check your assignment promptly as the laboratory begins the first week of class. Subsequently,the laboratory meets every other week, except as interrupted by Fall break. The schedule is listed in the laboratory manual and is available online. It is expected that you will attend every lab meeting; any departures from the schedule must be discussed in advance with the instructor. You will only be able to complete the lab in the allotted time if you have read the instructions thoroughly and made a good effort to understand them in advance. Therefore, you are required to come to each lab fully prepared, having read the manual and having answered all pre-lab questions beforehand!

Physics Clinic: Mondays & Tuesdays 7 to 10pm, Hilles 107 (Physics Lounge) starting the second week of classes.

This resource is staffed by experienced and friendly physics majors to help you with any remaining questions you may have from class or with homework.

The Dean's office provides Peer Tutors at your request in all subjects, including physics.

Instructors

Suzanne Amador Kane, Room L103 KINSC, (610) 896-1198 (office), samador@haverford.edu

Scott Shelley (lab), Room L207 KINSC, (610) 896-1310 (office), sshelley@haverford.edu

Peter Love (lab), Room L105 KINSC (610) 796-6505 (office), plove@haverford.edu

We expect you to read your email and check the Blackboard web site regularly as we will make announcements and answer some questions this way. You should feel free to send us email when you have a question or comment. However,if you are having trouble with a homework problem, for instance, it is usually far more efficient if you stop by so that we can work through the problem at a chalkboard rather than through an email exchange.

Please do not hesitate to contact us; no question or topic is too small. If you are having a lot of trouble with the homework, be sure to come to see one of us as soon as possible. A good way to get together is to arrange a mutually agreeable time with us, either by email or in person after class.

Feedback: we will issue course evaluations half-way through the semester. However, if you have concerns about the course or ideas about how to make it better, you should let us know immediately, either in person or by email. Don't wait!

Textbooks and supplies

• Required textbook:  Physics for the Life Sciences, Timothy McKay (University of Michigan)  This electronic textbook will be posted on Blackboard, and we will arrange a means for you to purchase an inexpensive paper copy if you wish.
• Optional: General Physics, Morton Sternheim and Joseph Kane, John Wiley & sons, 1991.  (This textbook will be used for problems, example and other material, but you are not expected to purchase it; note the tradeoff: this is a unique, quite good older textbook, so there are many inexpensive used copies available--but it doesn't have full-color photos, etc. Great quality physics + cheaper--but lower production values.)
• The textbooks will also be on reserve in the White Science Library in the KINSC.
• A calculator will be needed for problem sets and tests and in thelaboratory. You do not need graphing capabilities, but a scientific calculator is recommended for doing trigonometry, exponentials, and other calculations.
• You will also need to purchase a laboratory manual for this course from the bookstore or directly from Scott Shelley. All other supplies needed in the laboratory will be provided.
• A selection of other texts and useful references is on reserve in the science library and on Blackboard.

Course announcements

All important announcements will be made in class as well as on the Blackboard web site for this course and via email.

Assignments and Tests

Written work will be assigned weekly, and will be due outside my office (L103) at 5pm on Wednesdays, unless otherwise announced. Staple your assignment if there are multiple pages! Your work must be clear and well explained. There will also be assigned reading and exercises to prepare you for class discussion. All assignments will be posted on the Blackboard web site for this course.

You are expected to answer all homework questions in full, legibly and neatly.  It is never enough to just write down a numerical answer:  you should briefly yet thoroughly indicate your reasoning using a narrative description, equations and where appropriate a sketch or graph.  Units and significant figures will count in the grading.

There will be two midterm examinations plus a self-scheduled final exam.

Grading

Midterm#1 15%
Midterm#2 15%
Final exam 20%
Laboratory 25%
Homework 25%

We will post your grades on Blackboard so you can review your standing in the course throughout the semester.

Late policies

Labs must be done on the scheduled date unless cleared in advance by the lab instructors. Individual experiments are not kept after the week in which they are used.

The following late penalties will be in effect for homework. Assigments are due exactly at 5pm in my office (L103). Work turned in late will be given 75% credit up to one week late, and 25% credit up to two weeks. No work will be accepted after three weeks. We cannot accept split up assignments. However, there is one exception to the late policy: you may grant yourself up to two free one-week extensions on homework assignments (only--not lab reports or exams!) by emailing the lecture professor to let us know you will be taking a free extension.

Exams must be turned in no later than the stated times, except by prioragreement. You may get an extension on an examination or assignment ONLY with a Dean's excuse. For any take-home exams, you are expected to be present in lecture to pick up the exam on time;  no exams will be given to another student or will be available for pickup after the stated time.

Syllabus & approximate schedule for topics

Date	Topic	Labs/Exams
Week 1 Aug. 30	Physics & Life (course introduction);  forces & vectors	Lab 1:  Position, velocity & acceleration
Week 2 Sept. 6	Not changing :  Newton's first and second laws:
Week 3 Sept. 13	Real world forces: stretching, squashing and friction	Lab 2:  Biomechanics & bone scaling lab
Week 4 Sept. 20	Describing motion: velocity, acceleration & Newton's second law
Week 5 Sept. 27	Getting around:  Newton's second law (continued);  kinetic energy	Lab 3:  Trajectories
Week 6 Oct. 4	Energy accounting: potential energy & conservation
Oct. 11	FALL BREAK	FALL BREAK
Week 7 Oct. 18	Collisions:  impulse & momentum	Lab 4:  Energy transformations
Week 8 Oct. 25	Oscillations & resonance
Week 9 Nov. 1	Temperature & ideal gases	Lab 5:  Rotational motion
Week 10 Nov. 8	Random processes: diffusion and microscopic transport in life
Week 11 Nov. 15	Thermal properties of liquids and solids;  heat transfer	Lab 6:  Thermal properties lab
Week 12 Nov. 22	Life & random processes;  thermodynamic cycles	Thanksgiving Break Nov. 25-26
Week 13 Nov. 29	Life in fluids:  pressure & surface tension	Lab 7:  Fluids Lab
Week 14 Dec. 6	More physics of fluids:  flowing & mixing	Last day of classes Dec. 10--all work except final exam (homework, labs, etc.) due by 5pm
Dec. 13-17	FINALS WEEK	Self-scheduled Final Exam due by noon Fri. 12/17

Honor code matters

We value Haverford's honor code for the integrity it fosters and the pedagogical flexibility it affords. The important guiding principle of academic honesty is that you must never represent the work of others as your own. The following guidelines should govern your behavior in the course; please request clarification if you find yourself in any doubtful situations.

You may seek assistance from the instructors, from Physics Clinic TA's, from tutors, or from other students in doing the weekly assigned exercises and preparing for class discussions. You may also work together with other members of the class on these assignments and this is often quite beneficial. For your own good, avoid situations in which you are either contributing either too much or too little to such collaborations. Just copying someone else's work is clearly a representation of another student's work as your own and is a violation of the Code. This applies to copying down results worked out on a blackboard by any other students or by an instructor during office hours or by a Physics Clinic TA, as well as solutions written down on paper by any of the above.  If you are turning in an assignment late, you may not consult or copy from the posted solutions while doing the assignment.

Textbooks often give the answers for the odd (or even)-numbered exercises. These are given so that you will know if you have done a problem correctly. It is not sound learning procedure to try to work backwards from given answers, but doing so is not a violation of the honor code.  Copying a solutions set slavishly IS a violation of the Honor Code.

All exams must be entirely your own work. Detailed instructions will be given on the exams themselves and discussed in advance. You must use only those materials allowed in the instructions given on the exam. No collaboration of any sort is allowed once you start an exam. The allowed time (a single contiguous block) must be strictly observed.

Honor code guidelines for the lab are contained in the lab manual.

Accommodations for disability

Students who think they may need accommodations in this course because of the impact of a disability are encouraged to meet with me privately early in the semester. Students should also contact Rick Webb, Coordinator, Office of Disabilities Services (rwebb@haverford.edu, 610-896-1290) to verify their eligibility for reasonable accommodations as soon as possible. Early contact will help to avoid unnecessary inconvenience and delays.

Advice

You may need to improve your study habits in order to do well in this course. The following suggestions are based on the experience of previous students.

• Review your class notes between lectures, and come prepared to ask questions. Annotate your class notes as you read them. When you take notes in class, don't just write down equations! Qualitative information is often essential!
• Stay up to date on the reading; preferably read the assigned material twice; for example, once before the relevant lecture, and once after.
• Read with pen in hand to work out things described only briefly in the text or lecture. Ask yourself "what is the main point of each section", and answer the question. Highlighting the text as you read is no substitute for this exercise in thinking and reinterpreting what you have read!
• Make drawings of the physical situations we discuss in class or the ones you encounter in problem sets (and real life!) This helps you understand just what is going on much more than merely thinking about it.
• Don't spend more than 1 hour on a single homework problem. Show clearly where you're stumped and just move on. Don't feel badly if this happens occasionally, or worry about the effect on your grade. Consistency in doing the homework is more important.
• Try the homework problems first yourself, but do get help in clinic or during office hours if you need it. That's why these resources are provided. We expect you will make use of them as one more learning tool.
• You need to allocate about 7 hours for study and homework per week (plus class time and lab responsibilities). This isn't merely a time budget. It's also how much time you need to allow the ideas and methodology to really sink in so that you havetruly mastered the subjects.
• Do stop in to see one of us if you have questions or suggestions.
• When you're studying for an exam, first perform new problems and redo as many old problems as you have time for. Only after you have done so is it a good idea to then review the solutions to problems and previous exams. You always learn more from engaging in problem-solving than reviewing how someone else (even yourself in a previous week!) solved a problem.
• Study for the exams in advance. Your brain tackles problems differently if you have given it time to mull over new material and new approaches to problem-solving. You really think differently (and better) once you have literally slept on new ideas.
• Remember that if the material is new or unfamiliar for you, learning will take time, just as learning a new language takes time. Try not to become discouraged if the going is rough at times, and don't prejudge your ability to master the material. Generations of students have done it before you. There is no magic method of presenting the material that we can use to make it easy.