phys222f08:syllabus [Winona State Physics] http://toulouse.physics.winona.edu/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=phy... Physics 222 Syllabus, Fall 2008 Instructor Nathan Moore, Assistant Professor Physics Department, Winona State University Office: Pasteur 152 Office Hours: MWF 2-4pm, TR 10am-12pm, also by appointment or whenever my door is open Physics Wiki:toulouse.workstations.winona.edu [http://toulouse.workstations.winona.edu] My Google Calendar in: AIM: nmoorewsu (this is a good way to see where I am) Email: nmoore@winona.edu [mailto:mailto:nmoore@winona.edu] What I'm reading... [http://www.google.com/reader/shared/08483186466531226768] Materials: 1. A text on Calculus based Physics. I will be using Chabay and Sherwood's “Matter and Interactions, I & II”, second edition, for the course. Although the Physics covered in 221-223has stayed pretty much the same for the last 75 years, and in a technical sense, most anyCalculus based Physics text will cover the same material, Chabay and Sherwood's presentation is significantly different1) than most available texts.2) 2. A book on Python. The lab this semester will include a fair amount of computer programmingin Python. Although several books will be on hold in the library, you may want an additionalreference. The O'Reilly mouse [http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Python-Second-Mark-Lutz /dp/0596002815/] book is ok. There are free python tutorials on the web, see specifically: python.org [http://www.python.org/doc/current/tut/tut.html], Dive into Python [http://diveintopython.org/], and How to think like a (Python) Programmer [http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/]. 3. The Self Sufficient Life, by John Seymour. One of the most under-appreciated physics texts ofthe last 30 years, this book will supplement lectures and lab. For more on why I value thisbook, see the following historical article [http://www.motherearthnews.com /Homesteading_and_Self_Reliance/1979_November_December/Live__Country__In_The_City]. 4. Lab Journal (a dedicated notebook for physics 221 lab, the bookstore has some available) 5. There are No Electrons, by K. Amdahl. This is an irreverent and decent book about electricity. Taken not too seriously, this is a decent supplement to the course material. 6. The Science of Radio, by P. Nahin. This book isn't required, but a semi-textbook, it contains abeautiful historical story about how AM radio developed over the first half of the 20th century. By the end of the course, you should be capable of understanding most of the book. Major Focus 1 of 5 8/23/08 7:49 PM phys222f08:syllabus [Winona State Physics] http://toulouse.physics.winona.edu/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=phy... Physics is the quantitative study of the natural world. This semester we will discuss microscopic and macroscopic aspects of this body of knowledge. Physics is useful, not only in that it explains why you can't walk through a wall3), but also because studying to gain a deep understanding of thematerial requires acquiring and practicing mathematical and analytical skills. These “problem solvingskills” are useful far beyond the scope of the course. To do well in the course you should consider doing the following: 1. Take the mindset that mathematics is a tool to be mastered, not a monster to be afraid of! 2. Attend lecture regularly, have a cup of coffee with lunch, and ask questions. 3. Read the course text before and after lecture. 4. Solve the suggested homework problems and solve all the problems at the end of each chapter. Most students do not understand that the “assigned” homework is the minimum amount of work necessary to pass the course. 5. Come to my office hours or contact me via AIM if you have questions about the material. 6. Watching network television all evening is basically equivalent to sitting in a hospice waiting forthe reaper to visit. Use the time you have wisely! Learning Outcomes I expect students to master the course content (chapters 10,11, 13-23 of M&I). Major topics included in the course are: 1. conservation of angular momentum 2. the statistical nature of thermodynamics 3. conservation of electric charge, electric fields, and electric potential 4. how the mobility of charge within a material gives that material specific properties 5. magnetic moments and magnetic fields 6. Ampere's Law: how an electric current produces a magnetic field 7. Faraday's law: how a magnetic field can produce an electric potential 8. electrical circuits (resistors, capacitors, inductors, AC and DC sources) “Mastery” of the course content is a complicated thing to measure -particularly because the abilityto “get the right answer to” every problem in the back of a given chapter does not guarantee thatyou've really learned the material. My best description for learning physics is the ability to relate thematerial you're studying to a novel problem, a completely new application from your “real life”. Group problems, programming problems, labs, and exams are all formulated to provide you withthis opportunity to apply the content to something new. I think this is a more useful measurementthan just knowing the right answer on a multiple choice test, particularly because for the rest of yourlife, multiple choice tests will be rare, and novel problems will be common. Exams Exams for this course will be unlike most you have previously seen4), in that they will ask you todescribe your everyday experience in the context of the physics discussed in class. Practice this skill! 2 of 5 8/23/08 7:49 PM phys222f08:syllabus [Winona State Physics] http://toulouse.physics.winona.edu/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=phy... Reading assignments will be announced before class meetings, and broad outlines of each day'slecture will be posted on the wiki. I expect that students will have at least skimmed the corresponding sections in the text before the lecture and complete any assigned problems by thedue date. Suggested problems will be listed on the course website. To reward preparation for class, there will be sporadic reading quizzes at the beginning of lecture. To reward thinking outside ofclass, 1-2 days per week I will assign a take-home problem to be handed in at the next class period. The Exam dates are fixed, changed only with the consent of the full class. The exam average will be computed from the best two exam scores. Exam 1 17 September Exam 2 8 October Exam 3 3 November Final Exam Monday, December 8, 1pm [http://www.winona.edu/registrar/1484.htm] Lab The lab section of this course is designed to be a chance for students to test and see that the theorydiscussed in lecture actually “works”. Accordingly, all students need to pass the lab to pass the fullcourse. The lab will abide by the following structure: In the beginning of each week I will distribute a labproblem to all students in the class. This problem will require some contemplation before you cometo lab, so be sure to read through and think about the problem before lab starts. Each lab problemrequires you, the student, to quantify a solution to the problem in your lab journal before coming tolab. Once in lab, students will compare thoughts on the problem within their lab group and comparenotes with the rest of the class before starting the lab. Students who have made no attempt to answer the problem in their journal will not be allowed toparticipate in lab that week. Results from lab will be compiled in your lab journal and, over thecourse of the semester, several formal lab reports will be required of you. Additional assessment inlab will come in the form of essay questions, and as you have seen in Phys 221, lab questions tendto show up on exams. Common experience suggests that most Americans feel an internal resistance towards conformingto the stated rules of behavior, and would rather walk around naked than participate earnestly ineducational activities. However, studies show that the average student learns significantly morephysics when they prepare with lab journals before coming to lab. While this sort of preparation andforced discussion might seem “dumb”, I’m instituting it entirely for your learning benefit and encourage you to play along. Plagiarism in the submission of lab reports is not acceptable and will generally result in a grade of 0for the given lab report. Homework and Weekly Long Problems Measurements from multiple sections of Physics 201/202 suggest that there is little correlationbetween high performance in the course (in terms of learning or grade) and student completion ofhomework through an online homework system. It is conjectured that this is because some onlinehomework systems encourage students to blindly grasp for an answer without taking time to 3 of 5 8/23/08 7:49 PM phys222f08:syllabus [Winona State Physics] http://toulouse.physics.winona.edu/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=phy... understand the question or solution method. In contrast to this, students who did well on weekly group problems also did fairly well on examsand in the course as a whole (again, “doing well” is defined in terms of learning). Accordingly, thissemester there will be no required homework administered through an online system. Instead, I willassign a daily or weekly long problems, to be solved by your lab group. There will also be regularprogramming problems which requires student-written solutions with the vpython animation/simulation language. Evaluation Student grades will be determined by performance on exams, weekly long problems, in classactivities, and labs as the following table describes. There will be 3 midterm exams and a final. fractional weight measurement 0.4 the average of the best 2 mid-term exams 0.2 the final 0.15 performance in lab 0.25 performance on weekly long problems, programming problems, and in-class problems and quizzes While collaboration among students on problem sets is encouraged, cheating, plagiarism, or collaboration on exams will be dealt with severely. The following scale will be used in assigning finalgrades, greater than 90% A 80% to 90% B 65% to 80% C 50% to 65% D Below 50% F Policies Students are expected to attend and participate in class. Class exams are announced well in advance and, with intentions of fairness to the entire class, allstudents are obliged to take tests at the scheduled times. The dropping of the lowest exam scoreobviates the need for discussion of test absences and make-ups. Writing email, using AIM, and surfing hotornot/facebook/myspace during lecture is like pulling $135) out of your wallet and burning it up. Wasting your time on the internet does noone any good(especially when you end up repeating this course because of it). For the sake of those people sittingbehind you, I ask that noone have their laptop open during lecture, unless so directed by theinstructor. This syllabus may change over the course of the semester. If so, changes will be well-publicized. This syllabus is available online (with links) at the WSU physics wiki, web address: http://toulouse.physics.winona.edu/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=phys222f08:syllabus [http://toulouse.physics.winona.edu/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=phys222f08:syllabus] 4 of 5 8/23/08 7:49 PM phys222f08:syllabus [Winona State Physics] http://toulouse.physics.winona.edu/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=phy... 1)ie better 2)Other decent texts include Young and Freedman [http://www.amazon.com/University-Physics-Modern-11th/dp /080538684X/], Serway and Jewitt [http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Physics-Calculus-Based-Text-PhysicsNow /dp/0534491448], The Feynmann Lectures [http://www.amazon.com/Feynman-Lectures-Physics-3-Set/dp /0201021153/], and Halliday and Resnick [http://www.amazon.com/Physics-1-David-Halliday/dp/0471320579/]. 3)an electron can though 4)except for those in Phys221 5)Assuming in-state tuition of $178/credit hour, the 3 credit lecture costs you about $530. There are about40 lectures this semester, meaning the per-class rate is a little more than $13 phys222f08/syllabus.txt · Last modified: 2008/08/23 19:49 by nmoore 5 of 5 8/23/08 7:49 PM