PHYSICS 211-01,02,03, GENERAL PHYSICS I WITH LAB
Fall 1998 Syllabus
GENERAL INFORMATION
INSTRUCTOR:
Shamanthi Fernando
Office:Natural Science 445
Phone:572-6519
E-Mail: fernando@nku.edu
Course home page :
http://www.nku.edu/~fernando/genphy.html/
My Home page :
http://www.nku.edu/~fernando/
OFFICE HOURS:
M 10:00 am - 11:00 am; M 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm; W 10:00 am - 11:00 am;
W 3:00 pm- 4:00 pm;
I will be in my office most of the time from Monday to Thursday. Feel
free to come to my office any time if you have questions. If you want to meet
me on a specific time, talk to me or send me an email so that we can set up
a time.
LECTURE TIME AND LOCATION:
| Section |
Time |
Location |
| Phy 211-01,02 |
M 12.00 pm -12.50pm, TR 9.25am-10.40am |
NS 424 |
| Phy 211-03,04 |
W 12.00 pm-12.50 pm,TR 10.50am -12.05pm |
NS 424 |
CREDIT HOURS:
5.00
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND PREREQUISITES:
Phy 211 is a non calculus based introductory course in Physics. During the fall
semester we will mainly focus on Mechanics and Thermodynamics. Knowledge of trigonometry, algebra and geometry will
be expected which is of the level of MAT 119 or equivalent. There is a review
of Mathematics in Giancoli's text book in Appendix A which may be helpful.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Text (required): Physics, 5th
Edition, with Multimedia
pack, by Douglas C. Giancoli
Lab Manual (required): General
Physics Lab Manual, 3rd Edition, by William S. Wagner
OPTIONAL TEXTS:
Student Study Guide by Joseph Boyle
MCAT Study Guide by Joseph Boon
OBJECTIVE:
Objective is to achieve a good understanding of basic concepts and to be
able to apply these concepts to a variety of physical situations.
Students will acquire skills in scientific methods, critical reasoning
and problem solving. In the fall semester we will focus on Mechanics and Thermodynamics.
Tentatively, material from chapters 1 - 11 and 13 - 15 from the
textbook will be covered.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF LECTURES
| No |
Week of |
Chapter |
| 1 |
24th Aug |
1 |
| 2 |
31st Aug |
2 |
| 3 |
07th Sep |
2,3 |
| 4 |
14th Sep |
3,4 |
| 5 |
21st Sep |
4 |
| 6 |
28th Sep |
5,6 |
| 7 |
05th Oct |
6,7 |
| 8 |
12th Oct |
7 |
| 9 |
19th Oct |
8 |
| 10 |
26th Oct |
9 |
| 11 |
02nd Nov |
10 |
| 12 |
09th Nov |
11 |
| 13 |
16th Nov |
13 |
| 14 |
23rd Nov |
14 |
| 15 |
30th Nov |
14,15 |
| 16 |
07th Dec |
15 |
| 17 |
14th Dec |
Finals |
You are required to read the appropriate chapters before coming to class.
ATTENDANCE:
You are expected to attend all lectures and labs and to participate
in classroom discussions. Excessive absences will reduce your grade.
You will be warned before any points are deducted.
GRADING POLICY
Your grade will be judged on your performance in Homework,Quizzes,
Four tests and the Laboratory. Points will be allocated to each
of these in the following manner:(Note that the final is taken as 2 tests).
GRADING SCALE:
| Grade Components |
Points |
Weight |
| Homework and Quizzes |
50 |
10% |
| Laboratory |
50 |
10% |
| best 4 of 5 test grades @20% each |
4 x 100 |
80% |
| Total |
500 |
100% |
GRADE WEIGHTS
| Total points: |
Your grade cannot be lower than |
| 90% or more of the total points |
A |
| 80% or more of the total points |
B |
| 70% or more of the total points |
C |
| 60% or more of the total points |
D |
| 0% or more of the total points |
E |
HOMEWORK:
Suggested Homework problems will be assigned from each chapter. It is important to work Physics problems
to obtain a good understanding of the Material covered. You are requared to hand over all the
homework problems. The due date will be announced in the class. No late homework problems are
accepted. Two problems out of each homework set will be graded. It is important
that you show the work in an organized manner clearly showing the final answer with appropriate
units. Each home work set will be worth 10 points.
I will post the solutions to the homework problems in the course home page and also
in the Library.
QUIZZES:
A quizze will be given thursday of every week.(except for the week of aug. 26th ).
It will consist of 10 multiple type questions and will be given on the material covered in the previous week. Each quiz will be graded out of 10 points.
The total points for Homework and Quizzes will account for 10% of the final grade of this course.
EXAMS:
Exams are closed book and notes. The exam dates are set, but the topic
ranges may change. Typically, the material for an exam will be
completed one week before the exam.
Students are expected to know some basic expressions or equations used in Physics. But certain equations
that apply only to specific physical situation will be provided with each exam.
Exams will consists of problems and questions similar to suggested homework problems, examples from text,
and problems and questions discussed in the lecture. An exam review will be held sometimes during the week before the exam at a convenient
time for all sections I teach. (It will not be held during the class hours but
most probably after 5 pm so that everyone could attend).
There are no make up exams unless I decide your reason for missing is acceptable.
If you miss an exam, you get a zero.
The first three tests will be held during the class hours on the given date. The final
exam will be held on the dates given for each section.(note that the final test will be treated as
tow tests when grading). Following are the tentative schedule.
| Test |
Date |
Chapters covered |
| Test 1 |
sep 25 |
1,2,3, |
| Test 2 |
Oct 23 |
4,5,6 |
| Test 3 |
Nov 20 |
7,8,9,10 |
| Final Exam |
18th Dec at 10.10am-12.10pm |
Comprehensive, includes Cha.11-13 |
LABORATORY
General Physics 211 accompanies a weekly laboratory. Experiments are based on the
material covered
in the lecture. Following are the sections and the meeting times for the
Phy 211-01,02,03,04.
| Section |
Meeting Times |
Location |
| 001 |
T 10.50am-12.30pm |
NS 321 |
| 002 |
M 1.00am-2.40 pm |
NS 321 |
| 003 |
R 9.00pm -10.40pm |
NS 321 |
| 004 |
W 1.00pm-2.40 pm |
NS 321 |
There are fourteen labs scheduled for the fall semester commencing from the second week of
classes. (week of august 31). The total points earned in labs would account for 10% of the grade in this
course. More details about labs and The
Lab Schedule is available in the web
page http://www.nku.edu/~fernando/lab.html
WITHDRAWL
The last date to withdraw from a course without a grade appearing
in your transcript is Sep 15th . The last date to withdraw with a "W" appearing in
your transcript is Oct 20th.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Web site: http://www.prenhall.com/giancoli:
Physics : Principles and Applications:
Features include practice tests with on-line feedback grading keyed to the text.
Tutors:Learning Assistance center or the Physics club.
Library: All the solutions to the homework problems and exams would
be in the Library for your reference. Also, you could find other text books similar
to the one we use in the library. These books could be used as sources for additional
practice problems.
Course Home page: The course homepage would give you the solutions to
homework problems and the solutions to the exams. The website
is http://www.nku.edu/~fernando/genphy.html
SUGGESTIONS FOR DOING WELL IN GENERAL PHYSICS
STUDY HINTS
1). Form a study group.
2).Read the entire chapter quickly to obtain the main ideas and concepts.
3).Attend the lectures: ask questions in class or after class.
4). Re read each section of the chapter slowly trying to understand each idea
the author presents.
5). Work through all sample problems in the text and all examples given in
class.
6). Read and understand the Review and Summary at the end of the chapter. Try
to memorize the equations in the summary.
7). Write your own review notes with all the facts and equations you need
to solve problems. Update your notes as needed while solving the problems.
8). Work on the assigned problems.
9).If help is needed, ask for help from the instructor or ask help from
a tutor at the Learning Assistance center.
10). Discuss the problems in your study group. Write solutions for each problem.
Make sure each member of the study group understands the solutions.
11). Do not get behind on the scheduled material and problems. Try to spend time,
at least every other day, studying physics and working problems.
HINTS FOR TAKING EXAMS
A. Before the exam
1).Review the summary in the text, your class notes and your review notes.
2).Study all examples done in class
3) Study all sample problems in the text.(try solving the problems with the
solution covered)
4).Study all assigned problems
5). Try taking a sample exam. Pick several sample problems or assigned problems and
try to solve each problem with no aids, in a time of 20 minutes or less.
6).Attend any exam review sessions.
B. During the Exam
1)First read each exam problem.
2)Begin with the problem you find the easiest.
3)Write neatly. Draw a diagram. Show all work.
4)If unable to solve one part of a problem, go to the next part.
5)Check the units of your answer. Check that your answer makes sense. Make sure all
items requested are answered.
6)Allocate enough time for each problem. If stuck on one problem go to the
next problem and return to where you got stuck later.
7)If time is available, recheck each problem before submitting the exam.
COMMENTS:
I reserve the right to change any of the above due to any unforeseen reason.
If you don't understand any part of this syllabus, ask for clarification during
the first week of the classes.
Furthermore, if you have any questions about the course material don't hesitate
to come to see me. If you follow
the study hints I have given you above, the chances of you becoming successful
in this course is high. But most importantly, if you have any questions, ASK!. Don't wait till the
last moment to cover the entire syllabus. Remember, do LOTS OF PROBLEMS!!.
Good luck and hope you would enjoy this course.