Prof. Scott Nutter

Office:Natural Science 444\

Phone:572-5369

E-Mail: nutters@nku.edu

Course home page : http://www.nku.edu/~nutters/phys211f01.html

My Home page : http://www.nku.edu/~nutters

 
OFFICE HOURS:

TR: 12-1PM, W 9-10AM, or by appointment, or (take a chance!) drop by. I respond to e-mail!

 
LECTURE TIME AND LOCATION:

CREDIT HOURS: 5.00

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 is expected. A right triangle should be your very close friend. (Prerequisite: MAT 119 or equivalent). There is a review of Mathematics in Giancoli's text book in Appendix A which may be helpful.

Text (required): Physics, 5th Edition with Multimedia pack, by Douglas C. Giancoli

Lab Manual available from the web page: http://physics.nku.edu/GeneralPhysics.html

 
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 1-10 and 13-15 from the textbook will be covered.

 
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF LECTURES

You are expected to attend all lectures and labs and to participate in classroom discussions. Excessive absences will reduce your grade. I realize many of you have a life outside of school, but your attendance and participation is an extremely important part of the educational process. Please let me know when possible of planned absences.

 
GRADING POLICY

Your grade will be judged on your performance on homework, quizzes, exams, and the laboratory. Your grade will be a weighted average of these components in the following manner:

 
GRADING SCALE AND WEIGHTS:

First year students will receive mid-term assessments of their performance. Mid-term grades will be issued only to students who have successfully completed fewer than 30 semester hours; Students will be able to access mid-term grades through Norse Express as soon as faculty submit the grades. Mid-term grades are not part of student's permanent records. They will be replaced by final class grades when these are submitted. Mid-term grades do not guarantee a good or bad class grade, they reflect a current level of performance that can be altered by the quality of subsequent work. Mid term grades will be given on October 20th.

 
HOMEWORK:

Homework problems will be assigned from each chapter. It is important to work these problems to obtain a good understanding of the material covered (and to practice so you can do well on the exams). You are required to hand over all the homework problems. Assignments and due dates will be announced in class. No late homework problems are accepted. Two random 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. You are encouraged to work with others on the homework. However, you are discouraged from letting others do the work and then copying what they did. If I get identical homework papers I split the points between the individuals involved.

 
QUIZZES:

Quizzes will occur from time to time, depending on my ability to get my act together and my appraisal of whether people are reading the material ahead of time. They will be short and geared towards conceptual understanding.

 
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. 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 two exams will be held during the class hours on the given date. The final exam will be held on the dates given for each section. Following are the tentative schedule.

General Physics 211 accompanies a weekly laboratory. Experiments are based on the material covered in the lecture. There are fourteen labs scheduled for the fall semester commencing the 1st week of classes. (week of August 20th). The total points earned in labs would account for 20% of the grade in this course. More details about labs and the lab schedule are available in the web page http://www.nku.edu/~nutters/phys211f01_lab.html

 
WITHDRAWAL

The last date to withdraw from a course without a grade appearing in your transcript is Sep 07. The last date to withdraw with a "W" appearing in your transcript is Oct 26th.

 
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Web site: http://www.prenhall.com/giancoli

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 on reserve under my name. 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.

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 part of this syllabus.

If you have a question, do not hesitate to ask. I don't bite. My biggest advice would be to practice, practice, practice, i.e. do lots of problems.