Goucher College

Center for Natural Sciences

General Physics I

PHY.125.002

Fall 2017

Click here for the class schedule

 

 

 

 

 

· Instructor

Dr. Sasha Dukan
Office: Julia Rogers 111
phone: 410-337-6323
email:
sdukan@goucher.edu
Office hours: M, W, F and by appointment.

Please respect this schedule and make appointment to see me at other times. 

Class will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2:40 pm to 4: 15 pm in JR 106

 

· Course Assistant

Mr. Semyon Ginzburg

Office: Julia Rogers 105

Phone: 410-337-6321

email: sginzbur@goucher.edu

 

· Course SI

Gibson Porter

email: Gibson.Porter@mail.goucher.edu

 

 

· Textbook

Serway and Jewett: Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 9th edition, Brooks/Cole.
Fall semester will cover Chapters 1-18.

 

· Course Description

Physics 125 is a  first semester of a calculus based General Physics course designed for students majoring in physics and/or planning to pursue a Dual Degree Program in Engineering. The main objective of the course is to introduce the students to the basic concepts of  Newtonian Mechanics and Waves. The course will use calculus as a tool in developing universal language of physics, but emphasis will be on student's intuitive understanding and visualization of various phenomena in nature governed by the physical laws.

 

 

· Course Learning Outcomes

 

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

· understand central scientific concepts/theories of the discipline by gaining operational knowledge of  the physical concepts behind Newtonian Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics

· evaluate the validity and/or limitations of scientific theories by analyzing and solving  multi-step physics problems using algebraic and/or calculus methods,

· understand the relevance of science to everyday life by identifying and analyzing phenomena and technologies in the world around us that are based on the physical principles studied,

· understand the laboratory methods to test a scientific hypothesis and be able to interpret data from these tests.

 

· Instructional Methods

Students have an opportunity to learn in depth the basic concepts of classical physics from a variety of sources during the semester, including:

Ț Assigned textbook readings

Ț Classroom lectures and discussions

Ț Frequent computer demonstrations and simulations

Ț Homework assignments and GoucherLearn presentation of solutions

Ț On-line weekly quizzes on GoucherLearn

Ț In-class reading quizzes

Ț In-class problem solving exercises 

Ț In-class discussions of conceptual questions aided by  Socrative (www.socrative.com)

Ț In-class tests

Ț Discussions with me outside of the class

 

Classroom time will be mostly centered around the discussions and student participation is required. Problems worked in the lectures will occasionally appear on the exams, so it is in your best interest to regularly attend the lectures. GoucherLearn will serve as an on-line board where you can find updated information related to the course as well as your weekly homework assignments and quizzes.

I do not keep attendance but unexcused absence will be noticed.  If you regularly cut class I reserve the right to lower your grade accordingly.

 

· Responsibilities of Students

In order to get the most out of this course:

Ț Attend each class, arrive on time and come prepared .  Read an assigned sections of the textbook before coming to the class to familiarize yourself with notation and topic. Read the relevant section of the textbook with comprehension before attempting to solve homework problems.

Ț Participate in class by paying close attention to what is presented and offering suggestions or corrections when you think something that is presented is incorrect or confusing.

Ț Work on and try to complete all homework problems on time. You are encouraged to discuss problems with your peers but, if at all possible, complete these problems without assistance from anyone else.  This way  you will truly understand the problem and will be prepared for the exams.

Ț Make your work neat and carefully organized.  If I can’t follow your solution then you will not receive a full credit.

Ț Come talk to me outside of the class frequently. Asking for help or hints with solving problems, or asking for clarification of the lectures or the textbook demonstrates your interest in the subject.

 

· Homework Assignments and On-line Quizzes

 

A homework assignment of about 5 to 10 problems per chapter will be assigned each week on Wednesday. These will be due at the beginning of a lecture period a following Wednesday.  Assignments will be posted on GoucherLearn. Homework solutions will be posted on GoucherLearn after the problems are due. You are encouraged to work on the homework assignments with other students, but this does not mean distributing work load or copying. Main purpose of a homework assignment is to give you  practice in solving problems and prepare you for the exams. I reserve  the right to discuss submitted homework to examine your understanding of the solved problems.  Search for the solutions on the internet and/or use of the solution sets that might be available on  the internet or in the print is strictly prohibited.  All students are bound by the standards of the Academic Honor Code and suspected violators will be sent to the Honors Board.

 

An online-quiz of about 5-10 conceptual questions per quiz will be assigned on GoucherLearn and due on Friday by 2:00 pm each week. No late quizzes will be accepted. The on-line quiz is designed to develop or improve student’s  analytical skills and critical thinking ability.  Some of the quiz questions will appear on the exams. Search for the answers on the internet and/or use of the solution sets that might be available on  the internet or in the print is strictly prohibited.  All students are bound by the standards of the Academic Honor Code and suspected violators will be sent to the Honors Board.

 

The average of homework grades will count as an HOURLY exam (see below).  Students are strongly encouraged to attend SI sessions on regular basis.

 

 

· Laboratory Experiments

There will be ten laboratory projects for which up to eight laboratory reports will be assigned and graded. The report is due a week after a  laboratory project has been competed.  The whole idea of a laboratory report is to describe what you have done, analyze data taken and give results and conclusions derived from them in a concise written form. It is extremely important that you are organized and clear in your presentation. Reports which are impossible to follow will be returned to be rewritten. The general form of your report should be as follows:

· Title-name of the experiment

· Abstract-An executive summary of your report which should be written after all other sections of the report but positioned as second part of the report.

· Statement of Purpose- What do you hope to accomplish in this laboratory?

· Background-physical principles behind the experiment. These are usually what you have studied in the lecture before the experiment.

· Procedure-brief description of the experimental procedure

· Results-the most important part of your report. Contains experimental data presented in tabulated form with proper units and uncertainties in measurement. Also contains your calculations of the related parameters in the experiment.

· Conclusions-contains the discussion of obtained results and your statement about the experiment. Did the experiment produce the expected results, i.e. do your experimental results agree with the physical laws you learned in class? If not, what are the possible sources of discrepancy? Your report should be generated using a word processing software of your choice.

 

· Exams

There will be three in-class exams taken during the class periods and a final comprehensive exam during the final exam period.
If the lowest in-class exam grade is lower than the average homework grade it will be dropped and replaced by the homework grade (only if student has taken all three exams).  The equation sheet that will be used during the exams is posted on GoucherLearn and it will be provided with the exams.   Except in unusual circumstances, two missed examinations will result in failure of the course.  Exam schedule is posted in the class schedule. There will be a review session before each exam and the review exams with detailed solutions will be posted on GoucherLearn.

 

 

· Grades

The course grade will be based upon exams, laboratory reports, homework and class participation. There will be no make-up exams. The grade break down is as follows:

On-line Quizzes:
10%

In-class Reading Quizzes: 5%
Top three hourly exams:
50%
Final Exam:
20%
Laboratory reports:
15%



 The grade distribution will be as follows:

· A 90.1% ;  87.1% A- <90%;

· 83.1% B+ <87%; 73.1% B<83%; 70.1% B- <73%;

· 67.1% C+ <70%; 63.1% C < 67%; 60.1% C- < 63%;

· 57.1% D+ < 60%; 53.1% D < 57%; 50.1% D- < 53%;

· numerical grade below 50% is F

 

· Academic Ethics

All students are bound by the standards of the Academic Honor Code, found at

www.goucher.edu/documents/General/AcademicHonorCode.pdf