Goucher College
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Principles of Physics II
PHY.543
Spring 2009
Class schedule
Homework schedule
Blackboard
· Instructor Dr. Sasha Dukan · Course assistant Mr. Semyon Ginzburg Office: B19 Phone: 410-337-6321 Mr. Kyle Timbu Office: G50 Phone: 410-337-6203 · Course Description Physics 543 is a second semester of algebra-based course designed for students in the post-baccalaureate pre-medical program. Main objective of the course is to introduce students to the basic concepts of electricity and magnetism and optics. This course will use algebra and trigonometry tools in developing universal language of physics, but emphasis will be on student's intuitive understanding and visualization of various phenomena in nature governed by physical laws. Lectures will not simply involve following the textbook, there will be many demonstrations to aid in understanding of physics concepts. There will be an extensive use of multimedia presentations in order to enhance classroom experience and connect covered material to everyday life. A significant amount of time will be spent in developing problem solving strategies which are necessary in learning and understanding physics principles. Problems worked in the lectures and laboratories will occasionally appear on the exams, so it is in your best interest to regularly attend the lectures. · Textbook Serway and Vuille, “College Physics”, Saunders College Publishing, 88h edition. Spring semester will cover Chapter 12 and Chapters 15-25. Expectation is that students will read assigned chapter in preparation for a class. Unless otherwise stated in the class, a student is required to master all the material covered in the textbook. The textbook material will be tested on the exams and quizzes. · Supplemental Material Lillian C. McDermott, Peter S. Shaffer: “Tutorials in Introductory Physics”, 1st edition, Prentice hall (tutorials and homework book) · Lectures Lectures are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 9:30-10:20 pm in HS 137. First half-hour of a scheduled laboratory time on some Thursdays will be spent developing conceptual understanding of the material covered in the lectures using “Tutorials in Introductory Physics”. There will be a homework assignment related to these activities. · Laboratory There will be eleven laboratory projects for which laboratory reports will be assigned and graded. The idea behind a laboratory report is to describe what you have done, analyze data taken, 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. · Motivation (i.e. statement of purpose): What do you hope to accomplish in this laboratory? · Background: Describe physical principles behind the experiment. These are usually what you have studied in a lecture before the experiment. · Procedure: brief description of 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 discussion of obtained results and your statement about the experiment. Did the experiment produce expected results, i.e. do your experimental results agree with physical laws learned in class? If not, what is a possible source of discrepancy? Your report should be generated using a word processing software of your choice. · Exams There will be three exams taken during the laboratory meeting time on Thursday and a final exam at the end. Tentative dates which may be adjusted according to the rate at which the material is being covered are: First exam: Thursday, March 5, Ch 12 and 15-18 Second exam: Thursday, April 9, Ch 19-21 Third exam: Thursday, May 7, Ch 22-25 Final exam: Tuesday, May 12 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm (Chapters 12, 15-25) There will be a review session before each exam. · Homework A homework assignment of about 5 to 10 problems per chapter will be assigned each week. These will be due at the beginning of the lecture according to the homework schedule. There will be a quiz assigned on Blackboard every week, typically due two days after a weekly homework assignment due date. No late homework will be accepted. You are encouraged to work on a homework assignment with other students, but this does not mean distributing work load or copying. The main purpose of homework is to give you practice in solving problems and prepare you for the exam. Solving problems is a very important part of a learning process in this course. The average of homework grades will count as an HOURLY exam (see below). · Grades The course grade will be based upon exams, laboratory reports, homework and class participation. There will be no make-up exams. If the lowest 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 grade break down is as follows: Tutorial Homework: 5%
· numerical grade between 90.1% and 93% is A-, larger than 93.1% is A, · numerical grade between 85.1% and 90% is B+ · numerical grade between 75.1% and 85% is B · numerical grade between 70.1% and 75% is B- · numerical grade between 67.1% and 70% is C+ · numerical grade between 63.1% and 67% is C · numerical grade between 60.1% and 63% is C- · numerical grade between 57.1% and 60% is D+ · numerical grade between 53.1% and 57% is D · numerical grade between 50.1% and 53% is D- · numerical grade below 50% is F · Academic Ethics All students are bound by the standards of the Academic Honor Code, found at |