Time Schedule:
Charles E Robertson
PHYS 114
Seattle Campus
Basic principles of physics presented without use of calculus. Suitable for students majoring in technically oriented fields other than engineering or the physical sciences. Mechanics. Credit is not given for both 114 and 121. Recommended: working knowledge of algebra and trigonometry; one year high school physics; concurrent registration in PHYS 117. Offered: AWSpS.
Class description
When it comes to the topic of science (and maybe social studies and the humanities) there is a chain of events that has occurred during history. First people made observations of nature. They observed clouds in the sky and waves on the ocean. This lead to an attempt to understand these phenomena and then to our ability to predict them. Finally, understanding why these things occur and how to predict them, we seek control. Although we have not yet been able to control the weather or the waves on the ocean, we can certainly control many other phenomena such as small pox, rockets, the stability of the Space Needle, etc.
In this course we will try to understand the wide variety of motion that we observe in nature and, with the help of some algebra, we will be able to predict certain motions. For instance, you are driving down the street when the light at the intersection turns yellow. Do you push down on the gas pedal and go through or put on the brake and stop? Our brains usually do a good job at making this decision, but could we have a computer make that decision even better without the added interference of our mental status at the time?
There are basically only three ways to solve all the problems in mechanics: (1) Newtons Laws; (2) Conservation of Energy; (3) Conservation of Momentum. Thats it! You will need only to learn three things this quarter. Unfortunately, each of these is relatively complex and there are many facets to each. It will certainly take the entire quarter to master these topics.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
In 114 class time will be spent on a combination of lecture, demonstrations, and discussion. Students will be called on by name to answer questions that are based on the lecture they just heard.
Recommended preparation
The best way for you to succeed in this course is to form a study group with other students in your class. This can be done by going to the Physics department's Study Center (one floor below the lecture halls) and look for your classmates. This is the single most important thing you can do.
Much of your grade will depend on your performance on exams and research has shown that a good night's sleep before an exam more than makes up for whatever learning you may have thought you gained by staying up until the wee hours of the morning.
When you finish a numerical problem ask yourself, "What if...?" What if different data were given and a different variable was to be calculated? What if friction were present (or absent)?
Remember, learning is not spontaneous combustion. You have to set yourself on fire.
Class assignments and grading
At the end of each chapter there are questions and problems and some of each are assigned on the class syllabus. These problems and questions will not be turned in for grading but answers and solutions will be posted after you have had time to work the problems but in time to study the solutions before an exam. The questions can be a particular challenge to your understanding. It would be to your benefit to also look at the questions that have not been assigned and discuss them with your classmates. You should always be able to explain your answer because an answer of just "yes" or "no" is insufficient.
We will be using a computer assisted homework collection and grading program called Tycho. You can log onto Tycho at http://tychosrv.phys.washington.edu/courses/phys114/autumn02/ . Other details of logging onto Tycho and doing the homework will be given later.
Those students in section A will be asked to turn in your completed in-class worksheets with each exam. Details of which sheets to turn in will be discussed in class during the week before they are to be turned in. These will be equivalent to one homework assignment each.
Most of you are not new to college level work and should have gained an appreciation of the importance of doing homework. You may have read the chapter over and over and believe you know what's going on. But if you cannot answer the questions and work the problems, you have a serious lack of understanding. It has been shown over and over again that success in physics comes from writing out answers to questions and working problems. You certainly wouldn't expect to be an accomplished pianist or soccer player by just reading books about these activities. It helps, but you have to do thempractice.
Hourly Examinations: There will be three hourly exams during the quarter. Each hourly exam will consist of about four questions with several parts all written in a multiple choice format. Some of the questions will be similar to those found in your homework and some will be much more conceptual, i.e. without numbers. The exams are closed book but you will be permitted to have one eight and a half by eleven inch sheet of notes to aid you.
Exams may not be taken early with prior permission.
Exams may not be taken late!
If you miss an exam due to illness, work, oversleeping, etc. you will receive a zero for that exam. At the end of the quarter your lowest exam score will be dropped.
If attendance at a lecture is noticeably low, the answer to a bonus question will be given to those in attendance. The large number of students who are absent that day will not be given the answer under any circumstances.
Grading will be done on a curve with the class average being about 2.7. This will vary depending on the performance of the class as a whole. Approximately 5-10% of the class will receive 4.0.
The fraction of the homework problems you got correct during the quarter will be multiplied by 0.3 to determine how much to add to your exam grade point.
Your score on each exam will be normalized so that each exam, regardless of its difficulty, will count the same. This score will be converted to an exam grade point (2.3, 3.2, etc.) and have added to it, your homework score. The final exam score will be treated as two 100-point exams. For example, your exam scores might be 75, 60, and 85 on the three hourly exams and 140 on the final. This will be equivalent to scores of 75, 60, 85, 70, and 70. At the end of the quarter, your lowest grade point (exam grade point plus homework) will be dropped and your course grade will be the average of the four remaining exam grades.
The instructor reserves the right to modify this grading procedure in any way as long as no student receives a course grade lower than one calculated by the method described above.
Cheating: Cheating is not permitted. It is not fair to the vast majority of the students who are working hard to understand physics and get a good grade. During the quarter, different measures will be taken to prevent cheating. Some of these measures will be pointed out while others will not be made public. Evidence of cheating will forwarded to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences who will forward it to the appropriate sub-dean. The UW handbook states: "An instructor need not give credit for work that is the product of cheating, plagiarism, . . .,or other academic misconduct."
