(PHYU151/153)

Course description

This course is the first semester of Physics for Science and Engineering students. It focuses on the study of mechanics, including descriptions of motion (one-, two- and three-dimensional), Newton's Laws, conservation of energy and momentum, rotation of rigid bodies, fluids, oscillations, and static equilibrium. The topics are drawn from the chapters of the textbook.

Every student should be registered in one lecture section (PHYU151) one interactive learning session, ILS (PHYU153) and one physics lab section (PHYU152 Introductory Physics Lab ). The Introductory Physics Laboratories also host the Physics Workshop which offers help with both general physics problems and course related questions.

Text

Douglas C. Giancoli, Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall (2000), four paperback split (note: this should be significantly cheaper than the hardcover version). This package also includes the Webassign registration, which you will need for homework

A personal response system (PRS) remote control should also be purchased from the bookstore. There is a $20 rebate form included with the textbook.

Course objectives

In this course, we want you to learn how to analyze mechanical systems using Newton’s laws. In particular, you should learn to:

·              describe motion graphically and algebraically in terms of velocity, acceleration and trajectory

·              apply calculus to the study of mechanics

·              identify the forces acting on a system, and represent these by a suitable vector diagram

·              from your analysis of these forces, explain the motion of a system based on Newton's laws of motion

·              understand the principles of conservation of momentum, energy, and angular momentum, and be able to use these principles to analyze bodies and systems of particles

·              analyze the motion of rigid bodies in rotation

·              determine the forces, torques and angles of systems of bodies in static equilibrium

·              understand basic fluid statics and dynamics

·              analyze oscillatory motions

Course organization

There are some special features of the organization of the course which you should note:

Register for PHYU153 (ILS)

You must register for a section of PHYU153. These sections are problem solving sessions called Interactive Learning Sessions (ILS). In these sessions, we discuss questions you may have about the preassigned homework problems, and then you spend much of the time working in groups on the second set of weekly problems, under the guidance of a faculty member and a teaching assistant. There will be a 10-15 minute quiz at the end of most problem sessions.

Read before class

You are expected to read before coming to class. Reading assignments may be from the textbook, from handouts, or from pages on this Web site. These will be given in advance.

Lectures

Understanding the material is another story -- the 'lectures' will in fact be discussions designed to help you understand the material better, but they will begin with the assumption that you have done some reading at home. 

Concept questions

You will be asked concept questions which will relate to central themes of the reading and lecture, and your class participation is expected. Your answers will be recorded with the PRS system and will be counted toward your grade. You must purchase a PRS remote from the bookstore and give us your remote ID number (on the back) via Webassign. In addition, similar concept questions will form about 20 % of the exam questions.

Homework Problems

We expect you to learn how to do all the problems in a given assignment (Homework A and Homework B), and submit them on the Web to Webassign. Homework A will be due prior to the interactive learning session (ILS) on Thursday or Friday. Homework B will be due by the following Tuesday, after you have had an opportunity to work on these problems during the ILS. If you cannot finish Homework A at home before the problem solving (ILS) class session, you will be invited to work in a group to complete the problems -- either the professor or a teaching assistant will be available for consultation during these sessions. After the session, you will be asked to submit your answers to Homework B (each problem contains your own individual set of numbers) on the Web to Webassign. 

Problem solutions will not be posted. You are expected to come to class and work them through in a group if you cannot do them on your own.

Webassign

You will login to Webassign during your first ILS session. Please direct all Webassign-related questions (trouble with logging in, etc.) to Prof. Henry Smith at h.smith@neu.edu

Weekly Quizzes

There will be a weekly quiz at the end of the ILS that will test your understanding with both conceptual and numerical problems.

Exams

There will be a one hour (65-minute) midterm exam during the course and a two-hour final exam at the end of the course. Please check the syllabus page for details.

Assignments and Grading

Quizzes: 15%

About twelve 15 minute quizzes will be given during the term at the end of your Thursday/Friday ILS session. The two lowest quizzes will be dropped. There are no makeups! A quiz missed for any reason scores zero and will be one of the two dropped quizzes.

Homework: 15%

Your homework each week will include both conceptual questions and numerical problems assigned from the textbook and other sources. You will submit answers on the Webassign which can be accessed from a link on Blackboard. One submission (Homework A) will be due prior to the interactive learning session (ILS) on Thursday or Friday. A second submission (Homework B) will be due by the following Tuesday, after you have had an opportunity to work on these problems during the ILS.

The pre-ILS will be 5% and the post-ILS will be 10% of your grade respectively.

Concept questions: 5%

 There will be PRS concept questions in the lectures based on the reading and lectures. You will receive 75% of the credit for answering and 25% additional for correct answers.

Midterm Exam: 15%

There will be one 65 minute midterm exam.  It will be scheduled in the early evening. You will have the option of taking the exam either at 5:20 PM or at 6:35 PM, but if you take the first exam, you must stay for the full 65 minutes.

Final Exam: 30%

The final is a two-hour exam during final exam week. The exact time and place will be announced during the term.

Introductory Physics Lab: 20% The grading system for the laboratory component will be explained in the first lab meeting.

 

Final Grade

Your course grade will be determined both by your overall score, calculated according to the above percentages, and by your score on exams and weekly quizzes alone, weighted in the same proportion as above. The following table indicates 'target' overall score ranges corresponding to various course grades.

 

grade

score

grade

score

A

90-100

B-

69-77

A-

88-90

C+

66-69

B+

85-88

C

63-66

B

77-85

C-

60-63

IF you score at least 50% on the exams and weekly quizzes combined, your final grade will be at least as good as that appearing in the table. If you score below 50% on the exams and weekly quizzes, or below 60% overall, your work will be examined on an individual basis to determine your final grade, which is most unlikely to be higher than D in these cases.

Since exams and assignments can vary slightly in difficulty from quarter to quarter, the actual score ranges may be adjusted slightly downward from those given in the table. Any such adjustment will be decided by the instructors following the final exam, based on their judgment of various factors such as the relative difficulty of the exams. However, it is most unlikely that such an adjustment will improve your grade by more than one notch (for example, from C+ to B-) from that given in the table.

Study Groups

You are strongly encouraged to form small groups to work together on parts of the course. In the real science and engineering worlds, you will spend a significant amount of your professional career working with other people, and now is a good time to start. On the other hand, you also want to be sure that you are learning to work independently. There is a delicate balance here which you need to discover for yourself as a part of maturing.

Help

If you have trouble with the homework, seek help immediately - do not fall behind in the course. You have at least five places to go for help: your lecturer (after class, during conference hours, or anytime by arrangement); your ILS instructor or the graduate assistant during office hours or by special arrangement; the Physics Workshop in 300 Churchill near the physics labs (a schedule should be posted by the second week of class). Engineering students can also seek help through the Engineering Student Services office on the second floor of Snell engineering building and your fellow students in the course.

Academic Honesty

Academic integrity is essential in science and engineering and students in this course are expected to follow the highest standards of academic honesty. For a detailed statement, see the University policy on Academic Honesty.

Since students in this course are often encouraged to work in teams, some specific remarks are in order:

It is not considered cheating if you:

·  work together on homework assignments, as long as you each work out and submit your own final answers

·  get help from professors, physics workshop, tutors, etc. on the homework assignments

·  work together on preparing for quizzes and exams

It is considered cheating if you:

·  submit work done by others (without your participation) as your own

·  copy work on quizzes and exams

Understanding physics and learning to solve problems should be your goals in this course. In working with others, you still have to come to a point where you sit down and work on your own.