General Physics I: Mechanics and Thermodynamics
PHY 161.001 --- Fall 2009 Syllabus
Physics Department --- Mercer University

 

This course is the first in the two-semester sequence PHY 161/162 General Physics I/II, a calculus-based introduction to physics. The main theme in this course is that of mechanics of point particles and extended objects. Following a brief introduction to physics and a mathematics review, we will consider a series of major topics: Kinematics, Newton's Laws of Motion, Energy, Momentum, Rotation, Relativity and Gravity.

 

Students will learn to think scientifically about the physical world, analyze systems mathematically, reach qualitative conclusions, and compute accurately numerical answers to specific questions. Although we will cover a number of topics and physical systems, the students’ goal should be to learn to think about nature and solve problems as physicists (scientists) do. This course is intended primarily for physics, chemistry, math, and engineering majors, but is also recommended for others with good mathematical aptitude, including pre-med students and life sciences majors. Students must already have a working knowledge of geometry, algebra, and trigonometry. Co-requisite courses are MAT 191 Calculus I, and PHY 121L Basic Physics Lab I: Students must be concurrently enrolled or have equivalent prior academic credit. 

 

WebAssign and the eBook: Each student in the course must obtain an online account with WebAssign that will cost $25. This will enable them to complete online homework assignments, and to access the Tipler eBook. They may also order cheap paperback copies of the text for $25 per volume (plus shipping). This course will only require Volume 1. Relevant links will be provided on the course webpage.

 

Course web page: During class meetings the instructor will use both a projector and the whiteboard. Most material presented on the projector in class will be available on the course web page: basic conceptual material, examples and solutions to textbook problems. Exam solutions will also be posted after these are graded. In addition, other materials which cannot be presented in class due to time constraints will also be posted on the web page: additional textbook problems, old quizzes and homework sets, old exams, and additional practice exam problems. Former students have said that the course web page is very helpful to them, so every student should make good use of this resource.

Lectures: During scheduled class periods the instructor will discuss the theoretical and conceptual aspects of the course topics, present examples, go over solutions to textbook, exam and homework problems, answer questions, ask questions to stimulate thinking and discussion, and try to get the class interested in physics. When possible, we will see classroom demonstrations. We will access and use the eBook online. We will have quizzes and exams.  An individual response system ("clickers") will also be used but students' answers will not be graded.

GRADED GROUP WORK (25%): Homework and chapter quizzes

WebAssign Homework (one per chapter, for 15% of the total grade): Each student will use WebAssign to complete homework assignments for each chapter. Students may work individually or in groups, and they may use the textbook or any other resources except for the Instructor's Solutions Manual, which is considered off-limits. Although you are encouraged to work together, each student must submit their own answers, by the due date, electronically in their own account to receive credit.

 

Chapter quizzes (one per chapter, for 10% of the total grade): After a chapter has been covered in class, on the day previously announced by the instructor, there will be a multiple-choice quiz on that chapter. Students may work individually or in groups, and they may use the textbook or any other resources they bring to class. However, each student must hand in their own separate quiz paper with their name and signature or they will receive no credit. After the quiz papers have been collected in class, the instructor will go over the solutions. There will not be any make-up quizzes: If a student misses a quiz, they will receive a zero for that quiz unless they have a valid excuse.

 

GRADED INDIVIDUAL WORK (75%): Exams and Final Exam

 

Exams (three, for 50% of the total grade): The regular individual exams (A, B and C) will include mostly quantitative numerical problems. They will be open-book. I.e., students are only allowed use of their calculator and their textbook, which may not contain any notes or other extraneous materials except for small "Post-It" notes. Each exam will count for about 17% of the total grade, but this will vary slightly depending on the material covered. The topics and tentative dates for the exams are as follows:
   Exam A (F 9/25): Introduction and Kinematics [Ch. 1, 2, 3],
   Exam B (F 10/23): Newton's Laws [Ch. 4, 5],
   Exam C (F 11/20): Energy & Momentum [Ch. 6, 7, 8].

Final Exam (25% of the total grade): M 12/14, 2-5pm. This will be open-book, individual, comprehensive and composed entirely of multiple choice questions. The ground rules are the same as for the other exams.

 

Note: For work completed in class, each student must write their name on the paper, and they must sign the paper themselves; otherwise they will receive no credit... It is unethical, and a violation of the honor code of this university, for any student to submit work in person or online for credit, knowing that some person who may get credit did not contribute significantly to that piece of work. This applies not only to homework sets but also to quizzes, in-class problem sets, exams, term papers, lab reports and any other work you do at this or any other school...

 

Grading: How much weight is given to each activity, in percentages of the final grade, is shown in the left table below. The final letter grade will be determined using the scale shown in the right table below.