Text: How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life, by Louis A. Bloomfield
Class Meetings: TR 12:15-1:30pm, WSC 101; and T 1:40-4:20pm, WSC 108(lab)
Instructors:

First 4 weeks: Dr. Randall Peters
        email: peters_rd@mercer.edu
        phone: 301-2474
        office: Willet Science Center 115
        office hours: M-F 8:25-9:25 or by appointment.

Second 4 weeks: Dr. Douglas T. Young
       email: young_dt@mercer.edu
       phone: 301-2704
       office: Willet Science Center 113
       office hours: W 3:00-4:30, R 2:00-3:30, F 2:00-3:30 or by appointment/arrangement

See Physics home page at http://physics.mercer.edu.

This course is an eight-week module, intended primarily for non-science majors. It satisfies half of the laboratory science requirement within general education, in the Common Core of the College of Liberal Arts. It has no formal mathematical or other prerequisite, but you will need to use some math to successfully complete the course: arithmetic and simple algebra. The material covered is similar to selected topics from the usual introductory physics sequence, but the approach to teaching and learning this material is different. The emphasis is primarily on developing conceptual understanding of physics, and science in general, by investigating the behavior of simple objects familiar to most persons through their experience in everyday life, hence the course title. You will learn something about The Laws of Motion, Mechanical Objects, Fluids, Electrodynamics, and Optics, as you investigate the behavior of balls, ramps, springs, roller coasters, balloons, rockets, flashlights, electric power grids, generators & motors, cameras, and telescopes & microscopes. The goals of this course, as stated in the text (Bloomfield, pp. vii-ix), are that you should:

1. Begin to see science in everyday life,
2. Learn to think logically in order to solve problems,
3. Develop and expand your physical intuition,
4. Learn how things work,
5. Begin to understand that the universe is predictable rather than magical, and
6. Obtain a perspective on the history of science and technology.

• Quizzes: There will be approximately six of these. Each will contain a conceptual part and a numerical part. The conceptual part will be non-mathematical, based on a reading assignment. The numerical part will be based on material previously covered in class. Quizzes will be simple but closed-book, and will include any needed formulas. Individual quizzes: First each student will answer the quiz working alone. Group quizzes: Then students will form into small groups and work the quiz together. These groups will be formed by the instructors at the beginning of the course and be subject to change. Finally, the entire class will consider the quiz as a whole, and complete answers will be provided. Each student will receive both an individual quiz grade and a group quiz grade.
• Lectures: After the quiz for a particular reading assignment, we will discuss the material, do demonstrations and numerical examples, answer your questions, ask you questions for discussion, and generally try to get you thinking in new and interesting ways. We will also go over solutions to exercises and problems from the text.

• Homework: For each section of the text we will give you a list of selected exercises and problems, some of which will be discussed in class. They are not to be handed in and will not be graded. However, some of them, or similar ones, will appear on quizzes and exam

• Exams: There will be two of these, whih will also include both conceptual and numerical questions. Each will take an entire period. They will be closed-book, but you will receive a formula sheet. There will be no final exam.
• Labs: There will be seven of these, usually on topics related to the assigned reading. You may work in groups during the course of the lab, but your lab reports will be graded individually: All parts of each lab report must be the product of your own work. The reports will be informal, so that they may be finished and turned in to the instructor at the end of the same lab period.
• Grading: The quizzes, individual and group, Labs, and exams will be weighted according to the following format:

    Individual Quizes: 25%
    Group Quizzes: 15%
    Labs: 30% (7 labs Þ ~4.3% per lab)
    Exams: 30% (2 Exams Þ 15% per exam)

Miscellaneous policies:

1. Quizzes, exams, and labs for which no alternate arrangements were made beforehand may be made up only if there is an official excuse: e.g., a note from a Dean's office, or a doctor’s note.
2. There will be no dropped grades. All work done in the course will be counted.
3. There will be no extra-credit work.
4. The College of Liberal Arts' academic misconduct policy will be followed. In addition, all students are bound by the Mercer University Honor Code. Any students who violate it, e.g., by cheating in any aspect of the course, will fail the entire course.
5. Students are strongly encouraged to discuss with the instructors their work on each quiz, lab, or exam during the course, regardless of their grades. Questions about point awards should be brought up as soon as possible, as all grades will be final one week after the materials are graded and returned to the students.
6. Students who believe that they possess disabilities for which reasonable accommodation is required must so inform one of the instructors at the close of their first class meeting. They must then identify their disability and the accommodation requested. The instructor will refer them to the office of the Dean of Students for evaluation, documentation of their disability, and a recommendation as to the accommodation, if any, to be provided. Students who do NOT consult with either instructor and follow up at the office of the Dean of Students, as provided above, will thereby waive any claim to a disability and the right to any accommodation pertaining thereto. All requests for reasonable accommodation are welcome also in regard to absence from class for school representation (i.e., athletic or other events) or personal/family problems. Let's talk about it...