Physics 102.002

 

Fall 2005                                                                                                                                      Cy Hoffman

T, Th - 5:30 – 6:45 PM                                                                                     Regener Hall Room 103

Telephone:  822-0849 (h); 505-690-5535 (cell)                       Email: choffman9@comcast.net

 

Subject:              Introduction to Physics

 

Office Hours:   Tuesday and Thursday 4:30 PM in Instructor Room (109) Regener Hall,  after class, and by appointment.

  

Textbook:          Conceptual Physics (9th Edition) by Paul G. Hewitt. The course will cover most of the book but not all topics with equal emphasis (see syllabus).

 

Prerequisites: None.

 

Syllabus:             The class syllabus is given separately.  I will do my best to keep to this schedule, but unforeseen circumstances may force minor changes.

 

Reading:             The reading for each class is given in the syllabus.  You MUST read the material BEFORE lecture and then you should read it again after the lecture. 

 

Homework:       There will be one homework assignment per week, given in class (generally on Thursdays) and available at the homework link.  The homework will be due at the start of the Thursday lecture.  Each week, the solutions to the assignment will be posted in our bulletin board at Regener and will be available at the homework link shortly after it is due.

 

Quizzes:              There will be a short quiz every Tuesday at the start of class on the material covered the previous week plus one question on the current week’s material, to be answered based on the assigned reading.  There are no make-ups for missed quizzes.  Answers to quizzes will be available at the quiz link and on the bulletin board.

 

Exams:                There will be a midterm exam and a final exam.  Each will be 1-hour long and consist of questions requiring written explanations and little-to-no mathematics. 

 

                              The midterm exam will be on Tuesday October 11th – There will be no make-up exam: if you must miss the midterm, come see me with the explanation. Answers to midterm will be available at the midterm link and on the bulletin board.

 

                              The final exam will be Thursday December 15th at 5:30 PM. 


Term Paper:     Each student must write a term paper on a physics topic related to the course material to be chosen by the student and approved in advance by me.  The length of the paper is not as important as the depth to which the topic is explored.  The paper will be due on the last day of class, December 8, 2005.

                             

Grading:              The final grade will be computed from the grades for each of the course elements.   The final grade will equally weight the grades from the five elements of the course: 

 

Homework, Quizzes, Midterm Exam, Term Paper, and Final Exam.

 

The final grade will curved so that the class median is ~ B- - C+.

 

Extra Credit:     Nope.

 

Comments:       Physics is a difficult subject.  It has concepts that are new and foreign to you. The goal of this course is for you to achieve a deep understanding of many of these concepts.  It takes a lot of work on your part (and on my part) for you to master the subject.  It is important to keep up with the material as it often builds upon itself.

 

                              I view you as adults, capable of making your own decisions regarding your school work.  I will not coddle you or force you to come to class or do your assignments.  On the other hand, I am prepared to spend as much time as you request to help you understand the material (or to discuss almost anything else, for that matter).

 

                              I love physics and am constantly fascinated by what it has revealed.  I hope to be able to impart some of this wonder to you.