PHY 317K - General Physics I - Fall Semester, 2012
(This course carries a Quantitative Reasoning flag.)
Class Meetings: Unique number 57795 - T-Th 11:00-12:15 Painter Hall 2.48
Unique number 57800 - T-Th 2:00- 3:15 Painter Hall 2.48Instructors: Karol Lang (RLM 10.208, 471-3528) - Office hours: T 12:30-1:30 and by appointment
Jack Ritchie (RLM 10.202, 471-4488) - Office hours: Th 12:30-1:30 and by appointment
(Two instructors will team-teach both sections of this course).
Instructor's e-mail address (for both instructors): phy317m@physics.utexas.edu
Home Page: http://www.ph.utexas.edu/~phy317n/PHY317K
TA/Graders: John Cesar, Sandipan Kundu, Craig White; office hours by appointment. Contact info on the TA Info link on the Home Page.
Problem Sessions: The schedule (10 hours per week) can be found at the Problem Sessions link on the Home Page.
Textbook: Essential University Physics, Volume 1, by Richard Wolfson (Pearson Addison Wesley), 2nd edition. NOTE: the 1st edition is okay too.
Prerequisites: A high school physics course, PHY 306, or consent of the undergraduate advisor; Math 408C, or Math 408K and concurrent registration for M 408L; and concurrent registration for PHY 117M.
Schedule: Back side of this page; pdf available at the Schedule link on the Home Page. This gives the schedule of class topics, exams, etc.
Homework: There will be five homework assignments. They will be available from the Homework link on the Home Page. Homework will not be graded, and it will not count in the course grade. However, it is important to do the homework, since working problems is an important part of learning physics. Doing the homework is the best way to prepare for the exams.
Exams: There will be three exams and a final. They will be closed-book/closed-notes, and you may not use electronic devices of any kind. The exams during the semester will be given according to the schedule in the table below. These exams will be given in the evening, but if you have a conflict you may also take the exams during the regular class period in the regular classroom (PAI 2.48). You must take exams in the section in which you are registered.
Date
Unique #57795 (11:00 am class) Unique #57800 (2:00 pm class) Sept 25
7:00 - 8:15 pm in UTC 2.102A OR 11:00-12:15 in PAI 2.48 7:30 - 8:45 pm in BEL 328 OR 2:00-3:15 in PAI 2.48 Oct 18
7:00 - 8:15 pm in UTC 3.102/3.104 OR 11:00-12:15 in PAI 2.48 7:30 - 8:45 pm in BEL 328 OR 2:00-3:15 in PAI 2.48 Nov 13
7:00 - 8:15 pm in BUR 106 OR 11:00-12:15 in PAI 2.48 7:30 - 8:45 pm in ECJ 1.202 OR 2:00-3:15 in PAI 2.48 A missed exam cannot be made up unless a request was made to an instructor before the scheduled exam. A makeup will be granted only in cases of documented illness, emergency, or UT athletic competition out of town. Makeup exams will be scheduled for 5:00 pm on the day following the scheduled exam. Any extraordinary conflicts or circumstances affecting your ability to take these exams as scheduled must be brought to the instructors attention no later than September 7.
Exams will be multiple choice. Unless one and only one answer is clearly marked, there will be no credit. There will be no partial credit. Additional information on Exams can be found at the Exams link on the Home Page.
Final Exam: A comprehensive final will be given at the time and in the location scheduled by the University.
Grades: Exams will be individually scored from 0 to 100 by dividing the number of correct answers by the number of questions. (A missed exam will be scored as 0.) The course grade will be based on a simple average of the highest four of the following five numbers: the three exam scores, the final exam score, and the safety net score. Thus, each of these four scores count for 25% of the course grade. The safety net score can be calculated in two steps as follows: (1) calculate the average of the three exam scores and (2) calculate the average of this result and the final exam score. The resulting number is the safety net score. Course grades will not be curved. Letter grades will be assigned as follows: A = 90-100, A- = 85-89, B+ = 82-84, B = 78-81, B- = 75-77, C+ = 72-74, C = 68-71, C- = 65-67, D+ = 62-64, D = 58-61, and D- = 55-57. Below 55 is F. (Note: in applying this method, the average of the four scores (a real number) will be rounded to an integer in the usual way; for example, 74.49999 is 74; 74.50000 is 75.) An applet that applies this algorithm is available at the Grades link on the Home Page.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259.