PHY 301: MECHANICS (Spring 2013)
Unique # 57585
TTH 12:30-2:00P, PAI 2.48
1.
Instructor: Dr.
Office: RLM 13.308
Office hours: MF 10:30-11:45P or
by appointment
You may contact me via e-mail:
tsoi[at]physics.utexas.edu
TA: Heidi Seinige
E-mail:
hseinige[at]physics.utexas.edu
Office hours: by appointment
2. Course materials:
Textbook:
Ohanian and Markert, Physics for Engineers and Scientists, Volume I, 3rd Ed.
This course covers chapters 1 through 18. The syllabus represents the nominal
amount. Additional concepts, if needed in HW problems, will be included.
Clickers:
Purchase iClicker from UT-Coop or ask around to see if you can purchase an old
one. Register your iClicker at Quest. See “http://cns.utexas.edu/quest/support/student”
for instructions.
Homepage of this course: “http://www.ph.utexas.edu/~tsoi/301.htm”
contains this Syllabus and slides from class (posted as we proceed through
material).
Quest: This
course makes use of the web-based Quest content delivery and homework server
system maintained by the
3. Prerequisites: High school physics or consent of the undergraduate adviser; credit or
registration for Physics 101L; and one of the following: Mathematics 408C,
Mathematics 408K and concurrent enrollment in 408L, or Mathematics 408N and
concurrent enrollment in 408S.
4. Quantitative Reasoning: This course may be counted toward the quantitative reasoning
flag requirement. Quantitative Reasoning courses are designed to equip you with
skills that are necessary for understanding the types of quantitative arguments
you will regularly encounter in your adult and professional life. You should
therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your use of
quantitative skills to analyze real-world problems.
5. Drop deadlines: 1/17 - Last day of the official add/drop period; 1/30 - Last day to drop
a class for a possible refund; 4/1 - Last day an undergraduate student may,
with the dean’s approval, withdraw from the University or drop a class
except for urgent and substantiated, nonacademic reasons.
6. Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the
Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with
Disabilities (471-6259; http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/).
7. Interactive quiz oriented teaching: We intersperse lectures with interactive quiz (IQ)
sessions. You will need your iClicker to participate in IQ-sessions. Questions for these
"IQ"-questions are chosen to highlight the course materials and give
students guidance in doing HW problems. Good understanding of textbook
examples, IQ questions, and homework problems will help you to understand the
physics of this course.
8. Study suggestions: Students are responsible for assigned sections of the book
even if they are not covered in class. Read the material to be covered in class
before coming to class, and a second time afterward. Start working on your
homework problems as soon as they are available and turn your work in as soon
as you have completed it (you get multiple tries for missed questions). Get
help if you have trouble understanding the material ! The importance of doing
the homework assignments (and understanding them) can not be overemphasized.
Very few students pass who do not do well in their homework. Please don't fall
behind. Also, you should work the problems at the end of the chapter, looking
for particularly interesting ones to solve in addition to those which you have
done for homework.
9. Attendance: Class attendance is not mandatory but is strongly recommended. Class
interruptions such as arriving late, leaving early, or chatting, are
unacceptable. Your cooperation in maintaining a good atmosphere for learning is
required.
10. Course summary: The course summary sheet attached gives the basic formulas
or the basic principles which you will be learning in this course.
We encourage you to use it as your study companion. It is meant to help you to
organize the course materials, to do homework and to review for exams. Queries
on the summary are welcome anytime. You can also find this summary at PAGE1, PAGE2.
11. Homework/Tests/Final: (see schedule below)
During each Test/Exam:
·
a
fresh course summary sheet will be given to you. No crib-note cards will be allowed.
·
Programmable
calculators may be used for numerical calculations only. No display of any formula on the screen is allowed.
·
Academic dishonesty will not be
tolerated (see link
to University
Honor Code).
12. Grading policy:
à A grade report for each
assignment/exam will be available on Quest after the due time; plus and minus grades
will be used for final course grades; %score required for a given grade (grade
cutoffs) will be determined after the final exam (no prescribed cutoff values
should be assumed).
No make up tests will be given. Student is required to take all four Tests. At the end of
the semester, the Test with lowest score will be dropped. If a student misses a
Test, the missing Test will be the one which will be dropped. If missing a test
is due to a legitimate reason approved by the instructor, the student may alternatively
choose a no-drop option, where the student's final exam score appropriately
scaled may replace the score of the missing Test. After a missing test, the
student needs to immediately communicate with the instructor through email. The
student must save the email record and claim the no-drop option at the end of
the semester. For the no-drop option to be applicable, the student must take
the other three Tests.
o
Notice
the due time of homework #1 is at 4am on W, Jan 23 (think of it as Tuesday
evening).
o
Instructions
for submitting work: “http://cns.utexas.edu/quest/support/student”
o
Announcements
related to homework, will be given in class and on Quest.
Week of | Tu Th | HW Due
Time
14-Jan | 1 2 |
21-Jan | 3 4 | #1 ch
2.6 W(01/23)
4am (~Tu evening)
28-Jan | 5 Q1 | #2 ch 4.6 W(01/30)
4am
Quiz 1: Thursday, January 31, 12:30-2:00P, PAI
2.48 (ch 4.6)
4-Feb | 5 6 | #3 ch
5.6 W(02/06)
4am
11-Feb | 7 8 | #4 ch
6.3 W(02/13)
4am
18-Feb | 9 Q2 | #5 ch 8.5 W(02/20)
4am
Quiz 2: Thursday, February 21, 12:30-2:00P, PAI
2.48 (ch 8.5)
25-Feb | 10 11 | #6 ch 9.5 F(03/01)
4am (~Th evening)
4-Mar | 12 12 | #7 ch 12.5 F(03/08)
4am
11-Mar | - - |
18-Mar | Q3 13 | #8 ch
12.5 F(03/22)
4am
Quiz 3: Tuesday, March 19, 12:30-2:00P, PAI 2.48
(ch 12.5)
25-Mar | 13 14 | #9 ch 13.4 F(03/29)
4am
1-Apr | 15 15 | #10 ch 14.3 F(04/05) 4am
8-Apr | 16 16 | #11 ch 16.4 F(04/12) 4am
15-Apr | 17 17 | #12 ch 17.4 F(04/19) 4am
22-Apr | 18 18 | #13 ch 18.6 F(04/26) 4am
29-Apr | Q4 rev |
Quiz 4: Tuesday, April 30, 12:30-2:00P, PAI 2.48
(ch 18.6)
FINAL: Saturday, May
11, 7:00-10:00 pm, Location TBA