PHY 201

College Physics I

Lecture Syllabus for Summer Term

Midlands Technical College

Arts and Sciences Division

Department of Science

Course Description

This is the first in a sequence of physics courses.  Topics include mechanics, wave motion, sound, heat, electromagnetism, optics, and modern physics. (Prerequisite: MAT 110)

General Objectives

To promote an interest in physics. To enable the student to more thoroughly understand the concepts of physics in general.  To enable the student to apply knowledge to a specific problem in a systematic manner.  To enable the student to develop skill in handling apparatus and to practice the procedures of making accurate measurements and presenting results in a scientific report.

Specific Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to solve problems or answer questions dealing with and to understand the concepts of

Monday, May 12, 2003

TEXTBOOKS & MATERIALS

I.                 Lecture: Physics, Giancoli

II.                Lab: Experiments for College Physics, Jeffrey L. Hopkins & M. Klari?, McGraw-Hill, 1999 Ed.

III.              Calculator (scientific notation required)

IV.              Graph paper (any basic non-log graph paper will do)

PHY 201 CLASS OUTLINE

ATTENDANCE

1.    If you meet (N) classes a week, then you are allowed (2N) absences!

2.    You are responsible for all assignments and announcements when absent, thus it is suggested you find someone in the class to contact

       when this occurs.

3.     There are no excused absences from lecture, so save your absences for serious needs.

4.     If you exceed the maximum allowable absences stated above, a grade of "W" will be assigned if you are passing the course or "WF" if you are

       failing after midterm.

5.     If you arrive late or leave early from class, then you will be counted tardy. Three tardies will count as an absence. It is your responsibility to

       inform the instructor after class that you arrived and not to be counted absent.

CLASS

1.     You will need to bring your textbook, calculator, and lab manual to all classes. Appendices and tables from both the text and lab manual will

       be used often during class.

2.      When arriving late (leaving early) to class, do not disturb others or the lecturer when coming into (or leaving) the room, quietly sit in the first

       row by the door, and see the instructor after class (or before class if leaving early) to make sure you were not counted absent though you will

       be counted tardy.

3.      Despite rumors, there is no college policy on waiting 10 or 15 minutes if the instructor fails to show and then leaving with the belief that you

       cannot be counted absent. If the instructor is more than 10 minutes late, go either to his office or to the Math/Science secretary (Mitzi Trigg

       in LET 421) and inquire on his whereabouts or any messages left. If no instructor is there nor any messages left for the class, then all may

       leave.

4.     A reminder: You are responsible for all assignments and announcements when absent, thus it is suggested you find someone in the

       class to contact when this occurs.

5.      You may bring recorders to tape the lectures and you may sit wherever you wish as long as you do not disturb those around you.

6.      There will be no eating nor drinking in class. Do not bring these items into the classroom.

7.      Any student who exhibits disruptive behavior such as talking, discourtesy to faculty or fellow students to include obscene language or

        gestures, or uncooperative actions will be asked to leave the classroom.  The student will be counted absent for this class.  Depending upon

        the nature of the offense, the instructor may require that the student see the Science Department Chair .

8.       Beepers (unless approved by the instructor), cell phones (unless approved by the instructor), personal stereos, and similar devices are not

        permitted in class.

9.      Any student involved in academic dishonesty will be given a grade of zero on the exam, quiz, laboratory work or other such assignment. This

        includes but is not limited to giving or receiving information during an exam, use of unauthorized materials during an exam or assignment,

        plagiarism, or changing answers after a grade has been assigned.

TESTS & FINAL EXAM

1.       There will be several class tests which may be a mixture of problems, short answers questions, and essays. These are marked on the class

        outline. Lists of fundamental equations, constants, and conversion factors will be provided on each test.

2.       To prepare for the tests:

        a)    Read each chapter before they are covered in class

        b)    Attend all classes, take lecture notes, and participate in class dialogues and in the problem solving activities

        c)    Reread each chapter following the class. Reading a science text is not like reading a novel or the newspaper. You will need to read with a

               dictionary handy and some paper to sketch and calculate.

        d)    Solve all other relevant problems at the end of the chapter after each class. The bulk of the physics learned will be through your problem-solving outside of class. Failure to practice problem solving will more than likely result in failure on the tests and the final exam.

3.    No test grades will be dropped. If you miss a class test, then the final exam will also replace the missed test grade. If you have no missed tests,

      then the final exam may replace your lowest class test grade.

4.    The final exam will be cumulative.

CHANGES TO THIS SYLLABUS

v      Changes may be made at any time throughout this term by the instructor to any part of this syllabus, but all students attending class will dutifully be notified in advance of an changes that will have an effect on their assignments or tests.

Laboratory Syllabus for Summer Term 2003

Midlands Technical College | Arts and Sciences Division | Department of Science

LAB TEXTBOOKS & MATERIALS

I.                 Experiments for College Physics, Jeffrey L. Hopkins & M. Klari?, McGraw-Hill, 1999 Ed.

II.                Graph paper (any basic non-log graph paper will do)

III.              Calculator (scientific notation required)

LABORATORY OUTLINE

Monday, May 12, 2003

ATTENDANCE

1.                If you meet (N) labs a week, then you are allowed (2N) absences!

2.                You are responsible for all assignments and announcements when absent, thus it is suggested you find someone in the lab to contact when this occurs.

3.                There are no excused absences from lab, so save your absences for serious needs.

4.                 If you exceed the maximum allowable absences stated above, a grade of "W" will be assigned if you are passing the course or "WF" if you are failing after midterm.

5.                If you arrive late or leave early from lab, then you will be counted tardy. Three tardies will  count as an absence. It is your responsibility to inform the instructor after lab that you arrived and not to be counted absent. This will also effect your lab report grade. The instructor will determine the degree of penalty related to the missed work.

6.                No lab grades will be dropped.

a)                If you miss a lab - up to 2 maximum, then the Lab Final will also replace the missed lab grades.

b)                If you have no missed labs, then the final exam may replace your lowest two lab grade.

LAB POLICIES

1.                There will be no eating nor drinking in lab. Do not bring these items into the laboratory.

2.                You must complete the Preliminary Lab Assignment before coming to lab.

a)                These questions are found in the lab manuals following the Introduction.

b)                You will not be allowed to start lab until you have submitted this work to the lab instructor. Failure to come prepared with this assignment will result in a zero for the lab.

c)                The Preliminary Lab Assignment must follow this format:

i)                 written neatly (does not need to be typed unless your penmanship warrants it),

ii)               a heading at the top of the first page with

a)                your full name

b)                the course and section number

c)                the assignment title (for example, Preliminary Assignment for Lab #2)

d)                the date

iii)             the questions stated clearly followed by a detailed answer with explanations and supporting complete, detailed  mathematics (if applicable) and sketches (if applicable), and

iv)              stapled (if more than one page) not folded, no paper clips, no bending or tearing of corners.

3.                During lab, you will be expected to demonstrate proper lab techniques such as

a)                coming prepared to work in a group. Each student is expected to read each lab assignment prior coming to lab. Failure to do this will slow down your group and might allow you to accept illogical data with no time left to redo the experiment.

b)                contributing to setting up the lab apparatus.

c)                actively making lab measurements.

d)                replacing the lab apparatus back to its proper place when through.

e)                cleaning up your work station before leaving the lab.

4.                Despite rumors, there is no college policy on waiting 10 or 15 minutes if the instructor fails to show and then leaving with the belief that you cannot be counted absent. If the instructor is more than 10 minutes late, go either to his office or to the Science secretary and inquire on his whereabouts or any messages left. If no instructor is there nor any messages left for the lab, then all may leave.

5.                No late work accepted after the stated due date. Plan ahead to analyze your data and develop a report. Confer with group members to verify your analysis – but don’t plagiarize anyone’s work.

6.                Any student who exhibits disruptive behavior such as talking, discourtesy to faculty or fellow students to include obscene language or gestures, or uncooperative actions will be asked to leave the classroom.  The student will be counted absent for this class.  Depending upon the nature of the offense, the instructor may require that the student see the Science Department Chair .

7.                Beepers (only vibrating beepers are permitted), personal stereos, and similar devices are not permitted in class. Cell phones must be turned off unless you have permission from the instructor.

8.                Any student involved in academic dishonesty will be given a grade of zero on the exam, quiz, laboratory work or other such assignment. This includes but is not limited to giving or receiving information during an exam, use of unauthorized materials during an exam or assignment, plagiarism, or changing answers after a grade has been assigned.

LAB MIDTERMS AND FINALS

1.                There will be a Lab Midterm and a Lab Final given during the lab period as shown on the outline.

2.                Both will contain a practical section (hands-on) and analytical section (calculations).

3.                The Lab Final will be given during the last lab period. It will be both written and practical (hands-on) and will cover topics and techniques discussed in the lab.

LAB NOTEBOOK

1.                You will need to maintain a personal lab notebook to keep all notes, measurements, calculations, and raw (or initial) data in during each lab.

2.                You should not add nor remove pages from your lab notebook.

3.                You may not copy from another student’s lab notebook nor give copies to others.

4.                In your lab notebook, you may write anything you wish about the lab.

a)                Neatness does not necessarily matter, because you will not be submitting the lab notebook except to verify your participation.

b)                However you will construct a neat, orderly lab report from you notes and data in your lab notebook.

LABORATORY REPORT FORMAT

1.                Even though you worked in a group, each student will submit an individual lab report.

a)                Upon culmination of the experiment, the work of the lab group is complete, and you are on your own.

b)                After putting up the equipment and cleaning your lab station, you may now leave the lab where, over the following week using your lab notebook and manual as sources, you will analyze your data and construct a lab report as defined below.

c)                The lab report will be returned to you graded at the following lab meeting unless stated otherwise by the instructor. You may keep the graded report to review and learn from any denoted errors.

2.                The entire report should

a)                be typed neatly, structured orderly, and bound securely in a folder,

b)                have three major sections outlined below with each page numbered, and

c)                be submitted on time on the date specified by the instructor.

3.                Three Major Sections of the Lab Report:

a)                Title page

i)                 This is a single page that comes at the beginning of the report.

ii)               On this page you should have

a)                the title of experiment,

b)                date experiment was done,

c)                all group members names,

d)                class and section number, and

e)                your signature near your typed name.

b)                Body

i)                 This should be several typed pages

a)                using proper grammar and spelling,

b)                explaining what you did (explaining the purpose of the experiment),

c)                how you did it (outline the experimental setup and briefly explain the function of the apparatus with sketches and/or figures), and

d)                what results you deduced from the data (providing data tables, graphs, and sample calculations).

ii)               Do not structure the main body following the lab manuals questions. It should not be a “question & answer” format, but a flowing text with supporting data tables and graphs including within the body.

iii)             Data tables should

a)                be titled (i.e. Table I: Density of Acids)

b)                be referenced and located in the text of the report, and

c)                have data with MKS-units.

iv)              Graphs should

a)                be titled (i.e. Graph A: Density of Metal Samples),

b)                be on regulation graph paper,

c)                be referenced and located in the text of the report,

d)                have calibrated axes that are clearly label including stated MKS-units,

e)                not be “connect the dots” but a valid approximation of the data by a straight line or a curved line (which ever is more appropriate), and

f)                have its slope determined with the correct units and all other graphical characteristics examined.

v)                There should be a detailed, well-explained analysis of the data with comparison to the theoretical model(s) with sample calculations to demonstrate how certain values were obtained including determination of errors.

c)                Conclusion

i)                 This is a single page that comes at the very end of the report.

ii)               Here you will comment on the quality of the measured results versus those that were expected with an explanation of the errors and potential sources of errors.

iii)             This section is very important and sources of error should be discussed in detail.

CHANGES TO THIS SYLLABUS

v     Changes may be made at any time throughout this term by the instructor to any part of this syllabus, but all students attending class will dutifully be notified in advance of an changes that will have an effect on their assignments or tests.