FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Department of Physics

Syllabus for Physics with Calculus I - Spring 2008

Integrated Lecture / Lab (2048/2048L)

Class Web Site: http://www.fiu.edu/~saulj/Teaching/2048C-Spr08/
Mastering Physics: http://www.masteringphysics.com

Last Update: Monday, January 7, 2008 11:00 AM

Course Description

PHY 2048 is a four credit-hour, calculus-based physics course sciences that is the 1st part of a two- semester sequence required for all FIU engineering, computer science, or physical science majors. The course theme for this semester is understanding how and why things move. We will cover kinematics, forces, energy, momentum, and rotational motion. We will also cover oscillations, waves, and thermodynamics, time permitting.

This class will be a significant departure from the traditional lecture / lab format. It is an integrated lecture / lab with very little formal lecturing (at most 1 hour per week). You are expected to read and begin understanding the course material before each class and again when necessary. We will spend class time investigating phenomena, understanding how it fits within the body of physics knowledge, and applying the knowledge. You must be responsive, think, and perform hands-on tasks during class. The lab exercises will be interspersed within the class to provide optimal benefit. As this is a combined course, two grades will be assigned as explained below. This is the first of a two-part introductory general physics course intended for scientists and engineers.

We will be replicating the way science is done - investigate a phenomena, make conjectures, test conjectures, discuss, revise, test again, etc. With this approach, you have the opportunity to thoroughly understand the material.

Our course goals are to:

1. Develop a model-centered, constructivist basis of mechanics.
2. Develop strong laboratory skills using computer-based data acquisition and analysis tools.
3. Develop autonomous learning skills.
4. Learn to think clearly and simply about the physical world.

Course Strategy

Central to the course is developing an ability to think for yourself. There is no simple way to gain this skill, it comes slowly over time and with practice. You must be actively involved to learn the material. The course is structured with this in mind.

Preparation: You will be expected to read the book prior to class. It would be foolish to think that one can fully grasp physics by reading the material alone, so the class time will be spent clarifying and applying the material. Reading prior to class is common in many classes. One must read assignments in an English Literature class in order to meaningfully discuss them. Not only is reading a reasonable requirement, it makes for much more efficient learning. Students interviewed at other institutions indicated that spending 1-2 hours/week reading and outlining the material saved 4-8 hours per week on homework.

Classes: Laboratory investigations followed by additional group exercises and discussions will form the basis of this course. Results will be summarized and presented to the class and discussed. Class attendance is therefore vital to success.

Collaborative Work: Scientists and engineers work in groups as well as alone. Social interactions are critical to their success. Most good ideas grow out of discussions with colleagues. This course encourages and incorporates collaborative teamwork, a skill that is valued by most employers of scientists, engineers, and technicians. As you work and study together, help your partners to get over confusions, ask each other questions, and critique your group assignments. Everyone benefits from cooperative learning - expressing your ideas so that others can understand them helps clarify them for oneself.

Whiteboarding: Results of labs and group exercises will be summarized on whiteboards and then presented to the class. Discussions and comparisons of the results will follow. Whiteboard presentations should include the relevant facts / details from the lab or exercises, appropriate sketches, graphs (with labels), and other useful points. These whiteboarding presentations will form the crux of the course. The point of the presentation is to firm up your physics knowledge and build confidence in presenting material.

Socratic Method: Much of the class discourse will be through socratic dialogue. In other words, questions will get you to think about the underlying physics. And your questions will often be answered with more questions. The idea is that simply answering your questions may not lead to understanding. Having you link the ideas in your own mind to form the answer is much more useful. These are also used to test your self confidence.

Course Details

Textbook: We will be using Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Knight, 2nd Edition as our textbook. This comes with a student access kit for MasteringPhysics, our online homework system, and a workbook.

Whiteboarding Presentations: Lab and other exercises will be presented to the class via whiteboards and will be graded. Whiteboard preparation and discussion are the critical attributes of the grading. In other words, preparing a whiteboard with proper information (legible, good labels, appropriate graphs / sketches, etc) and then presenting it to the class and responding to the questions will garner the most points. Having the right answers on the whiteboard at the beginning isn't crucial, but having them by the end of the discssion is crucial.

Group Work and Contracts: Each time new groups are formed, your new group will need to make up a contract to spell out what you as a group expect from each of your group members. Groups function better when the members agree on what's expected. Your group is required to submit a signed copy of the group contract to Dr. Saul. Group members may be fired for not living up to the contract if the group can show that it has tried to resolve the problem in a group meeting and a mediation session with Dr. Saul. Sample contracts for group members are available online. Also, on each formal group work assignment (these will be announced in class), your group must assign
group roles. These group roles will help your group function better as a team. You will be asked to evaluate the teamsmanship of your group using a specially designed form.

Class Web Site: Please look to the class web site for additional resources. The site contains this syllabus, problem assignments, homework solutions, and other resources. If you have any suggestions for improvements, don't hesitate to let me know.

Email List: A class mailing list will be established. You are encouraged to post questions, answers, jokes, etc to the list. I will monitor the list and provide guidance when appropriate. Don't be surprised to find useful hints floating around the list. Archives of the list will be kept on the class web site. Everyone in the class has been subscribed with their FIU email address. You may add or change the email account by subscribing / unsubscribing the appropriate addresses. Subscription details are found on the class web site. Note that the list is a closed list; therefore, all messages must come from a currently subscribed address.

Class Absences: Active participation is critical to the class; however, absences may occur. In general, there are four acceptable excuses for missing class: illness or medical emergency, religious holiday, family emergency, and approved university activity. To receive an excused absence, you must provide a signed paper note explaining why you were out, what work you missed, and what you will do to make it up. Documentation for absences should be stapled to the note. You are not penalized for excused absences. Advance notice is required for religious holidays and approved university activities. Advance notice for other emergencies would be greatly appreciated. Unexcused absences will result in grade adjustments.

Learning Environment: The goal of the course to learn physics. There are many resources to help you learn including your book, your classmates, your instructor, and the class web page. You should take advantage of as many of these as you need in order to learn the material. If, at any point during the course, you feel your performance is slipping, you must immediately seek assistance. Please don't wait until the day before the final to ask for help. I am always available to help, during office hours and non-office hours. Please email or call my office or lab to make sure I am available.

This is a college course and we expect an appropriate learning environment. Cell phones, beepers, etc are not to be heard in class. Violators will have 3 points deduced from the next exam for each incident. Any form of cheating is unacceptable. The minimum punishment for cheating will be receiving an "F" grade for the course. Further action may be taken including referral to the University Academic Conduct Review Board.

Homework

WarmUps: You will be expected to become familiar with, but not master, the material in the reading assignments. To encourage reading, each new chapter will begin with a short, online 'WarmUp' (found on the class page). The WarmUps are due before the start of each new chapter. It will be up to you to keep track of the class schedule to know in advance when you should have read the relevant chapter.

Priorities: Your priority should be to complete your reading assignment first, then the warm ups, then the worksheets, then Mastering Physics.

Reading and Warm Ups: You will be expected to become familiar with, but not master, the material in the reading assignments. To encourage reading, each new chapter will begin with a short, online 'WarmUp' (found on the class page). The WarmUps are due before the start of each new chapter. It will be up to you to keep track of the class schedule to know in advance when you should have read the relevant chapter. NO CREDIT will be given for late Warm Ups

Mastering Physics: There will be graded Mastering Physics homework assignments for every chapter we cover. MasteringPhysics is a web-based homework system. When you purchased your book, you should have gotten an information booklet and registration number. Try to do as many problems as possible, as they may show up anytime. You are encouraged to discuss the problems among yourselves; however, each of you is responsible for submitting your own individual answers. The system has a cutoff date after which answers are accepted for diminishing value for one week.

There will be two types of Mastering Physics - skill building and end of chapter problems. Skill building exercises provide guidance in doing the problems - hints and other feedback is provided. End of chapter (EOC) problems originate in the back of the book, individually randomized for your assignment. Skill building assignments should help with EOC problems and should be done first, and are due two days ahead of the end of chapter problem sets. Generally, end of chapter problems are due a week after the material is covered in class. Note that practice skill problems are included with every assignment. You do not receive credit for these problems, but they may help you prepare for other problems.

In order to pass this course, you must practice the techniques you are learning. You must avoid the temptation to cut corners in working homework. Unfortunately, many people discover that this hurts them on quizzes and tests and often this discovery is made when it it too late to fix the problem. By taking the homework assignments seriously, you reduce the overall difficulty of the course.

Worksheets: In addition to homework, worksheet-based assignments will be handed out and graded. These often stress physics concepts over numeric problems and are similar to workbook exercises. You will be expected to prepare the worksheets outside of class time. Selected problems will be whiteboarded by groups and discussed in class. Upon completion of the discussions, the worksheets will be handed in for grading. Time is alloted to allow for corrections of the worksheets after class discussions. Late assignments will be accepted for reduced credit (10% per day or 20% per class, which ever is less).

Lab Reports: Selected labs will written up as worksheets and handed in for grading.

Exams:

There will be two in-class exams and the final exam. These exams will consist of two parts, a group part (25%) and an individual part (75%). The individual part with have both conceptual problems (which tend to be more qualitative in nature, like we discuss in class) and computational problems (which are more quantitative, like the EOC's). Exam notes will be posted on the class website one week before class. The exam notes will include what you should know from each chapter, the equations and concepts you need to know, and an old exam to give you an idea of the types of questions I have asked in the past. The final exam will consist of two parts - one covering material discussed since the second in-class exam and the second covering all material of the class.

Makeup exams are given only under extreme circumstances. Notification of an unavoidable exam absence must be made prior to the exam (voice mail and email are acceptable). Excused-absence exams will result in adjusting the weighting of the other grade components or administration of a make up exam at the sole discretion of the instructor. Weight adjustments or makeups are given only after receiving a 60 or higher score during an in-class exam.

Grading

In order to foster cooperation and collaboration among as many of you as possible, grades will based on an absolute scale. This means that helping others will not jeopardize your grades, it will, most likely, improve your grade as explaining concepts to other develops understanding for yourself. The grading scale for both lecture and lab sections is:

The breakdown of components for the lecture section is:

The breakdown of components for the lab section is:

Please note that 35% of your grade is derived from non-exam work. This means you have a great deal of control over your grade. Also note that 15% of the grade originates in class work. It is in your best interest to attend class and actively participate. If you make the effort on the homework and classroom exercises, you receive credit for the work and are better prepared to perform well on exams.

Homework: Each Mastering Physics assignment will typically contain 10-15 problems worth 4-20 points each. Once a week a challenge problem will be posted for extra credit.

WarmUps: Warm-up are assignments based on reading assignments to encourage you to do the reading before class.

We will be using Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Knight, 1st Edition. Below are the chapter sections we should cover during each week of the semester. Some sections will be covered in greater depth than others. It is important to read the sections prior to each class.

Tentative Class Schedule*: 

DATE	WEEK	CHAPTER-SECTION
Jan 7 - 11	1	1: 1 - 9 Concepts of Motion
Jan 14 - 18	2	1: 6 - 8 Concepts of Motion; 2: 1 - 5 Kinematics: The Mathematics of Motion
Jan 21 - 25	3	2: 4 - 8 Kinematics: The Mathematics of Motion
Jan 28 - Feb 1	4	3: 1 - 4 Vectors and Coordinate Systems;
Feb 4 - 8	5	4: 1 - 7 Force and Motion
Feb 11-15	6	5: 1 - 3 Dynamics 1: Motion along a line (Newton's Laws)
Feb 14		EXAM I
Feb 18 - 22	7	5: 4 - 6 Dynamics 1: Motion along a line (Appliations)
Feb 25 - Feb 29	8	6: 1 - 3 Dynamics II: Motion in a Plane (Skip 6.4)
Mar 3 - 7	9	7: 1 - 6 Dynamics III: Motion in a Circle
Mar 10 - 14	10	8: 1 - 5 Newton's 3rd Law and Systems
Mar 14		EXAM II
Mar 17 - 21	11	Spring Break: No Class
Mar 24 - 28	12	9: 1 - 7 Impulse and Momentum
Mar 31 - Apr 4	13	10: 1 - 7 Energy
Apr 7-11	14	11: 1 - 9 Work and Applications of Energy
Apr 14 - 17	15	13: 1 - 9 Rotation of a Rigid Body
Apr 18		Problem Solving Session
Apr ???	16	Review and FINAL EXAM

*subject to change

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