Syllabus
PHYS 181, Physics for
Scientists and Engineers II
Fall Semester 2004
Instructors: Bill Cathey, Clark Administration Building, room 110, telephone 784-1740, billca@unr.edu
Alina Vincent, LP 216,
contact through the WebCT
Class location and times: Schulich Lecture Hall, Room 2;
MWF 1:00 – 1:50;
Final exam on Dec. 13, 2004, 12-2 pm
Text: Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Volumes I
and II , by Douglas C. Giancoli, Prentice Hall, Inc.,
Third Edition, 2000., Chapters 17-32.
Help sessions: Monday 2 - 4
in LP 104
Wednesday 4 - 6 in LP 105
Office hours: by
appointment
Course description: Physics for Scientists and Engineers II (3+0) 3
credits. Thermodynamic laws, kinetic theory, electric charge, field, potential,
current, dielectrics, circuit elements, magnetic fields and materials,
electromagnetic oscillations. Prerequisite: MATH 182; PHYS 180.
Online material: Course material such as sample exams, homework
assignments and solutions, as well as quiz solutions will be available through
the WebCT (http://www.webct.unr.edu/). Additional information will be
provided during the semester as materials become available.
If you are having problems
with the WebCT go to http://teaching.unr.edu/OTL/webct/difficulties.html
Final grade calculation:
Three one-hour exams (45%), graded quizzes and homework (30%), comprehensive final exam (25%). Students who receive an average of 87 or higher on the three one-hour exams and quizzes/homework do not have to take the final examination. Note that it is possible for all students to earn an A.
|
|
|
|
GRADE |
% |
GRADE |
% |
A |
|
C |
67-72 |
A- |
85-86 |
C- |
65-66 |
B+ |
83-84 |
D+ |
63-64 |
B |
77-82 |
D |
53-63 |
B- |
75-76 |
D- |
50-52 |
C+ |
73-74 |
F |
<50 |
Hints
on how you can earn your A:
Ask
lots of questions.
Read
the text before lectures.
Do
all homework.
Be
prepared for quizzes
Come
to class.
Attend
help sessions.
Learn
the material instead of memorizing.
Average
87 or above on the graded work.
Quizzes
and Homework:
A
15-minute quiz will be given in class almost each week. Each week the in-class
quiz and/or some of the selected homework problems will be graded. Some credit
will be given for homework that is turned in but not graded. The solutions for the homework problems will be posted on the WebCT immidiately after the class period, so no late homework assignments will be accepted. The graded quizzes and homework will count
30% towards your grade. Questions on
the quizzes will be similar to the assigned homework and the topics discussed
in class.
Solutions to
quizzes will be posted on the WebCT. A maximum of 2 (two) missed quizzed can be made up at the end of the semester, provided that the absences were valid (keep you doctor notes, plane tickets, etc... to show us at the end of the semster).
Examinations:
There
will be three hourly examinations and a final examination. Each exam will
concentrate on material since the last exam; however, content from any part of
the course prior to that exam may be included. The final exam will cover
content from the entire course. Each exam will have at least one question that
requires an essay answer. Before an exam, the instructors will describe what
will be included on the exam. Sample exams from previous years will be
available on the WebCT site.
A
list of equations will be provided on your copy of the examination; you will
not need to prepare your own list of equations. Any equations that you need to
memorize, and there will be very few, will be given to you prior to an
exam.
The
answers to questions on exams are to be put into a form ready to key into a
calculator. Calculators will not be needed or allowed on exams.
Tutoring
center:
We
highly recommend you take advantage of the free tutoring available to all
students. Please
visit Student Academic Support Cervices in the Thompson Building, Suite 100,
call 784-6801 or e-mail Dr. Marsha Urban at urban@unr.edu for further
information.
Academic dishonesty:
Cheating
will not be tolerated. Students who cheat on an exam, quiz or an assignment
will receive a zero for it. A second case of cheating will result in a grade of
F for the course.
Disability statement: If
you have a disability for which you will need accommodation, please contact the
instructor or Mary Zabel at the Disability Resource Center (Thompson Building Suite 101, (775) 784-6000 ) as soon as possible to
arrange the appropriate accommodations.
Teaching
philosophy and assumptions of the instructors:
The
content of the engineering physics sequence of courses is vital to all
engineers and scientists in order to have an understanding of the basic
concepts of science and technology. It is assumed that all students recognize
the value of these courses, but it is also assumed that students will ask about
the relevance of material when it is not apparent. One of our main objectives
is to enable you to learn even more science and engineering on your own after
you have completed your formal university education.
For
each hour in class, students are expected to spend 3 to 4 hours in additional
study. Doing homework and understanding the textbook are key elements to
success in the course. You are responsible for learning the content of the
course and developing an understanding of the concepts presented. The
instructors will provide as much as possible in the way of effective teaching
and assistance for you to understand the course content. However, the student
is ultimately responsible for what is learned.
Students
are urged to ask questions in the class as well as outside the regular class
times. There is no such thing as a stupid question is this course! All
questions will be answered, although some may have to be deferred until after
the formal class time in order to maintain the required pace of the course.
It
is assumed that all students have been reasonably successful in the courses
required prior to this course. These include calculus-based mechanics and two
semesters of university-level calculus. It is not assumed that students have
had a previous course in electricity and magnetism, although a good high school
course will prove useful.
The
calculus used in the text and the lectures may occasionally go beyond what has
been covered in your math courses. When this is the case, the mathematics will
be explained along with the physics. However, it is assumed that the student
who took the MATH 182 class would know at least how to evaluate a definite
integral and their use to find areas and volumes and to be able to handle
simple differential equations, infinite sequences and series. An objective of the course is to strengthen
your skills with applications of mathematics, especially calculus and vectors.
The math in this course is also one of the most challenging parts; savor it
because the math you learn will serve you well in the future.
The
main topics of this course are electricity and magnetism, with a sprinkling of
thermodynamics. At the level of this course, these concepts are essential
topics for all scientists and engineers. You will learn the basic physics
concepts plus a few applications. The number of applications is enormous, and
we will unfortunately not have time to cover all of them. After completing this
course, however, you will be able to develop an understanding of more
applications that will be of interest to you
Note
that you will be learning material of value to all types of engineers – and
businessmen and politicians as well- but there are limits! It is important, for
example, that you not fall into the trap of thinking that only electrical
engineers need to know about electricity at the level of this course. This
point will be reinforced throughout the course.
An
understanding of electricity and magnetism began in the last century with some
simple entertaining observations. Next came mathematical descriptions that
enabled one to make predictions and go beyond the obvious experiments. In the
last part of the 19th century, applications rapidly emerged and they
have never stopped. We now have a highly organized description of electric and
magnetic phenomena and can learn the basic aspects very efficiently.
One
consequence of the efficient organization of the knowledge is that it is
tempting to try to memorize the material rather than understanding it. The
instructors will point out the relatively small number of things you need to
memorize. Our teaching styles are designed to encourage you to understand the
physics concepts that you will keep long after you have forgotten what you
memorized.
.
You
are encouraged to ask why a particular approach to learning a subject is used.
It is important not only for you to understand the subject content but how the
content is learned most effectively.
Attendance
at all classes is necessary to get the most out of the course. Lectures and
demonstrations will be provided that complement the text, and information
related to exams and homework will be announced in the class. Roll will not be
taken in class, and we will not know when you are absent; however, we will provide
something of value at each class so that you will want to attend.
It
will be assumed that students have read the textbook on the topics of the
lectures. It will not be assumed that the students understand all aspects of
the text. Questions are encouraged.
Students
are encouraged to use study groups to learn physics. Discussions with
colleagues about science are the way we all learn the subject, even the most
talented researcher who is breaking new ground. If you are not familiar with
the Tutoring Center, the Math Center, and the Writing Center, you need to visit
them. They provide excellent assistance and are frequented by good students.
At
mid-semester and at the end of the semester, you will be given the opportunity
to fill out an evaluation of the course. Please make good use of these
opportunities to improve the quality of your courses. You may at any time make
suggestions regarding the course by sending an email or memo to the
instructors. We only ask that you keep in mind that the primary task of the
instructors is to enable you to learn the content of the course and not
necessarily make it less rigorous.