General Physics II
Tuesday & Thursday
11:00 - 12:20 PM
| INSTRUCTOR: | Dr Mike Fanelli |
| EMAIL: | m.fanelli@tcu.edu |
| PHONE: | 817 - 257 - 6387 |
| OFFICE: | Sid Richardson Building, Room 305 |
| OFFICE HOURS: | 2-4 Tuesday, 2-4 Wednesday |
REQUIRED ITEMS: These items are required
for the class:
ATTENDANCE:
I expect students to participate in the class. As a general rule, students
who attend class perform better on tests than those who show up occasionally.
I do not take roll every class, and attendance is not directly factored
into your grade. Please note that a substantial amount of material will
only be presented during lectures. That material will be included in the
exams. Quizzes, which do count towards your grade, will be given weekly.
LABORATORY:
A laboratory sequence is offered to complement this lecture course, and
meet the core requirements for a natural science. Full details are
explained on the lab syllabus, which will be distributed during the
irst class day. A link to the lab instructions is located on the
course web page. Your lab grade counts for 20% of the course grade,
if you are taking the lab. Please read the lab instruction sheet
carefully, especially regarding missed labs. Labs begin the week of
Jan 23.
CLASS WEBSITE: The main class
web page is located at
personal.tcu.edu/~mfanelli/p10164_s06.html Much
additional information is located on these pages; the course
web pages are the principal source of information concerning this
class..
CONTACTING ME:
If you have questions about the course material, test policies,
grading, etc, the best method for contacting me is to send an email
query to m.fanelli@tcu.edu or visit during office hours. If you leave
a phone message, please state your return phone number slowly and
clearly. Email is the preferred communication route. and will be
answered in 24 hours.
CLASS CONTENT:
Physics 10163/4 is the second half of an algebra-based two-semester
survey course covering physics at an introductory level. We will cover
electricity and magnetism, electric current and circuits, light,
radiation, optics, relativity, quantum physics, nuclear and particle
physics. Emphasis will be placed on the practical applications of
these physical principles, not just on their theoretical foundations.
I will attempt to cover about a chapter per week, starting with Chapter
15 in the text.
CLASS FORMAT:
The format for this class will be lectures and discussion accompanied
by audio/visual material (power point, animations, videos, Internet-based
material). We will cover material at a pace of approximately 1-2
chapter per week. The list of chapters and additional material covered
is given at the end of this syllabus. I will generally follow the text,
highlighting important points and relationships. Make an attempt to read
material prior to class so that you will be familiar with the material when
it is discussed. Material from the text will be supplemented by lecture
notes. Please note that the lectures are not a substitute for reading
the text, nor is just reading the text a substitute for the lectures.
ASSIGNMENTS:
The basic assignment is to read one or more text chapters per week, read
the class notes, and complete the homework. At the end of each chapter
there is a set of conceptual questions, and problems. Homework will
consist of specific end-of-chapter questions and problems but will NOT
be collected for a grade, it is up to you to complete this assignment.
Weekly quizzes will test your comprehension of the material; questions
and problems on the quizzes will be drawn from the assigned homework
problems. Solutions to problems will be posted on the web page and
examples will be discussed in class. Each week, I will assign a set
of question and problems (~10-15), a quiz on that material will occur
the following week. Some of the assigned problems will be those which
are completely solved in the companion Student Study guide, which you
may purchase to augment the text. Please see the course webpage for
additional details, and the assigned problems
PROBLEM SOLVING:
Many (most?) of the students in this class are aimed at the medical
professions. This course is partially designed to assist those students
in passing the MCAT exams, and in learning how to solve physical problems.
Your basic weekly assignment is directed towards that end – complete
the assigned problems, and as many additional ones from the text as you
have time, utilize the student study guide, and take the quizzes. I will
spend about 1/3 of the class time setting up and solving problems,
including examples from the book, and the homework. Hints on strategies
for problem solving will be given on the course web page; this information
augments that in the student study guide, and the text. Keep in mind that
the best way to develop competence at problem solving is practice.
GRADING FORMAT:
The course grade is based on the total points accrued from 3 hourly exams,
a comprehensive final, and weekly quizzes. For students enrolled in Physics
10643, 20% of the grade is based on your lab grade. The final letter grade
is based on a total of 1000 points. All assigned reading and material
discussed in class, including audio/visual presentations, may show up
in an exam. I will call attention to any material not explicitly discussed
in the text for which you will be responsible.
Quizzes will be given each week. I will try to stay on a regular
schedule; each quiz will be announced on the web page. I expect 15-20
minutes to be allocated for the quizzes, which consist of a few conceptual
questions and a few problems. Quiz problems will be similar to (and sometimes
the same) as those assigned for homework. Scantrons will be used for the
quizzes, so please bring these to class. The two lowest quizzes will be
dropped, assuming we complete 12. Quizzes will be returned normally in
the next class period after taken. Scores will be posted on the class webpage
using individual student aliases, which I will assign to you.
FINAL LETTER GRADE SCALE:
Letter grades will be assigned by taking your accumulated total points,
dividing by 10, and applying this grade scale:
EXAM MAKE-UP POLICY:
PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY !!
Quizes: There are NO makeups for quizzes. Since the 2 lowest scores
are dropped, a missed quiz will not count against you. Do not be late for
class; quizzes will normally be given at the start of class.
Exams
IMPORTANT ACADEMIC DATES
HELP WITH COURSE CONTENT:
Physics is a challenging course for most students. The department
endevors to help students successfully complete this course. The
Physics Tutoring Center, located in the Tucker Technology Building,
has been established to provide free tutoring for students enrolled
in the General Physics and Calculus based Physics courses. The center
is open 20 hours during the week; please see the semester schedule
at www.phy.tcu.edu/ Please take advantage of this resource !
THE PHYSICS ENTERPRISE:
Most of you are taking this course to meet a science requirement, or
prepare for the medical profession. “Physics” should be viewed not
just as a science but as an exploration of nature — humanity’s search
for the nature and operating principles of the universe in which we
find ourselves. This exploration is an ongoing enterprise; there are
many unanswered questions “out there”. I will mention the unanswered
questions during the course, illustrate physics principles with examples
of everyday technology based on those principles, and mention future
directions for technology, based on current research.
(1) Textbook: “College Physics”, by Serway & Faughn 7th Edition
(the same text used in General Physics I).
(2) A package of Scantrons, available at the bookstore
(3) A good scientific calculator
The student instruction manual, sold as a companion book to the text,
is strongly recommended.
A more detailed discussion of class grading can be found on the
"Exam Information" web page, accessed from the main course web page.
Exams will consist of also contain a mixture of conceptual questions
and problems. If you complete the homework problems, you will do well on the
exams.
The Final Exam will be comprehensive. Note this carefully: To help
students achieve a better grade, I employ this policy: Your lowest hourly
exam score will be replaced with the score on the final IF your score on
the final is greater than your lowest exam score.
The Final will be comprehensive.
A: 100 - 87 ,
B: 86 - 77 ,
C: 76 - 67 ,
D: 66 - 56 ,
F: < 56
(1) If an exam date coincides with a scheduled,
University-approved activity, you may take the exam prior to
the time when the exams are returned (generally one week later).
You MUST notify me BEFORE the exam to schedule a
makeup.
(2) If you have a reasonable excuse, a make-up exam
may be permitted; these will be determined
on a case-by-case basis.
(3) If an exam cannot be taken before graded exams are returned,
an alternate exam will be given, covering the same material, but with
different questions.
(4) Note that in the case of a chronic medical problem, which
affects a student’s academic work for a significant portion of a semester,
the appropriate action is to withdraw from the course. Incompletes
cannot be assigned unless the student has completed a significant portion
of the work in a class.