General Physics II
Monday, Wednesday & Friday
10:00 - 10:50 AM
| INSTRUCTOR: | Dr Mike Fanelli |
| EMAIL: | m.fanelli@tcu.edu |
| PHONE: | 817 - 257 - 6387 |
| OFFICE: | Sid Richardson Building, Room 305 |
| OFFICE HOURS: | Monday & Wednesday, 2-3:30 PM |
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. 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 22.
CLASS WEBSITE: The main
class web page is located at
personal.tcu.edu/~mfanelli/p10164_s08.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 electric charge, forces, and energy;
electric current and circuits, magnetism, light, radiation,
optics, quantum, 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, web-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:
Your basic assignment is to (a) attend class, (b) read
one or more text chapters per week, (3) read the class
notes, and (4) 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. Students are responsible for
completing 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 visit
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 each quiz, which will 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. I use scantrons
use for the quizzes, so please bring these to class.
The two lowest quizzes will be dropped, assuming we
complete 12. Quizzes will normally be returned in the
next class period.
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.
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 CLASS DATES
HELP WITH COURSE CONTENT:
Physics is a challenging course for most students.
The department attempts 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 these 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”, authored 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.
Exam details can be found on the "Exam Information"
web page, accessed from the main course web page.
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 miss an exam for any other reason,
and have a reasonable excuse, a make-up exam may be permitted; these situations will be
evaluated 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, during the
study days at the end of the semester.
(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.