Syllabus
Info
| Title | General Physics I |
| Term | Fall 2015 |
| Credits | 4 |
| Time | Monday&Wednesday&Friday 11.30-12.50 |
| Place | Brown Science/Sci 117A |
| Level | Introductory |
| Faculty | Salimbeni |
| Office Hours: | by appointment (M, Tu, W, F)
|
| Tutor | Gage Martins, room 106, 1-6 pm on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons or by appointment |
An introductory physics class involving some laboratory work; suitable for students considering a plan in physics, science students, or non-science students who want a physics foundation. Topics include vector algebra, kinematics, dynamics of single and many-particle systems, gravitation, energy, momentum, conservation laws, circular and rigid body motion.
Prerequisite: Mathematical proficiency up through, but not necessarily including, calculus
Textbook
Physics for Scientists and Engineers a Strategic Approach, vol I by Randall D. Knight
Other Useful Books
Understanding Physics by Karen Cummings, Priscilla W. Laws, Edward F. Redish, Patrick J. Cooney (on the reserve shelf)
Course Policies & Grading
Attendance and Participation
Attending the lessons and actively participating in class are essential to successfully pass this course. During the semester you are allowed up to 3 absences for illness, family emergencies, religious observance, etc. Your grade will drop by 2.5 points for each absence beyond the first three. You will not receive any credit for this course if you missed more than a total of 10 classes. Please, come on time to class, three late arrivals will be considered an absence.
Readings, Participation and Pre-class assignments
You are required to participate and collaborate with other students during class discussions, group work and experiments. You are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the material and ask questions. Reading the material is critical for having a productive class time, failing to prepare will affect the learning of you and your classmates. To help you with the reading I will assign pre-class questions that will be discussed during class time. Readings, quality of participation and pre-class assignments are part of your grade (15% of your final grade).
Homework
Homework will be assigned weekly (35% of your final grade). Homework is an essential tool to learn and to receive feedback. For this reason it is important that you hand in your assignments on time. Students are encouraged to work together on the homework assignments. However, your final write-up of the assignment must represent your own understanding; copying another person's work is plagiarism and will result in no credit for that assignment.
Take-Home tests and Final
In addition to the weekly assignments, there will be two take-home tests (30% of your grade) and an in class final (20% of your final grade). You are not allowed to collaborate while you are working on the take-home tests or on the final (unless I assign group work).
Late Police for Assignments, Take-Home tests and Final
This is how late work will affect your grades:
days of delay percentage of the actual grade
--------------- -----------------------------------------
1 to 3 90%
3 to 7 80%
8 to 15 60%
15 to 30 40%
over 30 it will not be accepted
Special arrangements for late work can be obtained under very special circumstances agreed through prior discussion with me.
No late work will be accepted for the Take-Home tests and Final assignments.
Plagiarism
Academic Honesty is expected of all scientists, and also of all students. Cheating on homework or the final exam will result in no credit.
If you are not sure on how to use a source, please check this
link on the library webpage.
Grading
|
|
| 35% | Weekly homework |
| 15% | Readings, quality of participation and pre-class assignments |
| 30% | Take home tests |
| 20% | In class final exams |
Grade Letters
| Highest | Lowest | Letter |
| 100.00 | 93.00 | A |
| 92.99 | 90.00 | A- |
| 89.99 | 87.00 | B+ |
| 86.99 | 83.00 | B |
| 82.99 | 80.00 | B- |
| 79.99 | 77.00 | C+ |
| 76.99 | 73.00 | C |
| 72.99 | 70.00 | C- |
| 69.99 | 67.00 | D+ |
| 66.99 | 60.00 | D |
| 59.99 | 0.00 | F |
Tentative schedule
Month Chapter
-------------- -----------------------------------
Sep 4-7 Concept of Motion (Chap 1)
Sep 9-11-14 Kinematics in One Dimension (Chap 2)
Sep 17-21 Vector and Coordinate Systems (Chap 3)
Sep 21-23-25 Kinematics in Two dimension (Chap 4)
Sep 28-30 Force and Motion (Chap 5)
Oct 2-5-7 Dynamics I: Motion along the line (Chap 6)
Oct 9 Review
Oct 12-14-16 Newton's Third Law (Chap 7) - Mid-term due on the 13th
Oct 21-23-26 Dynamics II: Motion in a Plane (Chap 8)
Oct 28-30 Impulse and Momentum (Chap 9)
Nov 2-6-9 Energy (Chap 10)
Nov 11-13-16 Work (Chap 11)
Nov 18-20-23-25 Rotation of a Rigid Body (Chap 12)
Nov 30 Dec 2-4 Newton's Theory of Gravity (Chap 13)
Dec 7-9 Review
