Physics 203: Spring 2011
Syllabus
| Stanley Micklavzina Willamette 142 Office Hours: Tues 10:30 - 11:30, Thurs 2:00 - 3:30. Or by Appointment. Room 142 Willamette Hall Phone: 541-346-4801, or ...6-4757 email: stanm@uoregon.edu |
Teaching Assistants: Richard Wagner richardw@uoregon.edu Office Hours: Room 231 Willamette Hall 12:00pm Monday and 5:00 pm Monday and Tuesday Charles Warren cwarren@uoregon.edu Peter Lindstrom peterl@uoregon.edu |
The specific goals of this class are to:
- To learn the basic laws of physics relating to electricity, magnetism and, if time allows, special relativity
- To develop a conceptual understanding of these physics principles
- To use the conceptual understanding, the basic laws and some simple mathematics to solve problems.
Textbook:
- "Physics, University of Oregon Custom Douglas Giancoli 6th Ed. : Edited by Richard Taylor and Stanley Micklavzina for The University of Oregon. In a collaboration with Prentice Hall, a reduced-cost customized version of this book that includes a Mastering Physics homework system access code is available at the Duckstore at a cost of $132.00. The Customized Edition versions of the book have identical content to a standard Giancoli 6th Edition, but the order and organization of the material is different, so it is highly suggested you purchase the customized textbook. We will be using Mastering Physics in all sections of PHYS 203. If you are sharing a book, or choose to use a book at the library, a seperate Mastering Physics code will cost $50.00 and can be purchsed online or at the information kiosk on the second floor of the Duckstore if you are unable to or strongly oppose purchasing materials online.
Other Helpful Books:
- Most any other basic physics text
Course Organization
- The lectures for this course will follow normal physics standards - lectures given via demos, overheads, and the blackboard.. Announcements, assignments, exam results will be posted on Blackboard and the website. Clickers are required for the Lecture Session. If you do not yet own a clicker, you can purchase an iClicker at the Bookstore. (Clickers are used for other courses and you can get a 50% recovery selling them back to the Bookstore at a later date.) Clicker Score is Extra Credit. You can earn up 10% of total exam points.
- We will be using an web based homework system call Mastering Physics.. You will submit most of your homework answsers via computer. This is to give quick feedback to homework questions. You will will be allowed 6 attempts to submit a correct assingment. (Homework can be saved. This would not count as a submission) THE DUE DATES ARE SET AND NO LATE HOMEWORK WILL BE GRADED. Note: the values for the problems in the web question will be different for each student. If you figure out how to solve the problem as a group, you will still have to calculate your values for your own answer. The WEB based homework frees up Teaching Assistant time for teaching you in office hours rather than grading. UTILIZE OFFICE HOURS FOR HELP IN THE COURSE AND HOMEWORK!
Campus Computing Lab Hours and Info is here if you do not have easy access to the computer network.The homework will help you keep pace with the course and the feedback will let you know how well you are doing.
The COURSE ID in Mastering Physics is: PHYS203SP2011SMICKTutorial attendence is required. Clickers will be used in both the tutorial and in lecture.
Office Hours:
Office hours are listed above. The TAs have extra office hours since Mastering Physics does the homework grading.
Grading:
| Grading Method |
| Mastering Physics HW: 25% |
| Tutorials: 10% |
| Exams 1 20%, Exam 2 20% |
| Final Exam 25% |
| Clicker Score Extra Credit. (Up to 10% of Exam Points) |
.
The homework due dates are posted in Mastering Physics. Exam dates are posted in the Schedule. The exam questions will test your knowledge of the material AND your ability to communicate clearly. The Final Exam will be comprehensive with a focus on the last third of the course.
Tutorials:
Additional to your three lectures, you are required to attend the tutorial session each week. Tutorials begin on Tuesday March 29. The tutorial sessions are held in Room 112 Willamette Hall. You must attend the tutorial session that you are registered for.
IMPORTANT:
- You should not miss any days of class. This course is extremely fast-paced, and missing one day will cause to to fall very far behind.
- You should not miss any exams. Exam dates are posted. Only an extraordinary verifiable excuse will be accepted for missing exams.
A few more notes, and some advice:
- Best use of the text and lectures can be made by reading the chapter assignments before lectures
- University courses, in general, require 2-3 hours/week of work outside the course for each hour spent in class.
- This means you should devote at least 10 hours/week working outside class to do well in this course!
- By devoting adequate time, managing your time effectively, and practicing good study/problem solving skills you should succeed in this course.