Louisiana State
University
Physics
and Astronomy
Physics
2102, General Physics for Technical
Students, Spring 2007
Prerequisites
- This is the second semester of general physics for technical students. In order to enroll in Physics 2102 you must have earned credit for Phys 2101 and Math 1552. If you do not meet this requirement you must receive explicit, written approval from the Chairman of the Physics Department in order to remain in this class. Some University Colleges or Departments require their students to earn a grade of "C" or better in Phys 2102.
Syllabus:
- You can find a syllabus
in pdf-form here.
- A revised syllabus,
specifying our policy on excused absences on exams, can be found here.
What's new?
- Our final exam will be Thursday May 10, 3-5 pm. The test
will be held in rooms Lockett 9
(section 2, Dr.
Ahmad), Lockett 10 (section 1,
Dr. Ahmad), and Lockett 16
(sections 3 (Dr. Gaarde) and 4 (Dr. Dowling)). It is very important that you
bring picture ID to the
exam - you might have to hand in your test to a proctor who does
not know you from class.
- The final will have four
problems and four questions on the new material (chapters 33 through
36), and three problems and three questions on the old material
(chapters 21 through 32). There will be a total of 200 points on the
final.
- You can find the formula
sheet for the final here. (it might
change, but only slightly)
Reminder: IMPORTANT
CHANGES TO UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS:
- New F Grade policy starting Spring 2007: Beginning in the spring 2007
semester there will be a new policy in
place regarding repeating courses in which students have previously
earned two F's. In order for a student to repeat a course for a third
time, after having earned two F's in the course, students must obtain
special permission from their dean's office.
- New W Grade policy starting Fall 2006: This is a reminder to undergraduates that the new policy regarding the limit on the number of W grades undergraduates may receive went into effect in the fall 2006 semester. Based on the number of hours you have earned (not counting AP, advanced standing, or credit exams), you will be limited in the number of courses you may drop. You should also be able to determine via your PAWS account the number of W grades you are permitted. For more information and a list of FAQs see http://appl003.lsu.edu/slas/registrar.nsf/$Content/W+Grade+Policy?OpenDocument
We encourage you, if you are not sure if
you will
succeed in this course, to strongly consider dropping the course by
11:59 PM on
Tuesday Jan. 23. Also note that if this course is a co-requisite for
another course, such as a lab, you may have to drop that course as well.
Required
Textbook
The
textbook we are using is the 7th edition of Fundamentals
of Physics, (regular or extended edition) by Halliday, Resnick and
Walker. Physics 2101 (a
pre-requisite for this course) covered most of the first 20
chapters.
This semester we will cover most of chapters 21 through 36. Click
on the book cover image
to visit the publisher's student resource site, which you might find
useful.
The book should be stocked at the usual local bookstores, and is also
widely
available new and used at various bookstore websites. You are not
required to buy any other books, even though the bookstore sometimes
bundles
them together on the shelves.
The problems at the end of each chapter are the source material for
most of the
WebAssign homework problems. The checkpoints, sample
problems, and end-of-chapter
problems and questions are good places to spend exam study time.
Sections
All
lectures are held in 109
Nicholson.
|
Section
|
Days
and times |
Instructor
|
Office hours |
|
1 |
M W F 8:40-9:30 AM |
Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad |
MWF
11:30-12:30 |
|
2 |
M W F 10:40 AM-11:30 AM |
218B
Nicholson |
MWF 11:30-12:30 |
|
T Th 9:10 AM - 10:30 AM |
215B Nicholson 578-0889 |
M
12:30 pm - 2 pm Th
12:30 pm - 2 pm |
|
|
T Th 12:10 PM - 1:30 PM |
453 Nicholson 578-0887 |
MWF 2:30 - 3:30 pm
|
Lectures:
- We strongly encourage you
to attend the lectures - you are responsible for knowing both the
material presented in the text and
in the lectures. In the schedule which is linked below you can find the
detailed sections which will be covered in each class. You should read
the relevant material before coming
to class.
- Lecture
schedule : for sections 1 and 2. This is a preliminary schedule -
any changes will be announced in class and via email.
- Lecture
schedule : for sections 3 and 4.
This is a preliminary schedule - any changes will be announced in class
and via email.
Homework
- You
need to use WebAssign
to view and submit the homework assignments. This is a commercial
service. You can purchase a passcode that entitles you to service
in the Union Bookstore or you can pay on the WebAssign web site with a
credit card.
- Please
attend the first day of class to learn your username and password
from your instructor. If you miss this class meeting, you are
responsible for contacting your instructor to get this information
before the first assignment comes due.
- Although
each assignment has to be submitted by the date and time indicated, you
can print out and carefully work the problems before logging back in to
submit the answers. You are allowed 4 tries to get the
answers right, with no lasting penalties for incorrect answers in the
first three submissions.
- Homework
will usually be due at 2 AM Tuesday morning.
- Solutions
to homework assignments. We will post the
homework solutions shortly after they become due. You will need a
username and password to access the homework solutions. You can get
these from your instructor in class or during office hours. This
information cannot be sent by email.
Quizzes
- We
will have in-class quizzes several times per week, based on recent
concepts or homework assignments. The quizzes are meant
to help you understand the concepts on the course and you will be
allowed to work together on their solution.
Exams
- There
are three hour-long exams, from 6-7 PM (sharp) on Thursday
nights, February 8, March 8, and April 12 Please bring your student ID cards to the exam.
- There
will be review sessions on the Wednesday nights before the exams, February 7, March 7, and April 11.
- We will provide a formula sheet with each exam. They will be posted here when available.
- Other
than a formula sheet, you may use a calculator, a ruler and/or
protractor, and pens etc. No communication devices (cell phones, pagers
etc) may be in your possession during an exam. Posession of such
devices will be construed as intent to violate the Code of Student
Conduct provisions on academic dishonesty.
- Our
Final Exam is on Thursday, May 10, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM.
- If
you have a conflict between one of our group exams and another LSU
course meeting, you should contact your instructor at least a week
before the affected exam to make other arrangements.
- If
you have special requirements for taking exams (or other course-related
activities), please follow the procedures with the Office of Disability Services,
112 Johnston Hall, and bring documentation from that office to your
instructor a week before the affected activity.
- If
you have a conflict between our final exam and a final exam in another
LSU course, please contact your dean several weeks before the
exam, and then bring his or her decision to your instructor.
- Here
are some old
exams from 2102 as given in past semesters. Bear in mind
that the curriculum and schedule can change from semester to
semester. You can see a formula sheet here
(it might change very slightly).
Exam
solutions
- Test
1 solution can be found here.
- Test
2 solution can be found here.
- Test
3 solution can be found here.
Excused absences on
exams
- If
you are absent from one of the exams and you have a valid excuse (LSU
travel, illness with a note from doctor, etc - see general catalogue),
we will use your grade on the final as a substitute for your grade on
the affected exam (this means that the final will be worth 300 points
out of the total of 600 points). There
will be no make-up exams.
Grading
All exams will be hand graded by the
2102 instructors. Grades are assigned by your
section instructor.
Your numerical grade will be based on the following
formula:
Exam 1, Exam 2, Exam 3: 100 points
each.
Final Exam: 200 points.
Webassign homework (combined): 50 points
In-class quizzes: 50 points.
Total – 600
points.
Your final numerical grade average, NA, is 1/6 of the total of the
above, and
your letter grade will be at least the following:
|
A |
NA > 88 |
|
B |
88 > NA > 76 |
|
C |
76 > NA > 60 |
|
D |
60 > NA > 50 |
|
F |
50 > NA |
The lowest ONE homework
assignment will be dropped when calculating your grade, to acknowledge
that
life is complicated. Your in-class quiz score will be divided by 0.9
(so you can get more than 50 points for your quiz grade). Excuses
and deadline extensions will not be
accepted, as we plan to make solutions available shortly after each
assignment is due.
Finding
help
- This
is a hard course, and there is a lot of material to cover in a limited
time. To do well in the course, we advise that you plan to spend ~10
hours/week on a regular basis during the semester (roughly, 3 hours
outside class for each hour in class is a rule of thumb for all
courses). It is not easy to catch up if you fall behind, time is used
more efficiently if you keep up with the material, and leave the time
before the exam for review, rather than learning. Learn to recognize
your weak points early, so you can work on them before the exams!
- Although
every individual is different, we advice you find a study group, and
make sure you are able to explain the problems to your classmates: you
only know that you have learned when you can teach!
- You
should take advantage of the office hours provided by the instructor of
the course; you can also go to office hours of a different instructor
than your own, if it fits your schedule better.
- LSU
hires graduate students and advanced undergrads to provide tutoring
at a help desk. These tutors cannot give you the answers to
your homework, but should be able to point you in the right direction
and clarify the material. The times and tutor names are posted
on the door of Nicholson 102. Once the department has
updated its pages for the semester, you can also find the place,
tutor names and times here.
Acrobat
Reader Software
To view and print some of the
course-related files, you may need to download and install the Adobe
Acrobat
Reader on your computer. Public access computers in
the
libraries and labs should already have this working.
Questions
about the website? Contact Mette
Gaarde