PH 111X, Studio Physics -- Mechanics

This is the introductory course in Newtonian mechanics.  Minimum recommended background: concurrent study of MA 1021.  Topics include: kinematics of motion, vectors, Newton's laws, friction, work-energy, impulse-momentum, for both translational and rotational motion.  We meet in OH 117 on TF from 9-10:50 and W in OH 126 from 9:00-9:50.  Instructor:  Professor NA Burnham, nab@wpi.edu. 

If you pass this course, you will be credited with the work for PH 1110.  This version, PH 111X, is a "studio" version, in which lectures are replaced by online assignments, and the contact hours are devoted to any necessary mini-lectures, problem-solving, and lab activities (4 hrs/wk), as well as quizzes or review sessions and exams (1 hr/wk).

Textbook and on-line homework access

The textbook is Young and Freedman's "University Physics," 14th edition [1].  While it is not necessary to have your own printed copy, access to it in some form is highly recommended.  You must have a Mastering Physics account [2], associated with University Physics, in order to do the homework and prepwork, worth 32% of your final grade. 

1.https://www.pearsonhighered.com/program/Young-University-Physics-with-Modern-Physics-Plus-Mastering-Physics-with-e-Text-Access-Card-Package-14th-Edition/PGM76533.html
2. http://www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com/northamerica/masteringphysics/

Final grade determination

Percent
 Activity
60 %
 Six quizzes.  10 % penalty for make-ups.
20 %
 Mastering Physics homework, course ID:  PH111XSTUDIOPHYSICSC17, due before the next studio session at 8:30 AM.  Two lowest scores dropped; late work will not accepted for points.
12 %
 Mastering Physics prepwork, same course ID as above, due the night before a studio session at 11:58 PM.  These are easy points, and they were given a generous portion of the final grade to encourage you to be ready for our sessions.  Late work will not accepted for points.
6 %
 Worksheets, as follow-ups to the in-class lab-oriented activities.  Submission in the evenings through Canvas at 11:58 PM a day or two after a session.  Lowest two scores dropped.  Make-ups are not possible.
2 %
 Clicker score.  During a session, with your clicker that will be loaned to you, you earn one point for answering a question and two points for answering correctly. Failure to return your clicker at the end of the term results in a $75 charge to your account. Make-ups are not possible.

If your final numerical grade lies on the border line between two letter grades, then your class participation will determine which letter grade you shall receive.

Calendar

Week of Sunday
 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
8.January.2016
What's due 
Today's topic
Sections in book
 		 
--


 PW1
Intro
1.1-1.6
15.January WS1
 HW1
MLK Day

 		PW2
Kinematics I
2.1-2.6
 WS2
Vectors
1.7-1.9
 HW2


 PW3
Kinematics II
3.1-3.5
22.January
 WS3
 HW3


 PW4
Dynamics I
4.1-4.6
 WS4
Quiz 1

 HW4


 PW5
Dynamics II
5.1-5.5
29.January
 WS5
 HW5


 PW6
Energy I
6.1-6.4
 WS6
Quiz 2

 HW6


 PW7
Energy II
7.1-7.5
5.February
 WS7
 PW8


 HW7
Momentum I
8.1-8.2
 WS8
Quiz 3

 PW9


 HW8
Momentum II
8.3-8.4
12.February WS9
 PW10


 HW9
Torque
10.1, 11.1-11.3
 WS10
Quiz 4

 PW11
Advising Day

 HW10
Rotational kinematics
9.1-9.4
19.February
 WS11
 PW12


 HW11
Rotational dynamics
10.2-10.4
 WS12
Quiz 5

 PW13


 HW12
Angular momentum
10.5-10.6
26.February
 WS13
 PW14

 HW13
Review
 --
Quiz 6
 --

 --
"Monday"

Communication and office hours

My office is OH 219.  I am sometimes in my lab, OH 009, in the Physics Library, OH 118, or in the department office, OH 119.  My mailbox is between the doors of OH 118 and 119.  Email nab@wpi.edu (checked twice daily), web www.wpi.edu/~nab, office phone with voice mail (508) 831-5365; fax (508) 831-5886; my basic weekly schedule, with office hours, is posted at www.wpi.edu/~nab/Sched.html.  Please put "PH 111X" in the subject line of your emails for a faster response.  The web address for this page is www.wpi.edu/~nab/PH11X.C17.html.  My research is described at www.wpi.edu/+AFM and at links therein.

Help

There is often a physics graduate student in the physics library, OH 118.  He or she sits near the sign labeled "Physics Help".  There should be a schedule posted on the library door and online under the Student Resources area of the Physics Department's website.

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability or if you have medical information to share with me, please see me.  Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Disability Services Office (DSO) as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.  The DSO is located in Daniels Hall, (508) 831-5235.

Academic dishonesty

Individual integrity is vital to the academic environment because education involves the search for and acquisition of knowledge and understanding, which are, in themselves, intangible.  Evaluation of each student’s level of knowledge and understanding is a vital part of the teaching process, and requires tangible measures such as reports, examinations, and homework.  Any act that interferes with the process of evaluation by misrepresentation of the relation between the work being evaluated (or the resulting evaluation) and the student’s actual state of knowledge is an act of academic dishonesty.  The moral equivalent of academic dishonesty in larger society is treason.

In Studio Physics -- Mechanics, you are encouraged to collaborate on the homework, although you must submit the homework yourself.  Lab data must be collected by you and your partner(s), if your partner is present.  However, individual questions must be answered individually.  During an exam, you may have only the exam, a calculator, and writing implements on your desk; no telephones or other communication devices are allowed.  You may not give or receive information during exams, except to ask the instructor to clarify a question.

Educational research has shown that:

  1. The most learning occurs in an environment characterized by high expectations and respect and care for individual students, and where the value of collaboration is stressed over competition.
  2. The most learning occurs in an active classroom environment where students take responsibility for learning rather than being passive receptors of the professor’s knowledge.
  3. Students can learn as effectively or more effectively from peers than from a professor.
  4. Facilitating development of students’ communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills is as important as helping them learn physics.
  5. Professors and students are equals in the learning process. I have as much to learn about teaching and people as they have to learn about physics.
Above three sections adapted from: Disability Services Office, Dean of Students Office, Prof. Phillies, Prof. Demetry.
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N.A. Burnham, February 2016