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1. The lecturer in charge of the course is Professor T. H. Keil (Office - Olin 120, email thkeil@wpi, phone 831-5419). Contact him with questions or comments about the course. Each student in the course will also have a Conference Instructor. The Conference Instructors are:
Professor Nancy Burnham (Sections C01 and C03)
Office Olin 219, email nab@wpi.edu, phone 831-5365
Professor Laurel Mayhew (Sections C04, C05, and C06)
Office Olin 205, email lmayhew@wpi.edu, phone 831-5047
Professor Thomas Keil (Section C02)
See above.
2. Four examinations are scheduled for the term:
Secs. 1-6
Jan. 26 (Wed.) 10:00-10:50 a. m.
Feb. 4 (Fri.) 10:00-10:50 a. m.
Feb. 18 (Fri.) 10:00-10:50 a. m.
Mar. 1 (Wed.) 10:00-10:50 a. m.
Please mark these dates on your calendar now! Occasionally students need to miss a scheduled exam. If you notify the course instructors at least 24 hours before the exam, there will be no penalty. Without 24 hours notification, the penalty will be 10% of the exam grade. For exceptional circumstances, the penalty will be waived.
3. Course evaluation: Your grade will be calculated as follows:
Examinations 70% Homework* 10% Laboratory** 10% Conference work*** 10%* A homework assignment will be due at each lecture, except for those lecture periods during which exams are scheduled. Specific assignments are in the Study Guides, and will be announced in lecture. Late homework will not be accepted.
** To be eligible for course credit, you MUST satisfy the lab requirement by attending the assigned laboratory meetings and submitting the requisite lab reports based on your own laboratory measurements. Lab guidelines are contained in a separate document available at the Bookstore.
*** Your final grade is determined by your conference instructor. He will describe the criteria you must meet to earn credit for conference work.
4. The syllabus details the topics and reading assignments. The syllabus is keyed to the objectives for the course (see separate document). Your performance will be measured by how well you satisfy the objectives. Experience shows that the best ways to master the objectives are to STAY UP-TO-DATE in the course, ATTEMPT ALL of the suggested problems, and SEEK HELP for those problems you cannot solve.
There are many different ways to get help, or to help yourself. As a rule, the more different techniques you employ, the more thoroughly you will learn your subject. We suggest the following resources.
1. Conference instructors. You meet in conference to discuss the physical significance of the material you have studied and to perfect your problem-solving skills. This is a chance to ask questions, explore dilemmas, discuss insights. Your conference instructor won't lecture at you unless you force him to. Your conference instructor will post office hours for outside of class assistance.
2. Study guides. Periodically we will hand out study guides that will include the objectives for the next portion of the course, study suggestions, homework assignments, and occasional comments. We suggest that you use a three-ring, or other, binder to keep the study guides and other handouts together in one place.
3. Help Sessions - Think MASH! The MASH program is now in its twelfth year and has been very valuable for the people who take advantage of the MASH help sessions (as indicated on course evaluation forms at the end of past courses). MASH schedules will be distributed near the beginning of the course.
4. PHYSICS CLINIC. Physics graduate students will be available a number of hours each week in Olin 118 to answer questions and to provide assistance. A schedule will be posted.
5. Other students. We're convinced that students often learn much more from each other than they do from faculty members. Study with friends. Review with each other. Work on problems together. HOWEVER, don't blindly copy someone's problem solution, because you don't learn much that way; do get help from each other when you need to learn how to set up a problem. Your objective should be to understand the problem, not merely to get a right answer. Some students spend hours batting their heads against a particular problem that they can't solve. That's not an efficient way to use your study time. After you've made an attempt (say, fifteen minutes or so), ask someone else if they've tried it. Try to figure out why you had trouble, and how you can avoid the trouble next time. If that doesn't help, write yourself a note to remind you to ask about it in conference, MASH, or the PHYSICS CLINIC.
6. email. Contact your instructors via email. email is often a quick way to get an answer to a question.
7. Handouts. The Syllabus, Study Guides, and other materials will be distributed in lecture. Extra copies are available in the gray magazine rack in the first floor hallway of Olin Hall (near Olin 117).
8. Course materials are also available on the WEB. Point your web browser to the URL http://www.wpi.edu/~thkeil/ph1110c00.html or go to the WPI Home Pages and follow the menus: Departments, Academics, Physics, Programs, Online Courses, then click on PH1110 CTerm, 2000.
9. Solutions. Solutions to suggested problems are available in a notebook in Olin 118, on reserve in the Gordon Library, and in the Student Government Office in Daniels. Homework solutions will be available (after the due dates) in the same locations. Solutions will also be available on the web pages for PH1110.
10. DON'T WAIT. Seven-week terms are very short. At almost any time of the day or night, someone is available who can help.
PH1110 Term C, 2000 Home Page
