Physics 142

Classical Physics Honors II

Spring 2008

 

Lecture: MWF 11:45-12:40 in Physics P-124

Recitation: Th 2:20-3:15 in Physics P-124

Lab: Th 3:20-5:20 in Physics A-116

 

 

Course Schedule

Instructor:  Prof. Adam Durst, Physics B-139, 631-632-8132, adam.durst@stonybrook.edu

Laboratory Teaching Assistant: Liusuo Wu, Physics C-118, 631-897-8715, liusuowu@gmail.com, Helproom Hours: MW 8:30-9:30am

Office Hours: W 2-4pm.  Please feel free to come at these times or email me to make an appointment for another time.

Lectures:  MWF 11:45-12:40, P-124.  Attendance at the lecture is required.  Every student is responsible for knowing information - both physics and course related announcements - that is provided during lectures. It has been consistently true that students who attend lecture regularly perform better on examinations and enjoy the overall course experience more than those who do not.

Personal Response System:  This semester we will be using the Personal Response System (PRS) in the lectures.  You must purchase one of these devices (clickers) in the bookstore, then go to www.einstruction.com to register it and enroll in this course. On the web site, after choosing Stony Brook as your university, enter the serial number of your RF pad (found inside under the battery or on a sticker), and then join this class with key: G37717N332  Bring the enabled clicker to the next class. 

Recitation-Problem solving session:   Recitation will be held from 2:20-3:15pm on Thursday afternoons in P-124.  You will work in groups of 3, assigned by me, to solve a group problem and turn in your answers by the end of the session.  The group’s grade will be applied to everyone in the group, and will account for 10% of the total grade in the course.

Laboratory:  Most, but not every week, you will conduct a laboratory experiment in room A-116 of the Physics Building.  The lab period will immediately follow the recitation.  The schedule for these labs is shown in the course schedule (above).  You should come to the lab equipped with the laboratory manual, a lab notebook which includes graph paper (such as the ``Engineering and Science'' notebook available in the campus bookstore), and a pocket calculator. The final laboratory week is ``make-up'' week during which you may perform any one laboratory experiment which was missed during an excused absence.

Laboratory Manual:  Instructions for all the labs are available here: PHY142_lab_manual.pdf.  You should download it and either save it or print it out all at once.

Textbook:  Essential University Physics, Wolfson, 2007 Addison Wesley.

Mastering Physics:  We will use Mastering Physics, a web-based tutorial and homework system for this course.  If you purchase the textbook, access codes for Mastering Physics are included in the purchase price of the textbook.  If you do not purchase the textbook, then you must purchase the access codes separately to enroll in this course.  Once you have the access codes, go to: www.masteringphysics.com  and click on the link for Wolfson.  On the next page, click on REGISTER, and use your access code and the course code: DURSTPHY142SPR08

Examinations: There will be two mid-term exams during the semester. These will occur during the normal recitation time and place on Thursday Mar 6 and Thursday Apr 17 (these dates are tentative and might change).  Absences from these exams will be excused by the course director only for certified illness or emergency.  Make-up exams will be arranged only for those who are excused from the regular exams.  There will be a 2.5-hour final exam on Monday May 19 from 11:00am-1:30pm. Information about the style of the examinations and what is to be covered on them will be provided during scheduled lectures.

Final Course Grade: Your grade will be assigned by the course staff within course-wide guidelines. The guidelines will be established by assigning weights to various components of the course as follows:

Activity

%

Midterm I

15 %

Midterm II

15 %

Final exam

25 %

Laboratory

15 %

Problem solving sessions

10 %

PRS

10 %

Mastering Physics

10 %

Exams will be graded by the instructor. If you believe that the grading of your exam needs reconsideration, bring the exam and a brief written statement of your grievance to the course instructor within one week after the exam is returned to you.

The laboratory portion of the course is mandatory. If a student completes fewer than 6 of the 9 assigned laboratory experiments, the student will automatically receive a failing grade for the course.

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgments:  I wish to acknowledge that some of the material used in this course has been obtained from the MIT Open Courseware website, course 8.02T by John Belcher, Peter Dourmashkin, and Sen-Ben Liao.  Additional materials have been inherited from Prof. Gene Sprouse.

Americans with Disabilities Act:  If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact your course work, please contact Disability Support Services, ECC (Educational Communications Center) Building, room128, (631) 632-6748. They will determine with you what accommodations, if any, are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential.

 

Academic Integrity:  Each student must pursue his or her academic goals honestly and be personally accountable for all submitted work. Representing another person's work as your own is always wrong. Faculty are required to report any suspected instances of academic dishonesty to the Academic Judiciary.  Faculty in the Health Sciences Center (School of Health Technology & Management, Nursing, Social Welfare, Dental Medicine) and School of Medicine are required to follow their school-specific procedures.  For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including categories of academic dishonesty, please refer to the academic judiciary website at http://www.stonybrook.edu/uaa/academicjudiciary/

 

Critical Incident Management:  Stony Brook University expects students to respect the rights, privileges, and property of other people. Faculty are required to report to the Office of Judicial Affairs any disruptive behavior that interrupts their ability to teach, compromises the safety of the learning environment, or inhibits students' ability to learn.  Faculty in the HSC Schools and the School of Medicine are required to follow their school-specific procedures.