General Physics I, PHYS-UA 11 Fall 2017 Skirball Theatre Tuesday, Thursday Department of Physics 9:30 10:45 A.M. Professor Andre Adler Office: 726 Broadway, Room 832 Course Description This course begins a two-semester introduction to physics intended primarily for pre-professional students and for those majoring in a science other than physics. Topics include kinematics and dynamics of particles; momentum, work, and energy; gravitation; circular, angular, and harmonic motion; mechanical properties of solids, liquids, and gases; transverse and longitudinal waves and sound. We will explore Newton s laws of motion, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy. Mathematical Background Students who have high school algebra, geometry, and trigonometry at their fingertips, and have had, or are taking calculus. Calculus will be used in class but sparingly on exams. Algebra, geometry, vector addition, vector multiplication, and trigonometry are essential. If some time has elapsed since your last math course, or you feel a lack of confidence in this area, you are strongly urged to study math intensively before we get too deeply into the physics course. Problem-solving in the course involves both quantitative and conceptual reasoning. Required Materials The use of educational technology in General Physics is extensive. Three elearning tools are used in General Physics. 1. Perusall, to provide you with a first exposure to the material so we can spend more class time doing activities that help you better understand the concepts. You are required to read assigned sections of the text before each class. Enter your questions, comments and/or responses to others questions and comments. 2. Modified MasteringPhysics for University Physics without etext - MasteringPhysics provides homework problems, the majority are conceptually based. The system provides feedback - either in the forms of hints or comments when an incorrect response is submitted, or in the way of an explanation as to why an answer is correct, providing insights you may use to build your intuition. 3. Learning Catalytics an electronic response system delivers questions to you during class to work on in the lecture hall. You are encouraged to work with students sitting around you, discussing each problem. You can also use it to submit questions to your instructor during class. All assignments on MasteringPhysics, Perusall and Learning Catalytics are computer-graded. Please bring your laptop or tablet to every class. Smartphones should also be compatible with the system. 4. Laboratory Experiment Descriptions can be found by going to http://physics.nyu.edu/~physlab/genphysi_physii/allgenphys1.html. Acquiring Required Materials for General Physics I and II (Phys-UA 11 and Phys UA-12) A. Perusall 1. Go to perusall.com and click Login. Either log in using Facebook, Google, or Twitter, or create an account using your email address. 2. Select "I am a student" and enter the course code ADLER-1317. - 1 -
3. When you are ready to purchase the book, click on the book on the left panel. Make sure you select perpetual access so that you have access for both semesters this year. 4. Note that an access code for Perusall can also be purchased at the NYU Bookstore. 5. Once registered for Perusall you will see a copy of the course text, Fundamentals of Physics, 10 th Edition, by Halliday, Resnick and Walker. Only the excerpts in the Assignment section are to be annotated. There will be a Perusall assignment due, deadline at 9:00 AM, the morning of each class. Most weeks (exceptions include the week of Thanksgiving) there will be two Perusall assignments. B. Cloud-based Homework System: Modified MasteringPhysics without etext. Proceed to www.modifiedmastering.com or www.pearsonmastering.com and purchase an access code. When doing so choose Student Access for Modified MasteringPhysics for Young/Freedman, University Physics w/ Modern Physics, 14e and choose the option that DOES NOT include the etext. Despite the name of what you are purchasing, we are NOT using the text by Young and Freedman. Access homework by going to www.modifiedmastering.com. The mastering course ID for the Fall 2017 semester of General Physics I is in a document posted to the General Physics I NYU Classes site. You will not be able to access homework without this course ID. Important: When you register for Mastering, 1. enter your netid when you are prompted to enter a Student ID and 2. enter your NYU email address. C. Learning Catalytics When you access LC directly the first time through Modified Mastering, if you have purchased Modified MasteringPhysics without etext, LC will know to prompt you to buy access under the same account. After you arrive in the classroom, log onto www.modifiedmastering.com and click on the Learning Catalytics button. Once completed, you can join the running session for that morning s class. It includes a messaging system that allows you to send questions to the instructor during class time. Please be aware that if you send a question to the instructor during class time, Learning Catalytics does identify the sender to the instructor the messages are not anonymous. Laboratory Sessions You will attend laboratory weekly; laboratory sessions will be held in Rooms 222 or 224 of Meyer Hall. The schedule of labs is on the last page. The laboratory grade will be based on an average over all labs, but the lowest lab grade will be dropped before the average is calculated. Lab experiment descriptions must be read before attending each experiment. It is important to bring a calculator and your laboratory experiment description to the laboratory sessions. Your laboratory instructor will provide more information regarding the policy for handing in lab reports. Textbook Problem Sets Weekly assignments of problems from the end of the chapters will be posted to the Assignments section of NYU Classes. These problems will not be collected for grading. If you are very comfortable with the material you can treat them as optional; otherwise it is advised that you do these problems, both to get a better understanding of the underlying concepts and quantitative applications and to prepare for the examinations. Answers to these problems will be posted to NYU Classes; you will find them in the Resources folder.
Exam Schedule, Assessment Weightings and Letter Grade There will be two examinations during the semester and one cumulative final examination. All examinations are in multiple-choice format. Both quantitative and conceptual questions will appear on the examinations, as this reflects the content of the course. A formula sheet will be provided with the exam. You will need to bring a calculator to all exams. Exam answer sheets must be filled out using a black pen or a number 2 pencil. Sharing calculators with other students during examinations is not allowed. You may not use a cell-phone, or any other communication device, during the exams. Exams will be based on the homework, readings, and lectures. The best way to prepare for the exams is to review the MasteringPhysics assignments, Learning Catalytics class sessions, assigned readings and textbook problem sets. Assessment Percentage # Dropped Perusall assignments 6% 5 Lowest Learning Catalytics assignments 7% 5 Lowest MasteringPhysics assignments 7% Lowest Lab 20% Lowest Exam 1 Friday, October 27; 2:00 to 3:50 pm 15% Exam 2 Friday, December 8; 2:00 to 3:50 pm 15% No Exams Dropped Final Exam (Cumulative) December 22-12:00 to 1:50 pm 30% Exams will consist of 20 questions each. Location to be announced. No alternative examination dates (i.e. no make-up dates) will be offered during the semester. Any missed exam that needs to be made up, will be done during the semester the course next runs (Summer or Fall). Exam Replacement Policy The grade on the final exam will replace the lowest of the two scores earned on earlier exams, provided that your final exam score is higher (on a percentage basis). In other words, your lowest midterm score will become equal to your final exam score provided that your final is higher. This policy only applies to exams taken, not missed exams. Your total numerical score, calculated from the components listed above, correspond to the following letter grades: If your total percent score is at least: 90 86 82 72 67 62 50 45 40 Below 40 then you will receive a grade no lower than: A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D F 1. There are no curves in this course. The scale is fixed. 2. Lab grades will not be altered to fit a common average or standard deviation. 3. If everyone gets the minimum 90 for a total score, then the entire class will get an A. 4. Scores will be rounded at the end of the semester. Policies A. Learning Catalytics Policies 1. Questions are chosen under the assumption you have read the assigned sections before attending the class devoted to those sections. 2. Questions are scored based on participation, not correctness. 3. The lowest 5 Learning Catalytics scores will dropped. There are 27 class periods, so 22 session scores will be used in calculating your total score. - 3 -
4. If you experience wireless connection issues, or miss class due to any reason, the above policy means that score becomes one of the 5 dropped. 5. If you believe your absence or connectivity issue should be excused and not count as one of the 5 dropped scores, see Prof. Adler in his office within 7 days of the class. Otherwise the session score will be counted, and be eligible to be dropped under the drop policy regarding the 5 lowest scores. B. MasteringPhysics Policies 1. Weekly MasteringPhysics homework will have a deadline of Sunday nights at 11:59 pm. 2. Grading Policy - see the grading policy for each assignment on MasteringPhysics. 3. Late Policy - once the deadline has passed scores will be reduced by 1% for up to each hour late, but never more than 50%. 4. If you wish to request an extension on a MasteringPhysics homework assignment see Dr. Adler in his office within 7 days of the deadline for the assignment. Complete the assignment first, before making the request. If the request is granted, the late penalty will be removed. C. Perusall Policies 1. The lowest 5 Perusall scores will dropped. There are 27 class periods, so 22 session scores will be used in calculating your total score. 2. If you believe your failure to meet a deadline for a Perusall assignment should be excused and not count as one of the 5 dropped scores, see Dr. Adler in his office within 7 days of the deadline. Otherwise the Perusall score will be eligible to be dropped under the drop policy regarding the 5 lowest scores. 3. Late Policy there is a late annotation period of 1 week for each assignment; you can submit comments for partial credit for this long after the deadline. Credit declines linearly; comments earn full credit at the deadline and no credit by the end of this late annotation period. No request for an extension of or excusing from an assignment received via email will be granted. D. Laboratory Policies 1. To get a grade, a lab report must be submitted. It s not enough to just do the experiment. 2. A lab report cannot be submitted for an experiment if you were absent from the lab session; in other words, you cannot take someone else s data and submit a lab report for an experiment you never did. 3. Any lab missed without a doctor s note or prior arrangement with the instructor counts as a zero. 4. There are no make-up sessions for missed laboratories. 5. You may not attend a laboratory section you are not registered for. 6. If you miss more than two lab experiments or fail to hand in more than two reports, your grade for the course will be an F or an I (assuming you are passing the other components of the course and that you provide medical documentation to explain your absence). To make up the lab requirement, you will have to complete the entire set of labs, not just the ones you missed. This can be done in the following summer session or in the next academic year, space permitting. E. Missed Exam Policy 1. If you are excused from one of the midterm exams, due to a documented medical or other reason, the other two exams and the final exam will count for more, and a letter grade assigned at the end of the semester. An incomplete will not be assigned. 2. If you are ill and cannot appear, you must produce verifiable documentation from a physician,
with physician s letterhead, that explaining that you were too ill to attend the examination. 3. Students who are absent from a test during the semester without an excuse will receive a grade of zero on that test. 4. The exam replacement policy (see earlier in the syllabus) only applies to missed exams for which the absence is excused. 5. Missing more than one of the midterm exams will result in an incomplete (I) being assigned; one of the missed exams will have to be taken the next time the course is offered, either in summer 2018 during summer session I, or during the Fall 2018 semester. You will be taking the exam on one of the dates assigned for exams during that semester. F. Missed Final Exam Policy 1. If you miss the final exam and you provide acceptable documentation, your grade will be an incomplete (I). 2. You are then required to take the final examination the next time the course is given, either in summer 2018 during summer session I, or during the Fall 2018 semester. You will be taking the exam on one of the dates assigned for exams during that semester. 3. If you miss an exam due to medical reasons, give your medical documentation to the professor in person. Please do not send it to the professor via email. It will not get you excused from the exam. Optional Help 1. Free physics review sessions by upper-level undergraduate physics majors in the Physics Department, 726 Broadway, Room 1025. The sessions run Monday through Friday, at many different times during the day. Sessions begin the second week of class and a schedule will be posted to NYU Classes the first week of classes. The physics majors will be able to help you with the course concepts, readings and problems. This is a great place to go for help. You can go to as many sessions as you wish. Ideally, you should go on a weekly basis and prepare questions in advance. physics.as.nyu.edu/object/physics.ug.tutoring 2. Free peer tutoring, Study Slams, group reviews, workshops, and more!! University Learning Center www.nyu.edu/ulc ULC@Academic Resource Center, 18 Washington Place, Lower Level ULC@UHall, 110 East 14th Street, top of stairs by UHall Commons Achieve Excellence! - 5 -
Schedule of Class Topics / Readings (sections you are responsible for will be found on Perusall) Exam Dates: 10/27 (2:00 3:50 PM), 12/8 (2:00 3:50 PM), 12/22 (12:00 1:50 PM) Date Lecture Topic Ch. Weekly Laboratory T Sep 5 Motion Along a Straight Line 2 No Labs (all week) R Sep 7 Motion Along a Straight Line 2 T Sep 12 Vectors 3 1. Motion 1 R Sep 14 Motion in Two and Three Dimensions 4 T Sep 19 Motion in Two and Three Dimensions 4 2. Motion 2 R Sep 21 Force and Motion - I 5 T Sep 26 Force and Motion I / Force and Motion - II 5 / 6 3. Equilibrium of a Particle R Sep 28 Force and Motion - II 6 T Oct 3 Kinetic Energy and Work 7 4. Newton s Second Law R Oct 5 Kinetic Energy and Work 7 T Oct 10 Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy 8 No Labs (all week) R Oct 12 Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy 8 T Oct 17 Center of Mass and Linear Momentum 9 5. Centripetal Force R Oct 19 Center of Mass and Linear Momentum 9 T Oct 24 Rotation 10 6. Conservation of Energy R Oct 26 Rotation 10 T Oct 31 Equilibrium and Elasticity 12 7. Work-Energy R Nov 2 Equilibrium and Elasticity 12 T Nov 7 Gravitation 13 8. Collisions in One Dimension R Nov 9 Fluids 14 T Nov 14 Fluids 14 9. Ballistic Pendulum R Nov 16 Oscillations 15 T Nov 21 Oscillations 15 No Labs (all week) R Nov 23 No Class T Nov 28 Waves I 16 10. The Human Arm R Nov 30 Waves I 16 T Dec 5 Waves I / Waves II 16 / 17 11. Oscillations of a String R Dec 7 Waves II 17 T Dec 12 No General Physics Class Meeting Classes Meet on Monday Schedule R Dec 14 Waves II 17