University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Energy in Today’s World – PHYS 100
Spring 2015
___________________________________________________________________________________
Course Information

Course title: Energy in Today’s World

Course number: PHYS 100

Instructor: Maryam Farzaneh

Contact: B105 Science Building, x--2423, mfarzane@uwsp.edu

Office hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 10:00-11:00 am
Wednesday: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Otherwise, I have an open door policy. Please stop by as often as you wish or make an
appointment by emailing me.

Class times
- Lecture (SCI-A107): Tuesdays & Thursdays 12:00 – 12:50 pm
- Laboratory (SCI-B112):
Section 1: Wednesday
Section 2: Wednesday
8:00 – 9:50 am
10:00 – 11:50 am
Course Description
This course is designed to introduce you to basic concepts of energy. You will be introduced to different
types of energy, their sources, and how to measure energy consumption and transformation. We will
explore fossil fuel energy and its effects on global climate change and air pollution. We will also explore
the role of conservation, research and development in creating alternative sources of energy such as solar,
wind, geothermal and biomass energies.
Course Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
Understand the fundamental concepts of the physics of energy.
Use algebra and graphs to explain measurements and make predictions.
Understand the issues surrounding energy production, storage and use.
Explore ways you can personally change your energy footprint.
Required Material

Textbook: Energy: Its use and the environment, Hinrichs and Kleinbach, 5th edition,
Brooks/Cole, ISBN 978-1-111-99083-1 (Available at Text Rental)

PHYS100 Lab Manual: Available at Text Rental.

Calculator: Please have a scientific calculator handy. A cell phone is not a scientific calculator.

Clickers: You will use clickers in lecture to answer in-class questions. You are required to lease
a clicker for $8 for the semester. This semester lease fee will be automatically added to your
UWSP student bill. You will need your UWSP Student ID to lease a clicker.

Clicker checkout:
Tuesday, January 20 through Friday, February 6 (first two weeks of the semester): Room
206 of the Learning Resource Center (LRC), 8:15 am - 4:15 pm.
Monday February 9 and afterwards: IT Help Desk, room 027 of the LRC (basement of
the library).
Important: Your clicker may be used in any class that requires clickers for the semester.
Returning clickers: Clickers must be returned before the end of finals. Students with unreturned
clickers will be billed a late fee and/or may be billed the replacement cost of the clicker.
Homework
You will have two homework sets per week. Homework problems are to be answered online and will be
posted on D2L right after the lectures. Homework assignments will (typically) be due every Tue and
Thu by 12:00 noon (right before the lecture) and will count for 20% of your grade. I will drop your
lowest homework score when calculating your grade.
Lecture participation
I strongly encourage you to attend all the lectures and take detailed notes. Sometimes the lecture covers
more material than you might find in your textbook. If PowerPoint slides are used during the lecture, I
will post them on D2L right after the class. There will occasionally be in-class written quizzes and we
will also use clickers to answer multiple choice questions during most of the lectures. Entering a response
for in-class clicker questions would go toward your participation grade which will count for 10% of your
grade.
Exams
There will be three midterm exams during the semester, not counting your final exam. These exams will
be held during lecture and will be one hour long (please see the course schedule for exam dates). Each
midterm counts for 10% of your grade. The final exam is tentatively cumulative and scheduled for
Thursday, May 14, 12:30 am – 2:30 pm. It counts for 20% of your grade. Overall, your exams
comprise 50% of your grade.
Laboratory
Once a week, you will work in groups of three or four and carry on experiments which are designed to
enhance your understanding of the concepts and topics learned in class. You should expect to be actively
involved in all aspects of the experiment. The lab write-up (usually one per each group) is due at the
end of the lab period. The lab will count for 20% of your course grade. I will drop your lowest lab score
when calculating your grades.
Important note: Since this course satisfies a lab requirement, it is necessary to pass the lab
portion alone in order to pass the course. In other words, if your lab average is below 60% you
fail the course regardless of your homework and exam averages.
General Course Policies

Disability services
Any student who has a disability and is in need of classroom and/or exam accommodations,
please contact the instructor and the Disability& Assistive Technology Center (715-346-3365).

Academic misconduct
As a student at UWSP, I expect you to be familiar with the following document:
http://www3.uwsp.edu/stuaffairs/Documents/RightsRespons/SRR-2010/rightsChap14.pdf,
especially Section 14.03. Simply put, do not copy each other’s homework, lab reports and exams
and pass them off as your own. Any confirmed incidence of academic misconduct, including
plagiarism and other forms of cheating will be treated seriously and in accordance with
University policy.
 Food and drinks are absolutely not permitted in the laboratory. No exceptions.
 Texting and use of cell phone are not allowed in the classrooms and in the laboratory,
except in case of an emergency.
 You can only make up labs if you attend another section of the lab. Please make sure to notify
me of the section switch in advance.
 Make-up exams will only be offered in case of an excused absence (please see below).
 Make-up work will only be accepted in the case of excused absences. Excused absences include
death in the immediate family, illness with a note from the appropriate health care professional,
religious observance, an event in which you officially represent the University of WisconsinStevens Point and the event directly conflicts with an exam or lab. Excused absences must be
approved with documenting materials prior to the date of absence.
 I will drop the lowest homework score and the lowest lab score. All the exams count. If you miss
any exam, you will receive a zero for that exam.
 The schedule for the finals is set by the University. I will not schedule an early final exam for
whatever reason.
 I do not assign work for extra credit. There are no bonus points that you can earn.
 Once you hand in your final exam, there is nothing more you can do to change your grade.
Grading and Evaluation
I will calculate your grade based on a weighted percentage of your scores as follows:
Homework
In-class work
Laboratory
Exams (3 midterms, 10% each)
Final exam
20%
10%
20%
30%
20%
Your final grades will be determined as follows:
93% and above
90--92%
A
A-
87--89%
83--86%
80--82%
B+
B
B-
77--79%
73--76%
70--72%
C+
C
C-
67--69%
60--66%
below 60%
D+
D
F
Please note that I do not grade on a curve. Grades will be rounded up. For example, 86.6% will
become a B+, but 86.3 will remain a B. A score of 86.5 will be rounded to 86 not 87.
Tentative Course Schedule
The tentative course schedule is as follows. This might change and I will try my best to announce any changes
beforehand.
Week
Chapter and Topic
Lab
Introduction, Unit Conversion
(1): Jan 19
Introduction, math review
2: Energy transformation ,Work
2: Mechanical Energy, Power
(2): Jan 26
Linear Data Analysis
3: Conservation of Energy
4: Temperature and Heat, Specific heat
(3): Feb 2
Conservation of energy
4: Laws of thermodynamics, Heat engines
10: Electric charges, electrostatics
(4): Feb 9
Exam Review
EXAM 1 (Thu, Feb 12) : Chapters 2, 3, 4
10: Electrical energy, voltage
(5): Feb 16
Specific Heat
10: Ohm’s law, Electric circuits
10: Power, cost of electricity
(6): Feb 23
Electric Circuits
11: Magnetism, Oersted’s Law
11: Faraday’s Law, generators
(7): March 2
Electric Generator
11: Lenz’s Law
11: Electric power generation and distribution
(8): March 9
Exam Review
EXAM 2 (Thu, March 12) : Chapters 10, 11
March 16
SPRING BREAK (NO CLASS)
NO LAB
13: The nucleus, radioactive decay
(9): March 23
Radioactive Decay
14: Nuclear fission, Radioactive waste
7: Energy from fossil fuels
(10): March 30
Electrical Water Heater
9: Greenhouse effect, global warming
8: Air Pollution
(11): April 6
Solar Water Heater
6: Solar thermal energy
6, 12: Solar photovoltaic energy
(12): April 13
Exam Review
EXAM 3 (Thu, April 16): Chapters 6,7,8,9, 12, 14
12: Wind energy
(13): April 20
Photovoltaics
17: Biomass energy
18: Geothermal energy
(14): April 27
Automobile Efficiency
16: Nuclear fusion
10: Fuel cells
Final Exam Review
(15): May 4
10: Hydrogen economy
Final Exam: Thursday, May 14
(16)
12:30 am – 2:30 pm