PHYSICS 1D3 - MECHANICS
Dr. N. McKay, Sections C01 and C02
Office: ABB-261
e-mail: mckay@physics.mcmaster.ca
Office Hours: to be posted with the lecture notes
Course web page (all sections):
www.physics.mcmaster.ca/PHYS1D03
Avenue to Learn: avenue.mcmaster.ca
Check frequently! I will be posting news, lecture
notes, timetables, tests from previous years, and
other information.
-Lectures: 3 each week. A few “iclicker” quizzes each
lecture. Up to 5% of the final grade*
-Labs: approximately every second week, 4 labs in the
term. 15% of the final grade.
-CAPA assignments, every week.
3% of the final grade.
-Tutorials: approximately every second week,
alternating with labs. 6% of the final grade.
-Two term tests. 20% of the final grade.
-Final exam, 3 hours. Up to 56% of the final grade*
*clicker marks:
Up to two points each lecture; one for answering all or
most of the quizzes, one for getting at least half of the
answers correct. Point scores from the best 85% of
the lectures are used to get a mark out of 5.
The 56% weight of your final exam will be reduced by
1% for each clicker mark, and your clicker mark is
then added to your weighted exam, to get a combined
mark out of 56.
Example: 60% on your exam, 3/5 for clicker:
Mark is (0.53*60)+3=34.8 out of 56 (or 62%)
“Avenue to Learn”
Login page: http://avenue.mcmaster.ca/
-links to lecture slides
-sample tests and exams
-term marks and lecture, lab section
-test dates, times, other information when it becomes
available
Start trying now to log in! If you have a problem, it may
require a few days to get it fixed by UTS.
Labs
• Labs and tutorials begin Monday Sep. 15. Read the
schedule for your lab/tutorial section.
• Before each lab, read the section in the lab manual, and
complete the pre-lab assignment, to hand in on
entering the lab. This encourages you to prepare well.
• Students work in pairs. The report is completed during
the lab period and handed in before leaving (one report
per pair). Bringing any completed report into the lab room
(including on your phone) is academic dishonesty.
• A make-up week is provided at the end of term.
Homework Using LON-CAPA
• One problem assignment each week. Answers are entered into the
computer. The system tells you immediately whether the answer is
correct, and allows you to try again.
•The LON-CAPA assignments are an essential part of understanding
the material. Although they count for only a few marks, you should
expect to spend a lot of time on them; the reward will come on the
tests and exam.
•There is a practice assignment which doesn’t count. Enter bad
answers deliberately (wrong units, too many digits, wrong numbers)
to see how it will respond.
•Read the LON-CAPA instructions! There is a link on Avenue
and on the LON-CAPA page.
Using LON-CAPA
To get started:
From Avenue, read How to Use LON-CAPA.
Common difficulties
-significant figures
-how do I enter degrees?
-it won’t recognise the units
-LONCAPA made an error
Solution
read the instructions
read the instructions
read the instructions
use helpdesk button
Sometimes LON-CAPA expects a negative answer to
indicate the direction of, e.g., a velocity, even though the
question isn’t clear about it. If your answer is rejected,
try a minus sign if it could be reasonable.
Tutorials
Tutorials alternate with labs. Tutorials also start Monday,
Sept. 15. Dates for each section are on the lab schedule.
The tutorial has two main parts:
1) TEST in the first 10 minutes: You will write out and
hand in a complete solution to a problem from LONCAPA, working individually.
2) Practice solving physics problems, working in
groups of 4 or 5, with help from a teaching assistant.
Tutorials: Why work in groups?
• seeing other ways (including ones that don’t work) of
approaching a problem improves understanding
• discussing and communicating about technical
problems is an essential skill for engineers and scientists
•explaining a solution to someone else clarifies it for you
as well (ask any teacher!)
• getting practice in working in small groups. This will
come up often in the next four years (and in your career).
Tutorial Structure
Preparation: Do the LON-CAPA problems from the previous 2 weeks.
Review your notes and the text sections in the course outline.
At the start of the tutorial, the TA will hand out a “quiz” with one of the
LON-CAPA problems. You are to write out a clear solution, deriving
the answer from basic principles, and including diagrams, etc. as
necessary. After 10 minutes or so, the quizzes are collected to be
graded. and the solutions discussed on the blackboard.
(Time: about 10 to 15 minutes).
With the help of the TAs, you will divide into groups of about 4 to work
on a sheet of exercises; the TAs will help, and check them off when
satisfactorily complete. You can leave when finished, or stay to discuss
the solutions or ask the tutorial leaders about other physics questions.
Lectures
• Main concepts and principles. Frequent demonstrations.
Less time on complete solutions to example problems.
• Read the text as well; the lectures won’t include
everything.
• Lecture slides will be posted on the web page or
Avenue. The slides are not the whole lecture! Take notes
as we work things out on the blackboard.
• Lectures will include short “concept quizzes” after each
main idea, to be answered with the “iclicker”
“iclicker”
• required; available from the bookstore
• allows you to answer multiple-choice questions in class.
The unit transmits its serial number with your answer.
• You must eventually register on the iclicker.com website,
giving both your iclicker’s serial number and your MacID,
so that we can assign the marks to you.
• marks will be given for satisfactory performance during
85% of the lectures. No excuses are needed, and none
accepted, for missed lectures, forgotten iclickers, etc.
Concept Quiz Instructions
• Think about the problem by yourself for 1 minute, and
we’ll have a show of hands, and answer by iclicker.
(sometimes we’ll skip this step).
• Find a neighbour who disagrees with you, and
convince him you’re right
• Another iclicker poll, followed by general discussion
If you’re still unsure of the answer after the discussion,
ask during the class!
Example Quiz
A dump truck loaded with watermelons is driving at 10 m/s along
a bumpy road. One of the watermelons tumbles off the back of
the truck and falls to the road (it starts about 5 m above the road
and takes about 1 second to fall). How far behind the truck is it
when it hits the road?
A) less than 1 m
B) about 5 m
C) about 10 m
D) more than 10 m
Example Quiz
A 2000-kg elevator starts from rest and moves upwards
with a constant acceleration of 1.0 m/s2. The power
required from the motor
a) Increases with time, starting from zero
b) Is large as soon as the elevator starts, then
decreases with time
c) Is constant after the elevator starts to move.
Example Quiz
You and a friend are carrying a log (mass m, length L), each
holding one end. Your friend lets go of his end to answer his
mobile phone. What upward force do you need to hold your end
stationary while the other end drops onto your friend’s foot?
CM
A)
B)
C)
D)
mg
½ mg
¼ mg
zero
Fn = ?
mg
Doing well in Physics 1D3
• Keep up with the course! Spend at least a few
hours every week on the course, even the weeks you
have two math tests and a chemistry test. Come to the
lectures. Read the text. Do problems.
• Practice problems from the text will be listed each
week. Try a few of these. Think hard about them; don’t
give up on the difficult ones.
• Discuss questions and problems with other students.
Explaining something helps you clarify your ideas.
Engineering I requires a lot of your time. Expect to work
many evenings and weekends. Organise your time
early in the term, before the deadlines arrive.
Physics 1D3 Lecture 1
17
Homework
• Read the course outline and lab/tutorial schedule.
•Log in to Avenue and find Physics 1D3. Read everything
under “course information”.
• Get the lab manual (2014 edition) immediately. If the
bookstore is out of stock, put in an order right away. Read
the section “uncertainties and graphs” for next week.
• Buy the text, i>clicker, and official calculator at the
bookstore. Read the first two chapters of the text
(review), and Appendix B, section B.8 for next week.
•Don’t forget to get your lab manual immediately.
LON-CAPA assignment 1 is posted
log-in instructions on Avenue
- will be due Friday (Sept. 12)
(but finish it Thursday, the server will be very slow as the
deadline approaches.)
Based on Uncertainties and Graphs chapter of the Lab
Manual. Read this section in the Lab Manual; read
Appendix B, section B.8 in the text, and section 1.6 in the
text (significant digits and rounding).
Physics 1D03 - Lecture 2