Course Policy Statement
SP221/2141&4341, Fall 2016
Section
SP221/2141
SP221/4341
Lecture Time
MWF 0855-0945
MWF 1055-1145
Prof. Joel Helton
helton@usna.edu, x3-6674, CH259
Lecture Room
CH240
CH240
Lab Time
Th 0755-0945
Th 0955-1145
Lab Room
CH006
CH006
Textbook: Tipler and Mosca, Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 6th edition, Volume 1.
My Course Website: http://www.usna.edu/Users/physics/helton/classes/SP221-Fall-2016.php
Learning Outcomes. After successfully completing SP221, a midshipman will be able to:
• Recognize and describe conceptual and quantitative aspects of the classical mechanical universe.
• Reliably employ advanced mathematics as a means to explore and produce calculations in the context of a rich,
multi-faceted problem.
• Present their knowledge through clear and organized solutions.
• Analyze and explain data taken in experiments.
Course Evaluation:
Grades in this class will be determined by the following assignment weighting and grade scale:
Homework†
Labs
Exams
Final Project
Final Exam
22%
8%
45% (3 × 15% each)
5%
20%
≥90%
80%-89.9%
70%-79.9%
60%-69.9%
<60%
A
B
C
D
F
Caveat: For any student receiving a F on the final exam, I reserve the right to assign a final grade lower than that
determined by this weighting.
†
The 22% homework grade will be divided as 14% for written chapter assignments and 8% for online LON-CAPA
questions.
The 6-week and 12-week grades will be determined by redistributing the Final Exam and Final Project weighting
using a 65% weighting for Exams and a 27% weighting for homework (17% for written and 10% for CAPA).
Students missing one of the three scheduled exams with an excused absence will be expected to make the exam up
in a timely manner. The exams will be primarily free response, with a fraction of multiple choice problems. In
free response problems, 20% of the credit will be subtracted when units are either not given in your answer or the
wrong unit is given. Your answers should always detail your work and thought process sufficiently enough that I can
determine how you reached your answer; a numerical answer with no explanation may be denied credit.
In order to protect personally identifiable information, I will not discuss or distribute grades (class grade or any exam
grade) through email.
The final course grade will be determined by the course evaluation weighting and cutoffs listed above, although
I reserve the right to adjust the grade cut-offs down very slightly to better capture the distribution of student
performance. Under no circumstances will any student be offered special extra credit or other opportunities not
available to their classmates.
You need to read the textbook! We have a limited amount of class time in which to master concepts and advanced
problem solving techniques. I will not waste class time on learning objectives related to definitions. You need to read
the appropriate section of the text before class to come ready to contribute.
Physics is comprehensive! The concepts we cover in the class are the fundamentals upon which all later physics is
built. You need to not only retain fluency with all material, but as we progress forward the earlier material needs to
become some routine as to be automatic when setting up harder problems.
Office Hours/Extra Instruction: I teach 2th and 4th periods MWF and 1st through 4th on Thursday. I will
generally be available for EI most other times on those days. On Tuesdays I will often be away from USNA. Feel free
to try stopping by my office. You can also contact me to set up a mutually agreeable time for EI.
Course Policy Statement
SP221/2141&4341, Fall 2016
Prof. Joel Helton
helton@usna.edu, x3-6674, CH259
Student Conduct:
Drinking is permitted in the classroom; eating is not.
Cell phones and other electronic devices are not permitted for use in the classroom.
Laptops will be permitted only in lab for data analysis and research.
Students should remain attentive during class; sleeping in class is not permitted at USNA.
You may not discuss the content of quizzes or tests with any other student until the graded quiz or test has been
returned to you.
Homework:
There is only one way to become good at solving physics problems: by solving physics problems. You will need to
put in a lot of effort at working through problems. Do not view these problems as way to get points for your grade,
but rather as the mental exercise needed to start developing the physics models and mathematical skills that you
will need for the next three years. There will be two types of homework. First, you can access online daily homework
through CAPA. I’ll pick 3 to 5 problems for each day’s lesson to put online. These are meant to be fairly simple,
though you will need to spend some time on them. The will typically be due on the class date following the day the
material was first presented. There will also be written homework sets of a few problems for each chapter, due about
once every 1.5 weeks. These will sometimes include problems that will need numerical coding, as will be described
below. These problem sets will be more difficult. I strongly urge you start them early; you will not be able to do
these the night before they are due. Work on them with your classmates and fellow majors - we have a room (The
π room, CH260) set aside for physics majors to work together. I am happy to help in EI, but I want you to come
to EI having already put a deal of effort into the problem. Students are both allowed and encouraged to work with
their classmates and fellow physics majors on all homework problems. However, I expect each student to turn in an
assignment that reflects their own work and understanding.
Programming:
The nature of contemporary physics is that many interesting problems can not be solved exactly in closed form,
but can be approximated with very high precision using a computer simulation. Many homework sets will include
problems that need to be solved numerically, usually by breaking the problem into many smaller pieces. I use
Matlab for this, and will occasionally provide example code in Matlab that you can build upon. You can use
another language if you choose, but I can’t offer technical help on it. You will usually hand in a print out of the
code along with any graphs. In addition to the homework sets, we will have a final project due at the end of the
semester in which you will model and completely analyze a more complicated system - a massive spring being dropped.
Labs:
We will have a total of eleven labs. The activities covered in labs are meant to reinforce the basic material
covered in class. I will also use labs to introduce and assess basic concepts of uncertainty and error propagation,
as well as the display and fitting of graphical data. The lab manuals will often have basic instructions that
need to be followed, but I would be thrilled if you choose to show creativity in lab. If you have any ideas in lab
that you want to explore or thoughts on how to improve lab procedures, talk to me and we can work those in on the fly.
Course Policy Statement
SP221/2141&4341, Fall 2016
Schedule:
Please read the relevant sections of the textbook before each lecture.
Week 1: 22 August - 26 August
Monday: Class introduction
Wednesday: Uncertainty
Thursday: Lab 1 - Uncertainties
Friday: Chapter 1: Units, Estimation, and Vectors
Week 2: 29 August - 2 September
Monday: 2-1: Displacement, Velocity, and Speed
Wednesday: 2-2: Acceleration
Thursday: Lab 2 - 1D Kinematics
Friday: 2-3 and 2-4:Motion with a Constant Acceleration, Integration
Week 3: 6 September - 9 September
Tuesday (Monday schedule): 3-1: Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration
Wednesday: 3-1: Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration Continued
Thursday: Lab 3 - 2D Kinematics
Friday: 3-2: Projectile Motion
Week 4: 12 September - 16 September
Monday: 3-3: Circular Motion
Wednesday: 4-1 to 4-3: Newton’s First and Second Laws
Thursday: Lab 4 - Newton’s Laws
Friday: 4-4 to 4-5: Weight, Solids, Springs, and Strings
Week 5: 19 September - 23 September
Monday: 4-6: Free Body Diagrams
Wednesday: 4-7 to 4-8: Newton’s Third Law and Problem Solving
Thursday: 5-1 and 5-2: Friction and Drag
Friday: 5-3: Motion Along a Curved Path
Week 6: 26 September - 30 September
Monday: 5-5: The Center of Mass
Wednesday: Newton’s Laws wrap up
Thursday: Exam I
Friday:Demo Day - CH100
Week 7: 3 October - 7 October
Monday: 6-1: Work Done by a Constant Force
Wednesday: 6-2: Work Done by a Variable Force
Thursday: Lab 5 - Centripetal Force
Friday:6-3 and 6-4: The Scalar Product and Curved Paths
Week 8: 12 October - 14 October
Wednesday: 7-1: Potential Energy
Thursday: Lab 6 - Work and Energy
Friday:7-2: Conservation of Mechanical Energy
Week 9: 17 October - 21 October
Monday: 7-3: Conservation of Energy
Wednesday: 8-1: Conservation of Momentum
Thursday: Lab 7 - 1D Collisions
Friday:8-2: Kinetic Energy of a System
Week 10: 24 October - 28 October
Monday: 8-3: Collisions
Prof. Joel Helton
helton@usna.edu, x3-6674, CH259
Course Policy Statement
SP221/2141&4341, Fall 2016
Prof. Joel Helton
helton@usna.edu, x3-6674, CH259
Wednesday: 8-4 and 8-5: Center-of-Mass Frame and Rocket Propulsion
Thursday: Lab 8 - 2D Collisions
Friday:9-1: Rotational Kinematics
Week 11: 31 October - 4 November
Monday: 9-2 and 9-3: Rotational Kinetic Energy and Moment of Inertia
Wednesday: 9-4 and 9-5: Newton’s Second Law for Rotation
Thursday: Exam II
Friday:Demo Day - CH100
Week 12: 7 November - 10 November
Monday: 9-6: Rolling
Wednesday: 10-1 and 10-2: Torque and Angular Momentum
Thursday: Lab 9 - Rotational Kinematics
Week 13: 14 November - 18 November
Monday: 10-1 and 10-2: Torque and Angular Momentum Continued
Wednesday: 10-3: Conservation of Angular Momentum
Thursday: Lab 10 - Angular Momentum
Friday: 10-3: Conservation of Angular Momentum Continued
Week 14: 21 November - 23 November
Monday: 11-1 and 11-2: Kepler’s Laws and Newton’s Law of Gravity
Wednesday: 11-1 and 11-2: Kepler’s Laws and Newton’s Law of Gravity Continued
Week 15: 28 November - 2 December
Monday: 11-3 and 11-4: Gravitational Potential Energy
Wednesday: 14-1: Simple Harmonic Motion
Thursday: Exam III
Friday:14-2: Energy in Simple Harmonic Motion
Week 16: 5 December - 8 December
Monday: 14-3: Oscillating Systems
Wednesday: Review
Thursday: Lab 11 - Oscillations
Monday, December 12: Final Projects due
Final Exams: 13 December - 20 December