University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
General Physics – PHYS 101
Spring 2014
___________________________________________________________________________________
Course Information

Course title: General Physics

Course number: PHYS 101

Instructor: Maryam Farzaneh

Contact: B105 Science Building, x--4874, mfarzane@uwsp.edu

Office hours: MTR 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm WF: 11:00 am– 12:00 pm
Otherwise, I have an open door policy. Please stop by as often as you wish or make an
appointment by emailing me.

Pre-requisites: I will assume you are familiar with basic algebra. Otherwise, this course is fairly
self-contained.

Textbook: The Physics of Everyday Phenomena, W. Thomas Griffith and Juliet W. Brosing, 7th
edition, McGraw Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-351220-4.

Calculator: Please have a scientific calculator handy. A cell phone is not a scientific calculator.

Laboratory manual: You can purchase the PHYS101 Lab Manual from the University Store and
Text Rental.

Course description: This course is a broad introductory survey of classical physics. Topics
include motion, energy and momentum, waves and oscillations, optics and optical instruments
and electricity. Even though you may not pursue physics as a career, the lessons learned from
studying physics are numerous --- it will sharpen your reasoning ability; you will become
confident in abstract thought as well as quantitative analysis and critical thinking.

Course objectives:
1. Understand the fundamental concepts of classical physics.
2. Apply these concepts to explain everyday phenomena.
3. Use theoretical concepts to make quantitative predictions and verify them by making
measurements in the lab.

Classroom times: All classes are held in the Science Building.
- Lectures: Twice a week, D101
Tue & Thu 11 – 11:50 am
- Discussions: Once a week, A106
Section 1: Mon 9 – 9:50 am
Section 2: Mon 10 – 10:50 am
Section 3: Mon 11 – 11:50 am
- Laboratory: Twice a week, B104
Section 1: Wed & Fri
9 – 10:50 am
Section 2: Mon & Wed 1 – 2:50 pm
Section 3: Tue & Thu 1 – 2:50 pm

Academic misconduct: As a student at UWSP, I expect you to be familiar with the following
document: http://www3.uwsp.edu/stuaffairs/Documents/RightsRespons/SRR2010/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.

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. Homeworks will (typically)
be due every Tue and Thu by 11:00 am (right before the lecture) and will count for 25% of your
grade. Most homework assignments include one “warm up” question which is related to the next
lecture. In order to answer this question you need to read the relevant sections of the textbook
(reading assignment). The question is such that you should be able to answer it after one careful
reading of the text. This will encourage you to read the text and will prepare you for the
upcoming lecture. You will see that many of these questions are based on running an interesting
online physics simulation which will also help you understand the material visually.

Discussion: You will spend every discussion session on a class exercise. I will allow you to
work in small groups, working out the solutions to a few problems. The discussion is mostly
between the members of each group and I will be there to answer any question you have and
facilitate the discussion. You must hand your solutions to me (one solution for each group) before
you leave the class. Your discussion sessions will count for 10% of your grade.

Lecture participation: I strongly encourage you to attend all the lectures and take notes.
Sometimes the lecture covers more material than you might find in your textbook.

Exams: There will be three midterm exams during the semester, not counting your final exam.
These exams will be held during lab hours and will be two hours long. Each midterm counts for
10% of your grade. The final exam is non-cumulative and scheduled for Monday, May 12
12:30 -- 2:30 pm. It counts for 10% of your grade. Overall, your exams comprise 40% of your
grade.

Laboratory: You will work in groups and perform experiments twice a week. The lab write-up
(one per each group) is due at the end of the lab. At the end of most of the labs, you will take a
short individual quiz related to the lab. The quiz should be handed in before you leave the lab.
The lab will count for 25% of your course grade.

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. Your lab
grade will be calculated based on all your lab reports and lab quizzes. I will drop your
lowest lab report score when calculating your grade.
General Course Policies
 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 inform
me of the section switch in advance.
 No make-up exams will be offered. You can take the midterm exams with another section other
than your own provided that you inform me of the switch in advance.
 I will accept only one late assignment per student during the course. No excuses are needed. A
second late homework will receive no more than 75% credit. Subsequent late submissions will
not be accepted.
 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, the lowest discussion 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
Laboratory
Discussion
Exams (3 midterms, 10% each)
Final exam
25%
25%
10%
30%
10%
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. Scores will be rounded up. For example, 86.6% will
become a B+, but 86.3 will remain a B.
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
Topic
Lab
1. No lab
(1): Jan 20
Chapters 1& 2: Physics, Describing Motion
2. Linear data analysis
1. Motion with constant velocity
(2): Jan 27
Chapters 2 & 3: Motion, Falling Objects
2. Constant acceleration
1. Free fall acceleration
(3): Feb 3
Chapters 3 & 4: Projectile Motion, Newton’s Laws
2. Projectile motion
1. Variation of acceleration with
mass
(4): Feb 10
Chapter 4: Newton’s Laws and applications
2. Midterm 1 in the lab:
(Wed. pm, Thu. and Fri.)
1. Net force, friction, fan carts
(5): Feb 17
Chapter 5: Circular motion, Gravity
2. Circular motion
1. Energy, work, and power
(6): Feb 24
Chapters 5 & 6: Gravity, Energy & Oscillations
2. Simple Machines and Work
(7): March 3
Chapters 6 & 7: Oscillations, Momentum and
Impulse
1. Oscillation of a pendulum
2. Simple harmonic Oscillation
1. No lab
(8): March 10
Chapter 7: Momentum and Impulse
2. Midterm 2 in the lab:
(Wed. pm, Thu. and Fri.)
March 17
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
1. Collisions in one dimension
(9): March 24
Chapter 15: Making waves
2. Waves
(10): March 31
(11): April 7
Chapters 15 & 17: Waves, Light and image
formation
Chapter 17: Light and image formation
1. Standing waves
2. Plane mirror
1. Propagation of light through
transparent materials
2. Curved mirrors
1. Thin lenses
(12): April 14
Chapter 17&12: optical instruments, Electrostatic
2. Midterm 3 in the lab:
(Wed. pm, Thu. and Fri.)
Chapter 12: Electrostatic Phenomena
1. Electroscope
(13): April 21
2. DC circuits
1. Ohm’s law
(14): April 28
Chapters 12 & 13: Electrostatics, DC circuits
2. Solar cells
1. No Lab
(15): May 5
Chapter 13: Ohm’s Law, Electric Power
2. Review
(16): May 12
Final Exam: Monday, May 12, 12:30 – 2:30 pm