San Diego Miramar College – PHYS 197 – Waves, Optics, Modern Physics – Fall 2015
CRN: 08527, Miramar College Rm M101 (Lecture MW, 4:20-6:25 PM), Rm S6-205 (Lab M, 6:35-9:40 PM)
Instructor: Dr. Eric Korevaar (adjunct)
Email: eric@thescienceartist.com
Units: 5
15 hours Per Week Expectation: 4 lecture, 3 lab, 1.5 pre-lab, 2 reading, 2.5 homework, 2 review
Web Site: http://www.erickorevaar.com/physics-197.html
Prerequisite: PHYS 196 with a grade of “C” or better, or equivalent
Course Description: PHYS 197, “Waves, Optics and Modern Physics,” is the third semester of a three
semester calculus-based Physics course designed for prospective scientists and engineers. Topics
include the fundamental principles of physics of waves, the behavior of light, and an introduction to
relativity, quantum physics and the atomic and nuclear properties of matter.
Student Learning Outcomes: At the end of this course, the successful student will be able to:
- Calculate the frequency, period, wavelength, and wavenumber of a Mechanical or
Electromagnetic wave.
- Explain the blue sky, the orange sunset, the green flash, and the colors in rainbows and soap
bubbles.
- Understand the relationship between atomic energy levels and emitted radiation.
Course Calendar: August 24 through December 16, 2015. Lecture Mon/Wed 4:20-6:25 P.M. in M101.
Lab Mondays 6:35-9:40 P.M. in S6-205. No class Mon. Sept. 7 (Labor Day) or Wed. Nov. 11 (Veterans
Day), Mon. Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving Week), Wed. Nov. 25 (Thanksgiving Week).
Office Hours: The instructor will generally be available for office hours on Mondays from 2:00 – 3:30
P.M. in the laboratory, S6-205. It is advisable to confirm ahead of time by email.
Attendance Policy: Excessive unexcused absence from more than four sessions (Lecture or Lab) is cause
for being dropped from the course; however it is the student’s responsibility to drop if she/he desires.
Student Responsibilities: Students should show up on time, prepared to learn, with assigned reading,
homework, and pre-laboratory assignments completed. Students who do not drop by the Withdrawal
deadline will receive an evaluative grade.
Course Text: The course text is “University Physics with Modern Physics” by Young and Freedman, 13th
Edition. Students either need the hard copy or e-text version. Students also need access to Mastering
Physics that goes along with the text. The Mastering Physics Course number is MPKOREVAAR 36743.
(http://www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com/northamerica/masteringphysics/students/getregistered/index.html). Laboratory handouts and other materials will be available for download from
the website. Blank laboratory notebooks will be provided by the instructor.
Grading: Chapter Reading Questions and Tutorials: 5%; Homework: 10%; Pre-Lab Activities: 5%;
Laboratories: 25%; Quizzes: 10%; Exams: three, at 15% each; Extra Credit: 5% Maximum. Grade scale is:
85=A; 75=B; 65=C; 55=D.
Chapter Reading Questions and Tutorials: Chapter reading, along with questions and tutorials from
Mastering Physics will generally be assigned on Monday and due before Wednesday’s lecture at 4:20
P.M. Collaboration is allowed. No late submittals will be graded. The lowest chapter reading
assignment score will be dropped.
Homework: Electronic homework problems (Mastering Physics) will generally be assigned on
Wednesday and due before office hours on Mondays at 2:00 P.M. There will also be some noncomputerized problems due at the beginning of lecture on Mondays at 4:20 P.M. Collaboration will
generally be allowed on these problems unless specifically disallowed. The students must turn in their
own work, and list any collaborators. No late submittals will be graded. The lowest homework
assignment score will be dropped.
Pre-Lab Activities: Students should be prepared for laboratories by downloading write-ups from the
website, reading through them, and completing any required pre-lab activities in their lab notebooks.
These will generally be due on Mondays at 4:20 P.M. before the beginning of lecture. There will be no
opportunity to make up missed labs. The lowest two pre-lab activity scores will be dropped.
Laboratories: Students are expected to attend lab and participate actively. The instructor considers the
labs, and the lab notebook documentation, to be a very important part of the course. Completed lab
write-ups, in the laboratory notebook, will generally be due at the end of the lab period on Mondays at
9:40 P.M. Students will generally work collaboratively in groups during the lab, but must legibly write up
all procedures, data and results themselves in their own laboratory notebook. There will be no
opportunity to make up missed labs. The lowest two laboratory scores will be dropped. Please note
that no food or drinks, not even water bottles, are allowed in the laboratory room at any time. (There
should be a place to leave such items outside the door).
Quizzes: Short quizzes (30 minutes or less) will generally be given on Wednesdays (with advanced
notice) during the semester when there is not an exam. These should cover material which has already
been lectured on and for which homework has been completed. There will be no opportunity to make
up missed quizzes. The lowest quiz score will be dropped. Quizzes will be closed book and closed note,
except for material written on the white board by the instructor before and during the quiz. A standard
or graphing calculator (but not a smart phone, etc.) may be used for numerical calculations. (That is,
pre-storing of information and access to the internet are not allowed).
Exams: There will be three mid-term exams, covering the three main topic areas (Waves and Sound,
Light and Optics, Modern Physics). These will generally be given on Wednesdays (with advanced
notice). There will be no make-ups scheduled for these exams. However, if a student misses one of the
exams or does very poorly, they will have the option to take a more difficult replacement exam on the
last day of class covering topics from the whole semester. Exams will be closed book and closed note,
except that a student may bring a one-sided, 8 ½” by 11” note/formula sheet handwritten by the
student. A standard or graphing calculator (but not a smart phone, etc.) may be used for numerical
calculations. (That is, pre-storing of information and access to the internet are not allowed).
Extra Credit: There will be opportunities for extra credit, including a Physics Transfer Event (talks and a
movie) tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, October 21 from 5:30-8:30 and a closing activity on the
last day of class.
Key Dates: Deadline to receive, process and pay for ADD codes and to Drop classes with no “W”
recorded: Sept. 4, 2015; Deadline to Drop and be eligible for refund of enrollment fees and/or Nonresident tuition: Sept. 4, 2015. Deadline to File a petition for Pass/No Pass grade option: Sept. 25, 2015;
Withdrawal Deadline, no late drops accepted after this date: Oct. 30, 2015.
Computer Policy: In the class or lab, computers and tablets are to be used for note-taking, physics
simulations, data collection, or other work directly related to the course. Any other use is prohibited.
Cell Phone Policy: Students should not use their cell phones during class, except when given permission
(for instance to take a picture of the white board, or to collect data during a laboratory).
Disabilities: 1. Students with disabilities who may need academic accommodations are encouraged to
discuss their authorized accommodations from Disability Support Programs and Services (DSPS) with
their professors early in the semester so that accommodations may be implemented as soon as possible.
2. The faculty member will work with the DSPS Office to ensure that proper accommodations are made
for each student. By law, it is up to the DSPS Office to determine which accommodations are
appropriate, and not the student or the faculty member.
3. Students that need evacuation assistance during campus emergencies should also meet with the
instructor as soon as possible to assure the health and safety of all students.
Academic Dishonesty: Anyone caught cheating on an assignment, quiz or exam will receive a zero on
that total assignment, quiz or exam, and may be referred to the dean.
Conflict Resolution: Conflict resolution should be attempted first with the instructor, then with the
Dept. Chair, and Dean.
Sustainability on Campus: Miramar College is committed to sustainability on campus and in our
classrooms, as reflected in the SDCCD Sustainability Proclamation. To minimize the use of paper
resources, please consider when a document may be shared digitally rather than printed. When a
document must be printed, decrease the default setting on your margins to at least 0.8” and print on
both sides of the paper. Please utilize the campus and classroom recycle bins for all recyclable materials:
plastic bottles and containers (#1-7), cans, paper and cardboard. You are encouraged to bring reusable
drink containers to school rather than disposable plastic bottles. Thank you for considering your role in
keeping the campus environment clean, and conserving resources in your academic life.
Tentative Schedule: A tentative schedule for Physics 197, as of 8/22/15, follows. The schedule shows
anticipated chapter reading and homework assignment due dates, lecture topics, laboratory topics, quiz
dates, exam dates, holidays and expected office hour availability. Note that Dr. Korevaar is scheduled to
be out of town (riding his Elliptigo from San Francisco to Los Angeles for an Arthritis Foundation
fundraiser) from Sept. 25 to Oct. 3, but that the usual lectures and laboratory will be provided by a
qualified substitute. Laboratory notebooks will not be turned in after Lab 5 on Sept. 28, but held until
the following week. THE PROVIDED SCHEDULE IS TENTATIVE, and can be modified at the discretion of
the instructor as circumstances warrant. The instructor will give as much advanced notice about any
changes as possible.
PHYS 197 – Waves, Optics and Modern Physics – Tentative Course Schedule – Fall 2015
Date
Home-Work Lecture Subject
(Due Date)
M Aug. 24
-W Aug. 26 Ch.15 Read
Rainbow, Syllabus, Waves, Light Speed
Start Ch.15, Propagating Waves
Lab
Office Hours
(M, 2:00-3:30)
Lab1: Oscilloscope Waves &
-Speed of Light Measurement
M Aug. 31 Ch.15 HW
Finish Ch.15 Standing Waves
W Sep. 2 Ch.16 Read A Quiz 1 (Ch.15), Start Ch.16 Sound
Lab2: Traveling Waves on Slinky &
Standing Waves on a String
1.5
M Sep. 7
W Sep. 9
NO LAB (Labor Day)
--
-NO CLASS (Labor Day)
Ch.16 Read B Continue Ch.16 Beats, Doppler Effect
M Sep. 14 Ch.16 HW
W Sep. 16 Ch.32 Read
Discuss Pipe Resonances, Instruments
Quiz 2 (Ch.16), Start Ch.32 E.M. Waves
Lab3: Sound Waves and Beats
1.5
M Sep. 21 Ch.32 HW
W Sep. 23 Review 1
Finish Ch.32 ElectroMagnetic Waves
Exam 1 (Ch.15,16,32)
Lab4: Measure Speed of Sound &
Pipe Resonances
1.5
M Sep. 28 Ch.33 Read A Start Ch.33, Light, Reflection, Refraction
Lab5: Light Inverse Square Law &
W Sep. 30 Ch.33 Read B Finish Ch.33, Dispersion, Polarization, Scattering
Polarization
--
M Oct. 5
W Oct. 7
Phenomena such as Rainbows, Green Flash Lab6: Refraction, Reflection &
Quiz 3 (Ch.33), Start Ch.34 Geometric Optics
Rainbows
1.5
M Oct. 12 Ch.34 HW
W Oct. 14 Ch.35 Read
Finish Ch.34, Geometric Optics
Quiz 4 (Ch.34), Start Ch.35 Interference
1.5
M Oct. 19 Ch.35 HW
W Oct. 21 Ch.36 Read
1.5
M Oct. 26 Ch.36 HW
W Oct. 28 Review 2
Finish Ch.35, Interference
Lab8: Interference
Quiz 5 (Ch.35), Start Ch.6, Diffraction
5:30-8:30 Extra Credit Physics ADT Transfer Event
Finish Ch.36, Diffraction
Lab9: Diffraction
Exam 2 (Ch.33,34,35,36)
M Nov. 2
W Nov. 4
Start Ch.38, Photons: Light as Particle
Finish Ch.38, Start Ch.39 Particle as Wave
Lab10: Photoelectric Effect
1.5
Finish Ch.39, Spectra, Bohr Atom
NO CLASS (Veteran’s Day)
Lab11: Discharge Tube Spectra,
Hydrogen Lines, Blackbody
1.5
Ch.33 HW
Ch.34 Read
Ch.38 Read
Ch.39 Read
M Nov. 9 Ch.38 HW
W Nov. 11 Ch.42 Read
Lab7: Thin Lenses, Optics
M Nov. 16 Ch.39 HW
W Nov. 18 Ch.43 Read
1.5
Ch.42.4-42.7 Semiconductors
Lab12: Planck’s Constant from
Quiz 6 (Ch.38/39), Start Ch.43 Nuclear Physics
LED Spectra
(Nov. 23, 25 -- Fall Break -- No Class)
M Nov. 30 Ch. 42/43 HW Finish Ch.43 Nuclear Physics, Radiation
Lab13: Radiation (
W Dec. 2 Ch.40/41 Read Quiz 7 (Ch.42/43), Ch.40 Quantum Mechanics
1.5
M Dec. 7 Ch.40/41 HW Discuss Ch.41, Atomic Structure
W Dec. 9 Review 3
Exam 3 (Ch38, 39, 42, 43, 40, 41 Topics)
Lab14: Half Life Using Cs-Ba
Source
1.5
M Dec. 14 Ch.37 Read
W Dec. 16 Ch.44 Read
Lab15: Make a Hologram
1.5
Ch.37 Relativity
Extra Credit Relativity or Make-Up Exam
1.5
(Total Scheduled Office Hours: 19.5)