Department of Physics and Astronomy
PHYS-FRSC 1020H: Forensic Physics
2014 FA Peterborough
1. Practical information
Name
Email
Phone
Office
Office hours
Instructor
Rachel Wortis
rwortis@trentu.ca
705-748-1011 x7714
SC 326
Monday 4:00 - 5:00 pm
and by appointment
Lab Demonstrator
David Marshall
dmarshall@trentu.ca
705-748-1011 x7461
SC 319
Open-door policy
Secretary
Gina Collins
gcollins@trentu.ca
705-748-1011 x7715
SC 327
Pre-requisites: 4U Advanced Functions or equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Recommended: 4U Physics and 4U Calculus and Vectors.
Meeting schedule
Monday
Lecture
2-4 pm
SC 137
Tuesday
Lab 1
5-8 pm
SC 305
Wednesday
Lab 2
5-8 pm
SC 305
Thursday
Lecture Lab 3
9-10 am 5-8 pm
SC 137 SC 305
To confirm times and locations, please check
https://scheduler.trentu.ca/AcademicTimetable/Peterborough/FallWinter/.
Required text and course materials
• Printed class notes: These will be distributed in class and will be the primary readings.
• Text: Physics for Scientists and Engineers, R.D. Knight, 3rd edition. This is an excellent text, developed
from recent research on physics teaching. Use it to clarify points in the notes, and for supplementary
readings, worked examples and assigned problems.
• Student Workbook: Also by R.D. Knight. This comes with the text if you buy it new, or it can be
purchased separately.
• Mastering Physics: Access comes with the text if you buy it new, or it can be purchased separately.
Register at http://www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com/northamerica/masteringphysics/.
• Voting clicker: This device, also purchased through the Bookstore, will enable you to reply electronically
to questions asked during class, and is required. A resale market for the clickers is anticipated at the end
of the year. The same clicker will work in all courses using them. Register using the Learning System.
• Lab manual and materials: These will be distributed in the first lab session. There will be a $10
charge (cash) collected in the first lab/tutorial session to cover the cost of the printed class notes and the
lab manuals and materials.
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2. Learning outcomes
A detailed schedule of readings as well as lab and tutorial activities is provided in a separate document.
The major topic covered in this course is mechanics, including kinematics, translational dynamics, work
and energy, rotational dynamics, and simple harmonic motion. In addition, gravitation, fluids, elasticity,
temperature and materials will be addressed more briefly.
At the conclusion of this course, a successful student should have
(i) a conceptual understanding of the fundamental principles underlying these physical phenomena,
(ii) the ability to describe these phenomena accurately both verbally and mathematically,
(iii) analytical problem solving skills applicable to a wide range of issues both within and outside of physics,
and (iv) a firm foundation for further study in physics.
3. Philosophy of course components
Research has shown that students obtain a better grasp of physics if class time is used to grapple intellectually with the material rather than for passive note-taking. The course components described below are
designed to make this happen.
Pre-class readings Before each class students are assigned readings from the printed class notes. This is
your first introduction to the material. Focus initially on basic information such as new vocabulary, while
beginning to try to pick out the central ideas. Deep understanding is not expected at this point, yet this
first look is a crucial foundation. There will be a short quiz on the reading to be done on myLearningSystem
before each class. This will also give you an opportunity to provide feedback to me on areas you found
difficult.
Classes Class time is spent mostly on discussions of conceptual problems, punctuated by opportunities to
vote on the correct answer using electronic personal response systems which we call clickers. This provides
instant feedback to students on their progress, and allows misunderstandings to be corrected quickly. The
primary goal of class time is to help you to gain confidence in your understanding of the physical concepts
through practice using them.
Problem sets Roughly every two weeks, a set of problems will be assigned to be completed by you. This is
where you practice combining the concepts with mathematical reasoning. Some problems will be exercises
involving just one concept and one mathematical step. Other problems will involve multiple concepts and
several mathematical steps. Doing exercises, prepares you for longer problems. To get better at solving
problems, you practice. Problem sets are extremely important preparation for the test and exam.
Tutorials Tutorials are held every two weeks, and alternate with laboratory sessions. The purpose of
the tutorials is to help you develop your problem solving skills. Combining conceptual understanding
with math is a genuinely new step and feedback is best provided in a smaller group setting. Part of each
tutorial will be spent on a short quiz based on the problem set you have most recently completed, while
the remainder is spent working on understanding the material on the new problem set.
Laboratories Laboratory sessions are held every two weeks, alternating with tutorials. In each laboratory, students will typically work in pairs to carry out an experiment as described in the lab manual.
Individual written lab reports will then be prepared. The goal is to give students hands-on experience with
physical concepts, an opportunity to work with laboratory instruments, and practice developing written
communication skills.
Test and exam There will be a midterm test on material covered before Reading Break, and there will
be a final exam covering the whole course. The test gives students an evaluation of their understanding of
the material so that they can make appropriate adjustments in their learning strategies. The test and the
exam encourage students to develop an overview and synthesis of the course material.
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4. Evaluation and nitty-gritty of course components
Marking
Pre-class reading quizzes
Clicker participation
Tutorial participation
Math quiz
Problem sets
Problem set quizzes
Laboratory
Midterm test
Final exam
5%
5%
4%
1%
10%
5%
20%
20%
30%
before every class
every class
every two weeks
during second tutorial
every two weeks
every two weeks
every two weeks
November 3
during final exam period
Learning System This course uses Trent’s Learning System. On this site you will find general course
information (e.g. syllabus, schedule and formula sheet), pre-class reading quizzes, lecture slides, problem
sets, etc.
Pre-class reading quizzes Pre-class readings are from the printed course notes. There will be a quiz on
myLearningSystem before each class. The quiz description will indicate the specific section of the notes
covered by the quiz. To access the quizzes, sign onto myLearningSystem, select PHYS 1002H, choose
‘Assessments’ from the list on the left, and select the quiz corresponding to the date of the class. Quizzes
will be due by 6:00 am on the day of the class, to give me time to look through the responses. For each
question, half credit is given for any response and full credit for a correct response. Your lowest four quiz
marks will be dropped to allow for equipment malfunctions, etc.
Clicker participation You will need to register your clicker. There is a link for doing this on the
Learning System site. You will receive 10 clicker points for any class in which you answer at least 75% of
the questions, and an additional 0.5 points for every questions answered correctly. If you answer less than
75% of the questions you will receive zero. These scores will be averaged to give your total clicker mark.
Your four lowest scores will be dropped before the final grade is calculated, to allow for weak batteries,
equipment malfunction, etc. See the university policy on clickers below.
Tutorial participation To obtain the tutorial participation grade you must attend at least the first two
hours of the tutorial and demonstrate to the tutorial leader that you have made a reasonable effort to
complete the tutorial work.
Problem sets A set of problems will be posted on the Mastering Physics website. A link to the website
can be found on the Learning System. There is an introductory assignment to help you learn to use the
Mastering Physics website, and this will be counted toward your final grade. Your assignments will be
graded automatically by Mastering Physics. Late assignments will automatically receive a grade of zero.
Help with the assignments is available during physics help sessions and during my office hours.
Problem set quizzes In the first tutorial after a problem set is assigned, you will have the opportunity to
work on the problems with the guidance of your tutorial leader. In the next tutorial meeting, there will be
a closed book quiz consisting of two problems from the problem set, often with slightly different numbers.
Laboratories Complete information on the marking of reports will be provided in the laboratory. Late lab
reports will lose 10% per day late without a valid excuse and documentation acceptable to the instructor.
Labs missed due to documented illness may be made up at the discretion of the Lab Demonstrator. If the
Lab Demonstrator is unable to provide an alternative time, the labs which are completed will be prorated
to provide the lab grade.
Midterm test and final exam The midterm test will be held during the regular class meeting time
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2:00-4:00 pm Monday, November 3.
Regardless of the overall grade calculated above, an average of at least 35% on the test and exam (weighted
as above) must be achieved in order to pass this course. Otherwise, a grad of no more than 45% (F) will
be assigned.
5. University and department policies
Access to Instruction It is Trent Universitys intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If a
student has a disability and/or health consideration and feels that he/she may need accommodations to
succeed in this course, the student should contact the Student Accessibility Services Office ( BH Suite 132
, 748-1281, accessibilityservices@trentu.ca) as soon as possible. Complete text can be found under Access
to Instruction in the Academic Calendar.
Academic Integrity Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an extremely serious academic offence and carries penalties varying from failure on an assignment to expulsion from the
University. Definitions, penalties, and procedures for dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set out in
Trent Universitys Academic Integrity Policy. You have a responsibility to educate yourself unfamiliarity
with the policy is not an excuse. You are strongly encouraged to visit Trents Academic Integrity website
to learn more www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity.
Please also see http://www.trentu.ca/physics/current integrity.php for a discussion of plagiarism specific
to the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Clicker Policy As clicker records are used in this course to compute a portion of course grades, the use
of a clicker other than your own is an academic offence. In lecture or tutorial, possession of more than one
clicker, or that of another student, may be interpreted as intent to commit an academic offence.
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6. Survival guide
1 Do not be afraid to say that you don’t understand: This is the time when you are closest to
taking control of the material, because you have identified where your difficulty lies. Have someone explain
it you again from a different perspective. And remember, if you are having trouble with the point, other
students probably are too. This is particularly important for material that appears to be very simple, since
this forms the foundation of more advanced work.
2 Attend all classes: The classes are very interactive. Their main purpose is not to transfer information,
which can be found in the text. Rather, it is to establish the physical connection between the equations
and reality, and to develop mental models (intuition) for what is happening so that you can relate the
problems to your own experience.
3 Do all assigned problems: Physics is the description of nature in the language of mathematics, and
assigned problems are designed to improve your skills in this process. As with any language, the ability
to use mathematics depends much more on practice than on memorizing the rules of grammar. Studying
physics primarily means doing problems not rereading the text or lecture notes.
4 Working alone and in groups: Working with other students is an excellent way to develop your
understanding and analytical skills. However, it is important that in the end you can do problems on your
own. Always work through your final solutions independently, using only the formula sheet as an aid. This
is the only way to be sure that you really understand.
5 Show your reasoning: In your written answers, show the logic of your solutions. If you think you
understand something but you can’t explain it, then you probably don’t really understand. Writing down
your thoughts clearly can help you find mistakes and can help you sort out how to proceed when you
thought you were stuck. In the end, what matters most is not the correct answer but the right reasoning.
6 Learn from your mistakes: Always find out where you went wrong on assignments and tests, and
learn how to avoid the mistake in the future.
7 Focus on understanding not memorization: All the equations you will need for assignments and
tests are supplied on the formula sheet. Your focus should be on understanding what these equations mean
and how to use them. Think about what the symbols in each formula represent and the physical meaning
of each mathematical relation. Also, it will sometimes be useful to be able to derive new equations from
the ones given.
8 Budget your time: Be aware of what each component of the course is worth and budget your time
accordingly. For example, each lab report is worth about 4% of your final grade. Therefore, once you have
done what you can reasonably do on a report, it is not good use of your time to spend another five hours
to improve it by 5%. Your time might be better spent doing extra problems, since your skill here is worth
roughly 65% of the course marks.
9 Studying for tests and the final exam: The best way to start is to make sure that you can do all the
assigned questions and problems using just the formula sheet. Extra practice problems and in particular
working through previous tests and exams (available in the library) will also be useful.
10 Share your ideas: If you have an idea that could improve the course, pass it on to the instructors.
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