PHYS 1022: University Physics II
FALL 2014
The George Washington University
Class Information
Meeting Place:
Monroe Hall Rm 111
Meeting Time:
Tuesday and Thursday 8:30 – 10:30 AM
Friday 10:00 - 11:00 AM
Credit:
4 credit hours
Prerequisite:
Basic calculus (MATH 31 and 32, or equivalent)
Required Materials:
Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics (3nd
edition) by Knight with MasteringPhysics and Student Workbook
published by Pearson (Addison-Wesley)
Also the TurningPoint keypad for interactive quizzes,
available at the GW bookstore
Course Website:
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Teaching Assistant:
Office:
http://blackboard.gwu.edu
All course access including to homework is via blackboard. See
instructions there for registering for modified mastering physics.
Raluca Teodorescu (rteodore@gwu.edu)
Corcoran Hall Rm1 0 4 E
Check the “Office Hours” link in Blackboard.
TBA
TBA
Desired Learning Outcomes
This course is a University level, Calculus-based physics course designed to introduce you to
scientific thinking and problem-solving on a level well beyond that covered in a High School science
course. Where in High School science, the emphasis is often on introducing a formula and using it
to produce a numerical result, in University Physics we are aiming at a deeper conceptual
understanding of physical processes and systems. In this course you will need to analyze physical
processes, static and dynamic, and correctly predict their outcomes.
Students in science and engineering fields need to have an even deeper grasp of Physics and how it
applies to the world around them. Mechanics and Thermodynamics, as covered in PHYS21, are
directly applied by a Civil Engineer designing a bridge, a Biologist studying processes within a cell,
as well as Geologist predicting the likely severity of an earthquake.
You likely have heard that "Mathematics is the language of Science". You now have at your
disposal a very powerful mathematical tool that was developed for the very purpose of describing
physical processes. Calculus. This course will familiarize you with the practical application of
Calculus concepts to the analysis of physical systems.
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Explain and analyze key concepts related to electricity and magnetism, circuits, optics, and
waves.
2. Identify what physical principles are at play and what laws guide the outcomes.
3. Apply basic physical principals to solve practical problems.
4. Set up and carry on a solution to complex, multi-step problems based on the physical principals
at play.
5. Apply Calculus concepts to physical systems to analyze change.
6. Develop habits of learning new scientific concepts independently, through reading and practice
problems.
Course Administration
We will use Blackboard which you can access if you are registered for the course. The
website contains news and announcements, the course syllabus, lab information, lecture
notes, h o m e w o r k , and other useful information.
Course Description
This course is the 2nd part of the basic physics sequence intended for science and
engineering majors and minors. Physics 1021 focuses on Classical Newtonian Mechanics,
Fluids, and Thermal Physics; Physics 1 0 22 covers Waves, Electromagnetism, Circuits and
Optics. You don't have to be a 'genius' to do well in the course, but you have to have the
desire to learn new physics concepts and the commitment to carry out the assigned tasks.
You need some basic math skills, including calculus and differential equations.
Group Work
Almost all of your in-class work will be conducted in groups of 3.
There is heavy
emphasis on the group dynamics in this course, and therefore it is very important that
all groups function well as a team. If for any reason, you are experiencing difficulties in
your group, you should bring this to the attention of the instructor. The smooth operation
of the group work is central to our collaborative effort.
Groups could be reconfigured during
the semester as needed to facilitate better learning experiences. Your activity in the group
will be evaluated and credit will be given in a manner that will be decided in class.
Classroom Activities
We will more or less follow the class schedule provided in the course calendar. The
nature of the collaborative section is such that it is critically important that you come to
class prepared to work on the material each day.
Each week, you have to read the
corresponding chapter from the textbook before you come to class. At the beginning at each
class, we will have a 10 min reading quiz based on the material you‘ve read. We will spend
our class time supplementing the ideas in the textbook and applying them to welldefined problems which will help deepen your understanding of the basic underlying
physics concepts. Our in-class activities will include conceptual tests, written worksheets,
and hands-on lab experiments.
Mathematics Background
Basic knowledge
of simple differential
and integral calculus, together with algebra,
geometry, and trigonometry, is needed for this course. Therefore, a passing grade in
Math 31 and 32 (or the equivalent) is required and a facility with these mathematical
techniques is fully expected. If you do not meet these criteria, you will not be allowed
to take the course.
If you are in doubt about this requirement, please talk with the
instructor on the first day of class.
Warning: If your grade in Math 31 or 32 was lower than C, you have extra review work to
do. See Appendix A of your textbook for a brief outline of such a mathematics review. You
should do this review the first week of the semester.
PHYS 22 Grading Policy
In order to foster cooperation and collaboration among all of you, the course will be graded on an
absolute scale (there will be no “curving” of grades). This means that helping your fellow
students does not in any way jeopardize your own grade, and in fact, is likely to help you, since
explaining things to others will help you understand things better yourself. Moreover, there will be
various “group incentives” during the semester, and so it is also in your best interest to maximize
the effort and performance of your group.
93.5
89.5
85.5
81.5
77.5
73.5
A
AB+
B
BC+
69.5
65.5
61.5
57.5
55.0
below
C
CD+
D
DF
There are several components in the course, designed to maximize your learning and to
assess that learning. Each component has its own weight in the overall grading scheme.
Of the two schemes listed below, I will choose the one that optimizes your grade. Scheme 2 has a
slightly higher weighting on the final to compensate for an anomalously low grade on exam 1 or
2. The breakdown of these components is given below:
Scheme 1
Scheme 2
Midterm Exam 1
17.5%
15%
Midterm Exam 2
17.5%
15%
20%
25%
5%
5%
Lab Reports
10%
10%
Weekly Quizzes
15%
15%
Daily reading quizzes
10%
10%
5%
5%
100%
100%
Final Exam
Homework Assignments
In class activities
Total
Note that the exams count for 55% of your total grade and the combination of in-class and
at-home aspects of the course count for the other 45% of your total grade. This means
that you have a great deal of control over your own grade. If you make the effort to earn
the non-exam points, you will build a safety net for yourself in the event that you stumble in
the exams. Please pay special attention to the homework assignments - if you are
conscientious you should be able to score 100% on the homework which will have a significant
impact on your grade.
Exams
There will be 3 exams for this course, two during the semester and one during the finals
period. We will try to announce the exam times early in the semester so that you can plan
for them in advance, however you should not make sure you are in campus until the
last day of the Final Exams Period which is December 18 th . The exams are closed-book,
but a formula sheet on standard paper (8.5 by 11 inches) is provided for each exam. The
purpose in providing this information during the exams is to emphasize that formula
memorization or plug-and-chug is not the main goal in this course. The focus is on
understanding and problem-solving skills. Bonus points are built into each exam. If your
grade on the first exam is lower than 70% you are required to attend the weekly office
hours.
Homework
We will have weekly homework assignments, handled through the Mastering Physics online
system which is tied to the textbook. This system will give you immediate feedback as to
whether or not your answer is correct and hints if it is not correct. You will have up to 5
tries for most problems. Most of the homework problems are taken from the end-of-chapter
problems.
Feel free to discuss the problems with other students; however, you are
responsible for submitting your own answers. Since the homework answers can be
submitted at any time while the set is active, from any location where you have Internet
access, no extensions on homework are granted. The homework is scored out of 140 points.
This means that you can get 40 points of extra credit on each assignment that can make up
for poor performance on other homework assignments. You can get a maximum of 100% on
your homework grade for the course and everyone should be able to do this with the extra
credit allowed.
Lab Reports
There will be labs integrated into the course. There is no lab manual to purchase. Instead,
lab instructions are posted on Blackboard. You should read the instructions before going to
the lab. Labs will be conducted as a group but each member must submit his/her own lab
report. Each member must be physically present and must have participated in the
experiment to receive credit. For this purpose, before you leave the lab, please get the
initials of your lab instructor on your data sheet. Your instructor may also ask you to do
some preliminary calculations to make sure the data make sense before you leave the lab.
If necessary, you may be asked to repeat some measurements. No makeups for labs.
Quizzes
Reading Quizzes – As previously mentioned, at the beginning at each class there will be a
reading quiz which will consist of 5 clicker questions. The reading quiz is a closed-books quiz.
Students are allowed to bring an annotated formula sheet.
Problem Solving Quizzes – At the end of each week, there will be a problem-solving quiz
consisting of 1 to 2 problems. These quizzes are generally held on Fridays. The p r o b l e m s o l v i n g quiz will be closed books, but students are allowed to bring an annotated formula
sheet. The lowest p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g quiz score will be dropped in the end. No makeups
for quizzes.
In-Class Activities
These are short in class exercises, hands-on activities, or problems designed to help you
understand specific physics concepts. Sometimes, a question will be posed related to the
material covered, with multiple-choice answers.
You will respond to such conceptual
questions using your TurningPoint clickers. Sometimes I will ask you to engage in discussions
with your peers before submitting your final answers. It is important that you participate
actively in the ConcepTests and all the other activities, without hesitation for being right or
wrong. Your classroom-related grade is a participation grade and you will not lose points for
making a mistake. You may find that you will learn more from your mistakes. There are no
makeups for the classroom activities.
Peer Evaluations
Each of your team members will evaluate your contribution to the team at mid-semester and at the
end of the semester. Clearly, it is to your advantage to take your team responsibilities seriously.
Gold Stars/ Extra Credit
In this course you have several opportunities to obtain Gold Stars which are equivalent to 1 quiz
extra credit point (10% of one quiz grade). You can earn Gold Stars by doing the following
activities:



prepare summaries of textbook chapters
asking interesting questions in class
present solutions in class with good problem-solving protocol and send the professor your
whiteboard work
find mistakes in the professor’s work
present interesting applications of the concepts learned in your field of interest


Other Matters
Student’s Responsibility
Your attitude toward the course should be one of self-responsibility. You will get out of
the course exactly as much as you put in to it. Your responsibilities include:
• Come to every class and participate actively in all of the collaborative work.
• Consult Appendix A of the textbook to acquire the mathematical skills (algebra,
vectors, and calculus) needed for the course.
• Read the textbook carefully and gain a reasonable familiarity with the day’s material
before you come to class. Come with questions in mind!
• Work on the homework problems early and finish them on time.
• Check the course website regularly for updates and course information.
• Participate fully in all of the classroom activities (we said this already, but it is
important enough to mention twice!).
If you find that you are struggling with the coursework, seek assistance early so that you
won't fall behind for even just one week.
Help Resources
•
Society of Physics Students (SPS)
Each semester the SPS offers free Physics tutoring to all students. Tutoring is held in
the Gelman building and the hours change from semester to semester. I will announce
the tutoring hours for this semester as they are made available. You can also contact
sps@gwu.edu for more information.
•
Disability Support Services (DSS)
Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a
disability should contact the Disability Support Services office at 202-994-8250 in the
Marvin Center, Suite 242, to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable
accommodations. For additional information please refer
to http://gwired.gwu.edu/dss.
•
University Counseling Center (UCC) 202-994-5300
The UCC offers 24/7 assistance and referral to address students' personal, social,
career, and study skills problems. Services for students include: crisis
andemergency mental health consultations; confidential assessment, counseling
services (individual and small group), and referrals. For additional information
please refer to
http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/CounselingServices/AcademicSupportServices.
Excused Absences
An un-excused absence will result in a grade of zero on that particular missed activity. Any
excused absences (illness, religious holidays, athletic meets, etc) must be brought to the
instructor's attention as soon as possible (not at the end of the semester). Valid
documentation must be shown to support such claims. For more information on university
policies on teaching, see http://www.gwu.edu/~academic/Teaching/main.htm.
Academic Dishonesty
Cheating compromises the integrity of our course and is unfair to those students who earn
their grade through honest hard work. We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding cheating.
Any dishonest behavior, once discovered, will be penalized fullest according to the GW Code
of Academic Integrity. It states: Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind,
including misrepresenting one's own work, taking credit for the work of others without
crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information. For
the remainder of the code, see http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html.
Security
In the case of an emergency, if at all possible, the class should shelter in place. If the
building that the class is in is affected, follow the evacuation procedures for the building.
After evacuation, seek shelter at a predetermined rendezvous location.
Physics 1022 Tentative Class Schedule (GWU, Fall 2014, Prof. Teodorescu)*
Week
Weekly Topics
Week 1 Chaps. 30 and 31
Current and resistance;
Fundamentals of circuits
Week 2 Chaps. 30 and 31
Current and resistance;
Fundamentals of circuits
Tuesday
Thursday
Friday
8/26
8/28
8/29
Chap. 30
Chap. 31
9/2
9/4
9/5
Chap. 30/31
Chap. 30
Quiz 1
9/9
9/11
9/12
Chap. 25
Chap. 25
Quiz 2
9/16
9/18
9/19
Chap. 25/26
Chap. 26
Quiz 3
9/23
9/25
9/26
Chap. 27
Chap. 27/28
Quiz 4
9/30
10/2
10/3
Chap. 28
Chap. 29
Quiz 5
10/7
10/9
10/10
Review
Exam 1
Exam 1
(Chaps. 25-31)
Recap
10/14
10/16
10/17
Chap. 32
Chap. 32
Quiz 5
Lab 1 Kirchhoff’s
Laws
Week 3 Chap. 25
Introduction; Electric charges:
Electric forces
Week 4 Chap. 26
Electric forces: Electric field;
Gauss’s law
Week 5 Chaps. 27 and 28
Gauss’s law, Electric potential
Week 6 Chaps. 28 and 29
Electric potential , Electric potential
and field
Lab 2 Electric Field
and Electric Potential
Week 7 Exam 1
Week 8 Chap 32
Magnetic field
Week 9 Chap. 33
10/21
10/23
10/24
Chap. 33
Chap. 33
Quiz 6
10/28
10/30
10/31
Chap. 20
Chap 20
Lab 3 Standing
Waves
11/4
11/6
11/7
Chap. 21
Review
Quiz 7
11/11
11/13
11/14
Exam 2
Chap 22
Exam 2
Electromagnetic induction
Week 10 Chap. 20
Traveling waves
Week 11 Chap. 21
Superposition of waves
Week 12 Exam 2
(Chaps. 20, 21, 32,33)
Week 13 Chaps. 22 and 23
Recap
11/18
11/20
11/21
Chap. 22
Chap. 22/23
Quiz 8
11/25
11/27
11/28
Chap. 23
THANKSGIVING
THANKSGIVING
12/4
Review
12/5
Wave optics and Ray optics
Week 14 Chap. 23
Ray optics
Lab 4 Ray Optics
Week 15
*
12/2
Make up day no
regularly scheduled
class
Please note that this schedule may be changed. Corresponding announcements will be posted in
Blackboard if that happens.
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students:
The Department of Physics at George Washington University is dedicated to ensuring that
students have the best academic experience and get the most out of their education. In order to
accomplish this, it is essential that we adapt teaching and learning styles to the ever-changing
world.
In the Department of Physics, we do this by analyzing and researching different ways of teaching;
what works best, what elicits enthusiasm in students, and how these techniques translate into
academic achievement. We conduct ongoing analyses of instructional methods by examining
enrollments in physics courses, and by reviewing the grade trends and the valuable survey
responses from faculty, staff and students. This research is limited to the review of records, both
present and past. We will not request additional effort to be submitted by any member or student
of the Department of Physics. You will not be asked to take additional exams, to complete surveys
beyond those usually employed or to carry out any supplemental work in order for this research
to take place.
No analysis is done with any particular single individual in mind. All analyses are done in an
aggregate manner and no identifying information will be published or presented.
If you do not wish to be included in such research, please contact Prof. Raluca Teodorescu
(rteodore@gwu.edu) to express your desire to decline participation in such research.
Thank you for your continuing support in our educational growth and development.