Welcome to my Physics 160 class. We will concentrate on Electromagnetism
Ie. The properties of electric and magnetic phenomena and how we use our knowledge of them to improve
humanities existence.
PLEASE READ and STUDY These notes CAREFULLY which are designed to present my course and
help you organize yourself. If your not sure of something please talk to me about it.
(NOTE: its not surprising to learn that successful students always READ everything given to them, COME
to CLASS and DO their Assignments on TIME, not doing any of the other has bad grade consequences!)
TEXTBOOK
Lecture:
1. Giancoli: Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics VOL II 4th ed with the Mastering
Physics Student Access kit
IMPORTANT NOTE:
You are expected to be able to do fully worked out solutions to problems ON YOUR OWN.
You learn such by, studying the illustrated examples ( worked out solutions) in the Giancoli. I will
talk a bit about the theory and solve text problems in class as further examples of problem solving and
hopefully that will help you but it should not be the only thing you pay attention to for the course. You
must study the textbook illustrated problems until you understand them, if not see , or one of the
tutors. Of course, coming to class is important also and I expect you to do so.
A WORD TO THE WISE..
DO NOT DO YOUR HOMEWORK BY COPYING ANSWERS FROM SOMEONE ELSE OR ANY
OTHER SOURCE. TO DO SO WILL MOST LIKELY RESULT IN A FAILURE IN THIS COURSE
YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BE ABLE TO SOLVE PROBLEMS ON YOUR OWN
YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO SO ON EXAMS WITHOUT TAKING THE TIME AND
STRUGGLE ( IF NECESSARY )TO MASTER THE SKILLS OF PROBLEM SOLVING.
Laboratory textbook: Physics Lab Manual PHY 161 usually cheap since we print it.
ON GRADING
Typical grade is formulated as follows: 60 to 65% class exams (usually 2+ Final or maybe just a Midterm
and Final), 35-40% hand in Homework + Extra credit assignments that can add 5 points to your final
average.
WARNING: FAILING ALL EXAMS WILL RESULT IN A FAILURE IN THE COURSE
SINCE, PHYSICS AND MOST SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING ARE PROBLEM SOLVING
ORIENTED, AND YOU HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE TO ME THAT YOU CAN DO THIS. THE
EXAMS ARE THE WAY FOR ME TO MAKE AN ACADEMIC JUDGEMENT IF YOU ARE READY
TO MOVE ON IN YOUR CAREER. THE FAILURE WILL HAPPEN NO MATTER HOW WELL THE
OTHER ASPECTS OF THE COURSE ARE DONE. IF YOU FIND THIS UNACCEPTABLE I SUGGEST
YOU DROP THIS COURSE. 3 Crib sheets are permitted on the exam. I do not test memorization. I test
your problem solving skills as a way of knowing if you learned.
TO AVOID FAILING BE SURE TO DO ALL YOUR OWN WORK AND SEEK HELP IMMEDIATLEY
AS YOU NEED IT FROM ME OR THE TUTORS
.
MY GRADING SCHEME: GA=FINAL AVERAGE: GA>=93=A; GA<92 &>=89 =A- ; GA <89
&>=85 =B+ ;GA <85 & >=82 =B ; GA <82>=79 =B- ; GA<79 >= 74 = C+ ; GA < 74 &>=68 =
C; GA <68 &>= 60=D; GA< 60= F;
For those of you who need help to be successful in college I present the following information:
SKILLS TO BE SUCCESSFUL ARE "READING COMPREHENSION" AND "TIME
MANAGEMENT" to improve your skills check out the following links: Some of you have busy
lives and learning “time management can mean successful performance in school and in industry.
See: http://csivc.csi.cuny.edu/supernova7/files/reading.htm
HOW TO STUDY PHYSICS, SCIENCE AND HOW TO WRITE A PAPER:
"How to Study Physics"; There are many references online, try the following:
http://csivc.csi.cuny.edu/supernova7/files/robbins/PHY160/Physics%20Stud
y%20tips.htm
See How to write a paper in the next link which might be useful to you in the laboratory reports and other
college work.
http://csivc.csi.cuny.edu/supernova7/files/howtowriteapaper.html
IN SUMMARY, PHYSICS IS A PROBLEM ORIENTED COURSE THAT improves your mathematical
PROBLEM SOLVING skills as well as increasing your abilities at critical thinking. These skills are
necessary for success in Engineering, all sciences and medicine. They are also very useful if you change
your field of endeavor.
In other words, workout and study a lot of problems, even more then are assigned. You will gain in the end.
Your Hand in Homework is designed for you to work out problems in detail ( I will illustrate this in class).
Years from now you may forget the particulars but you have opened new channels in your brain that stay
with you.
Analogous, to building muscles, you may not remember what weights you used but the results of hard work,
clearly show!
To be successful in this course: it is universally suggested: that 2-3 hrs per hour of class including the
laboratory. This means since you have a total of 6 hrs of class in Physics 12 to 18 hours a week are needed
to be master the material and ensure success in this Physics class. SEE the time management link above
which is a critical concept for success not only in this class but in college and in industry.
Prof Irving Robbins
irving.robbins@csi.cuny.edu
office: 1N-233 718-982-2818
Office hours, normally before our class on Tues and Thurs (except if I have to
Go to a meeting so let me know if you need to see me.
The library tutoring service should have a Physics tutors available also and some of our graduate students
will be available to help you also
HAND IN PROBLEMS FORMAT
1. DONE IN PENCIL ONLY, staple multiple pages
2. DEFINE KNOWN VARIABLES use units
EGs v0=78m/sec v=100m/sec x=10 m
3 show unknown for eg a=? m/s2
4. Show formula(s) used to get unknown(s)
v2=v0 2 +2 ax
5. Solve algebraically for the unknown
a= (v2-v02 )/2 x
DOUBLE CHECK THIS STEP
6. Plug in numbers. Show this ! Then use calculator
a= (1002 -782)/ (2*10)
7. Give answer with units a=196m/s2 Be sure to double check this last step to minimize errors
.