http://cosmo.nyu.edu/hogg/gp1/
NYU General Physics I
This syllabus is for NYU CAS Physics course PHYS-UA 11 in the Fall 2013 semester.
Staff
lecture
laboratory
admin.
name
contact
office
office hours
David W. Hogg
david.hogg@nyu.edu
Meyer 501
Wed 15:30–17:00
Chui-Lai Cheung clcheung@nyu.edu
Meyer 333
by appointment
Giga Chkareuli
chkareuli@gmail.com
TBD
Thu 13:00-14:00
Phil Frankel
pmf238@nyu.edu
Meyer 639A Wed 15:50–16:50
Ruben Gepner
rubengepner@gmail.com
Meyer 923
Ian Harnarine
iankh@nyu.edu
Meyer 639A Wed 12:00–13:00
Mon 15:30–16:30
Deepak Khurana deepak.khurana@nyu.edu Meyer 517
Wed 14:00–15:00
Shahab Kohani
sk3431@nyu.edu
Meyer 516
Fri 14:00–15:00
Layla Quinones
lmq210@nyu.edu
TBD
Tue,Wed 09:00–10:00
Ellery Russell
err258@nyu.edu
Meyer 639A Fri 13:00-14:00
Michael Salvati
mike.salvati@nyu.edu
Meyer 228
by appointment
Shu Xie
sx331@nyu.edu
Meyer 639
Thu 15:00-17:00
Guolong Zhu
gz429@nyu.edu
Meyer 639
Wed 15:00-16:30
William LePage
+1.212.998.7704
Meyer 424
Aims and scope
There are several aims of this course, not limited to
learning the basics of kinematics, forces, mechanical energies, and continuum mechanics (fluids
and elastic materials);
development of critical quantitative reasoning abilities, including estimation, approximation, and
calculation;
with a concentration on physical effects of importance in the life sciences and health professions.
The scope of the course is set by a finite set of problems. This set of problems is the union of all
the problems seen or discussed in lecture, all the problems seen or discussed in the laboratory
component of the course, and the set of problems given in the weekly problem sets.
All exam questions on all of the term exams will refer only to problems from this extremely limited
set of problems. Exam problems will be repeats of problems seen before, with only minor changes or
transformations.
There is no assigned textbook for the lecture component of the course. Any calculus-based
mechanics textbook published in the last ten years would provide an acceptable reference work. Prof
Hogg's favorite book is Matter and Interactions Volume 1 by Chabay and Sherwood (any edition). If
you want comfort and familiarity, then University Physics Volume 1 by Young and Freedman (also
any edition) will mesh well with what happens next semester. Once again, the scope is set by the
finite set of problems, not by any textbook.
Calculus, trigonometry, and algebra will all be involved. If you are rusty, brush up.
Evaluation
Grades will be based on a total score generated with these percentages:
percentage comments
laboratory reports
20 lowest lab grade is dropped
term exam 1
20
term exam 2
20
term exam 3
20
term exam 4
20
total
100
Grades will be assigned in one-to-one correspondence with the total score according to the
following percentage ranges:
total score greater than: 90 86 82 72 68 64 54 40 percent
final grade at least:
A A− B+ B B− C+ C D
Laboratories
For the laboratory component of this course, you will need the General Physics I laboratory manual.
There are laboratory sessions for most weeks of the semester, and for each one you will be required
to hand in a laboratory report, which will be graded. Your laboratory instructor will explain what is
expected in a good laboratory report.
Laboratory reports are due at the start of the laboratory session immediately following the session
in which the experiment is performed. A late reports is penalized by reducing the maximum possible
grade by 50 percentage points if it comes in within a week of the deadline; it is graded zero after that.
Absences from laboratories will be excused only for medical reasons with a doctor's note. No other
excuses will be accepted. It is not possible to perform a laboratory experiment in advance of the
scheduled laboratory time or after it. Laboratory experiments missed or reports not turned in for any
reason will be graded zero unless there is a properly documented medical excuse. Importantly, if you
miss or get a grade of zero on more than two laboratory experiments for any reason (medical
or otherwise), you will not receive a passing grade for the course; the best grade you can receive in
this situation is "Incomplete". You can only complete this incomplete by retaking the entire lab
sequence (not just the labs you missed) in a subsequent semester.
If you are re-taking only the laboratory part of this course, you must contact both Prof Hogg and
Mr LePage at the beginning of the semester to notify them of this situation, and you must be properly
registered for the laboratory session you attend.
Your laboratory instructor will be responsible for grading your laboratory reports and for providing
to Prof Hogg a laboratory grade for each student. Your instructor will construct your total laboratory
grade from all but your worst (lowest-score) laboratory. If you have missed a laboratory for a
properly documented medical reason, that laboratory will be pro-rated out of the total score. (If you
have missed more than two for any reason, including medical, you will not pass the course; see
above.) If we find that there are large and statistically significant differences in the grading policies or
outcomes of different laboratory instructors, Prof Hogg will make adjustments in the interest of
fairness.
For safety reasons, you are not permitted to attend a laboratory session for which you are not
registered, even if it is led by the same instructor as your proper session. Laboratory reports based on
attendance in wrong laboratory sessions will be given scores of zero.
Problem sets
A small number of problems are assigned each week to work on as you wish (see the table below).
These problem sets are not to be handed in, but it is strongly recommended that you work on the
problems, because they comprise part of the scope of the course.
Please feel free to discuss problem set questions with other students. Working together can be very
educational and helpful; it is also more fun; it is encouraged! Of course it is also the case that you will
not learn the material and not perform well on the exams if you have not struggled individually with
the problems, so seek a balance.
The problem sets provide very valuable concrete example problems around which you can seek
help and advice from your peers and from the tutoring and help resources we provide. Solutions to
the problems will not be provided; these problem sets will be evaluated by your performance on the
term exams.
Tutoring and help
The Department and University provide tremendous resources for this class; you are doing yourself a
disservice if you do not use them:
The Department provides a custom peer-tutoring service for this class, staffed by some of the
best Physics Majors. The locations and hours for this tutoring will be available on BlackBoard.
The University Learning Center has special tutors hired for General Physics, all of whom have
taken the class (or equivalent) and done very well. Locations, hours, and policies are available at
the ULC site.
All of the staff have office hours (listed above), and you should feel free to contact them at any
time about the material of the course.
Each of these resources has the important property that you get much more out of them if you
come with a specific question ready in advance.
But above all, your best resource is your fellow students. Form a study group (ideally with students
of comparable ability) and work together on the lecture material, on relevant reading, and on the
problem sets. Choose a regular time and meet. Multiple lines of research show that students who
make use of peer support learn better and perform better on the exams. They also have more fun.
Examinations
There will be four Term Examinations during the term and no Final Exam. The Term Exams happen
on dates given in the schedule below. The exams will take place in the lecture room. The scope of
each exam will be made clear in lecture, but in brief, the Term Exams will concentrate on the material
in the previous few weeks.
The exams will be open notes. Any written or printed documents are permitted in the exam room.
On the other hand, electronic devices that can connect to a mobile-phone network or internet are
forbidden. Furthermore, you do not need a calculator, so no electronic devices will be permitted at
all.
Each exam question will be a small modification of a problem you have seen before, in lecture, in a
laboratory, or on a problem set, with small changes or shortened to a sub-part of the problem. The
idea is that good performance on the exams will demonstrate that you really have understood the
work that has been assigned and discussed throughout the semester.
Missed exams will be graded zero unless there is a properly documented medical excuse. If
there is a properly documented medical excuse for a missed term exam, it will be pro-rated out of the
total score. No special arrangements will be made and no excuses will be granted for travel conflicts,
no matter what. If you have a non-medical emergency that prevents you from making an
examination, you will have to speak with a Dean of your College, not with the faculty in this course.
The exams are absolutely mandatory. If you miss or do not take or do not hand in more than
one of the Term Exams for any reason (medical or otherwise), you will not receive a passing grade
for the course; the best grade you can receive in this situation is "Incomplete". You can only complete
this incomplete by retaking the entire exam complement (not just the exams you missed, and possibly
including a Final Exam) in a subsequent semester.
If you are re-taking only the exam part of this course, you must contact both Prof Hogg and
Mr LePage at the beginning of the semester to notify them of this situation.
If you arrive late for any exam, you will not be given extra time. If you fail to obey any of the
instructions given to you by course staff before, during, or after any exam, your exam may be graded
zero or you may be subject to academic honesty proceedings.
Miscellaneous
audio recordings: While you are not forbidden from making audio recordings during class, you
must not post, publish, or share them with others, not even in small sound bites. This is because
the classroom setting is a private setting in which everyone should feel free to speak plainly and
without regrets. Failure to obey this rule will be considered an act of academic dishonesty.
disabilities: If you have an arrangement with the Center for Students with Disabilities, you must
present the relevant forms to Mr LePage one week in advance of each of the exams.
academic honesty: By University and Departmental policy, the lightest punishment we are permitted
to give for academic dishonesty is a grade of "F" in the course and a disciplinary action by the
College. Academic dishonesty includes (in addition to the usual kinds of cheating) misrepresenting
matters of material importance to the instructors.
feedback: Please ask questions during lectures and laboratory sections and help sessions. If there is
something you don't understand, many other students are having the same trouble, guaranteed. If
there is some aspect of the pace, content, or structure of the course you don't like, or any other
feedback you would like to give, please let Prof Hogg know as soon as possible. If you wait until
course evaluation forms are handed out at the end of the semester, you will have benefited next year's
class at the expense of your own!
legalese: We apologize for the legal tone of this syllabus. The subject of physics is great fun;
operating an enormous class can be exasperating. All of the staff of this course will do everything we
can to make this class interesting and enjoyable for everyone. Physics isn't just fun for Prof Hogg; it is
his profession and his calling.
Schedule
The following table is subject to change; please check back here frequently.
start of
week
Sep 02
lecture subjects
laboratory
problem
set
dimesional analysis, estimation
Tues: Falling bucket
no laboratories this week
ps 01
Thurs: The mass of the Earth
Sep 09
kinematics, acceleration and velocity
Tues: Thrown stone
Thurs: One-dimensional trajectory
Motion 1
ps 02
Sep 16
gravity and contact forces, planes and
strings
Tues: blocks on planes
Thurs: Atwoods machine
Motion 2
ps 03
Sep 23
kinematics and dynamics, together
Tues: Term Exam 1 in Lecture on Sep 24 Equilibrium of a Particle
Thurs: banking airplane
ps 04
Sep 30
kinematics and dynamics, pseudo-forces
Tues: textbook smackdown
Thurs: The swinging coffee cup
Newton's Second Law
ps 05
Oct 07
energy and momentum
Tues: ski jump
Thurs: bullet in block
Centripetal Force
ps 06
Oct 14
energy and momentum
Tues: no lecture on Oct 15
Thurs: elastic collision
no laboratories this week
ps 07
Oct 21
torques and statics
Tues: Term Exam 2 in Lecture on Oct 22 Conservation of Energy
Thurs: block on a light table
ps 08
Oct 28
statics and vibrations
Tues: hanging sign
Thurs: harmonic oscillators
Collisions in One
Dimension
ps 09
Nov 04
oscillators and sound
Tues: piano string
Thurs: waves on a string
Ballistic Pendulum
ps 10
Nov 11
real oscillators
Tues: damped harmonic oscillators
Thurs: Term Exam 3 in Lecture on
Nov 14
Work–Energy
ps 11
Nov 18
fluids, buoyancy
Tues: fluid pressure
Thurs: balloon in the bus
Oscillations of a String
ps 12
Nov 25
Bernoulli
Tues: water pipes
Thurs: no lecture on Nov 28
no laboratories this week
ps 13
Dec 02
surface tension, biophysics
Tues: water tank
Thurs: droplet of water
Resonance Tube
ps 14
Dec 09
biophysics
Tues: viscous blood flow
Thurs: Term Exam 4 in Lecture on
Dec 12
no laboratories this week
no ps
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