Syllabus
PHYSICS 140/150 - Fall 2012
Hopefully this syllabus will answer all of your questions. If not, please email or talk to your
professor for additional information. If you want to skip directly to particular information,
just click on a link below, but at some point read the whole thing. The course schedule goes
very quickly through chapters 1 and 2, so read those as soon as you can. We suggest that as a
general practice, you read the material each week before it is covered in class. Look through
the chapter, read the chapter summary, and look at a couple of examples. Finish the assigned
homework as soon as you can, and work on the problems because just reading the answers
does not help you much. Do that when you are stuck.
What is this course about?
Who is teaching my section of the course?
Contact for Lab Administrative Issues
What textbook should I buy?
Why are there four lectures and no recitation?
Why is Tuesday 5-6 pm reserved?
What if I already took physics in high school?
What can I do to prepare in advance?
What materials do I need to purchase?
How is the course graded?
How many quizzes are there?
How should I study for this course?
What do I need to know if I am also taking the lab (Physics150)?
When are the exams?
What if I get sick?
Office Hours
Free Tutors!
Lecture Schedule
Where can I find more practice questions?
Course Content
Physics 140 and Physics 150 have common lectures and exams and cover the same material.
The only difference is that Physics 150 includes a laboratory requirement. The course will
cover the area of physics known as mechanics. This includes describing how objects move
and then why they move or in some instances why they do not move. Objects in this case
mean anything from the smallest subatomic particles to the whole universe, so armed with
the how and why of motion, we will be able to understand an incredibly wide range of
phenomena. We will also explore general principles like conservation of energy, rotating
systems, oscillations and resonance, and examples of planetary motion. For details on the
material covered in each lecture, consult the schedule on your section’s Blackboard page.
We will cover approximately one chapter each week.
Your physics background
We will start the course with a description of motion in a straight line in several dimensions:
material that you might find familiar if you have taken a physics course before. But you
should not be lulled into a false sense of security. Be careful! A student once described the
course as AP Physics on steroids, so even with a good background, you should be sure to get
a good start on the semester. We will move through the first material very quickly. If you
have no background in physics, you may want to visit your professor’s office hours if you
find the material difficult. Be sure to do the assigned problems. There are skills and problem
solving strategies involved that can only be mastered with some practice.
Professors
MWF @ 10 in DRL A4
M@4 in DRL A4
Prof. Paul Heiney
DRL 2N24, 215-898-7918
heiney@sas.upenn.edu
TR @ 12:00 in DRL A4
W @ 1:00 in DRL A4
Prof. Joseph Kroll
DRL 1W1, 215-898-4994
kroll@hep.upenn.edu
TR @ 10:30 in DRL A4
W @ 2:00 in DRL A4
Prof. Evelyn Thomson
DRL 4N16B, 215-898-2677
thomsone@sas.upenn.edu
MWF @ 12:00 in DRL A8
M @ 3 in DRL A8
Prof. Robert Hollebeek
DRL 4N39, 215-898-9248
bobh@physics.upenn.edu
Recitations, Reviews, Midterms
T 5:00-6:00 , rooms to be announced
Lab and Course Administrative Contact
For information about the lab, lab lectures, midterms, or other administrative issues, see
Harriet Slogoff
Office: DRL 3N11, 215-898-6972
Email: slogoff@dept.physics.upenn.edu
Course Textbook: Volume 1 of Young and Freedman, University Physics, 13th Edition
We do not recommend using the 12th edition.
The bookstore has several options you can consider:
 volume 1 plus an etext (requires wireless) covering volumes 1 and 2 and good for 18
months
 volume 1 without etext (not much cheaper)
 used volume 1
 the etext alone is available from the publisher but expensive (cheaper than the text
however)
You will also need a calculator – graphing calculators are OK. If you are taking the lab, see
the lab web page for other requirements.
Physics 150 Laboratory
There will be an optional lab lecture September 11 at 5PM in DRL A1. This will cover
information also available on the lab website.
At www.physics.upenn.edu/uglabs you will find information about the lab, a copy of the Lab
Manual for Physics 150 (available free as an online document) and the lab schedules.
Be sure to look at the useful documents and websites tab there and consult the website for the
date of the first lab for your section. Labs for PHYS 150 start Wednesday, September 12
Labs are held in the North wing and West wing, third floor, DRL. A bulletin board on the
third floor (across from 3N13) will tell you which room to go to each week (you will need to
know your laboratory section number). The lab room often changes from week to week. See
the announcements on that board for the first lab sections and read the instructions for the
first lab carefully.
The lab section meets for a two-hour laboratory each week except as noted on the schedule
found at http://dept.physics.upenn.edu/%7Euglabs/. The experiment to be done must be
studied before the laboratory meeting and in some cases there is a prelab that must be
completed before the lab. For Physics 150, passing the laboratory is a requirement for
passing the course. Absence from the laboratory without permission could lead to an F in the
course. Bring a calculator and a clear plastic ruler to the laboratory.
Grading
Physics 140 and 150 have common midterms and final exams taken by all sections at the
same time. To insure uniformity and accuracy, the professors grade these exams. Each
professor will grade a particular question for all lecture sections ensuring a uniform standard
for that question. The course graders grade quizzes. Since quizzes are unique to a section, the
level of difficulty of your section’s quizzes may be lower or higher on some quiz than the
equivalent quiz in another section. However when calculating the final course grade, the quiz
sums for each section will be normalized to the same average. So if your section’s particular
quiz is easier or harder, it should not matter in the end. The reason we have quizzes is to help
you remain current with the material and so you can use your performance on each quiz to
find those areas where you need additional work. Doing the homework is essential, though it
is not collected or graded. Keeping up with the material is crucial in this subject. DO NOT
put Physics aside because you have other things due. Keep up with the pace of the course
because once you fall behind, it is doubly difficult to catch up. Cramming for the exam does
not work because the physics problem solving skills, mathematical skills, and result
interpretation take time and practice to develop.
The percentage weights for grading are shown below.
Physics 150
Two 50 minute – mid - term exams
Quizzes (approximately one per week)
Final Exam
Laboratory work
20 points each
10 points
40 points
10 points
Physics 140
Two 50 minute – mid - term exams
20 points each
Quizzes (approximately one per week)
10 points
Final Exam
40 points
Lab (even if not in the lab, add this to your scores) 8 points
In the actual grade, lab scores are normalized to an average of 8 across all lab sections to
eliminate any grading discrepancies between graders. If you are taking Physics 150, your
grade will depend primarily on the 90 point scale for exams and quizzes shown below, but
will be adjusted up (or down) if you are near a grade border and your lab score is
significantly above (or below) average. This course is not graded on a curve and while the
table below may be adjusted very slightly, you can use the table to estimate your point score.
Add your midterm scores (or an estimate) to your final exam score. Use your quiz average,
though that will also be normalized across sections, and 8 points if you are in 140 and your
estimated lab average if you are in 150. Your estimated grade is in the table.
To give you some guidance, here are approximate point scores and grades from last term.
The actual scoring this term may be adjusted slightly depending on the difficulty of exams.
92-100
A+
83-92
A
78-83
A74-78
B+
69-74
B
65-69
B57-65
C+
47-57
C
43-47
CQuizzes
There will be approximately 10 quizzes. You must take the quiz given in your own section.
Your lowest quiz score will be dropped, but there are no makeup quizzes, and no excuses
other than a documented visit to student health services. Doing the assigned homework and
keeping pace with the lectures is crucial to learning the material and performing well on
quizzes. The quizzes are meant to help you remain current in the class work, which is
important since many topics build on previous material. Quiz scores will be normalized to
the same average across all sections.
The weekly homework for this course is not collected and graded. Instead, to help you assess
your progress in understanding the material for this course, there will be weekly quizzes.
Each week the quiz will cover the material from the homework due at the beginning of that
particular week, and the quiz problem(s) will be similar to the level and content of those
homework problems.
Midterm Exams
There will be two 50-minute midterms and a 2-hour final exam.
Exam Dates (All midterm exams are on Tuesdays 5-5:50 pm) – locations to be announced
• Tuesday, Oct 2
• Tuesday, November 6
• Final Exam, Monday 12/17, 3-5 PM
Note that the first midterm occurs very quickly after the start of classes.
Exam Policy
No makeup exams will be given for midterm exams. If for any legitimate reason, e.g. illness
or other emergencies, you cannot be present for an examination, notify your professor.
PRIOR to the examination time, certification of the reason for your absence will be required
and if you are ill, you must be seen at Student Health Services and obtain a form from them.
Your exam score will be based on the other midterm and the final exam.
All exams will be closed book. Necessary constants and formulas will be provided. Bring a
calculator to quizzes and examinations.
Mistakes are rarely made in grading examinations, but if you believe a mistake has been
made in grading your exam, write a description of the mistake, as you see it, on a separate
sheet of paper and give it to your professor along with your exam paper within two days of
the time the exam is returned. These requests should not include why did I lose so many
points for that mistake! A request for re-grading will not be accepted more than two days
after the return of the exam paper and exams written in pencil are not eligible.
DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING ON OR IN YOUR RETURNED EXAM.
Final Exam
This examination must be taken at the scheduled time even if that time is changed by the
Registrar during the semester. Prior commitments, e.g., prepaid airline tickets, are not an
excuse for missing the exam. For further Penn policy about Exams please visit:
http://www.upenn.edu/assoc-provost/handbook/iv_d.html
The final is scheduled for
Monday 12/17 3pm to 5pm
Lectures
Due to the large amount of material covered in the course, all four scheduled hours of the
course are lectures. There is no recitation. It is generally a good idea to read the material for
the week before coming to class. This will help you to understand the concepts and
demonstrations better as they are presented in the lectures. The readings may also raise
questions in your mind that you can ask in class.
Your professor will present new material, or go over examples from the assignments during
the lectures. Again, unlike some other courses, the fourth hour is NOT a recitation session.
Tuesday 5-6PM
This time is reserved on your schedule for all sections of Physics 140 and Physics 150. It will
be used for review lectures, midterms, and midterm reviews. Note that there is an optional
initial lab lecture this year on September 11 at 5PM in A1. Be sure to consult the lab website
if you are in Physics 150.
Advance Preparation
Appendix B in the text contains some useful mathematical relationships. If you find anything
there that looks unfamiliar, you might want to review that. Physics 140 and 150 make heavy
use of algebra, trigonometry and differential calculus, so if you are a bit rusty with that, a
little practice will help a lot. You can also familiarize yourself with the other appendices
where you will find numerical constants and conversion factors (appendix E,F) that you will
need for some of the problems, and note that there are answers for all of the odd numbered
problems beginning on page A-9 in the back of the book.
Studying for Physics
Most students find that this is a difficult course, but it can also be a very rewarding one.
Where else can you learn about how almost everything from particles and atoms to the
universe works? Especially if you begin to have difficulty, get some extra help early before
you fall behind. Where? You can visit your Professor during office hours or after lectures,
you can take advantage of the free tutors offered by the Physics Department, you can form a
study group (your Professor can help with this if you can’t find a group), and you can use
good study habits. These include:
 It is recommended that you spend 2-3 hours of study outside class for each lecture
hour. There are four lecture hours, so we will let you do the math.
 Divide the total study hours by a number like 5 or 7, i.e. don’t try to cram for this
course – it rarely works. Try to keep up a consistent amount of effort each day
throughout the week. It’s like going to the gym. A consistent schedule helps.
 Read the chapter quickly before the lectures and reread it later.
 Take good notes in the lecture and go over them to study the things you are finding
difficult.
 Do all of the assigned problems. Set aside those you find difficult, reread the chapter
material and try them again the next night. Don’t spend more than 10 minutes on a
problem without making progress. Get a hint from somewhere (study group,
professor, friend) but don’t just let someone else answer the complete question for
you.
 By the time you have memorized the solution to a particular problem it is time to try
something else. It’s the application of the concepts that is important not the solution
to a particular problem. Find a similar problem and try it.


Try working the examples in the text while covering the text version of the answer.
After you finish, compare your work to the text’s version of the solution paying
particular attention to the principal behind each step. Keep in mind that there are
often several ways to approach a problem, so while yours may be different, it is not
necessarily wrong.
Physics is not a spectator sport. You need to work on the problems and examples
yourself. It is not enough to simply read the answers. You will find yourself
(hopefully) agreeing with the method, but you will not develop the ability to do them
on your own. The same is true for example midterms and quizzes. Train yourself to
think like a physicist. Break the situation down into simple parts, consider the
principles that are at work, identify what is known and unknown, relate things with
mathematics, and work out expressions for what you want to know.
More practice problems
Your Blackboard site will link you to a site with copies of old exams. You might find those
interesting. In contrast to the chapter problems, exam questions often require you to combine
information and techniques from multiple chapters and topics. Coverage of topics and
emphasis vary from year to year, so you should not expect all of these exams to be
representative. Several extra textbooks on physics by other authors are on reserve in the Math
Physics Library. The chapter headings will be quite similar to your textbook, so you will find
additional practice problems in those texts if you need them. All texts have numerical
answers for odd numbered problems in the back of the book. You can also use the examples
in these texts – read the question and without looking at the explanation, work out your
answer. Then compare. Keep in mind that there are often several ways to do each problem,
so your exact method may differ. See if you can understand the difference and determine
whether your method was simpler.
Author
Douglas C. Giancoli.
Title/Author
Physics : principles with applications
David Halliday, Robert
Resnick, Jearl Walker.
Fundamentals of Physics
Call Number
QC23 .G399 2005
QC21.3 .H35 2008
Jon Mathews [and] R. L.
Walker.
Mathematical methods of physics
Raymond A. Serway and Jerry
S. Faughn.
College Physics, vol 1
QA401 .M42 1970
Personal copy
Personal copy
Raymond A. Serway and Jerry
S. Faughn.
Paul A. Tipler, Gene Mosca.
College Physics
Physics for scientists and engineers
QC21.3 .T564 2008
David Mills
Student solutions manual for Tipler and Mosca’s
Physics for scientists and engineers, sixth edition
QC21.3 .T564 2008
Student manual
Hugh D. Young, Roger A.
Freedman ; contributing
author, A. Lewis Ford.
Sears and Zemansky’s university physics : with
modern physics.
QC21.3 .Y68 2004
Hugh D. Young, Roger A.
Freedman ; contributing
author, A. Lewis Ford.
Sears and Zemansky’s university physics : with
modern physics.
QC21.3 .Y68 2008
Hugh D. Young, Roger A.
Freedman ; contributing
author, A. Lewis Ford.
Sears and Zemansky’s university physics : with
modern physics.
QC21.3 .Y68 2012
Illness
Well, it could happen that you are ill before a quiz or an exam. If it is not serious enough to
see the Student Health Service, you should probably show up for the test and take it. If it is
serious, then the Student Health Service will see you and can provide your professor with an
excuse. For midterms however, see the section on midterms since there are no makeup exams.
For other serious issues, see your professor prior to the exam.
Free Tutors!
The Physics department has arranged free tutors for this course! The tutors are usually
physics majors and can be found in room 235 of the Education Commons. Hours are Monday
through Thursday 3-7 PM. If you visit the tutors to see how to work a problem, it is best if
you ask them to give you a hint for the next step of a problem instead of just listening to a
complete explanation. Physics is not a spectator sport!
Office Hours
Regular office hours will be posted on the Blackboard site for your section. You are however
welcome to drop by your Professor’s office any time, and/or correspond by email to set up a
particular time for a meeting. You can also attend the office hours of other professors.
Prof. Heiney
Prof. Kroll
Prof. Thomson
Prof. Hollebeek
M 12-1
T 11-12
M 2-3 T 9-10
M 9-10, 2-3
M 11:00 T 11:00
DRL 2N11
DRL 2C6
DRL 1W1
DRL 4N16B
DRL 4N39
Lecture Schedule
The lecture schedule for your section can be found on your section’s Blackboard site. The
schedule will be adjusted as necessary during the term.
The schedule below will tell you roughly when each chapter will be discussed in class.
9/3
Chapters 1, 2 (Units, Straight Line Motion) Classes start 9/5
9/10 Chapter 3 (Motion in 2D, 3D)
9/17 Chapter 4 (Newton's Laws)
9/24 Chapter 5.1-5.2 (Newton with no friction, circular motion)
10/1 Chapter 5.2-5.6, Chapter 6.1-6.2 (Newton with friction, circular motion,
Work/Energy),
10/2 Midterm 1 Through Newton’s Laws with no friction
10/8 Chapter 6.3-6.4, Chapter 7.1-7.2 (Potential Energy, Energy Conservation)
10/15 Chapter 7.3-7.5, Chapter 8.1-8.3 (Conservative, Nonconservative Forces, Momentum)
10/22 Chapter 8.4-8.6 (Collisions, Center of Mass, Rocket Motion), break Monday/Tuesday
10/29 Chapter 9 (Rigid Body Motion)
11/5 Chapter 10 (Rotational Dynamics)
11/6 Midterm through rigid body motion, no torque
11/12 Chapter 11.1-11.3 (Equilibrium, no elasticity)
11/19 Chapter 13.1-13.3 (Gravitation)
Thanksgiving
11/26 Chapter 13.4-13.8 (Gravitation Applications), Chapter 14 (Periodic Motion)
12/3 Chapter 14 (Periodic Motion)
Good Luck and remember that your Professors are here to help you, so make good use of that
resource.