Physics 101a: Classical and Modern Physics I
Fall 2010 Syllabus, Information, and Policies
Physics 101 is an introductory course exploring the central ideas of classical mechanics and
thermodynamics with applications drawn principally from the life sciences, but also from
astrophysics, forensic science and everyday life. Students intending to major in natural sciences
other than physics or astronomy should find that the two semesters of Physics 101-102 provide a
solid foundation in classical and modern physics. Potential math or chemistry majors should take
either this or the Physics 105-106 sequence. Non-science majors also may find this course to be a
valuable part of their liberal arts program. Physics majors are advised to take the 105-106
sequence, although you may also start the major in Physics 101 and 102 (or even switch into
Physics 106 having taken Physics 101 first semester.)
Location and times
We expect you to attend all class meetings, including lectures, recitations and laboratories.
Lecture: MWF 11:30 - 12:30 PM KINSC Hilles 109.
Discussion Section/Recitation: attend at least one of these weekly: all in H108: M 2:30-3:30;
Tues. 8:30-10am; Wed 8:30-9:30
Laboratory: Tues. or Wed. 1:15 - 4:00 PM KINSC Hilles 105.
You will be assigned to the Tues. or Wed. section on the basis of a form to be filled out on the
first day of class. The results will be posted on a bulletin board outside H105; check your
assignment promptly as the laboratory begins the first week of class. Subsequently, the
laboratory meets every other week, except as interrupted by fall break. The schedule is listed in
the laboratory manual and is available online. It is expected that you will attend every lab
meeting; any departures from the schedule must be discussed in advance with the instructor. You
will only be able to complete the lab in the allotted time if you have read the instructions
thoroughly and made a good effort to understand them in advance. Therefore, you are required
to come to each lab fully prepared, having read the manual and having answered all pre-lab
questions beforehand!
Physics Clinic: Mondays & Tuesdays 7 to 10pm, Hilles 107 (Physics Lounge) starting the
second week of classes.
This resource is staffed by experienced and friendly physics majors to help you with any
remaining questions you may have from class or with homework.
The Dean's office provides Peer Tutors at your request in all subjects, including physics.
Instructors
Suzanne Amador Kane, Room L103 KINSC, (610) 896-1198 (office), samador@haverford.edu ;
Office hours: Tues. 10-11:30am, Wed. 9:30-11:30am, or by appointment--you also can get help
in Clinic & recitations!
Scott Shelley (lab), Room L207 KINSC, (610) 896-1310 (office), sshelley@haverford.edu
Peter Love (lab), Room L105 KINSC (610) 796-6505 (office), plove@haverford.edu ; Office
hours: Tu 5:30-7pm; Wed. 5:30-7pm; Th 1-4pm
We expect you to read your email and check the Blackboard web site regularly as we will make
announcements and answer some questions this way. You should feel free to send us email when
you have a question or comment. However, if you are having trouble with a homework problem,
for instance, it is usually far more efficient if you stop by so that we can work through the
problem at a chalkboard rather than through an email exchange.
Please do not hesitate to contact us; no question or topic is too small. If you are having a lot of
trouble with the homework, be sure to come to see one of us as soon as possible. A good way to
get together is to arrange a mutually agreeable time with us, either by email or in person after
class.
Feedback: we will issue course evaluations half-way through the semester. However, if you have
concerns about the course or ideas about how to make it better, you should let us know
immediately, either in person or by email. Don't wait!
Textbooks and supplies
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Required textbook: Physics for the Life Sciences, Timothy McKay (University of
Michigan). This electronic textbook will be posted on Blackboard, and we will arrange a
means for you to purchase an inexpensive paper copy if you wish.
Optional: General Physics, Morton Sternheim and Joseph Kane, John Wiley & sons,
1991. (This textbook will be used for problems, example and other material, but you are
not expected to purchase it; note the tradeoff: this is a unique, quite good older textbook,
so there are many inexpensive used copies available--but it doesn't have full-color photos,
etc. Great quality physics + cheaper--but lower production values.)
The textbooks will also be on reserve in the White Science Library in the KINSC.
A calculator will be needed for problem sets and tests and in the laboratory. You do not
need graphing capabilities, but a scientific calculator is recommended for doing
trigonometry, exponentials, and other calculations.
You will also need to purchase a laboratory manual for this course from the bookstore or
directly from Scott Shelley. All other supplies needed in the laboratory will be provided.
A selection of other texts and useful references is on reserve in the science library and on
Blackboard.
Course announcements
All important announcements will be made in class as well as on the Blackboard web site for this
course and via email.
Assignments and Tests
Written work will be assigned weekly, and will be due outside my office (L103) at 5pm on
Wednesdays, unless otherwise announced. Staple your assignment if there are multiple pages!
Your work must be clear and well explained. There will also be assigned reading and exercises
to prepare you for class discussion. All assignments will be posted on the Blackboard web site
for this course.
You are expected to answer all homework questions in full, legibly and neatly. It is never
enough to just write down a numerical answer: you should briefly yet thoroughly indicate your
reasoning using a narrative description, equations and where appropriate a sketch or graph.
Units and significant figures will count in the grading.
There will be two midterm examinations plus a self-scheduled final exam.
Grading
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Midterm#1 15%
Midterm#2 15%
Final exam 20%
Laboratory 22.5%
Homework 22.5%
Participation/online homework 5%
We will post your grades on Blackboard so you can review your standing in the course
throughout the semester.
Late policies
Labs must be done on the scheduled date unless cleared in advance by the lab instructors.
Individual experiments are not kept after the week in which they are used. See the lab manual
for additional information.
The following late penalties will be in effect for homework. Assignments are due exactly at 5pm
in my office (L103). Work turned in late will be given 75% credit up to one week late, and 50%
credit up to two weeks late. No work will be accepted after that. We do not accept split up
assignments. However, there is one exception to the late policy: you may grant yourself up to
two free one-week extensions on homework assignments (only--not lab reports or exams!) by
emailing the lecture professor to let us know you will be taking a free extension.
Exams must be turned in no later than the stated times, except by prior agreement. You may get
an extension on an examination or assignment ONLY with a Dean's excuse. For any take-home
exams, you are expected to be present in lecture to pick up the exam on time; no exams will be
given to another student or will be available for pickup after the stated time.
Syllabus & approximate schedule for topics
Date
Topic
Labs/Exams
Week 1
Aug. 30
Physics & Life (course introduction); forces & vectors
Lab 1: Position, velocity & accel
Week 2
Sept. 6
Not changing : Newton's first and second laws:
Week 3
Sept. 13
Real world forces: stretching, squashing and friction
Week 4
Sept. 20
Describing motion: velocity, acceleration & Newton's second
law
Week 5
Sept. 27
Getting around: Newton's second law (continued)
Lab 3: Trajectories
Midterm 1: out in lecture Fri. Oc
4
Week 6
Oct. 4
Uniform Circular motion; 2D dynamics
Midterm 1: out in lecture Fri. Oc
4
Oct. 11
FALL BREAK
FALL BREAK
Week 7
Oct. 18
Kinetic Energy; Energy accounting: potential energy &
conservation
Lab 4: Energy transformations
Week 8
Oct. 25
Rotational Dynamics; Collisions: impulse & momentum
Week 9
Nov. 1
Oscillations & resonance
Week 10
Nov. 8
Temperature & ideal gases
Week 11
Nov. 15
Random processes: diffusion and microscopic transport in life
Lab 6: Thermal properties lab
Week 12
Nov. 22
Thermal properties of liquids and solids; heat transfer; life &
random processes
Thanksgiving Break Nov. 25-26
Week 13
Nov. 29
Life in fluids: pressure & surface tension
Lab 7: Fluids Lab
Week 14
Dec. 6
More physics of fluids: flowing & mixing
Last day of classes Dec. 10--all w
labs, etc.) due by 5pm
Dec. 13-17 FINALS WEEK
Lab 2: Biomechanics & bone sca
Lab 5: Rotational motion
Self-scheduled Final Exam due by
Honor code matters
We value Haverford's honor code for the integrity it fosters and the pedagogical flexibility it
affords. The important guiding principle of academic honesty is that you must never represent
the work of others as your own. The following guidelines should govern your behavior in the
course; please request clarification if you find yourself in any doubtful situations.
You may seek assistance from the instructors, from Physics Clinic TA's, from tutors, or from
other students in doing the weekly assigned exercises and preparing for class discussions. You
may also work together with other members of the class on these assignments and this is often
quite beneficial. For your own good, avoid situations in which you are either contributing either
too much or too little to such collaborations. Just copying someone else's work is clearly a
representation of another student's work as your own and is a violation of the Code. This applies
to copying down results worked out on a blackboard by any other students or by an instructor
during office hours or by a Physics Clinic TA, as well as solutions written down on paper by any
of the above. If you are turning in an assignment late, you may not consult or copy from the
posted solutions while doing the assignment. There is one exception: you may study from
problem set solutions for an exam if you still have a problem set outstanding, but you must not
have any access to the problem set solutions while you do the problem set itself. Put them aside
entirely while you complete the problem set.
Textbooks like Sternheim & Kane often give the answers for the odd (or even)-numbered
exercises. These are given so that you will know if you have done a problem correctly. It is not
sound learning procedure to try to work backwards from given answers, but doing so is not a
violation of the honor code. Copying solutions set slavishly IS a violation of the Honor Code.
All exams must be entirely your own work. Detailed instructions will be given on the exams
themselves and discussed in advance, and you must obey those in detail. You must use only
those materials allowed in the instructions given on the exam. No collaboration of any sort is
allowed once you start an exam. The allowed time (a single contiguous block) must be strictly
observed.
Honor code guidelines for the lab are contained in the lab manual.
Accommodations for disability
Students who think they may need accommodations in this course because of the impact of a
disability are encouraged to meet with me privately early in the semester. Students should also
contact Rick Webb, Coordinator, Office of Disabilities Services (rwebb@haverford.edu, 610896-1290) to verify their eligibility for reasonable accommodations as soon as possible. Early
contact will help to avoid unnecessary inconvenience and delays.
Advice
You may need to improve your study habits in order to do well in this course. The following
suggestions are based on the experience of previous students.
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Review your class notes between lectures, and come prepared to ask questions. Annotate
your class notes as you read them. When you take notes in class, don't just write down
equations! Qualitative information is often essential!
Stay up to date on the reading; preferably read the assigned material twice; for example,
once before the relevant lecture, and once after.
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Read with pen in hand to work out things described only briefly in the text or lecture. Ask
yourself "what is the main point of each section", and answer the question. Highlighting
the text as you read is no substitute for this exercise in thinking and reinterpreting what
you have read!
Make drawings of the physical situations we discuss in class or the ones you encounter in
problem sets (and real life!) This helps you understand just what is going on much more
than merely thinking about it.
Don't spend more than 1 hour on a single homework problem. Show clearly where you're
stumped and just move on. Don't feel badly if this happens occasionally, or worry about
the effect on your grade. Consistency in doing the homework is more important.
Try the homework problems first yourself, but do get help in clinic or during office hours
if you need it. That's why these resources are provided. We expect you will make use of
them as one more learning tool.
You need to allocate about 7 hours for study and homework per week (plus class time
and lab responsibilities). This isn't merely a time budget. It's also how much time you
need to allow the ideas and methodology to really sink in so that you have truly mastered
the subjects.
Do stop in to see one of us if you have questions or suggestions.
When you're studying for an exam, first perform new problems and redo as many old
problems as you have time for. Only after you have done so is it a good idea to then
review the solutions to problems and previous exams. You always learn more from
engaging in problem-solving than reviewing how someone else (even yourself in a
previous week!) solved a problem.
Study for the exams in advance. Your brain tackles problems differently if you have
given it time to mull over new material and new approaches to problem-solving. You
really think differently (and better) once you have literally slept on new ideas.
Remember that if the material is new or unfamiliar for you, learning will take time, just
as learning a new language takes time. Try not to become discouraged if the going is
rough at times, and don't prejudge your ability to master the material. Generations of
students have done it before you. There is no magic method of presenting the material
that we can use to make it easy.