Fall 2013
Lecture: MWRF: 12 noon - 12:50 p.m. at Moulton 214
Lab at Moulton 217:
Sec. 2 : M 9 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.; Sec. 3 : M 2 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.
Instructor : Dr. Hiroshi Matsuoka
Office:
Phone:
Moulton 313B
(438) 3236 (avoid calling during 11 a.m. – noon on MWF) e-mail: hmb@phy.ilstu.edu
(please do NOT use hmb@ilstu.edu)
Office hours: 1 - 2 p.m. (MWRF) or by appointment.
Lab instructors
Mr. Timothy Acre will teach labs and grade lab reports for Sec. 2 while Matsuoka will teach labs and grade lab reports for Sec. 3.
Texts (Required)
1. “ PHYSICS ” (6th edition) by John D. Cutnell and Kenneth W. Johnson
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)
2. “ EXPERIMENTS FOR COLLEGE PHYSICS I & II ” by Epaminondas Rosa Jr., Glen E. Greenseth, and Kenneth E. Jesse
(Stipes Publishing L.L.C.)
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3. “ Physics 109 Class Notes Fall 2013 ” by Hiroshi Matsuoka
(PIP Printing: Packet #54)
Course web site: http://www.phy.ilstu.edu/~hmb/phy109/phy109.html
Check the course web site daily as we post various announcements including those of schedule changes, reading assignments, homework problems, problem sets discussed in collaborative problem sessions in the Lab, solutions for homework problems and problems in collaborative problem sessions.
Course content
This course covers the second half ( i.e.
, Ch.18-22 and Ch.24-31) of “PHYSICS” by Cutnell and
Johnson.

Course objectives
1. To learn basic physical concepts and principles in classical and modern physics.
2. To learn how to use these concepts and principles to understand physical phenomena and their technological applications.
3. To acquire a balanced view of physics as an integral part of the human culture and society.
4. To improve your problem solving skills, both qualitative and quantitative.
5. To learn more about how to work with other people effectively (through Lab activities).
6. To improve your time management skills. This course will constantly demand some time throughout the semester so that you must set aside at least one hour almost every day to prepare and review for the course.
7. To help you prepare for an MCAT exam if you are planning to take one in the future.
Course structure
This course consists of the following activities:
I. At home before each class:
• Reading an assigned portion of the text before it is discussed in class.
II. Class:
• A 3-minute multiple-choice quiz on the reading assignment at the beginning of class.
• Lectures and demonstrations on the main points of the topics covered in the reading assignment.
• Conceptual and/or quantitative questions posed in “ Class Notes ” will be discussed.
Bring your copy of “ Class Notes ” to each class. Also keep in mind that on a 30-minute quiz given after each chapter, there will be some questions similar to these questions.
III. Lab:
• Experiments
• Collaborative problem solving sessions where you will work on questions similar to the questions discussed in class.
IV. At home after each class:
• Multiple-choice homework questions assigned in class to be collected in the next class.
V. A 30-minute quiz after each chapter is covered.
VI. A 2-hour comprehensive final exam
Reading assignment and reading quizzes
1. A portion of the text is assigned for reading before that portion is covered in the next class.
2. A guide for a reading assignment will be posted on the course web site as a “pdf” file.
3. Take reading seriously. It is a very important part of the course and will help you get the most out of each class. In class, I will assume that you have already read the text and will focus on the main points as well as add some additional comments.
4. At the beginning of almost every class, a 3-minute multiple-choice quiz on the reading assignment is given.
5. You get extra points from these quizzes. No make-up reading quiz is given, simply because the answers will be given in class right after the quiz is given.
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6. These quizzes consist of simple questions on definitions of physical concepts, units of physical quantities, statements of physical laws, observations of natural phenomena, descriptions of technological applications, etc. All the questions are simple and straightforward.
Homework problems
1. 3 homework questions will be assigned almost daily and your answers will be collected at the beginning of the next class. Some of the questions are chosen from the “Problems” section at the end of each chapter. There may be other questions. For some chapters, more homework problems will be assigned and posted on the course web site as a “pdf” file.
2. Homework problems and multiple choices for the answer of each problem will be posted on the course web site as a “pdf” file.
3. You get extra points from these homework questions.
4. No late homework is accepted, simply because the answers to these questions will posted on the course web site as a “pdf” file right after the class.
5. Detailed solutions for homework problems for some chapters will be also posted on the course web site as a “pdf” file. Detailed solutions for daily 3 homework problems will be posted in a glass case (with my name on it) on a wall of the hallway outside Moulton 213.
Quizzes
1. A 30-minute quiz is given after each chapter is covered.
2. There will be 11 quizzes (for their tentative dates, see the “Class schedule” posted on the course web site as a “pdf” file).
3. You are required to take all the 11 quizzes. At the end of the semester, the quiz with the lowest score will be dropped.
4. There will be an optional extra quiz in the last class of the semester. If you take the optional extra quiz and your score for the optional quiz is better than your lowest score among the 10 kept quizzes, the optional quiz will replace the quiz with the lowest score. No make-up quiz will be given for the optional extra quiz.
5. Questions will be drawn primarily from material covered in class, reading assignments, homework questions, and a collaborative problem solving session.
6. These quizzes will be “closed notes and closed book,” but a list of equations and physical constants will be included in each quiz.
7. Calculators are not allowed in the quizzes. Although calculations in these quizzes are simple, you must train yourself to reliably perform calculations by hand.
8. Anyone found cheating on a quiz will receive a zero for that quiz that cannot be dropped.
9. In general, no make-up quiz will be given. If you have an officially justifiable circumstance that forces you to miss a quiz, contact me as soon as possible, at least within one week after the missed quiz, to discuss how to deal with your situation. You will be asked to present an official proof for your special circumstance. If you fail to contact me within one week after the missed quiz, you will not be given a special consideration.
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Final Exam: (the date and time will be announced later)
1. The 2-hour final exam will be comprehensive: it will cover topics covered in the 11 quizzes but will not cover the topics covered in the optional extra quiz. The questions in the final exam are similar to those in the 11 quizzes. To prepare for the final exam, thoroughly review the questions in the 11 quizzes.
2. Cheating will result in a zero point for the final exam.
3. The final exam will be also “closed notes and closed book,” but a list of equations and physical constants will be included in the exam. Calculators are not allowed in the final exam.
Laboratory
1. There are 8 lab sessions (for their tentative dates, see the “Lab schedule” posted on the course web site as a “pdf” file).
2. Bring your scientific calculator to the Lab sessions.
3. Each experiment in the Lab will be conducted by groups of two or three students.
4. Each student must turn in a Lab report for each experiment. If you are absent from a lab, you cannot turn in a Lab report for the lab.
5. For each experiment in the Lab, a cover sheet for your Lab report to be attached to data sheets in the lab manual will be posted as a “pdf” file on the course web site. Download and print the cover sheet, answer some questions in the cover sheet, and turn in your cover sheet stapled to your data sheets to the instructor (Matsuoka) within one week after the corresponding lab.
6. Some of the Lab sessions will be devoted to collaborative problem solving. You will work on some conceptual and/or quantitative questions with your partner and others in the Lab for one hour and a half . You may consult your notes, handouts, and the text while you work on these questions. You get extra points from these questions. To get regular Lab points from a collaborative problem session, you must work on all the questions and stay in the Lab for a designated period of time. Solutions for the problems in a collaborative problem session will be posted on the course web site.
7. Copying other people’s work in your Lab report without attending and participating in the lab will be regarded as plagiarism. Such lab report will result in a zero point for that lab that cannot be dropped.
8. There is no make-up Lab. In order to account for a possible absence for any reason, one Lab with the lowest score among the 8 Labs will be dropped at the end of the semester.
What will be posted on the course web site?
1. Various course-related announcements including those of schedule changes.
2. Reading assignment for the next class.
3. Homework problems to be collected at the beginning of the next class.
4. Reading quiz that you have taken in a previous class and its answers.
5. Multiple-choice answers for the homework problems that have been collected in a previous class. Detailed solutions for daily 3 homework problems will be posted in a glass case (with my name on it) on a wall of the hallway outside Moulton 213.
6. A cover sheet for each lab report.
7. Solutions for the problems in a collaborative problem session and other extra-credit problems.
8. As the semester goes by, older “pdf” files will be taken off the course web site. Download files that you need as soon as they are posted.
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Grades
Regular points (100 points)
Laboratory
Quizzes
Final Exam
(
Your t otal regula r poi nts
)
20 points
58 points
22 points
= ( )
(
!
( Your t otal lab s core
7 !
10
)
+ ( ) !
) =
!
( Your t otal quiz score
10 !
10
)
+ (
Your fi nal exam score
)
Extra points from reading quizzes, homework questions, questions in collaborative problem sessions: at most 3 points
(
)
(
)
Extra points are designed to help you not only get motivated to keep up with the pace of the course but also reach a higher letter grade when your total regular points are just below the boundary between two letter grades.
(Your grand total score) = (Your total regular points) + (Your total extra points)
Grading scale (subject to change)
A
B
C
D
(Your grand total score)
(Your grand total score)
(Your grand total score)
(Your grand total score)
!
90.0 points
!
80.0 points
!
70.0 points
!
60.0 points
As your grand total score includes extra points, your grand total score will not be rounded up.
Important dates:
August 30 (F): the last day to withdraw from the course with no WX grade.
October 11 (F): the last day to withdraw from the course with a WX grade.
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