Practical Physics
Physics 109 (CRN 20728)
Spring 2014
Lecture: MWF 9:00-9:50
William Small 111
Welcome to ’Practical Physics’ at William and Mary. This course is intended to provide
an understanding of the basic principles of physics and how these principles impact our
daily lives. Mathematical skills will be de-emphasized, but not eliminated. Mathematical
concepts may be emphasized.
Instructor: A. Dayle Hancock
Office: Small 239
Office hours: MW 10:00 - 11:00 or by Appointment
Phone: (757) 221-7844
e-mail: adhancock@wm.edu
web: http://physics.wm.edu/∼hancock/109
Text: ’How Things Work’ 5th edition by Bloomfield is the required text. If you purchase
the text from the bookstore, it will come bundled with ’Wiley Plus’ for the online homework.
You can purchase ’Wiley Plus’ separately but it is more expensive if not bundled with the
text. If you are taking the lab, you can purchase a lab manual in the W&M bookstore or
get the ’pdf’ files from the lab web page (http://physics.wm.edu/∼labs/110/).
Grade: The total class grade will be curved if necessary. The final grade will be determined
with the following weighting:
Comprehensive final
Quizzes
Homework (Wiley Plus)
25%
50%
25%
Lectures: Attendance is mandatory. You must read the material (relevant class notes
and text sections) before class. Class time will be devoted explanations of that days material, example problems, demonstrations, ramblings and anecdotes by the instructor, Class
discussions of issues related to the reading will be encouraged. The emphasis will be on
concepts and ideas. You must keep up with the material because of the diverse nature of
the subjects covered.
Quizzes: The quizzes will cover material from the lectures. Unless other arrangements
are made before a quiz, zero points will be assigned if an exam is not taken. If a make up
quiz is allowed, the format and difficulty of the exam may vary from that of the scheduled
quiz. Quiz questions are typically multiple choice questions but short answer questions are
also possible. It is the responsibility of the student to communicate answers clearly. To allow
for a ’bad day’ on a quiz. a student’s low grade on a quiz exam will be dropped from the
final quiz average. The quizzes will be given on every other Friday during the last half of
the regularly schedule class period. A revised schedule is shown below.
No. Material (Class Notes)
1 Introduction and Math
Kinematics, Newton’s laws, work and gravitational potential
2 Rotations, Energy, Momentum, Angular Momentum and Symmetry
Springs, Balls, Uniform Circular Motion, Carousels and Roller Coasters
3 Bicycles, Rockets, Newton’s Law of Gravity, Kepler’s Law and Relativity
Heat, Specific Heat, Black-body Radiation and Light bulbs
4 The Laws of Thermodynamics and cars
Clocks, Simple Harmonics Motion, Waves, Sound and Water Waves
5 Electricity, Electric Fields, Current, Voltage, Resistance and Ohm’s law
Magnetic Fields and Induction
6 Electronics, Semiconductors, Amplifiers and Logic Circuits
Electromagnetic waves, Antenna, Radio, Microwave Ovens and Magnetrons
Date
February 7
February 14
February 28
March 21
April 4
April 18
Homework: Homework is the best method for ensuring understanding of the basic material for exams and should not be neglected. There will be homework sets most weeks during
the semester to test your understanding of the course material. We will use the homework
assignments in the web-based ”Wiley Plus” system which is included in the price of your
text. Using the online homework system will be discussed at an early class meeting. Homework will normally be due at 11:00 pm on Thursdays. The low homework grade will be
dropped from the final homework average.
Final Examination: The final examination will be comprehensive (cover all the
material from the course). The final examination is required of all students. Unless other
arrangements are made before the exam, zero points will be assigned if the final exam is not
taken. The final examination is scheduled for the first period on Monday, April 28th .
Laboratory: You are not required to be enrolled in the Physics 110 labs to be enrolled in
Physics 109 lecture. Labs meet in Small 224 on Monday at 11:00, Monday at 2:00, Tuesday
at 3:30 and Wednesday at 2:00. Each lab is 1 hour and 50 minutes. The first lab meetings
are the week of January 27 - January 31. The first lab is an introduction which requires no
preparation. You must attend the lab section in which you are enrolled.