Introduction to Physical Science

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday

Tom Burbinetomburbine@astro.umass.edu

Course

• Course Website:– http://blogs.umass.edu/tburbine/

• Textbook:– Conceptual Physical Science, 4th Edition (2008) (Hewitt,

Suchocki, and Hewitt)– Conceptual Physical Science Practice Book– Conceptual Physical Science Lab Manual• You also will need a calculator and a laptop that you will

bring to class.

All presentations

• Will be online before class

• You do not have to copy down every word I write

Goals of the Class– Learn about the physical principles that guide the

universe

• Gravity

• Electromagnetism

• Light

• Chemistry

• Behavior and characteristics of atoms

Class Structure

• Lecture plus labs/exercises

How can I tell if you have learned something?

• Do well on a quiz or exam

Grading

• Homework: 20% (top 20 grades)

• Labs/Exercises: 20% (top 20 grades)

• Quizzes (every Thursday starting September 23rd): 20% (top 8 grades)

• Midterm: 20%

• Final: 20%

• A+ (95.0-100) • A (92.50 – 94.49)• A- (89.50 – 92.49)• B+ (87.50 – 89.49)• B (82.50 – 87.49)• B- (79.50 – 82.49)• C+ (77.50 – 79.49)• C (72.50 – 77.49)• C- (69.50 – 72.49)• D+ (67.50 – 69.49)• D (59.50 – 67.49)• F (below 59.49)

Grading

Homework #1

• Find an article concerning a new discovery in physics/astronomy/chemistry/geology

• Write about why this is an important discovery and staple it to the article and hand it in

Late work

• Will get a grade of zero without a valid excuse

Virtual office hours

• You can IM me at tomburbine on AOL

• Student: and who are u? lolStudent: u gotta answer cuz i asked first both timestomburbine: why r u Iming meStudent: cuz u added my sn for some reason so i wana know whytomburbine: sn?Student: screen name? Student: loltomburbine: no I didntStudent: ok..tomburbine: do u live in massachusetts?Student: do u?tomburbine: do u live in cambridge?Student: notomburbine: is it snowing?Student: yeatomburbine: do u have a xnga?Student: no joke who the f**k are ya?Student: yes i do live in MAtomburbine: i never heard of u until u Imed meStudent: then how the h**l did u know i lived in MA?

• Student: and yes i do go to umasstomburbine: r u in astronomy 100Student: how do u know all this?tomburbine: because I am the professorStudent: OHHHHH OOOPS!tomburbine: i think u must have added meStudent: omg loltomburbine: and then forgot who I wasStudent: ya i didStudent: sorry for all that tomburbine: my name is my screen nametomburbine: seem familar nowStudent: didnt mean to use language but it happenedtomburbine: no problemtomburbine: funnyStudent: hehtomburbine: i actually dont know who u rStudent: good thing we got an exta 2 days for the hwtomburbine: yestomburbine: u can Im me anytimetomburbine: and Student: ill tell ya if u promiss not to fail metomburbine: I cant add my name to ur aimtomburbine: only u cantomburbine: i am fine not knowingStudent: okStudent: well i have to go ill cya on thursday. take caretomburbine: bye!

Review #1

• This man is OFF the wall. He's hilarious. I honestly look forward to this class like no other. He mumbles sometimes, but he is SO funny. Also, his brilliance is obvious. Take this guy's classes!

Review #2

• This class sucks. He doesn't teach anything. the powerpoints are indecipherable. the formulas don't make any sense. The tests are hard, and he sucks.

Review #3

• Like what everyone else said. Pretty straightforward teacher, you do need to study for the exams though if you want a good grade. Drops lowest test and a couple lowest HW's. He is funny at times.

Now

• We take a short quiz

Mnemonics

• My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos

• My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas

• Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

Models

• When you have a model of how something works, you should be able to predict what will happen

• If observations do not fit the model, either the observations or the model is wrong

Laboratory

• Everybody should get their pennies out.

• Test the question:– Does the mass of pennies change over time?

Any Questions?