Course SyllabusCourse Number: PH 212 Course Name: General Physics with Calculus

Prerequisite: MTH 252 Concurrent Prerequisite: MTH 254

Course Credits: The course combines 3 hours per week in lecture and 3 hours per week in lab.for a total of 4 credit hours.

Course Description: A calculus-based continuation of classical mechanics and their applications; also: introductory refractive optics.

Course Content: 1D and 2D motion, including the kinematics of constant and non-constant acceleration, mass and the conservation of linear momentum, Newton’s Laws of force

Course Specific Measurable Student Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course, you will be able to: •understandhowtorepresentandanalyzemotionforobjectsthatcanbemodeledasrigid,finitebodies; •applyNewton’slawsandconservationlaws(energyandmomentum)toanalyzethebehaviorofphysicalsystemsundercertain conditions(rotational&translationalmotion;idealfluids,simpleharmonicmotion),andrecognizewhentoapplytheselaws; •applySnell’sLawtosimplerefractiveimagingsystems(single-andmulti-lens) •applysingle-axiswaveequationmechanicstolongitudinalandtransversetravelingandstandingwaves. •makeobservationsofphysicalsystems,findexplanationsconsistentwiththeobservations,applytheexplanationsandphysical lawstomakepredictionsabouttheoutcomesofexperiments,andtesttheexplanationsandlawsthroughexperimentation; •representinformationinmultipleways(diagrams,graphs,words,equations,etc.),movebetweenrepresentations,usethemto set up solutions to problems, to predict the behaviors of physical systems, and to check the solutions to problems; •usecriticalthinkingskillsasdescribedbelow. Critical thinking is a fundamental part of any science, especially physics, which is a discipline of modeling and problem solving. Critical thinking is being able to: •analyzeanopen-ended,newphysicalsystem •considerwhatassumptionsandsimplificationscanbemade •breakdownthesituationintomanageablepieces •applyconceptstoanalyzeeachpiece;combinethemintoasolution •evaluateifthesolutionmakessense Inthiscourse,youwillusecriticalthinkingtoexaminenewsituationsandmakeappropriateassumptionsandsimplifications about them to apply useful physical models. Thelearningoutcomeswillbeaccomplishedviaclassdemonstrations,votingquestions,peer-to-peerdiscussions,full-classdiscus-sions,in-lecturegroupwork,andlabwork.Theywillbeformativelyassessedthroughvotingquestions,labworkandhomeworkassignments;andsummativelyassessedduringexams.

Baccalaureate Core Learning Outcomes for Physical Sciences:ThiscoursefulfillstheBaccalaureateCorerequirementforthePhysicalSciencescategory.Itdoesthisbyrequiringandscoringstudentproblem-solvingviahomeworkandexamitems(outcome: recognize and apply concepts and theories of basic physical or biological sciences);byrequiringandscoringlabreportssummariz-ingstudents’ownexperimentaldesignsandconclusions(outcome:applyscientificmethodologyanddemonstratetheabilitytodrawconclusionsbasedonobservation,analysis,andsynthesis);andbyrequiringandscoringstudentclassroomresponsesonquestionsconnectingphysicswithengineering,geology,physiologyandmusic(outcome:demonstrateconnectionswithothersubjectareas).

Evaluation of Student Performance: Letter grades for overall student performance in the course will be assigned on a scale of A to F in compliance with Academic Regulations 18 and 19.

Required Learning Resources:Webandemailaccess;scientificcalculator;personalelectronicdevicewiththeTopHatapp;Physics for Scientists & Engineers (4th edition),byKnight(Pearson,2017)—eitherhardcoverbook,softcoverbook,ore-text.Optional Learning Resources: Mastering Physics access code.

Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities: Accommodations for students with disabilities are determined and approved by DisabilityAccessServices(DAS).Ifyou,asastudent,believeyouareeligibleforaccommodationsbuthavenotobtainedapprovalpleasecontactDASimmediatelyat541-737-4098orathttp://ds.oregonstate.edu.DASnotifiesstudentsandfacultymembersofap-provedacademicaccommodationsandcoordinatesimplementationofthoseaccommodations.Whilenotrequired,studentsandfacultymembers are encouraged to discuss details of the implementation of individual accommodations.”

Student Conduct Expectations:StudentsareexpectedtoconductthemselvesinaccordancewithOSU’scodeofstudentconduct,summarizedhere:http://studentlife.oregonstate.edu/code.

More detailed course information isofferedonthefollowingpages(withquick-linksprovidedhere):

Instructor Required materials and resources Course format Grading General description Specific course content Lecture (and clicker) policies Lab policies HW policies Exam policies Grading policies How to do well: notes from the instructor

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 2

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Instructor

Name: ChrisCoffin

E-mail: coffinc@physics.oregonstate.edu

Office: Weniger309

Mail box: Weniger301(PhysicsDepartmentoffice)

Office hours: MF1000-1050and1300-1350,T0900-1150,W0900-1050and1300-1350

Daily schedule: (click here)

Letters of recommendation: (click here)

Required materials and resources

Prerequisite courses: MTH252(andcorequisite:MTH254).

Prerequisite skills: Algebra,trigonometry,differentialandintegralcalculus(andcorequisite:vectorcalculus).

Required text: Physics for Scientists & Engineers (either hardcover, softcover/loose-leaf or electronic), by Knight, 4th ed.(Pearson,2017).

Required technology: E-mailandinternetaccess;Canvasaccess;MicrosoftExcel(orcompatiblesoftware). Scientificcalculator;graphingcalculatorOKprovidedthatitcannot transmit wirelessly. Response app licensed from Top Hat.

Mastering Physics(onlineresource)—ONLYIFalreadypackagedwiththetext.

Course web site: http://www.physics.oregonstate.edu/~coffinc/COURSES/ph212/

Other online resources: ThetextbookE-textversionandMastering Physicspracticematerials(click here).

Course format

OSU credit: PH212isa4-creditcourse,includingrequiredlectureandlab.The 1-credit recitation portion is a separate course (PH 222), optional for some majors but required for others.

Lectures: 3hours/week(50minutes–MWF),Weniger151orWngr153(peryourownclassschedule)

Labs: 3hoursperweek(170minutes–MTWRorF),Weniger238,plusatake-homeportion.

Assignments: Allhomework(HW)andothertake-homeassignmentswillbepostedontheCourseCalendar.

Exams: 2groupmidtermexams,80min.,Wednesdays(1/30,2/20),8:30p.m.. 1finalgroupexam,110min.,Wednesday,3/20,8:00p.m. AllexamlocationsTBAafewdayspriortotheexams.Nomake-upexams. Allexamsclosed-book,open-notes(1handwrittensheet,8.5”x11”—bothsidesOK).

Religious Holidays: OSUstrivestorespectallreligiouspractices.Ifyouhavereligiousholidaysthatareincon-flictwithanyoftheschedulesorrequirementsofthisclass,pleasecontacttheinstructorasearly as possible to make alternative arrangements.

Alternative accommodations: Accommodations for students with disabilities are determined and approved by Disability AccessServices(DAS).Ifyoubelieveyou’reeligibleforaccommodationsbuthavenotyetobtainedapproval,contactDASimmediatelyat541-737-4098orathttp://ds.oregonstate.edu.DASnotifiesstudentsandfacultymembersofapprovedaccommodationsandcoordinatesimplementationofthoseaccommodations.Whilenotrequired,studentsandfacultymembersare encouraged to discuss details of the implementation of individual accommodations.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 3

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Grading

Allassigned(scored)worksandduedatesareshownontheCourse Calendar. Scored works (including exams) earn points only; theonlylettergradeisthefinalgradeforthecourse.Atotalof1000pointsisavailablefortheentireterm.

Scored work: Class(lecture)participation(100points). Full lecture details here. Labscores(100points); Full lab details here. HWscores(100points); Full HW details here. Twomidtermexams(250and200points,respectively); Onefinalexam(250points). Full exam details here.

Grading scale: Thefinalcourselettergradeiscomputedviathepercentageearnedbythestudentoutofthetotalpossible(1000)pointsavailable,asfollows(andseebelowforfull grading details):

≥84%=A ≥80%=A- ≥76%=B+ ≥72%=B ≥68%=B- ≥60%=C+ ≥52%=C ≥44%=C- ≥40%=D+ ≥36%=D ≥32%=D- <32%=F

Academic integrity: Labreports(thewrittenworkdoneduringlabitself)aredoneasgroupwork,asmaybeanyexercisesrecommendedforstudybeforeorafterlecture.AlsoOKforgroupworkaresomeitemsrespondedviaclickersduringlecture(othersnot—theinstructorwillsoindicate).

But all homework (HW) sets and exams are to be done on an individual basis.

AnyincidenceofacademicdishonestywillbedealtwithinaccordancewithOSUpolicies—referasneededtotheStatementofExpectationsforStudentConduct.Seealsothelongerdiscussion of personal integrity, below.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 4

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General Description

Course level: PH212isa200-levelcourse.Itismorethana“survey”course(it’snota100-levelcourse).It is comprehensive, time-intensive, challenging and mathematical, with problem-solving throughout. It is a 4-credit course and includes a laboratory.

Bacc. Core certification: ThiscourseispartoftheOSUBaccalaureateCore(“Bacc.Core”);itfulfillsOregonStateUniversity’srequirementforstudyrelatedtoPhysicalScience.TheBacc.CoreCurriculumrepresentswhattheOSUfacultybelievesisthefoundationforstudents’furtherunderstandingof the modern world. Informed by natural and social sciences, arts and humanities, the Bacc. Coreasksstudentstothinkcriticallyandcreatively,andtosynthesizeideasandinformationwhenevaluatingmajorsocietalissues.Justasimportantly,theBacc.Corepromotesunder-standing of interrelationships among disciplines in order to increase students’ capacities as ethicalcitizensofanever-changingworld.

Scienceseekstodevelopafundamentaldescriptionandunderstandingofthenaturalworld,fromelementaryparticlestothecosmos,includinglivingsystems.Studentsshouldhavetheopportunitytoexploretheinsightsofscience,toviewscienceasahumanachievement,andtoparticipateinscientificinquiry.Thisexperienceincludesthechallengeofdrawingconclu-sions based on observation, analysis and synthesis. To ensure a broad perspective, the Bacc. Coresciencerequirementconsistsoftwoparts:physicalscience(includingearthscience)andbiological science.

Morespecifically,PH212isdesignedtoproduceandassess(amongothers)thesethree essential learning outcomes. Students shall be able to:

1. Recognize and apply concepts and theories of basic physical sciences.

2. Applyscientificmethodologyanddemonstratetheabilitytodrawconclusionsbasedon observation, analysis, and synthesis.

3. Demonstrate connections with other subject areas.

Thefollowingdescription/discussionofthecourseoffersdetailoneachoftheseoutcomes.

Focus and approach: PH 212 continues the story of mechanics with their applications to the circular motion of particles,thentherotationofrigidbodies.Majorareasofemphasisincludetheequationsconstant-acceleration kinematics, Newton’s Laws, the Impulse-Momentum theorem, and the kineticenergyofrotation.Next,thecoursemakesthetransitionfromdirectobservations/measurementsofoneortwolarge,visibleobjectstomacroscopicmeasurementsoftheaggre-gatebehaviorsoflargecollectionsofmicroscopicobjects,specificallyidealfluids(liquids).As before, students are asked to watch for the same Conservation principles they encountered inPH211(classicalmass,momentumandenergy)astheystillmanifestthemselvesinmicro-scopic behaviors.

Next,studentsexplorecommongeometricphenomenaoflight:reflection,refraction,vision,andlensingsystemsandapplications.(Andtheytypicallycommentthatthisistheirfavoritepartofthewholeyear.)

Then attention turns to simple harmonic oscillators, their motions and their effects on the uni-verse in creating sinusoidal waves. Both sound and light waves are treated here in a survey of wave mechanics and various interference effects.

Finally,asafinalnodtotheNewtonianlegacy(andasaconceptualfoundationforelectro-statics,whichfollowsimmediatelyinPH213),PH212examinesthebasicsoftheUniversalGravitation Law, including orbital mechanics and energies.

Atalltimes,thestudentsmustmakesenseoftheconnections—notmerelyswallowformulasforlaterregurgitation;andtoassesstheirsuccess,theyarerequiredonexamstorecognizeandapplythebasicprinciplestosituationstheyhaveneverbeforeencountered—and to justify, in their own words, their reasoning.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 5

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The scientific method: PH212examinesscienceandthescientificmethodinthreedistinctways.First(fromtheopeninglecture),scienceispresentedasacontinuing,unfoldingprocess,notacollectionoffacts.Onenewobservation(properlyvettedandrepeated)canstillunhingeourcurrenttheo-ries.Wecontinuallyseektoexamineourreasoningandtotesttheconsistenciesweobserve.Weseektogeneralize,simplify,unify.ThestoryoftheConservationLawsdrivesthishome.

Then,too,asindividualtopicsinthatstoryareexaminedtoillustratetheunderlyingprinci-ples,idealizedconditionsandproblemsarehypothesized.Studentsdetectthis,andtheycom-ment/question/complain:“Butwhataboutfriction?”“Whataboutairresistance?”“Whataboutthemassorvolumeofthecontainer?”Fromthatpoint,theybegintoacceptscientificmodeling—evenas“firstapproximation”—asusefulandrevealing;andwemakeapointtoexplicitlystatethesimplifyingassumptionsofanymodelused(andtheresultinguncertain-tiesthatmustaccompanyanyexperimentalresults).Lateradjustmentstotheorysimplymakethose models more robust, producing more and better predictive power. But the awareness ofthephysicallimitstoactualexperiment/testingbecomesbuilt-inthisway(especiallyaftertheyexperiencetryingtotakeactuallabmeasurements).Theygainabetterappreciationof“howweknowwhatweknow.”

Thehighlyautonomouslabs,alongwithfollow-upquestionsontheexams,areusedtoassessstudents’masteryofthescientificmethod.

Wider applications: PH212isisrichlyconnectedtootherfields—employingexamplesfrommanypartsofcom-monexperience:body-massindex,weightdistributioninphysiology,bloodpressure,cloggedarteries and aneurysms, knives and hypodermic needles, ultrasound, cataract surgery, the aural canal, human hearing and the decibel scale. Also sprinkled throughout the course are nods to the physics behind everyday observations such as tides, pendulums as timekeepers, hydraulic lifts,airfoilsandlift,curveballs,Dopplereffects,standingwaves(resonance)inmusical(bothstringandwind)instruments,noise-cancelingheadphones,loudspeakersounddispersionandguitarfrets,microwaveheating,radarandtheDopplereffect,rainbows,cameras,projectors,visioncorrection,magnifyingglasses,compoundmicroscopesandtelescopes,andsatellite/celestial orbits and energies.

Theseexamplesareofferednotonlyinlecture/demonstrationorreadingbutalsoin assessmentforms:asscoredhomeworkexercisesandasexamproblems.

Critical thinking: Theclickerquestionsinlecturehonestudents’skillsatorganizing,comprehending,andpredicting—distinguishingtheapparentlysimilarfromthelogicallycorrect.Thesamegoesfortheitemscoveredinthelabtake-homeportions(whichtypicallyhoneinontheconceptsmoststudentshavethemosttroublewith).Thelabsessionsthemselvesthenletstudentstestlearnedprinciplesinpractice—dontheskepticismofscienceandre-createknowledge;afterall,noscientificknowledgecameoriginallyfromabook.Theskillsacquiredinthesepartsofthecoursearetestedintheshort-answersectionsoftheexams.

Thenthelonger,morecomplexhomeworkproblemssharpenstudents’application,analysisandproblem-solvingskills—testedsubsequentlyinthelong-form(“write-out”)problemsoneachexam.Inthoseproblems,studentsmustsynthesize(fromknownprinciples)theirownsolutions to multi-part situations they have never before encountered. To do so, they must firsttakethesesituationsapartandidentifythebasicphysicalprinciplesatwork(“spotthephysics”).Thentheymustapplywhattheyknowaboutthoseprinciples(equations,relation-ships)toconstructeitheranumericordescriptivesolution.

In this way, PH 212 helps build in students a skill set that, while shaped via training in one areaofscience,impactstheirlivesmoregenerally—andmanystudentsbecomeawareofthisand comment on it by the end of the course: They learn to think logically and critically, to listenandevaluate,toapplyandsynthesizeinnewsituations,andtoorganize—andgetthedetailsright.Theylearnscienceliteracyandwalkawaywithanewvocabulary(andconfi-dence)andawarenessofscienceinthenews:darkmatter,windandwaveenergycapture,anew particle collider. They see the relevance and connections of these to their lives. They are betterpreparedtobevotingcitizens,taxpayers,professionals—andparents—inthefuture.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 6

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Specific Course Content (See the Course Calendar for details on topics, assigned work, due dates and exams.)

Topic(s) Learning Objective(s)/Outcome(s)*

Week 1: Rotationalandcirculartranslationalposition, Distinguish/describeangularposition,velocityand velocityandaccelerationandtheir1-Dvector accelerationofaconstantly-acceleratingobjectin1-D descriptions. rotational motion. 1-Drotationalkinematicsofconstantly Correctlypredictthe1-Drotationalmotion(position, acceleratingobjects. velocity,acceleration)ofaconstantly-acceleratingobject. Centripetalmotionofaparticle,inboth Defineandcalculatetheradialandtangentialportions. uniformandnon-uniformcircularmotion. ofanobject’scircularmotion.

Week 2: Momentofinertia;centerofmass. Defineandcalculatethecenterofmassofanobject. Defineandcalculatethemomentofinertiaofanobject. Conservation:Angularmomentumasa Defineandcalculatetheangularmomentumofanobject “currency”oftheuniverse;angularcollisions (aboutafixedaxisoraxisofsymmetry);usetheprinci- andexplosions(alongaxesofsymmetry). pleofConservationofangularmomentum. Torque. Defineandcalculatethetorqueactingonanobject; Recognize/usetorqueasagentinanobject’schangeof angular momentum.

Week 3: Newton’s2ndLawforrotationalmotion. CorrectlyapplyNewton’s2ndLawforbothequilibrium andnon-equilibriumcases. Definerotationalkineticenergy(KR). Correctlyapplywork-energyequationincludingKR term, and accounting for UG change due to rotation of

Week 4: Pressure;staticfluidpressure;devices Correctlycalculatestaticpressureinincompressible andapplications. Dynamicsofamovingfluid; fluid;correctlyusehydraulicprinciples,Archimedes’

Principle,andBernoulli’sequation;

Week 5: Rayoptics:reflection,Snell’sLaw(refraction), Correctlycalculatewithmirror/thin-lensequationand andimagingwithsphericalsurfaces. (abs.)mag.;correctlytraceraysinreflection/refraction.

Week 6: Multiple-lensimagingsystems:visioncorrection, Explain/analyzebasicsofhumanvision/correction magnifyingglasses,microscopes,telescopes. Explain/analyzesingle-andmulti-lensinstruments: magnification(abs.andangular)andimagelocation.

Week 7: Simpleharmonicoscillators,theircharacteristic Correctlyrelatemass,period,motionandlinearrestoring features, motions and effects on nature. action in simple harmonic oscillators Themathematicsof1-Dtravelingwaves. Correctlycalculatewiththe1-Dtravelingwaveequation.

Week 8: Simpleinterferenceoftravelingwaves;beats. Correctlypredictsimpleconstr./destr.interference;beats. diffractionthroughapertures(soundandlight) interference,beatsanddiffractionthroughapertures. Waveoptics:Diffraction,thin-filminterference. Explain/analyzelightdiffractionandthin-filmbehavior.

Week 9: Standingsoundwavesonstringsandintubes; Correctlyanalyzestandingsoundwavesinstrings/tubes. Wave power, intensities, energies, Doppler shifts. Correctly calculate wave energies, intensities, Doppler. Week 10: Newton’sUniversalLawofGravitation; Givenplanetaryandtimeorradialdata,predictanypart satellitesandorbits(circularvs.elliptical); ofasatellite’sorbit;orthegravitationalforceexerted generalizedgravitationalpotentialenergy(UG). betweentwoobjects;orthechangeinUG during orbit.

*Note: For all application, modeling and calculation objectives and outcomes, an accompanying outcome is also required of (and explicitly stated to) the student: That he/she be able to summarize/restate the physical situation in words (including the recognition of when there is insufficientinformationoridentifyingrelevantinformationamidstanexcess),constructamathematicalrepresentationfromwhichhis/her numericalmodelisthenderived;stateanyassumptionsorsimplificationsinherentinthemodel,recognizethelimitationsand/orshortcomings of the model, and defend his/her overall reasoning, approach and conclusions.

See the Course Calendar for complete details on all topics, assigned work, due dates and exams.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 7

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Lecture (and clicker) policies

Seeing and hearing: Thelecturehallislarge(andthecenterboardareaissmall).Theviewingscreensaregood,but the overhead lights can sometimes wash out details. If you have trouble seeing or hearing, pleasetrytofindoptimalseatingforyourneeds.Also,pleaseadvisetheinstructorifthere’sanythinghecando(e.g.speaklouder,writelarger,moveoutofyourviewoftheboard,etc.).

Courtesy and etiquette: At all times,youareexpectedtoshowmaturecourtesytowardeachotherandtheinstructor.Justlikeyou,everystudentaroundyouhaspaidrealmoney($15-25)foreachclasssession.Ofcourse,you’refreetouseyourowntuitionpurchasehoweveryouwish,butyouareNOTfree to prevent others from getting the most for their money. In particular:

–Beprompttoclass.It’sdisruptivetoeveryone(includingtheinstructor)toarriveand “unpack”afterclasshasstarted.Andifyouknowyoumustleaveearlyonedayfora specificreason,pleasesitneartheback,sothatyoucangoquietly.

–Unlessauthorizedbytheinstructor:Silence all cell phones and other electronic devices.

–Refrainfromconversingexceptduringgroupdiscussions.Infact,refrainfromanyactivity thatdistractsyourfellowstudents(ortheinstructor).

–Theinstructorwilldismissyouat(orusuallybefore)10minutesbeforethehour.DoNOT begintopackupbeforebeingdismissed,asitmakesitverydifficultforotherstudentsto hearthelastpartofthelecture(whichisoftenakeypoint).

Class format: Theclasssessionsareamixofconventionallecture,small-groupdiscussionamongclass-mates,andinteractiveresponse(usingaclicker—anelectronicremoteresponderownedandoperatedbyeachstudent).Atypicalsessionwillinclude2-5clickerquestions,oftenwithonesuchquestionatthestartofthehour.

Scoring: Afull10%oftheentirecoursegradeisforclassparticipation—scoredviaclickerquestions.Youearn3pointsperquestionsimplybyresponding—regardlesswhetheryourresponseiscorrect.Ifitiscorrect,youearn4points.However,themaximumnumberofpointspossiblefor the term is simply 3N, where Nisthenumberofclickerquestionsasked.Thusyoucangetallpossibleclickerpointssimplybyalwaysattendingandparticipating.Butanextrapointisawardedforeachcorrectanswertoallowforsome“insurancepoints;”incaseyoumustmissclassforanyreason.(Anysuch“insurance”pointsleftoveratterm’sendarediscarded).Thenforfinalgradecalculation,yourclickerpointtotalisdividedby3N, and the result is multipliedby100toconvertyourscoretotheproperpointsweightingforthewholecourse.

(Clickersare10%ofthegrade:100pointsoutofthe1000totalavailableinthecourse.)

Frequently asked questions:

“If I miss my regular lecture time, can I drop in on the other section?”Yes(solongastherearespareseats),butyou won’t get any clicker points that day.Yourclickerappisactivatedonlyforyourregisteredlecturetime(either1300,1400or1600).

“What if my clicker app fails or my device runs low on batteries during class?”Duetothesizeoftheclass,it’snotfeasibletonoteindividualcircumstancesforthis—sorry,youwon’tgetclickerpointsthatday.Butjustaswithunforeseenabsences,thisiswhyanextrapointisofferedforeveryrightanswer:it’suptoyouto“bank”thoseextrapointsasinsuranceagainstsuchcontin-gencies.(Andofcourse,besuretogetyourdevicerepaired/rechargedpromptlyfornexttime.)

“How can I get the answers to the clicker questions we do in class?”You’llhavetobetheretonotethemyourself(orgetthemfromaclassmateifyoumisslecture).Withsomeexceptions,theyareusuallynotposted.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 8

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Lab policies

Overview: Not every week has a lab, but for each lab, all pertinent materials will be posted on the Course Calendar—numberedtomatchtheweekoftheterminwhichthatlabstarts.Forthatweek,youshouldreadand/orpreparein advanceforthecominglab’sexpectations.Youwillthengotoyourlabsession,doalabactivitiesaspartofasmallgroup(3students,typically—butlabteamsmaychangeweektoweek),andcompleteawrittengroupLabReport.

Yourlabsessionisthreehours(170minutes,actually).Somelabsrequireallthistime,soif you don’t read the lab activity ahead of time, you’ll run out of time and have to schedule amake-uptime.Beready!ThelabTAwillfillyouinondetailsaboutequipment,etc.,butyoushouldwalkinalreadyknowingthebasicactivityitself.Thelabsoffer(demand)ahighdegree of autonomy from you and your lab group. Neither the TA nor the written lab material will offer you a “cookbook” guide as to what to do; you will be, to a large degree, designing your own experiments.

Lab reports: The lab activity is indeed group work, and your group’s responses in the Lab Report must be putintoyourandyourlabpartners’ownwords.Turninyourgroup’sreport(containingeachpartner’sname)toyourlabTAbeforeany of your group leaves the lab.

Take-home portions of lab: Many(butnotall)labswillincludeatake-homeexercisetobedonelater—individually—andturnedin(toyourLabTA’sbox).DuedatesareshownontheCourseCalendarandoneachexercise.Do not confuse these take-home lab portions with Homework (HW) assignments! Anyassignmentwiththeword“lab”attachedtoitispartoflabandshouldbesubmittedtoyourLabTA,nottotheHWsubmissionbox.

Scoring: YourlabTAwillscoreyourgroup’sLabReportduringtheweekafterthatlab,returningitthefollowing lab session. Certain randomly chosen items from each report will be scored, so the raw total points possible may vary from week to week. However, this raw total will be recali-bratedto100pointstotalpossiblefortheterm(whichincludesthetake-homeportionsofthelabsthatarescoredseparatelyandhandedbackwithinaweekoftheirduedates).

Lab Zeroes: If for any reason you earn zero points for either the lab report or the take-home portion of any lab,thatwillresultina“LabZero”forthatweek.You do not want any Lab Zeroes.Why?BecauseforeachLabZeroyouhaveattheendoftheterm,yourtotal course score is reduced by5%.Example: Suppose, after the entire term is done, you have earned 540 points out of 1000. Normally this would be a C grade for the course, but if, in accumulating those 540 points, you had one Lab Zero (say you were absent one week and didn’t make that up in Week 10—or say that you failed to turn in a take-home portion), you would lose 27 points. That’s 5% of 540. This would then give you 513 points, a C– for the term. Bottom line: Don’t miss labs (andofcourse,thenprepare/participatefully), and don’t skip the take-home portions. You have to do both parts each week!

Making up lab reports: Week10(Tuesday-Friday)isdesignatedaslabreportmake-upweek.LabTAswillbeinthelab during all normal lab times, and there will be various apparatus from the term’s previous labs arranged and available for you to do the labs and prepare the reports. You are allowed to make up no more than 2 (two) lab reports during any make-up week.(Note,youdonotneedtorestrictyourselftothelabhoursofyourownlabTAduringmake-upweeks.)

Making up take-home lab work: Theduedatesforthetake-homeportionsoflabarefirm.Ifyouarelatewithanysuchassign-ment, you can still get some credit by turning it in no later than March 15 at 5:00 p.m., but thecreditwillbejust1/4ofwhatitwouldhavebeenotherwise.Beyondthatpoint,you’veearnedaLabZeroforthatlab.

Frequently asked questions:

“If my group gets a really low score on a lab report, may we re-do it?”Yes.Butthat,too,isamake-uplab(oneoftwomaxi-mum)thatyoucoulddoonlyduringthemake-upweekwherethatlabissetup.

“Are lab activities/procedures covered on exams?” Not the lab reports. All evaluations of your work in the lab come from the labreports.However,thetake-homelabportionscoverbasiccourseconceptsandmethods—thosearefairgameontheexams.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 9

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HW policies

Overview: TherearePrepproblemsetspostedeachweek(orsometimesadoublesetovertwoweeks)—look for the blue links on the Course Calendar. These are to help you prepare for the actual HWsets(oneHWsetpostedperexamunit—orangelinksontheCourseCalendar).YouwillnotturninanyPrepproblemsolutions,butyouwillturninyourcompletedHWsets(tothe

HWTA’sbox—seetheContactspageonthecoursewebsiteforthatinformation).

Solutions: Prepproblemsolutionsareposted24-48hoursafterthatproblem’s“do”date(shownontheCourseCalendar).HWsolutionsarepostedveryshortly(withinminutes)aftertheirturn-indeadlines.

Frequently asked questions:

“Why do we have both Prep problem sets and Homework (HW) sets?”ThePrepproblemsareforyourpractice—youdon’tturnthoseinforcredit,andyoushouldbedoingtheseafewatatime,pacingasindicatedontheCourseCalendar(andtheirsolutionswillbepostedonthatsamepace,about1-2daysaftertherecommended“do”datefortheproblems). You will NOT have good success with the HW sets—or the exams—if you haven’t worked Prep problems! (They’reallfromexamsinpastyears—asaretheproblemswewillbeworkingtogetherinclass.)

TheneachHWsetispostedaboutaweekbeforeanexam.Thisisintentional,becausetheHWsetislikeapracticeexam—brand-newproblemswithalltheconceptsmixedtogether—soyouwon’tbereadyforituntilwehavecoveredalltheconceptsfirst.ConsidertheHWsetstobeyourfinalprepforexams(andnotethatyouwillhavefullaccesstostudylastyear’sactualexamandsolutions,too).

“How will I know my HW scores?”TheHWTAgraderwillscoreyourworkandthenreturnittome—pickthatupinmyoffice.Butthatmaynotbeforuptoaweekafteryouturnitin,andtherewillbetheexaminthemeantime.Soyoushouldalwayskeepa copy of your completed HW, because right after the HW due deadline, all of those HW solutions will be posted.

“So, what’s the best way to study using the Prep problems?”Firstandforemost:Workafeweachday—do NOT put off all your Prep practice until a few days before the midterm. That is a recipe for failure. This is why the Course Calendar shows a few recommended Prep problems each day—that’s the pace you should try to follow—and you won’t be able to do well on the HW or the exams without this work! Definitelytryeachproblemforyourselffirst—withoutlookingatthesolution(ifthatsolutionisindeedalreadyposted).Reallyworkituntilyou’vedoneitorgoneasfaraspossible—andthatmeansseekout“partial”help,withclassmates/studypartnersorofficehoursvisits.(Notehere,too:Often,issuesrelatedtoPrepproblemswillbepartofthelecturehour—bringyourclickerandbepreparedtotearintothetoughpartsinagroupsetting.)

“DoIneedtofinishallofeachPrepsets?”“Need”istherightwordtousehere.YoushoulddoPrepproblemsuntilthetopicsaremakingsense—untilyou’re“conversant”ifnot“fluent”withthephysicstoolsyou’repracticing.Thatmaybetrueafterafewitems;itmaynot.You’llneedmorepracticeonsometopicsthanothers(andeachpersonisdifferent).Soyou work them until you don’t need any more practice—only then should you try last year’s exam and the HW set.

Exam policies

Overview: Therearetwogroupmidtermexams,each80minutesinduration.Thereisonegroupfinalexam,110minutesinduration.(Checkthecoursecalendarforallexamdatesandtimes.)Midterm1isworth250points.Midterm2isworth200points.Thefinalexamisworth250points.Eachexamemphasizes the most recent material, but all exams are cumulative; use ofmaterialthatwasbasictopreviousexamsisfairgame.

Allexamsareclosed-book,butyou’reallowedone8.5”x11”sheetofpaper,withanynotesyouwantonit(bothsides),so long as they’re in your own handwriting.You’realsoallowedacalculatorofanytype,providedthatitdoesn’tsendorreceivewirelesscommunications(nolaptops,palmtops,PDAs,cellphones,etc.).Always bring pencil(s), eraser, and your OSU ID.

Scoring: TheexamsarescoredbyTAs—oneTApersectionorproblem,sothatscoringforthatitemisconsistentacrossthewholeclass(andpointvaluesareshown,tohelpyoubudgetyourtime)..

Reviewing your exam: Ittakesaweektoscoreandrecordexams.Thenthey’reavailableforpick-up(inWngr309).YoumustpresentyourOSUIDtopickupscoredwork.Whenyougetyourexamback,besuretocheckthescoringagainstthesolutions(whicharepostedshortlyaftertheexam).Ifyoufinddiscrepancies,do not make any marks on your exam.Instead,fileanexamappeal.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 10

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Exam Appeals: TofileanexamappealyoumustusetheExamAppealForm and follow all of its instructions. Asyouwillreadonthatform,youmustidentifytheproblem/itemandspecificallywhythescoringisincorrect,etc.ItisNOTsufficientsimplytosay“IthinkIdeservedmorepointsforthis.”Youhavetosaywhy.Andastheformrecommends,thebestapproachforthisistouseaphotocopyofyourexamandbasically“re-score”theprobleminquestion,asifyouwerethegrader, showing how your version of the scoring is more aligned with the posted solution.

LeaveyourappealfortheinstructorinWngr301(thePhysicsDepartmentoffice).Hewillac-ceptforreviewallappealsthatarefiledbythedeadline(andmakeeveryefforttoreviewandreturnthempromptly),butnoappealswillberevieweduntilafterthedeadlinehaspassed.

Theinstructor’sdecisionsonappealsarefinal;therearenore-appealsatthecourselevel.Ifyouwishtore-appealatahigherlevel,youshouldpromptlynotifyinwriting(anemailisfine)theHeadofthePhysicsDepartment—andcopytheinstructoronthisnotice,aswell.Youwillthenreceiveinstructionsonthenextstepinthatprocess.

Frequently asked questions:

“What are the exams like?”About4-5daysbeforeeachexam,fulldetailsarepostedaboutit:examroomlocations,whattoex-pect,what’s“fairgame,”whatinformationwillbeprovided(andwhatwon’t).Lastyear’sexamisalsoposted.The best guides as to the scope and depth of the exams are the Prep problems and the HW. EachexamisalotlikeaHWproblemset,actually(butagain,withall-newproblems).Labactivitiesaregenerallynotcoveredonexams;take-homelabconceptsare,however.

“Theexamsdon’treflectwhatIknow.Istudyhard,andIthinkIreallygetthisstuff,butthenIgettotheexamsandIjustfreezeup or make mistakes I wouldn’t normally make. How can I improve my exam performance?”Alotofdifficultiescomefromsim-plylosingconfidenceandpoiseintheexams—yourushandmisreadthingsyouwouldn’twhennotundertimepressure.SousetheHWsettopractice!Putyourselfundertimedconditions—seehowyoudo,correctyourmistakes,scoretheresults,identifythemissingconcepts.Themoreyoudothis,thebetteryou’llget.Andthentheotherquestionis:AreyougettingfromthePrepandclassproblemswhatyoushouldbe?They’renotjustbusywork—they’reintendedforyoutostudyandgeneralize from, so thatwhenyouencountertestquestionswithnewsituations,youcanrecognizethesamephysicsprinciplesoperatingthere,too.

“Whyaretheexamssodifficult?”Physicsisadifficultsubject—noquestionaboutthat(butseethecommentsbelowabouthow to do well).Theexamsareactuallywrittentobeasbriefandaseasyaspossiblewhile still testing to see if you really understand the material.But“understandthematerial”doesn’tmeansimplymemorizingcertainproblemsorsituationsorrecognizing/regur-gitatingformulas.Itmeanscorrectlyapplyingthephysicsprinciplesyou’velearned—andthe only way to test that is to ask you to apply those principles in situations you’ve not seen before.Thisisadifferentsortoflearningandadifferentkindofexamthanwhatyoumaybeusedtoinothercourses,sotherawclassaveragesontheexamsaretypicallybetween40and50%—butdon’tpanicaboutthis.Youmaybeusedtogetting70-90%onexamsinothercourses,butalowerpercentageexamaverageheredoesnotmeanyou’refailing—noreventhatyou’reheadedforalowergrade:Note the grading scale—andtrack your progress!

“WhenwefirstencounteratopicinreadingorBeforeClassitems,itseemsfairlysimpleandeasybyitself,butthenwhenitap-pears on exams, it’s all mixed up with other topics. Why?”That’stheonlywaytotellifyoucanunderstandwhen/howacertainphysicsprincipleisoperating:whenyoucandistinguishitcorrectlyfromothers.BeforeClassitemsandtextbookmaterialsalonearenotsufficientpreparationforexams.Lecturesarehopefullygoingtoshowyouhowto“thinkoutloud”asyouapproachnewproblems, but you still need to continue on your own, through the Prep problems, and the HW sets.YouwillnotdowellinthecoursesimplybydoingtheBeforeClassandclassactivities.Youneedtogoin-depthandpractice.(Consider:Adictionaryisasuccinctlistofwordsanddefinitions,butyoudon’tlearntoreadandwritebystudyingadictionary.Youneedtoseeexamplesofwriting,andthenpractice—andpracticesomemore.Youlearnbydoing—notbyseeing.)

“The problems on the exams take so long—they’re like the HW problems. How can you expect us to do them in the time allowed on the exams?”Beforeworryingaboutfinishinganyproblem—grindingoutthemathandgettingananswer—youshouldbesetting up the problem.About70-80%ofthecreditforanyHWorexamproblemisfordoingthat—notforcrunchingdowntoananswer.Thesetup--that’sthe“SpotthePhysics”skillwe’llbeworkingoninclassalot.Sounless/untilyouaregettingallthesetupscorrectonexamproblems,youshouldn’tbeworryingabouthowlongtheytaketofinish—the partial credit you’ll be getting will add up to excellent exam scores anyway.The“finish”portionofmostphysicsproblemsisessentiallymath—butthat’saftertherealworkhasbeendone:Eachexamproblemisaboutranslatingthephysicssituationfromonelanguage(English)toanother(math)inordertounderstanditmoreclearly.Physicsisthestory;mathismerelythelanguagewetellitin.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 11

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Grading policies

General discussion:

Besidestheexams(worth700pointsovertheterm),therearethreeotherpartstothecourse(clickers,labandHW)inwhichyouearnpoints.Afull30%(300points)isofferedintheseways,abuilt-inincentivetoactivelyparticipateinallthosepartsofthecourse, where you’re learning thinking and communications skills, in addition to physics principles. In general, if you do well withthethreenon-examparts,itwilltypicallyraisesyourgradeatleasthalfaletterabovewhatyou’dhaveasaresultofyourexamaveragealone.Sousethoseotherpartsofthecourseasintended:“Maxout”thosepointsbyworkinghardandmonitoringyourunderstandingasyougo,anditwillserveyoutwofold:Theextrapointsyouearninthecourse;and(moreimportantly)thework habits and preparation it gives you.Bytheway,note:ThepercentagesyouwillearnforclickerandHWforthetermwillneverbelowerthanyourexamaverage.Say,forexample,thatyouhaveearneda75%examaverage(525pointsoutof700),butonly,say,50%(50/100)forclickers.Yourclickerscorewouldbeadjstedautomaticallytomatchyourexamaverage(75%)—you’dgetcreditfor75/100forclicker.And likewise for HW. But this is NOT true for lab—only for clicker and HW.Note, too: The grading scalehasa“borderline”policy.Undercertainconditions, if your earned point total for the term is within 10 points of the next grade cutoff line,you’removedtothatgrade.Thoseconditionsareasfollows(you must satisfy them all):(i)Completeallyourworkinlab(noLabZeroes);(ii) turn in all three HW assignments, all reasonably attempted and original work; (iii)maxoutyourclickerscore(100/100—nothardtodo—seepage7here);and(iv)showsteady/improvedexamperfor-manceduringtheterm(soyourfinalexampercentagemustequalorexceedyouroverallexampercentagefortheterm).

Frequently asked questions:

“Are the exams—or the course overall—graded on a curve?”No.Butsometimesadjustmentsaremadefordifficulty.Here’sthedistinction:A“curve”meansthattheinstructorlooksatthedistributionofpointsearnedbyallstudentsandarbitrarilydividestheA’sfromtheB’sfromtheC’s,etc.--basedon“natural”cutoffpoints(i.e.wheretherearen’tverymanyscores,and/orwherethehighestandlowestscoreslanded).That’snotdoneinthiscourse;the grading scaleisfixed.Buteachmidtermexammayhaveanadjustment—pointsaddedtoeveryone’sscore,basedupontheinstructor’sestimationofthatexam’sdifficulty.Thisgivesyoutheclearestpossiblepictureofwhereyoustandasthetermgoesalong.Thenthefinalexamadjustmentisnotonlyforthedifficultyofthatexambutalsoasaretrospectivejudgmentforthetermasawhole.Thisfinaladjustmentis,byinstructorpolicy,alwayssufficienttogettheclassaveragetoC.Butthereisnoattemptto“shape”acurveanddivideitintoA’sthroughF’s.Everyone can earn a high grade in this course;there’sno“minimumquota”ofD’sorF’s.“I got an F on my exam. Am I going to fail the course?”No,youdidn’tgetanFonyourexam.Youdidn’tgetanylettergradeatall—it’salljustpointsinyourtotal,andthere’snolettergradeassociatedwiththattotaluntiltheendoftheterm.Anddon’tforgetthatafull30%ofyourcoursegradeisearnedvialecture,labandHW—yourexamsareNOTthewholepicture.To see where you really stand, you’ll need to calculate your current grade correctly. It’s your responsibility to do this.“My lab TA is a tough grader, but other TAs are easier. My friends are getting more points for their groups’ lab reports than I am for mine, and yet I know we had similar results. How is this fair? Those points affect our grades!”Yes:SomeTAsaremoreparticularininsistingthatyougivemorecompleteanswers.Theyallgetthesameanswerkeys/rubricsfromtheinstructor,butofcourse,they’reallhuman;eachhashis/herownstyle.Sotheinstructor’sspreadsheetisdesignedtodetect,week-by-week,if/whencertainTAshavebeentoughergradersthanothers.Andtheplayingfieldisthenautomaticallyre-leveled—byaddingsomepointstothestudentswithtoughTAs—soessentiallyyou’reallbeinggradedbythesame(themostlenient)measuringstick.SobegladifyouhaveastrictTA,becauseifyoucanlearntogetgoodscoresfromhim/her,thenwhenthespreadsheetaddspointstocompensateyoufortheextrarigor,you’llhave“icingonthecake,”points.SitdownwithyourTAandgooveryourscoredlabreportsandfindoutwhereyoumissedpoints.Youhavetheanswerkeysalready—therubricsthatappearinyourlabmaterials.“This course is so hard—aren’t you causing a lot of students to fail?”No—quitethecontrary:Thiscourseismorelenient in gradingthanOSU’sownAcademicRegulationsactuallyallow.AccordingtoAR17,agradeof“C”(GPA2.00)issupposedtobe the averagegrade.Inotherwords,assuminganormaldistributionofscores(areasonablysymmetric-lookingbellcurve),only about half of the students would be getting grades of C or better in this course.Butlastwinter,forexample,ofthe370studentswhoenrolledinthiscourse,251(67.8%)gotagradeofCorhigher.Inotherwords,wereportedthat2 out of 3 students were “average”orbetter.Soifthere’sanygradingissuehere,it’sgradeinflation.AgradeinPH212atOSUrightnowactuallyde-notes less achievement than it’s supposed to.“But still, this course is way too hard and too much work for a 200-level course!” Thatcommentsimplyreflectsunrealisticex-pectationsbroughtfromothercoursesorschools.There’snothinginanyOSUARthatsays200-levelcoursesare“supposedto”requireonlyacertain(modest)leveloftimeandeffort.Physicsisadifficultsubject—moresothanmanyothers.Buteventhen,itsworkloadisnotoutofline:OSU’sownAcademicSuccessCenterlistsguidelinesforaverage time budgeting in any course attheuniversity—2-3hoursofstudytimeforeveryhourinclass.That’sexactlywherethiscourseis,if you spend your time studying in the manner prescribed (which is quite different than you may be accustomed to).

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 12

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How to do well: notes from the instructor

Comments on the topic and the course:

Whatisthepurposeofthiscourse?Foralmosteveryone,it’sarequiredcourse;fewtakeitasanelective.Andnowonder:It’sintense,fast-paced,wide-ranging,time-consuming—andmoredifficultthanmostothersciencecourses.

So,whyisthiscourserequiredforyourmajoratall?Whatdo“we”(whoever“we”are—youradvisors,professors,admissionsofficers,futureresearchorindustrycolleaguesandemployers)wantyoutowalkawaywithfromacourseinGeneralPhysics?Oneover-archinggoalisoneyoumaynothavefullyconsidered(orencountered)beforenow:We want you to be able to think clearlyaboutcomplexproblems—onesyou’veneverencounteredbefore—usingthefamiliarprinciplesandpracticalreasoningaboutthephysicalworld:“Whatisthisnewsituationsimilar—tothatI’vealreadyseen?”“WhatmustthesolutionapproachifIsimplifyit—orletitproceedtosomelogicalextreme?”We also want you to be able to clearly and compellingly communicate and defend this reasoning to others, including acknowledging your assumptions, your models, and their inherent limitations.

Theothermajorgoalhere,ofcourse,isthebasiccontentitself:Wewanttogiveyouathoroughgroundinginbasicphysics—mechanics,fluids,electricity/magnetism,optics,etc.—sothatinyourprofessionalcareers,youcanrecognizeandworkwiththeprinciples, terminology and units of physics.

Inotherwords,wewantyoutobecome“literate”inbasicphysics.Ifyouareliterateinagivenlanguage,itmeansyoucanreadandwriteit,synthesizingand/orrespondingtonewideaswithunderstandingandflexibility.Itwouldnotbecorrecttosay,forex-ample,thatsomeoneis“literate”ifhe/shehasmerelymemorizedthespellingandpronunciationofalistofwordsorphrases.Youcantrainaparrottodothat—andthebirdhasnoideaofthemeaningofthesoundsorsymbols(nor,ofcourse,howtocombinetheminnewwaystodealwithnewsituations).

Sothiscourseisnotaboutmemorizingformulasorverbatimdefinitions.Thatwouldbelikememorizingalistofspellingwords.Thiscourseismorelikeacourseinvocabulary,grammarandphonetics—aboutgraspingthemeaningsandconnectionsbetweentheprinciplesandformulasofphysics.That’swhytheT/F/Nitemsontheexamsaskveryexactquestionsaboutthemeaningsandimplicationsofwhatyou’velearned—oftenwithnocalculationsinvolved.Andthat’swhythelongerPrep,HWandexamitemsarebuiltthewaytheyare:Theywillputtogethertheideasthatarepresentedseparatelyinclassandinthetext—togetherin ways that should be recognizabletoyouifyou’retrulygraspingthemeaningoftheprinciples,ratherthanjustmemorizingtheformulas and symbols. In other words, if you really know your vocabulary, grammar and phonetics, then you’ll have no trouble onanexamcomprehendinganewsentencemadefromfamiliarwordsandideas(andlikewise,you’llhavenotroublespellingorpronouncingawordyou’venotencounteredbefore)—noranytroubleexplainingyourselfandjustifyingyourreasoning.

Now,thinkabouttheothersciencecoursesyou’vehad:chemistry,biology,etc.Withoutquestion,itisnecessarytodoaLOTofmemorizationinthosesubjects,becausetherearejusttoomanycomplexphenomena—andyourpurposeisnottoreduceallthebehaviorsyouseetoafewunderlyingprinciples.Butphysicsistheconverse:It’sthestudyofthe(very)fewprinciplesthatap-parentlyoperatewithoutexceptiononeverythingintheuniverse—andwhichgiverisetotheastoundingvariationyouseeinsay,chemistryandbiology.Physicsistheonefieldwherewecanlookatabaseball,aplanetandaparticleasbasicallythesamesortof“thing”whenitcomesto,say,motion.Eachisjustanobject—andeachobeysthesameprinciplesofmotion.

Physicsisthesciencewherewetrymosttoseeprinciplesinaction—togeneralize—notmemorizephenomena.Andthatiswhatcanmakephysicsdifficultifyou’vebeenimmersedawhileinothersciences.Youhavetostartthinkingdifferently—startseeingthesamephysicsinactionbehindlotsofdifferentsituations(andofcourse,it’sallexpressedintermsofmathematicalrelation-ships,soyourmathneedstogetsharpagain,too)—situationswhichmayormaynotcontainenoughinformation(ortoomuch,somebeingirrelevant).Yourtaskinthisregardis“SpotthePhysics.”

Ultimately,ofcourse,Ihavetojudgewhetheryou’velearnedbasicphysics“literacy”here—andhowtocommunicateitanddefend your reasoning.

IwishIcouldofferyouacompletelyindividualized,self-pacedandself-guidedcourse,whereyoucouldstudyandprepareonyourownschedule,thenarrangeatimetocomeinandtakeanexamoneachtopic(includingquestionsthatrelatethattopictoothersyou’vealreadystudied,etc.).Andyoucouldtakeasmuchtimeasyouwishedoneachexam—andrepeatituntilyougotitright.Itwouldbegreat,wouldn’tit?Well,resourcesbeingwhattheyare,ofcourse,wehavetogetyoutherewithjustafewexams.Andmakenomistake,Idolettheexamsguideyourgrade—about70%ofit.ButIdorecognizehowhighthestakesbe-comeforthoseexams—andthey’rerigidlytimed,too.That’salotofpressure,andIknowthatfewofusdoourbestundersuchcircumstances.Undersuchpressure,it’softenhardtodemonstratehowmuchyoudounderstand.Iknowthis.Iacknowledgethis. I am no different.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 13

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Withthatinmind,I’vegatheredsomethoughtsonhowtodowell—startingwiththese....

–Thisisachallenging4-creditcourse,withlab.Takeitseriously,getorganized,andgetfocused.Doallthereading,allthewriting—anddon’tletup.Thisisagoodpreviewofwhatprofessionalleveldedicationandconcentrationfeelslike(which,afterall,iswhereyou’reheadedwithyoureducation).Itwillrequire12-18hoursperweekofyourtime—spentproperly,asdescribedhere—outside of class).Getready,acceptthis,andplanonit.There’s no shortcut.

–Usethewebsitedailytostaycurrent—announcementsappearregularly,andthereisacompletecoursecalendar.Donotget behind! There is a lot of material to cover; the pace is relentless and demanding. It’s hard to catch up.

–Seekhelpearlyifyou’rehavingtrouble!Besidesmyofficehours,there’shelpfromTA’sinWeniger334.Officehoursforthe TA’s in this course are posted under the Contacts link on this site, too.

–Allthesewarnings;allthiswork—whybother?Whatarethebenefitstomotivateyou?These:Dothiscourseright—reallygetyourtuitionmoney’sworth—andyou’llwalkoutasamoreroundedscientist,asharperproblem-solver,abetterthinkerandcommunicator.Andyou’llknowit;you’llhaveanewconfidence.Don’tsettleforless.

How to study and use the course:

Timeexpenditurealonedoesnotguaranteesuccessinthiscourse(rather,it’sguaranteedtobeimpossibleifyoudon’tspendthetime).Youneedtospenditintherightways.Asksuccessfulstudentswhohavebeenthroughthiscourse,andthey’relikelytogive you the following advice:

Watch for announcements daily(includingweekends)—usuallysentviaCanvas,buttime-stampedonthecoursehomepage,too.

Dothematerial/exercisesrecommendedintheBeforeClass(andAfterClass)links.This(notinlecture)iswhereI’lldomuchofthetraditional“storytelling”—introducingthephysicsconceptsandtryingtoguideyourindividualstudyofthem.No,noneofthatmaterialis“required”(scoredforcreditinanyway).Butbelieveme,everythingwillmakefarmoresenseifyoufollowmyrecommendations.MUCHofthestoryiswhatIleadyouthrough“afterhours”(online),andI’llbeaskingaboutitwithclickerquestions.I’msavingourclasstimemorefordiscussing/developingourreasoning—thestuffthatwereallyneedtoseelive-and-in-personandtalkabout.Soplease:Do not skipthepre-andpost-lecturematerial/recommendationsIpostonline.Yes,thisisalotoftimetospendonthecourse—andyes,Iknowyouhavetobalanceyourtimewithothercoursesyou’retaking.Buttruly,IthinkI’msavingyoutimeinthelongrunoverthewholeterm.Thisisfarbetterthanputtingthingsoffandtryingto“cram”beforeexams—thatjustdoesn’tworkwithphysics.Andbytheway:Thisguidedstudyandextramaterialisinresponsetomanyconstructive student evaluation comments from past years, wishing for better guidance on how to spend individual study time. (“I spend so much time, but I don’t think I’m studying what I should be—I thought I knew this stuff, but when exam time came, I didn’t.”)SoIwanttodoabetterjobinguidingwhatyouthinkabout—andinwhatorder—asyoustudyonyourowntime.That’smyover-archinggoal—butI’mreviewing/preparing/postingmaterialaswego,sobearwithme.

Come to class. This should go without saying, but I need to say it. I will often post the class notes prior to lecture, certainly af-terward.ButthatwillbetheonlyrecordIleavewithyouastowhathappenedinclass—youreallygottabethere,inotherwords.DoIrecommendyoutakenotesduringclass?That’suptoyou,ofcourse—everyonelearnsdifferently—butjustrealizethattheformatofwhatwedoin“lecture”won’treallybetraditionallecture.Iwon’toftenstandupthereanddispensephysicscontentto you in the conventional format of a lecture. The main reason we all get together in one room is to practice our reasoning and communicationsskills.Yes,thetopicwillbephysics,buttheagendaisreallylearningtocommunicatescientificandtechnicalunderstanding—tootherhumanbeings.Sodon’ttrytoplaystenographerofalltheconversations—you’llbetoobusyrecordingittoparticipatefullyyourself.Andit’sintheparticipationwheretheconceptswillsinkin—takethemhomein your mind already, notjustonpaper.

Be an active listener and learner.Don’tbelieveanythingIsayoranythingyouread(orhear/see)untilyou’vecheckeditoutforyourself—untilyou’veconfirmedit.That’showyoulearn—byre-creating(re-teaching)ittoyourself—evenifit’sjustmullingit over in your mind and restating it after someone else has stated it. The aphorism is absolutely true: “You don’t really learn a subject well until you try to teach it to someone else.” Active learning means, essentially: Be your own teacher. It works. It has towork.Nobodycanteachyouasubjectlikephysics(ormath,ormostconceptualtopics,forthatmatter).Youcanhearthestoryfirstfromsomeoneelse,butthentoreallygraspitsmeaning,youhavetore-tellittoyourself.Obviously,ourclassformat—lotsofdiscussionandsmall-andlarge-groupdebates—aremeanttoencourageyoutouseyourownwordsalot.Takethatideaandgeneralizeittoyourstudysessions,too:Talktothewall,yourroommate,yourparakeet,whatever—justforceyourselftoformwordstoexpressyourideasandunderstandingofthephysics.It works.

Onegoodstepontheroadtoself-teaching,ofcourse,istoencounter the material and ideas multiple times—fromdifferentanglesandperspectives.Everyterm,IgetcommentsthatthematerialmadesomuchmoresensewhentheTAsexplaineditlater(afteryouworkedthroughmymaterials,wenttoclass,workedPrepproblems,didtheHWassignments,etc.).Yes. That’s exactly how it works. You’llneedtohearthisstuffmultipletimes. That’s normal.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 14

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Usetheclickerquestionsasthey’reintended:tohelppromptyourthinkingandgetthewordsflowingbothways—toyouandfromyou.Ipurposelyasksomeclickerquestionswhichmaynotseemfullyclear(orhavetoomuchextraneousinformation),orsometimeswherethebestanswerisamongthemostcommonwronganswers—the common mistakes and misconceptions. I don’t dothistobe“tricky”orannoying.Idoitsothatyoucanmonitorwhetheryou’rereallygettingitorjustthinkyou’regettingit—that’sthepoint.Manyconceptsanddefinitionsinphysicsareeasytoconfuseifyou’renotcareful.That’swhatI’mtryingtoletyoudetectearly—sothatitdoesn’tshowuplater(ontheexam).Sotreateachclickerquestionasatruechallenge.Nomatterwhetherit’saconceptquestionoraconversationstarter,don’tjustbuzzinwithsomerandomanswerjusttogetcreditforbeingthere.That’sbeingpenny-wiseandpound-foolish.CountingclickercreditandthereasoningyoumustshowonallHWandexamproblems, fully half the points available in this course are for conceptual reasoning and for defending that reasoning. Don’t overlookthis.Andconsider:Youcangetreallygoodattheconceptsandcommunicatingthemevenifyounevergetthehangofwrite-outproblem-solving;butyouwon’tgetfaronthewrite-outproblemsifyoudon’tknowtheconceptsbehindthem.(Aha!)

Readeachlabbeforeyoucometothesession—withtheselabsespecially,youdon’tgetalotofspecificinstructions;essentiallyyoudesignyourownexperiments.Thelabsareoftenlengthy,soifyouspendtoomuch“get-up-to-speed”time,youwon’tfinish,and then arranging a make-up lab time is a hassle. A word to the wise.

Usethetake-homeportionsofthelabsasthey’reintended: These are essentially worksheetswhereyoucanreallycrystallizeandcheckyourunderstanding—shoreitupbeforedivingintoPrep/classproblems(letalonetheHWsetsandexams).

Useallthehumanresourceswehaveavailable.TheTAsandIhavealotofOfficeHourseachweek(andbydefinition,OfficeHoursareopen—noneedforanappointment—thedoorwillbeopen,andyoucanjustdropin).AndrememberthatIamjustthelead“story-teller”andmain“discussionfacilitator”inthiscourse.AndIknowthathearingastoryjustonceseldomdoesitinphysics(itsuredidn’tforme).SoI’mnothurtorinsultedoranythingtoknowthatyou’regoingtogetthingsclarifiedbyoneofthemanyexcellentTAswehave.Iknowthesefolks.Ofthosereturningwithexperience,I’vespecificallyaskedthemtoworkwithmeinthiscourse.Icountonthemtoofferyoudifferentexplanations,differentwordsandpictures.Theyareterrific,asIhopeyou’llsoondiscover—andyoushouldfeelwelcomeintheirofficehours(andofcourse,mine).Donoteverforget:Wetogether—theTAsandI—areyourbiggestfans.We want you to do well.WewanteveryonetogetanA,infact(yes,that’spossible).Andwe’retheoneswhowriteandscoreyourexams(notsomefacelessbogeymanwitharedpensomewhere),andwe’rerootingforyouall—everyoneofyou.Ofcourse,we’renotgoingtogivepointsawaywithoutyoushowingyouknowyourphysics,butwe’recertainlygoingtolookbeyondgoofyarithmeticerrors,forexample,toappreciatewhatyoureallydotodemonstratethatyougraspedthephysics.Soifyou’rehavingdifficulties,comeonintoofficehoursand“thinkoutloud”withoneofus(andwithotherstudentswhoareinthesameboat—oftenthebestsessionsarewhenyouworktogetherinsmallgroupsandbouncetheideasaround).You teach each other—betterthanIcouldeverdo.

How to monitor your progress:

Thekeyinallthisistomonitorwhereyouare—andwhatyou’renotgetting.Usecoloredpens,stickynotes,whatever—makeapointtocomeinduringofficehourstocheckyoursolutionsandyourthinkingandtoironouttheroughspots,sothattheHWproblemscomemoreeasily.Theyareyour“dress-rehearsal”fortheexamproblems(andlabandlecturearedesignedtosharpenyourphysicscomprehensionandreasoning/communicationsskills.Andifyou’redoingalloftheabove,you’llhavenotroublecreatingameaningfulandusefulsheetofexamnotessheet—whichisthefirst,bestwaytostudyforeachexam.Thestudentswhodidtheaboveregularlydidbetterandbetterallterm—andallyear.They learned how to learn and communicate physics.

Successfulstudentsalsomonitortheirprogressandstandinginthecourse,so that they aren’t worried/distracted by it. The linkbelowtakesyoutoanexamplecalculationsheetyoucanusetoestimatefairlycloselywhereyoustandduringtheterm.Only YOU are responsible for knowing where you stand in the course.Sobesuretokeepaccuraterecordsofallyourscoredwork—includingyourclickerquestionsansweredinclass—regardlesswhetheryouwererightorwrong.

YourTAsshouldhandbackyourlabassignmentsaweekafteryouhandedthemin.Then,withallyourscoresinfrontofyou,youcanreadilycalculateyourstandingandprogressinthecourseatanyparticulartimeyouwish.Thebestexplanationofhowtodothatistoseeanexample—click heretodownloadthat.Theneitherdothearithmeticonpaper(aworksheettemplateisprovided),orclick hereforanExcelspreadsheetthatwillaccomplishthesamething(andnoticetheotherinformationofferedbythespreadsheet).

To help you in your monitoring, I will occasionally use the Canvas gradebook feature to post all the scores I have for you to-date, plus an estimate of your current course percentage, plus a rough calculation of how you need to score from then on in order to achieve certain benchmark grades. This will happen at least twice a term: once no later than the end of Week 3; again no later thantheendofWeek6.(AndifIhaveanyconcernsaboutyourprogress,Imayemailyou,too,aroundthosetimes.)

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 15

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Personal integrity:

ThissectionoftheSyllabusisincludedbecauseofafewincidents,bothlargeandsmall,thathaveoccurredovertheyearsinthiscourse.LetmeassureyouthatIamverywellaware—andveryappreciative—thatmostofyoudon’tneedthisreminder.IfIthought otherwise, I simply wouldn’t do this work. But I want everyone to read this.

We(theverydedicatedTAsandotherstaffandI)choosethiscourse,despitethelonghours,mainlybecauseofthequalityofpeopleinit—that’syou.WorkingwithstudentslikeyouisthebestjobI’veeverhad.ButI’mverywellaware,too,ofthepres-sureofthiscourse—ofgradesandofthemajorsandcreditloadsyou’reallworkingunder.I’vebeenthere,too—andsohaseveryTAandeverymemberofthisdepartment.AndI’mheretotellyouthatnothing—nothing—isworththepriceyoupayifyoubuckle under that pressure and give in to the temptation to take unethical shortcuts. For the sake of a few points, or an increase in agrade,youriskyourfuturecareer,thetrustofyourfriendsandcolleagues,yourownintegrity—andyourself-respect.Goodtrade?Noway.That’smathwecanalldo.

Nevertheless, a pattern has emerged in university academics over the past few years. It’s a pattern of thought, of assumptions aboutwhatshouldbeadjustedwhenthegoinggetstough.Therightassumptionisthatyouractions/habitsshouldbeadjusted.Thewrongassumptionisthattherulesshouldbeadjusted.Iamheretocautionyounottoslidetowardthatwrongassumption.Letmegiveyousomeexamplesofpastinstancesinthiscourse—again,notmany,butenoughforthisconcernandcaution:

Cheating rarely starts with someone thinking, “I’m going to cheat!” Rather it starts with, “I know this is against the rules, but—this one time—I really need to be an exception!”Inotherwords,itstartswiththeideathatoneneednotbearthefullconsequenc-esofone’sactionsifonecanjustfigureouthowtoduckthoseconsequences.That’swhattroublesmemost—it’sthatstartofareallyinsidioushabit,awayofthinking:“slidingby”issomehowOK,aslongasyoucangetawaywithit.

—Ihaveheardfromthoseaskingforpartial/fullcreditfornon-partial-credititems(“see, if I’d only used the right units or read that part of the question, I’d have answered it correctly”).(Yes,butyoudidn’t,soit’swrong.)Thereareplentyofportionsofthiscourse—abouthalfthetotalpoints—wherejudgmentiscalledforandforwhichpartialcreditisawarded.Butsomepartsareeitherrightorwrong.Aslongasthequestionsarewordedclearly(andIdothrowthemoutwhenIfailatthat)eitheryouanswer it right and get all the points, or you don’t get any. Every one of you is a professional in training. And professionals don’tgetpartialcreditfortheirscrew-upswhereit’simportanttogetitexactlyright.Professionalsadmittheirmistakes,fixthem,takefullresponsibility,andthenworkhardtofigureouthownottodoitagain.

—Ihaveheardstudentsmakingexcusesformissingdeadlines,assignments—orevenexamtimes(“I wrote it down but lost my notes” or “my web access went down” or “Icouldn’tfinditonthewebsite” or “I couldn’t be in class that day”).It’ssomeversionoftryingtoblameotherparties/circumstances—anythingexcepttheirownfailurestostayontopoftheirresponsibili-ties,tomanagetheirtime,andtoverifyortootherwisehaveaPlanBforallcrucialtimes/dates.Anyversionofthatblame-deflectingisveryunprofessional.Thisisn’thighschool.

—Ihaveheardfromthosewhoforgottowritetheirnamesontheirpapers,whoputtheminthewrongTAboxes,whoforgettobringclickersorcalculatorsorIDorpencils/eraser.(Insomecases,TAscametotherescue,buteventhen,afewwentsofaras to ask also for leniency in grading “because of the distraction/time lost”tryingtofind/replacetheirmissingitems).

—Ihaveheardfromthosewholosttheirexamnotessheet(orotherwisedidn’thavetimetopreparetheallowedONEsheetofhandwrittennotes—whatpartofthatisunclear?),soasquickreplacementnotestheybroughtmultiplesheetsintoexams,expectingtherulestolooktheotherwaybecauseitwasan“emergency.”

Yougettheidea.Ineachsuchcase,thebadchoicewhenthingsgowrongistolookforanotherwayout—ratherthantosimplystandup,admititandfacethemusic.Can’trememberyourTA’snameorsection#orbox#?Forgetyournotessheetoryourcalculator?Doyourbestwithoutit(orwithjustonesheetofwhateveryoucanwritedownin30minutes)—itwillremindyoutopreparebetternexttime.Thesamegoesforlearningtoalwaysputyourcalculator(andleaveyourclicker!)inyourbackpack--and to tape a copy of the course calendar and your TA’s info in your notebook. In other words, the right choice is to take the consequencesfornotyethavingadoptedtheresponsiblehabitsofaprofessional.

See,it’sthehope/assumptionthatonecanarrangetobeforgiven—tobeanexceptiontotheruleswhichlinkactionstotheirfullconsequences—that’stherealdangerhere.Notonlydoesavoidingtheconsequenceletyouavoidlearningtodobetterinthisparticularinstance,butthatwayofthinkingbecomesahabitinitself—it’samindsetthatisverydestructive.Allregulationssomehowstarttolooknegotiable—orevadable.Andsoonerorlateritboilsoverintooutrightcheating—takingrulesintoone’sownhands(“these don’t need to apply to me in this case”)andsettingthemaside.

Isthissobad—cheatingagainst“arbitrary”or“artificial”rulesinanacademicsetting?What’sreallyatstake,afterall?It’sjustafewmarksonapaperortranscript,right?Sure—andit’salsojustafewmarksonaledger,aresearchdatasheet,adesignspec.You’retrainingtobecomethenextgenerationofphysicalscientistsandengineeringprofessionals.Whomwouldyouratherhaveresearchingyourfuture—orbuildingyourcities,oradvisingyourgovernment?Someonewhoisinthehabitofbendingrulesand“slidingby”—orsomeonewhoisinthehabitof“sweatingthedetails”tomakesuretogetthemright?That’sthedifferencebetweenmediocrityandexcellence—betweenmakingthingsworseorbetter.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 16

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Forminggoodhabitsforexcellencestartswithassumingthattheresponsibilityisonyoutochange,toadjust.Mostlawsandrulesthatyouencounterinlifedon’tcomewithclear,simpleexplanationsastowhythey’regoodandnecessary.Butmost—includingthoseinthiscourse—do have good reasonsbehindthem.I’vegonetosomelengthsinthisSyllabustoexplainthosereasons.Butwhetherornotyou’vereadthose—oragreewiththem—isreallybesidethepoint.

Thepointis,thisisnotagame.Acollegedegreeisnotjustanartificialhoopyouhavetojumpthroughinordertoqualifytopursueaprofession.Thereisrealcontenthere—andit’snotjustthestuffinthetextbook.Thiscourseistough,noquestionaboutthat.Itspace,itssubjectmatter—everything—isverydemanding.Butassuch,itfunctions,too,asasortof“bootcamp”—forall sorts of professional and life skills that have nothing to do with physics, but which are very important: Communication, time management,attentiontodetail,logical/analyticalthinking,clearandaccuratereading,settingpriorities,activelearning,self-discipline and self-monitoring of understanding and capacity. It may be a course called physics, but all these aspects end up being thereasanecessarysub-curriculumallthesame.Infact,thoseskillswillstickwithyoumuchlonger—andserveyouandevery-one youservemuchbetter—thanunderstandingNewton’sLawsorArchimedes’Principle,oranythingelseaboutphysicsitself.

Yes,it’spossibletogetthroughthiscourse,stayingwithinallitsrules,withoutfullydevelopingsuchprofessionalandlifeskills.Ifyoudo,you’recheatingyourself(andyouprobablywon’tscoreverywell,either)—it’suptoyou.Butifyoutrytoactually“navigate”aroundthecourserules,too,you’recheatingeveryone—andnotjusthereandnow,butdowntheroad,whenyouapplythatsamemindset,thatsamehabittoyourfuturework(i.e.toallofus).

Thisisnotgoingtohappenonmywatch—notifIcanhelpit.Idon’tliketoplaysecuritycop;Iliketoassumethebestofinten-tionsbyall,andusuallythatisthecase.ButIwanttobeveryclear:Ifwe(IoranyTAorotherinstructor)dodetectandcanverifyanyofthefollowing,theveryleastthatwilllikelyhappenisazeroforthatworkorforpartofthecourse:

—Bringingandusingotherstudents’clickers(orotherwiseimpersonatingthem)inclass.IfIseethis,IwillnoteallIDsin-volved,notifyallparties,andIwillrecommendthatallthosepartieswillreceiveazeroforclickerfortheentireterm.

—Takingexamsforsomeoneelse,orcopyingonexams—viawanderingeyesorothermethodsordevices(includingchanginganswerswhilewaitinginlinetoturninexams).Iftheyseethis,proctorswillconfiscatetheexam(s)inquestion—dependingonthecomplicityofthe“copyee”(somemaybeunaware).Anexamsoconfiscatedmaygetazeroscoreandpromptfurtherinvestigation.

—Usingillegalnotesorillegalcalculators/computers/communicationdevicesduringanexam.Azeromaybescoredforthatexamandpromptfurtherinvestigation.

—“Doctoring”ascored(returned)exam,thenappealingit.Letmebeclear:Iamveryhappytoreviewthescoringoryourexams.Wetrulywantyoutolookthemoveranddemonstrateanypointsthatyouearnedbutweremistakenlyomitted.Notonlydowewantyoutohavethepointsyoudeserve,butit’sagreattimetolearn/reviewthematerial.ButIdoaskyounottowriteonyourscoredexamforthisveryreason(andtheexamappealsprocessdescribeswhatyouneedtodo).Andpeoplegenerallyfollowthiswithnoproblems.AtOSU,Ihavedetectedonlyafewcasesofthissortofdishonesty—whichiseasilydocumented(we now photocopy all scored exams before returning them).Asoutrightfraud,thisisespeciallyegregious.

Learning is all about making mistakes. This is a place of learning, so it’s a place especially full of mistakes. I ought to know: I make a bunch of them every day. We all do. Nobody is here to ridicule or hammer on you for making honest mistakes, no mat-terhowcarelessorboneheaded.Weallgettired,distracted,frazzled.WhatI’mtryingtosayisthatNOmistakeofthatkindisunfixable—infact,that’swhatwe’rehereinlargeparttodo:tofigureoutwhat’sgoingwrongandmakeitright—not to pretend that it didn’t go wrong.

Soit’sfarbettertojustsayquietly,“I messed up—and I want to learn to do better.” And as part of that, you must accept the consequencesofthatmistake.Ifyoudon’tfeeltheconsequences,youwon’tlearntoavoidthemthenexttime.Butthosecon-sequencesarealwayslessthanwhatcomesoftryingtoavoidthem(tryingtoputtheblameelsewhereorhidingtheerror).Andthereisnothingmoreimportant,morevital,thanhavingbeenunsuccessfulatsomethingfirst,butthen—throughMUCHeffortandfrustration—honestlyworkingitoutandfinallygettingitright.Nothingfeelsbetter—or is better. I don’t care what your transcriptsays,that’sthedefinitionofawinnerandasuccess—andthatqualitywilltakeyoualotfartherinlifethananyGPA.Ifyoudoubtme,justliveafewmoreyears.Butmeanwhile,please,don’tbargainawaythatqualityinyourself.Thatqualityisreallywhatyou’reheremosttodevelopandpolish—andwhyIsoenjoyworkingwithyou.

Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2019 Course Syllabus 17

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Last comments:

Therearemanyofyouandjustoneofme,andIregretnotbeingabletospendmoretimewitheachofyou.Idotrytolearnnames,and(overthecourseofthreeterms),Idogettoknowmanyofyou,andtruly,that’sthebestpartofthecourseforme.AndIdon’tgettiredoftellingthisstory—Ilearnsomethingneweverytime.Thisisthe“grandtour”ofphysics—alongandevent-filled“busride.”I’myourdriverandtourguide—welcomeaboard.

Whatwillbethebestpartofthetripforyou?Idon’tknow—Ijustwanttomakesurethatthereis a best part for you. I know that physics often looms up as simply a huge mountain of work and struggle for students. But it’s really heartening how often they willsaytomeattheendofthecoursethateventhoughitwashardwork,theyenjoyeditandfoundatleastsometopicsreallyinteresting. That makes it all worthwhile. Amidst all the work and hectic pace, my personal goal is not only to convey the mate-rialtoyoubuttohelpyoufindsomemeaninginitforyourself.Forallyourtimespentinthiscourse,Ireallyhopeyou’lltakesomethingwithyoumoreenduringthanjustagradeonatranscript.It’sanincrediblybeautifuluniversewefindourselvesin,andthe story of that beauty starts with physics.