Physics 2425: University Physics

Fall 2016

Professor: Dr. Daniel K. Marble

Office: SCI 213E; SCI 232 (RBS Lab)

Telephone: 968-9880

Email: Marble@tarleton.edu

Office Hours: TR 10:00-12:00

Others by appointment or as walk-in

Class Hours: M,W,F 9:00-2:00

W 2:00-8:00

Required Materials:

1. Fundamentals of Physics 10th ed. by Halliday, Resnick, and Walker (Primary

Textbook – Mandatory)

2. WebAssign Password for our Textbook – (Required: You may purchase over the

Internet at www.webassign.com or from bookstore but make sure you get the one

for our Textbook!!!)

3. Math Handbook – Schaum’s Outline

4. Scientific calculator

5. Ruler & Protractor

6. Computer Headphones

Supplemental (Optional) Material:

1. Schaum's Outline Series: Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Michael Brown

2. Schaum’s Outline Series Mathematics for Physics Students by Steiner & Schmidt

3. Used Math – Clifford Swartz – Math Primer for Students Needing Additional

Help

4. Feynman Lecture Series Vol. 1 (Optional For Physics Majors)

Course Objectives:

1. Provide a working knowledge of the principles of physics that form the

foundation for future work in physics, engineering, chemistry, and hydrology.

2. Improve analytical thinking skills

3. Provide the necessary skills to allow students to analyze data including the ability

to determine possible sources of uncertainty and error.

4. To provide an insight into the actual way in which real science and engineering is

preformed including an understanding of the history of math, physics, chemistry,

and engineering.

Course: Physics 2425 primarily covers mechanics, gravitation, and harmonic motion.

Depending on the available time, a brief introduction to material on waves, relativity, and

fluids necessary for later course work may also be presented. Physics 2425 is a calculus-

based course intended for Physical Science, Engineering, Mathematics and other

Technical majors. The course is intended to provide the student with a strong foundation

for future course work in these fields as well as improving the student’s general problem

solving skills.

Co-requisite: Calculus I

High School Background: Physics (Preferably AP-B or higher)

Class & Pre-Class: Physics 2425 is a partially flipped class in which there is less

lecturing and more active instruction. Some of the traditional passive instructional

materials including class lectures are placed on the class website for students to watch

prior to coming to class. Each student is expected to have completed all outside pre-class

activities including reading the textbook and watching any assigned video lectures so

they can actively participate in the class discussion and class activities and finish them in

the required time. In order to master the material in PHYS2425, students may have to

work through the reading assignments multiple times using pen and paper. Students are

expected to visit http://www.tarleton.edu/Physics122/index.html, the PHYS2425 course

web site, prior to every class.

Post Class Work: Following class, students are required to complete the post-class

assignment including reviewing their notes and working assigned homework problems.

Attendance: Students are expected to attend the entire class or lab period and participate

in each activity unless they are ill or have been excused by the instructor. If a student

must miss a quiz, activity, exam, or lab due to an emergency or illness, they should

contact the instructor as soon as possible. If the instructor decides that the absence was

excused, the student may be given a make up the activity, quiz, exam or lab or the

instructor may alter the weighting of the student’s other grades. If the absence is

unexcused then the student will receive a zero for the missed graded event.

Cell Phones & Computers: All cell phones and personal computers are to be turned off

during class. Lab computers can only be used for lab activities. Students engaging in no

class related activities including playing games, reading email, or watching non-class

related videos will receive a zero.

Grading: The final grade for Physics 2425 will be based upon written examinations,

quizzes, homework, class activities, and lab work.

Exams:

Two exams will be given during the semester as well as a comprehensive final.

Student’s future courses will build upon the concepts covered in Phys2425/2426 so

student must learn the material in a manner that enables them to retain it. The course is

designed to develop skills that your future employer will expect you to have. Thus, all

exams are comprehensive and will test both the student’s conceptual and analytical

abilities. It is expected that most students will finish the exams in 2 to 2.5 hours, but

slightly more time will be given so students can complete the exam and demonstrate their

mastery of the material without feeling time pressure.

Quizzes:

Quizzes will be given in class throughout the semester in order to provide the student

with a measure of their progress, ensure students come prepared to class, and to

discourage test cramming.

Activities & Homework:

Daily class activities will be assigned and taken up throughout the semester as part of the

student’s homework grade. In addition, weekly homework assignments will be assigned

and collected using the automated homework system WebAssign. The remaining portion

of the student’s grade will be determined by lab work and projects.

Lab: In order to receive credit for the course, a student must complete the lab portion of

the course by successfully finishing all lab assignments. These include redoing

successfully for no credit those labs for which they received a failing grade of zero.

During lab, we will cover additional materials as well as perform hands-on activities. The

student should plan to spend the entire three hours in lab every week. If a student receives

a zero for missing a lab, they must still arrange a time with the instructor to complete the

lab in order to complete the course. During lab, computers are only allowed to be used

for lab work. They are not to be used while the instructor or student group is presenting

material or to complete homework assignments without instructor approval. Students not

working with their team on their labs or using computers in an unauthorized

manner will be given a grade of zero and required to make up the lab.

Time Requirement: Because Physics 2425 requires students to use math and science

skills learned in other classes as well as learning and study skills beyond simple memory

and recall, it is a challenging course for most students. However, most students even those

with poor backgrounds can succeed in Physics 2425 if they develop the necessary study

skills and consistently spend the required time.

PHYS2425 is a professional course rather than a general core course. For some students

this may be the first time they have taken such a course. As a professional course

PHYS2425 has a larger time commitment so students should consider their academic,

work, and outside activity schedule to see if they have sufficient time to dedicate to

PHYS2425 or delay taking the course till another time. An average student should expect

to spend between 12 and 16 hours outside of class reading their textbook, notes, etc.

every week. In order to be successful, it is important that the student develops a

consistent study schedule instead of cramming for quizzes and exams. The student

should perform the pre-class assignments of the web for each particular module. The

student’s study program should include working through each equation in the textbook,

reviewing previously covered material, working problems, and noting questions for the

instructor. The process of learning physics is similar to that of learning to play football or

the flute in that it is not a spectator activity. Each student is expected to come to class with

questions and prepared to engage in an interactive discussion with the class and instructor

on the assigned material. Students should make frequent use of the instructor’s office hours

whenever they are having difficulties. In addition to posted office hours, students should

feel free to come for assistance anytime the instructor is in his office. Students can also

contact their instructor for help using e-mail or the WebAssign help desk.

VPython & Video Analysis: We will be using VPython to create computer simulations of

physical systems whose solutions are too difficult or time intensive to do by hand. In

addition the act of programming will force the student clarify their understanding of the

physics material which will improve their learning in addition to obtaining a useful job

skill for their later career. VPython is an extension of the Python programming language

which adds graphics, vectors, and other advanced mathematics capabilities needed to

quickly develop computer simulations. No previous programming experience is expected.

We will also be using video cameras and LoggerPro video analysis software in the lab to

analyze actual physical systems.

Other Opportunities: Physics 2425 students have access to a wide range of professional

opportunities outside of class. These include

a) working with Tarleton faculty on projects with the particle accelerator on

problems in material science and physics or with Tarleton’s telescope.

b) joining the Society of Physics Students (SPS) at Tarleton,

c) attending the joint meeting of the Texas Section of the American Physics

Society (APS) and American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) in April

at Tarleton State University

d) doing science demonstrations at area schools

Tarleton has state-of-the-art research facilities including a particle accelerator laboratory

and a scanning electron microscope. The accelerator facility worth more than $2 million

dollars and was donated by the California Institute of Technology. Over the years, the

facility has been used to analyze electronic materials and to perform basic research in to

ion atom collisions bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars in external funding.

Tarleton’s telescope is the largest undergraduate telescope facility in the world. For

students with computer programming experience, Dr. Wyatt in Math is doing

supercomputing simulations of various physics phenomena. Dr. Goderya is doing artificial

intelligence for astronomy applications. Dr. Hibbs is doing research in near earth asteroids

and Dr. McCoy is doing research in Mathematical Physics. Students interested in these

projects should contact Dr. Marble.

Supplemental Instruction & Tutoring: Tarleton provides Supplemental Instruction (SI)

for PHYS2425. An upper-level physics major who previously made a high A in the

course acts as the SI leader providing problem solving and study sessions during the

evenings. Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. In

addition to SI, the Department of Chemistry, Geoscience, and Physics operates a tutoring

center in Science 104 to provide individual tutoring for students. Your student fees have

already been used to pay for these services so take advantage of them throughout the

year.

Disability Statement:

It is the policy of Tarleton State University to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act

and other applicable laws. If you are a student with a disability seeking accommodations for this

course, please contact the Center for Access and Academic Testing, at 254.968.9400

or caat@tarleton.edu. The office is located in Math 201. More information can be found

at www.tarleton.edu/caat or in the University Catalog.