PHY 183 - Syllabus

E-mail: phy183@nscl.msu.edu

Course description

Physics 183 is the first semester of a two-semester course in Physics for Scientists and Engineers. MTH 132 or MTH 152H or LBS 118 are prerequisites. Topics to be covered are mechanics, Newton's laws, momentum, energy conservation laws, rotational motion, oscillation, gravity, and waves.

Course Web page

We will post various resources related to this class on the Web at courses.nscl.msu.edu/phy183s3/.

Instructors

This class is being co-taught by two professors. If you would like to speak with either of us, please see us after class or e-mail us to make an appointment. For fastest reply, please use our common e-mail address phy183@nscl.msu.edu.

Text

Halliday, Resnick, and Walker, Fundamentals of Physics, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (2000), 6^th edition, volume 1.

Class organization

Lectures are on Mon, Tues, Wed, and Fri, from 4:10 to 5:00 PM in room 1410 of the BPS building. There will be numerous hours scheduled in the Physics Learning Center where students can get assistance and individual attention. Help can also be obtained through the web-based discussion forum which is part of LON-CAPA.

Exams

There will be four 50-min in-class tests with optional 30% partial credit for corrections (PCC) and one 2-hour final exam. The in-class tests and exams will be based on the material covered in lectures, the text, quizzes and homework. You are responsible for bringing the following to each in-class test and the final exam:

• A calculator: All exams will require the use of a calculator. Make sure that your calculator's batteries are fresh, as sharing of calculators will not be allowed.
• Two "Number 2" pencils to be used for filling out the computer scoring sheet.
• In-class test: You may bring one 8.5"x11" study sheet. Only one side of this study sheet may contain hand-written formulas, notes, etc.
• Final exam: Your 8.5"x11" study sheet may be filled on both sides.

All exams are closed book exams. No makeup for in-class tests will be given.

Partial credit for corrections (PCC) works as follows: After the exam the same set of problems is handed out as homework (the PCC set). Answers can be entered through LON-CAPA as for any other homework until the respective due date. If your PCC score is higher than your exam score, 30% of the difference will be credited to your exam.

Quizzes

Quizzes will be given frequently in class. Quizzes are not announced and you should anticipate at least one quiz per week. You will need a pocket calculator to solve them and a "Number 2" pencil to fill out the computer scoring sheet. For each student the four lowest quiz scores will be dropped automatically. No makeup for quizzes will be given.

Homework

There will be 15 homework assignments for which solutions are entered through MSU's LON-CAPA system. The homework due dates are Fridays at 8 am. Note that homework assignments are individualized.

Excuse policy

There will be no possibility to make up for missed in-class tests, quizzes, or homework assignments.

In order for a missed in-class test to be excused, you must present to the instructor within one week a written excuse, dated and signed by you, explicitly stating the circumstances that caused you to miss the exam. This excuse should be accompanied by verifiable supporting material, for example a written document from a doctor, dean, etc. Excused absences from the in-class tests will result in your grade being calculated on the basis of your performance on the other in-class tests.

No adjustments will be made to quiz scores unless more than four quizzes are missed due to excused absences.

With regard to homework only an extended absence or illness or an extended network outage will be considered a valid excuse. It takes several hours to complete an assignment and each answer should be entered into LON-CAPA as soon as a problem is solved. Hence a typical network outage should have very little impact. In other words, we will not excuse a homework assignment if you waited until after midnight on Thursday to begin entering answers and then found that the network was down.

The Michigan State University Code of Teaching Responsibilities states that any student missing the Final Exam may not be allowed to pass the course.

Grades

Grades are based on the following formula: homework 20%; four in-class tests 40%; quizzes 10%; final exam 30%. This course in not "graded on a curve". The guaranteed scale—may be lowered in your favor but not raised is:

Please familiarize yourself with University policies concerning academic integrity www.vps.msu.edu/SpLife/rule32.htm as they will be applied.

Honors option

Students interested in taking the honors option should contact the instructor at the end of the first class.

Physics Learning Center (PLC)

Members of the teaching team for Physics 183 are available in the Physics Learning Center for help on any physics topic covered in the course. You may attend any and as many of the sessions as you wish. The Physics Learning Center can also be useful as a place for groups to meet for studying and problem solving. Interacting with fellow students is a good strategy for learning physics.

The Physics Learning Center is open for PHY183 students on

• Wednesday 8 am – noon in 1240 BPS
• Thursday 8 am – 9 pm in 1248 BPS (Strosacker Physics Learning Center)

Discussion forum

A web-based discussion forum is available 24 hours/day thorough the LON-CAPA system. You can post questions which will be answered by the teaching team, or by a fellow student. Students can also read the questions and answers which other students have posted.

Calendar (updated)

The schedule below gives dates for the homework assignments and exams, along with a provisional list of topics and chapters covered in the text.