Physics 121B, Spring 2009

Mechanics

Lecture Instructor: Kazumi Tolich
Email: ktolich@u.washington.edu
Anonymous email (no reply possible)
Office: PAB B454
Phone: 206-543-4032 or 206-616-4775

• My homepage

• General
• Texts
• Schedule
• Grading Policy
• Homework
• Clicker Questions
• Getting Help
• Exams

Other section

• 121A Web Site

General

• Welcome to PHYS 121B, the first of a three-quarter sequence of introductory physics courses for physics and engineering majors. You should find this course challenging and stimulating, and I hope that you also find it interesting and enjoyable. Have a great quarter!
• The course consists of lecture, tutorial, and laboratory components. Each component provides a different way of learning the material. The three elements are carefully coordinated, but are not necessarily synchronized. NOTE: Concurrent enrollment in 121 Lab and Tutorials is mandatory. Please direct any questions on the tutorial or laboratory components to
  • Tutorial Instructor: Prof. Peter Shaffer
    Email: shaffer@phys.washington.edu
    Office: PAB C218
    Phone: 206-543-6705
    
  • PHYS 121 Lab Instructor: Prof. Oscar Vilches
    Email: vilches@phys.washington.edu
    Office: PAB B445
    Phone: 206-543-5758 or 206-543-2393
    website: http://www.phys.washington.edu/users/vilches/
• Administrative support:
  • Administrative Web Site (Links to other 12x sites, exam statistics, TA contacts, etc.)
  • Program Assistant: If you need assistance with registration, have questions about grades or Lab and Tutorial policies, please contact
    Susan Hong
    susanh82@phys.washington.edu
    PAB C136
    543-4982
  • Undergraduate advisor: If you wish to talk with an academic counselor about becoming a physics major or minor, or have general questions about the physics program, please contact
    Margot Nims
    margot@phys.washington.edu
    PAB C139
    543-2772
• Never let anything go by if you do not understand. Generally, ask questions immediately. If it is inconvenient to interrupt, make a quick note to yourself and inquire later.
• Note that MATH 124 (Calculus I) is a prerequisite/corequisite for this class. It is the opinion of many instructors that students who have already completed MATH 124 are at a considerable advantage in PHYS 121. Hence, although it is possible to take the PHYS 121-3 and MATH 124-6 as simple corequisites (i.e. P121 with M124, etc.), students who have no prior experience with either calculus or physics should seriously consider getting 'one quarter ahead' in the MATH 124-6 sequence with respect to the PHYS 121-3 sequence.
• Be aware that many technical majors have a minimum grade requirement for a core of lower-division technical classes including the PHYS 121-2-3 sequence. Therefore, each student is strongly urged to discuss departmental entry requirements with their undergraduate or departmental advisors, and plan their course loads accordingly.

---

Course Texts

• Tipler, "Physics for Scientists and Engineers", special UW edition volume 1, or standard 6th edition volume 1
• McDermott and Shaffer "Tutorials in Introductory Physics"
• PHYS 121 Lab Manual.

---

Schedule

• Lecture schedule: MWF 11:30-12:20 in lecture hall A118 of the Physics and Astronomy Building auditorium wing.
• The following is a tentative weekly course schedule. This will be followed as closely as possible, and changes will be announced as necessary.
  

  Week	Date	Lecture Topic	Text reading	Tutorial	Lab
  1	30-Mar	Overview / Motion Concepts	1-1 to 1-5	1-D Acceleration	No lab 1st week
  	1-Apr	1-D Motion	2-1 to 2-4
  	3-Apr	2 & 3-D Motion & Vectors	1-6 to 1-7, 3-1
  2	6-Apr	Relative Motions & Projectiles	3-1 to 3-2	2-D Motion	1-D Kinematics
  	8-Apr	Projectiles & Circular Motion	3-2 to 3-3
  	10-Apr	Newton's Laws	4-1 to 4-3, 4-7
  3	13-Apr	Analysis of Forces I: FBDs	4-4 to 4-6	Forces	Free Fall & Projectiles
  	15-Apr	Analysis of Forces II	4-8 & review
  	17-Apr	EXAM 1
  4	20-Apr	Friction, Drag & Pulleys	5-1 to 5-2	Newton's Laws	1-D Dynamics
  	22-Apr	Circular Dynamics & Work	5-3, 6-1 to 6-3
  	24-Apr	Energy	6-4 to 7-1
  5	27-Apr	Conservation of Energy	7-2 to 7-5	Work and KE	Newton's Laws & Tension
  	29-Apr	Momentum & Impulse	8-1
  	1-May	System of Particles	8-2 to 8-3, 5-5
  6	4-May	Collisions & Explosions	8-4 to 8-5	Energy Conservation	Work & Energy
  	6-May	Review & Extension
  	8-May	EXAM 2
  7	11-May	Rotaitonal Kinematics	9-1	Conservation of Momentum	Momentum & Collisions
  	13-May	Rotational Energy & Inertia	9-2 to 9-3
  	15-May	Torque & Static Equilibrium	9-4, 12-1 to 12-3
  8	18-May	Torque & Rotational Dynamics	9-5 to 9-6	Rigid Bodies	Angular Kinematics
  	20-May	Angular Momentum	10-1 to 10-2
  	22-May	Conservation of Angular Momentum	10-3 to 10-4
  9	25-May	Holiday		Conservation of Angular Momentum	Rotaional Dynamics
  	27-May	Universal Gravitation	11-1 to 11-2
  	29-May	EXAM 3
  10	1-Jun	More Gravity	11-3 to 11-5	Pressure in a liquid	Make-up Labs
  	3-Jun	Static Fluids	13-1 to 13-3
  	5-Jun	Moving Fluids	13-4
  11	10-Jun	FINAL EXAM 2:30pm to 4:20pm, PAA A 118

---

Grading Policy

• Concurrent enrollment in PHYS 121 lecture, tutorial and lab is mandatory. Students will receive a combined grade for lecture, tutorial and lab. The final course grade is based on the following grade weighting:
  
  

  Midterm exams (best 2 of 3)	40%
  Final exam	25%
  Lab section	15%
  Tutorial section	10%
  Lecture homework	10%

  
  
• The individual exams and sections will be combined based on the z-score [(your score - class average) / (std deviation)]. Your lowest midterm score (relative to the mean) will be dropped.
• I will adjust individual final grades by no more than 0.1 grade points (about 2.5 % out of 4.0 possible) based on records from in-class clicker questions.
• Note that there will be no make-up exams in PHYS 121B. Students with outside professional, service, or career commitments (i.e. military service, ROTC, professional conference presentation, NCAA sports, etc.) conflicting exactly with the exam dates must contact the instructor early in the quarter to establish alternate examination procedures. Students who miss an exam without making prior arrangements with the lecture instructor will drop that exam score.
• Exam Re-grades: If you believe that the points on the examination were incorrectly totaled, or if there is a gross error in the grading, you may return an exam for regrading. To do so, you must resubmit the examination no later than at the beginning of the lecture following the one in which the exams are returned. You must use this form and attach it to the front page of the exam explaining the possible error in the grading. You must return it to Susan Hong in the physics and astronomy building room C136. Do not make *any* changes or marks on the other pages of the examination. Portions of each examination are scanned or photocopied. You should be aware that any request for a regrade may result in a regrading of the entire exam. Therefore your total score may increase or decrease.
• Lab and tutorial grading policies will be explained in your lab and tutorial section. Completion of most of the lab and tutorial work is required in order to pass the course. If you complete fewer than six labs during the quarter, and do not make up the work, your grade for the entire course will be 0.0! Even completing seven or six of the eight labs will reduce your grade significantly (about 0.6 or 1.2 grade points, respectively). Do not skip these important activities!
• Your Responsibilty: Check your grades on the Tycho system every week or two and report any problems to both the lecture instructor and the relevant TAs (and/or lab/tutorial faculty) immediately. Lab, tutorial and exam grades should be recorded for your review within one week from the date that papers are submitted for grading.

---

Homework

• Lecture Homework will be assigned and collected weekly through the Tycho system. The homework will be due 9:00pm each Thursday. Homework completed after the due date, but before 9:00pm the following day will receive 70% of the score. The first homework is due Thursday April 9th. If you cannot access Tycho right before a homework assignement is due, you must send me an email with your answers before it is due to receive credit.
• Tutorial homework will be assigned and collected in each tutorial section. There will also be weekly tutorial pretests.

---

In-Class Clicker Questions

• I will ask around two questions per lecture where you can respond using an TX3100 RF tranciever (clicker), which are available from the University Bookstore. Apparently, the infrared system that was used in previous years will still work this quarter. The clcikers used in chemistry and biology classes do not work in the physics lecture rooms.
• If you have an RF tranciever, your clicker's channel should be configured to channel 02. An instruction to configure your clicker can be found in section III in this link; this link has a lot of information that is irrelevant to you, so you should ignore other sections.
• I will adjust individual final grades by no more than 0.1 grade points based on responses to these questions. Half of those extra grades will come from attempting to answer, and the other half will come from having the correct answer.
• You are required to register your clicker here for your responses to be counted toward your grade.
• If your clicker is not working during a clicker question, you can submit a piece of paper with your name, student ID, clicker number, and your answer written on it during the clicker question to get credit for it. You cannot turn in the paper after the class.

---

Getting Help

• Study Center:
  • Students are encouraged to gather and work cooperatively in small groups in the Physics Study Center located in room AM018 of PAA.
  • To reach the Physics Study Center, go down the stairs that circle behind the Foucault pendulum and proceed toward the end of the hall.
  • Teaching assistants will be available for consultation during many portions of the day if your study group needs assistance, but staffing levels will not support much individual attention.
  • The Study Center is staffed from approximately 9:30am to 4:30pm on weekdays. A schedule of who is staffing the physics study center can be found here, Study Center Hours.
• Office Hours:
  • You are strongly encouraged to visit me regularly during office hours, which I will hold in the study center from 3:30pm to 4:30pm on Tuesdays and from 2:00pm to 3:00pm on Wednesdays.
  • You can also visit me by appointment in my office (PAB B454).
  • I will attempt to answer questions by email in a timely manner.
• Discussion Forum:
  • There is a discussion board for PHYS121A and PHYS121B.
  • You are encouraged to ask your fellow students for help with homework, or to organize study groups, etc.

---

Exams

• All the exams are closed-book. However, you are allowed one (for the midterms) or two (for the final) 8.5”x11” piece(s) of paper with formulae of your choosing on the front and back.
• Calculators without the text-storage capability are permitted. Cell phones, computers or any other devices that enable you to communicate with others are not permitted.
• Bring a "bubble sheet" or scantron form to each exam. You can buy this in a variety of places around the campus - even in the h-bar.
• If you would like a regrade please complete this form and return it to Susan Hong in PAB room C136.
  
• Unclaimed midterms and finals can be picked up, with a photo ID, from Susan Hong in PAB room C136.
  
  
• Midterm 1
  • April 17th
  • Covers material up to the lecture on April 15th.
  • There will be the following sections:
    • multiple choice, based on lecture material, worth 55 points
    • long answer, based on lecture material, worth 25 points
    • long answer, based on tutorial material, worth 20 points
  
  
  
  • Total distribution
  • Question I distribution
  • Question II distribution
  • Question III distribution
  
  
• Midterm 2
  • May 8th
  • The lecture part covers material from the lecture on April 20th to the lecture on May 6th.
  • The lab part covers material from the first 3 labs.
  • There will be the following sections:
    • multiple choice, based on lecture material, worth 55 points
    • long answer, based on lab material, worth 25 points
    • long answer, based on tutorial material, worth 20 points
  
  
  
  • Total distribution
  • Question I distribution
  • Question II distribution
  • Question III distribution
  
  
• Midterm 3
  • May 29th
  • Covers material from the lecture on May 11th to the lecture on May 22nd.
  • There will be the following sections:
    • multiple choice, based on lecture material, worth 55 points
    • long answer, based on lecture material, worth 25 points
    • long answer, based on tutorial material, worth 20 points
  
  
  
  • Total distribution
  • Question I distribution
  • Question II distribution
  • Question III distribution
  
  
• Final
  • June 10th from 2:30pm to 4:20pm
  • Covers material from the entire quarter.
  • There will be the following sections:
    • multiple choice, based on lecture material, worth 60 points
    • multiple choice, based on lab material, worth 25 points
    • multiple choice, based on tutorial material, worth 20 points
    • long answer, based on lecture material, worth 25 points
    • long answer, based on tutorial material, worth 20 points
  
  
  
• Total distribution
• Question I, II, III, and IV distribution
• Question V distribution
• Question VI distribution