Panopto will be used to
record lectures (both audio and slides), which can be
reached also through Canvas.
On Canvas, following the
link Files you will also find pdf copies of the
lectures slides, which I will try to post before
lectures. You will be able to review/scan
using desktop/laptop/tablet/smartphone both
the visual and the audio parts, following
the link above to panopto.
Two problems are
endemic to physics intended for biology majors. The first is
the method of learning. The biology majors are comfortable
with memorizing and reproducing. They have not been trained
to solve problems. They have a fantastic memory power, and
there is no way to make use of it in a physics course. The
second problem is an aggressive and obsessive quest for an
A. I think the pathological anxiety about grades stands in
the way of learning a difficult subject like physics.
(This is an observation of an instructor at a different
institution, with whom I completely agree on this issue.)
Prerequisites: PHYS 114, PHYS 115 and working
knowledge of high school algebra and basic trigonometry.
Textbook: James Walker, Physics, 4th Ed., Prentice Hall; paperback
volume 3 (custom edition for UW), or the entire hardback
text, available at U. Bookstore.
Lectures: students will be responsible for all
material covered in lectures. Please ask questions in class
(highly encouraged), or drop by for office hours, or email
your question (that might be more difficult to use, so use
that as last resort in special circumstances).
Slides shown in lectures will be posted for your
reference.
Concurrent enrollment in lab course, PHYS 119, is not
mandatory, but recommended. Please note PHYS 119 is a separate
course; if you have questions, you must contact
the instructor.
Webassign
access is required
for homework and grade communication.
Clickersrequired
for pop quizzes: H-ITT RF (not
infrared!) transmitter, available at U. Bookstore. They will
be used during each class. Bring your clicker every day! YOU are responsible for
knowing how to use your clicker - we will have a practice
quiz in class. If you have trouble operating your clicker,
please ask students sitting nearby for help. Please don't
ask me to hand-enter your answer if you are unable to enter
your response electronically.
Quizzes: 2/3 of the maximum number of points will
count as a full credit for clickers, so you can miss several
quizzes without loss - therefore, no makeup quizzes! The
quiz questions will be very easy if you have been paying
attention in class.
Homework: Lecture homework on Webassign will be
assigned each week. Please check the WebAssign for due
dates. Each student will have the same assignment to
complete online, but the numerical values supplied to each
student will differ. Webassign cuts off according to
the due date schedule; Webassign will relentlessly refuse to
accept your entries after the specified closing time!
Computers are available for your use in the Physics Study
Center, from 8:30am-5:20pm on weekdays and at various other
locations around campus. Completing 90% of the maximum
number of points of the homework will count as full credit. You are very strongly advised to work out at least 10
additional problems in each chapter. The homework
assignments are very minimal, and experience shows that
students who spend time on homework problems get better
scores on exams. Also, some exam questions may be very
similar to end-of-chapter problems.
Midterm Exams: there will be 3 midterm exams.
Please see the course calendar for dates and material
covered. Your lowest midterm score will be dropped, so you
can miss one midterm without loss. Therefore, you need not
(and should not) notify me in any way if you have to miss
one midterm. However, please do not ask for permission to
miss more than one! Closed-book, but you will be allowed a handwritten
formula page with the exam, 8 1/2 x 11 inches, both
sides. Each midterm will emphasize recent material,
but may include questions dealing with topics from earlier
in the course. The exams will include only multiple choice.
Calculators are permitted. Cell phones, laptop computers,
iPad computers are not permitted, and the use of the
text-storage capability now available on many calculators is
also not permitted. The Physics Department reserves the
right to ask for valid identification from any student
during examinations. Bring a scantron for all exams.
Final exam Plan your departure after this required
exam. If you miss the final exam you will get an I
(Incomplete) grade for the class, and will have to make it
up by taking the final exam of following term's 116 class.
The final exam will be comprehensive, covering material from
the entire course. It will be entirely multiple choice in
format. The same rules apply as for Midterm exams.
Of course you may not communicate with anyone in or out of
the room during an exam, or use any electronic device for
communication. Please recognize that any variety of cheating
is a serious academic offense, with penalties up to and
including expulsion from UW, and since we have seen them all
before, you are unlikely to succeed. Bring
a scantron!
Grading Policy: The final course grade will
include:
midterm exam score (best 2 of 3)
40% of the course grade,
the final exam score 30%,
Webassign homework scores 15%,
Clicker quiz scores 15%.
Your lowest midterm exam score will be dropped and your best
two midterms are your "midterm exam score".
For each of the components we obtain a "Z-score", defined as
Z=(your score - class average)/(class standard deviation).
This preserves your rank in class for each item, while
giving all items a common average.
Study center: please make use of the Physics Study
Center, located in room AM008, on the mezzanine level of the
A wing of the Physics Astronomy building. The room is open
at all times the building is open, 8am to 7pm weekdays. TAs
and faculty will be on hand to answer your questions most of
the time betwen 9:30 am and 4:30 pm weekdays. You are
encouraged to study with fellow students to learn more! (Of
course, homework submissions must be your own work.)
Common courtesy: Civil behavior is required in
class. The basic rule is, do not get in the way of other
students who want to pay attention. Cell phones must be
turned off while in class. If you want to chat with another
student, or play games or watch videos on a laptop, please
leave the room.
Exam accommodations for
students through Disability Resources
If you have met with
the Disability Resources for Students office (DRS) and
have special accommodations for exams (such as extra
time), you will need to submit a testing contract through
your online account with DRS. You can find information
about their new online program on their website: http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs/.
If you have questions about the new procedures, please
contact the DRS office at 206-543-8924 or
uwdrs@uw.edu. For students taking
Physics 114, 115, or 116, you will need
to check your course syllabus to see what is allowed for
exams (some professors allow notes, some do not, etc). If
you are unsure about what materials are allowed for your
course, please contact your professor to discuss your
accommodations. You will need to submit your testing
contract at least FIVE days before your
exam in order to take the exam at the DRS testing center.
DRS
Testing Contract Questions for 12X courses only.pdf Please mark “TA will deliver exam/TA will pick up exam”
on the form. Students must submit their testing
contracts (not just the initial email from DRS) at least FIVE
days before the exam date, or else they will not be given
accommodations to take the exam at the DRS testing center.
The new system is a little confusing, so if you have any
questions, please contact Susan H. Miller, see https://sharepoint.washington.edu/phys/ugrad/1xx