Lecture  Hall  :  A102 in the auditorium wing of  PAB building

Lecture  Schedule  :    M,Tu,Th,F        12:30-1:20  pm

Holidays  :   November 11^th ,26^th,27^th

Web Site :  http://faculty.washington.edu/jamesr4/physics115fall09/

Discussion Board :  https://catalysttools.washington.edu/gopost/board/jamesr4/12798

Class/Lecture Schedule:   click here

Phys 115A     TA   :   Han-Chih   Chang 

email:  94941006@ntu.edu.tw

Phys  118Z  Lab  Instructor  :  Prof. Jens   Gundlach

email : gundlach@npl.washington.edu

Course  Text  : Walker , "Physics" 3^rd ed., Prentice  Hall,2007,Custom UW

                           edition  volume  2 (paper) or the entire hardback text .

WebAssign Homework  will be due each week starting the second  week.

NOTE  : Concurrent enrollment in 118Z is not mandatory , but is recommended.

Course  Outline  :  Fluids , Thermal Physics  and Electromagnetism

HOMEWORK  :  By means of WebAssign on the Web . Problems are set each week

                              and due each Friday by midnight. The address for WebAssign  is :

https://www.webassign.net/washington/login.html

For  help and guidance with WebAssign  go to   :

http://www.webassign.net/manual/WebAssign Student Guide.pdf

The first homework will not be due until Friday   October 9^th  .

Check your grades on the  system every week or so and report any problems

both to your instructor and the relevant TA/Lab Faculty at once. It is also advisable

to check with the Program Assistant  Susan Hong  susanh82@phys.washington.edu

C 136     tel    206-543-4982

Exam grades should be recorded within one week from the date of the test. Homework grades should be recorded by the monday after the friday of submission.

Please report grading problems in a timely fashion. Contact Susan Hong concerning  exam returns, Web Assign    and related issues .

    WebAssign  is an authentification system so you will need your UW NetID to

enter it. Student names are not pre-loaded as a roster .Until you have entered the

system  it has no knowledge of your  existence. IT IS ESSENTIAL that ALL

students enter the system at the first opportunity.  It is not necessary to try any

problems at that stage . Just entering and leaving the system is sufficient  to register

you with WebAssign. Without your doing this we cannot load your exam scores later

on. So    PLEASE DO THIS !!!!!!!   Thanks !!

EXAMS  : There will be three midterm exams and one final exam . All exams are

                   closed book.The exams will include both multiple choice and long answer

                   questions . Each exam will stress recently covered material. But topics

                   from earlier chapters will not be excluded. The final will be

                   comprehensive  and entirely multiple choice in format. The final

                   will be in class on  Thursday  December 17^th    8:30 – 10:20  am.

                   All students  MUST TAKE THE   FINAL  !!! THERE  ARE NO

                   MAKE-UP  EXAMS  !!!!!!!  There is no  "extra-credit"  for missed

                   midterms or the final. Although I will drop your worst  midterm

                   from the total reckoning  , it is  STRONGLY  suggested that you take

                   ALL THREE of the midterms.

                   During exams calculators will be necessary and permitted but cell

                   phones, radios , ipods , blackberries, laptops and the use of any device

                   with text-storage capability are NOT permitted.

                   Students with pressing career or sevice engagements on the exact date of

                   any exam should discuss this with me early  in the quarter so that

                   alternative arrangements can be devised. I will not entertain alternative

                   exam arrangements for time conflicts that arise  from what I consider

                   to be purely personal or discretionary travel or vacations. In the light of

                   this please  read  the  Phys 115  Schedule  very carefully  beforehand.

GRADING POLICY :  The  total course grade will include midterm exam scores

                                        ( 60 % of the course grade), the final exam score (30 %)

                                       and the WebAssign homework grade (10%) .  All grades are

                                       converted to z scores for computation.  A z score is equal

                                       to  ( your score – class mean )/ ( class deviation ) . Typically

                                       these scores are truncated to range between +2 and –2 . This

                                       means that your score depends upon your performance

                                       relative to the class as a whole. A z score of   zero  says that

                                       you were right on the average for the  class. This would

                                       translate into a total course grade in the range 2.7 – 2.8.

                                       Negative z scores correspond to below average results ,

                                       positive z scores to  those above average . In a class of  200

                                       students  typically  about 10  students  will score  a  4.0 .

                                       I will pick the best two of your three midterms as calculated

                                       by z scores and drop the third one in computing your total

                                       midterm grade contribution ( 60 % of total course grade )