Syllabus: PHYS 110, Winter 2010

Liberal Arts Physics


Lecture Instructor: Matt DePies

email: depies@phys.washington.edu
Office: PAB B257
Office Hours:  11:30-12:30pm MW

<>Course WWW: http://faculty.washington.edu/mrdepies
• Lecture Hall: A118 in the auditorium wing of the Physics and Astronomy Building
• Lecture schedule: MTWTh 10:30-11:20
  

• Course Texts: Hobson, "Physics: Concepts and Connections", 4th edition
  

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• Tentative Weekly Course Schedule:
<>The schedule for Phys 110 is available on the course website.
This will be followed as closely as possible, and changes will be announced as necessary.

Lecture Instructor's Comments

You should find this course challenging and stimulating, though perhaps it will not fit your preconceptions of what a university physics course should be. I hope that you also find it to be interesting and enjoyable. Have a great quarter!

You are strongly encouraged to visit with me regularly during office hours, by appointment, by e-mail, etc. Get used to the idea of seeing the Professor outside of class during the quarter; it will pay off for you in many ways as the years go by! This will not happen unless YOU take the initiative, and now is a great time to start.

Memorization of material is not particularly helpful in this class, although some is required to learn the language used by scientists and physicists. Your goal in this class should be to understand how each new topic is related to all of the previous material, and how the concepts, rules and formulae can be applied to solve real-world problems. 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.

General Comments

• No laptops or personal computing devices allowed in class unless specified for use via DSS or the state of Washington.  Research has shown that people are very poor at multitasking, and multitaskers perform at a lower level than others.
  

Grading Policy

• Midterm exam:  . The midterm exam will be multiple choice and cover material from lecture and reading.  The midterms will contribute 45% to your final raw grade.  Calculators are permitted. Cell phones, radios, etc. are not permitted. Laptop computers are not permitted, and the use of the text-storage capability now available on many calculators is not permitted. Exams are to be your own work; you are not permitted to collaborate with any other person. The Physics department reserves the right to ask for valid identification from any student during examinations.
• Note that there will be no make-up exam. 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 intructor early in the quarter to establish alternate examination procedures.
• Final Paper:  A final paper of length 4 to 6 pages is due the beginning of finals week.  It is worth 45% of the final raw grade.  Details will be provided later in the course.
  
• 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 write a brief note on the front page or attached to the front page of the exam explaining the possible error in the grading. 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.
• In Class Questions:  In class questions evaluated via the H-ITT radio frequency clicker system or by paper will be used.  H-ITT clickers are required for the course.  It is worth 10% of the final raw grade.  These questions will range from review of reading, elaboration of current lectures, to homework.  Please be sure to attend all lectures to get the maximum points possible.  These points cannot be made up.
  

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