Physics 116 Syllabus

Syllabus for Physics 11x6: MTThF 10:55-12:10 in Martin 315

Week 1: Thu 1/11	Chapter 13 - Gravitation HW1 assigned Th, due M
Week 1.5: Mon 1/15	Chapter 21 - Gravitation & Electric Charge HW2 assigned M, due Th No class Monday
Week 2: Thu 1/18	Chapter 21 - Electric Force HW3 assigned Th, due M
	Take-home Quiz 1 assigned F 1/19, due M 1/22
Week 2.5: Mon 1/22	Chapter 22 - Electric Force & Field HW4 assigned M, due Th
Week 3: Thu 1/25	Chapter 22 - Electric Field HW5 assigned Th, due Th in lieu of exam
Week 3.5: Mon 1/29	Chapter 23 - Electric Flux/TBA
	Exam 1 on Monday 1/29
Week 4: Thu 2/1	Chapter 23 - Gauss' Law/TBA HW6 assigned Th, due M
Week 4.5: Mon 2/5	Chapter 24 - Electric Potential HW7 asssigned M, due Th
	Take-home Quiz 2 assigned M 2/5, due T 2/6
Week 5: Thu 2/8	Chapter 24 - Electric Potential HW8 assigned Th, due Th in lieu of exam
Week 5.5: Mon 2/12	Chapter 25 - Capacitance Exam 2 on Tuesday 2/13
Week 6: Thu 2/15	Chapter 28 - Magnetic Field HW9 assigned Th, due M
Week 6.5: Mon 2/19	Chapter 28 - Magnetic Force HW10 assigned M, due Th Take-home Quiz 3 assigned T 2/20, due Th 2/22
Week 7: Thu 2/22	Chapter 29 - Biot-Savart & Ampere HW11 assigned Th, due M
Week 7.5: Mon 2/26	Chapter 30: Faraday HW12 assigned M, due Th (extra credit)
Final Exam: Exam 3 and comprehensive assignment

Objectives

Students will understand the role and nature of theory explaining and predicting events and phenomena.
Students will understand about the reliability of scientific knowledge and its constant scrutiny and refinement
Students will understand the assumptions, influencing conditions, and limits of empirical knowledge.
Students will engage in problem-solving, and will apply physics to solve practical problems.
Students will understand the contributions of physics to society, including its social, cultural, and economic significance.
Students will understand the relationship of physics and other sciences to mathematics, the design process, and technology
Each section of the text introduces another step or discovery in the historical development of physics, so the student will understand the historical development of scientific concepts and scientific reasoning

Office hours are open, I am available to you when you need me and when I am not in a meeting or class. Please see my schedule and feel free to drop in or make an appointment any time. My schedule is here.

We will try to learn much of Chapters 13-30, except fluids, oscillations, waves, and thermodynamics. We will be covering various selected topics of interest, and the main topic of electricity and magnetism. Plan on covering approximately one chapter per week. I will skip some sections.
There will be two homework assignments due each week, on Monday and Thursday. Homework is generally assigned on Monday, and due Thursday, and then assigned Thursday, due on Monday.
Quizzes will cover from a section to a chapter, and there will be three during the semester. Open book, take-home, posted on Moodle, assigned one class day and due the next class day as shown on the syllabus.
Tests will typically cover 3 chapters, and there will be two during the semester closed book, evenings outside of class. Note that since they are scheduled for non-class days, there are alternatives to the times scheduled.
The final exam is not comprehensive (it is a third test), but will include a comprehensive final assignment in ExpertTA to be taken during finals week.
Grading and Policy are described at this link.
Tutors are available through the Ethyl Center/Academic Center, and should be used frequently for help.

I plan on using Moodle to communicate. Homework assignments and solutions, exam hints and solutions, schedule changes and guidelines (such as those listed here) will all be on the web so that you can access them anytime, and even print them out if you would like.