Physics 0104 Syllabus

PHYSICS 0104

BASIC PHYSICS FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

TERM Fall 2000

Course Description

The course text is Fundamentals of Physics, 5th edition, vol. 1 (Wiley, 1997), by Halliday, Resnick and Walker.

The lecture material will follow the text fairly closely and most of the assignments will be drawn from the text. Hence, it is a good idea for you to purchase the text or have regular access to it. There will be a copy (or copies) on reserve in the Physics Library in OEH. In this course we will cover most of Chapters 1-15. It is highly recommended that students read the relevant material ahead of time. Your success in this course will depend heavily on your having done the relevant reading before coming to class. Occasionally there may be material covered in lecture which is not in the textbook; students will be responsible for such material. Students are expected to have some knowledge of calculus.

Contact Information

Lecturer: Eric Swanson
Office: 211 Allen Hall
Office hours: you may drop by any time
Phone: 624-9057
E-mail: swansone@pitt.edu
Lectures: MWF 11:00-11:50 (Masonic Temple, rm 343)
course web site: http://fafnir.phyast.pitt.edu/phys104

Recitations

Homework is an integral part of learning the material of this course. Assignments will be given every Monday and should be turned in to your recitation instructor the following week. They will mark selected problems and return the assignments the following week. Recitation instructors will set their own policies for late assignments and marking schemes. Questions about assignments should be directed to your instructor. Reviews of relevant material will be conducted before all midterms and the exam. Solutions to the assignments will be posted outside of my office on a weekly basis. NB: when solving problems you must demonstrate to your marker that you understand what you are doing! This means writing words, not just giving a few equations and a numerical answer.

CRN	day and time	place	instructor
39196	W 1:00-1:50	318 Allen	Dhar
15531	W 2:00-2:50	103 Allen	Hurka
15536	H 11:00-11:50	103 Allen	Dhar
15540	H 1:00-1:50	103 Allen	Dhar
15545	F 10:00-10:50	103 Allen	Hurka
39200	F 1:00-1:50	103 Allen	Dhar
39211	H 1:00-2:50	81E Benedum	Perkins
39216	W 10:00-10:50	103 Allen	Perkins

Teaching Assistants:

Rene Hurka, e-mail: rghst14@imap.pitt.edu
Barun Dhar, e-mail: dk_barun@yahoo.com
Kiplin Perkins, e-mail: perkinsk@rocketmail.com

Special Dates

classes begin Aug 28
drop period ends Sept 8
Thanksgiving break Nov 22-26, incl
Midterm 1 Sept 29
makeup test Oct 18
cancelled Nov 6
Midterm 2 Nov8
Midterm 3 Nov 29
last day of classes Dec 8
Exam Friday, Dec 15, 2:00

Course Schedule

week	date	lectures	chapter
1	Aug 28	1,2,3	I, II
2	Sept 4	4,5	III,IV
3	Sept 11	6,7,8	IV
4	Sept 18	9,10,11	V
5	Sept 25	12,13,14	V,VI
6	Oct 2	15,16,17	VII
7	Oct 9	18,19,20	VII,VIII
8	Oct 16	21,22,23	VIII,IX
9	Oct 23	24,25,26	X,XI
10	Oct 30	27,28,29	XI,XII
11	Nov 6	30,31,32	XII
12	Nov 13	33,34,35	XIII
13	Nov 20	36	XIV
14	Nov 27	37,38,39	XIV,XV
15	Dec 4	40,41,42	XV

Assignments

See Recitations for assignment policy.

click here for assignments

Study Resources

There are a number of study resources available outside the classroom and recitation:

Help Desks. There are two places where you can go for help. One is the resource room (223 OEH); the other is the help desk in the main hall of the Cathedral of Learning.
Contact the lecturer and/or the recitation instructor in their office or by email.
The Physics library in OEH,
Students are also encouraged to form small study groups (2-3 in a group) to work on homework problems, help clarify conceptual questions and work on problem solving strategies.

Marking Scheme

The course grade will be assigned according to the following formula:

grade = 0.1 assignments + 0.4 exam + 0.25 midterm1 +  0.25 midterm2

There are no make-up tests! Your best two midterms will be used and the lowest score will be dropped.

Prerequisites: Mathematics

Mathematics is the language of physics. This course does require some skills in algebra, trigonometry and simple geometry and calculus. Since students do not have uniform backgrounds, and some might be out of practice, there will be some math reviewed in the lectures and recitation. In addition, Appendix E and the front cover of the text will help you brush up on some techniques and definitions.