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PHY 130--College Physics 1--Fall--2016 Instructor: Valeri Petkov, Professor of Physics Introduction: This course is the first semester of a year-long sequence intended for life science and liberal arts majors. The sequence also fulfills the physics requirement for pre-professional programs in the medical sciences. Physics 130-131 is not suitable for most science (e.g. Physics, Chemistry etc) majors. An associated laboratory sequence PHY 170-171 is available. The lab course is not required for PHY 130. However, it may be required for your academic program. Text: Andrew Rex and Richard Wolfson, Essential College Physics published by Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2010. Chapters 1-14 (i.e. volume 1 of the book) will be covered in PHY 130. The remainder of the book (i.e. vol. 2/Chapters 15-26) will be covered in PHY 131. An electronic version of the book (reffered to as "eText") is also available at: www.masteringphysics.com. Comprehensive Lecture notes will be available on-line (in Adobe PDF-format). To access them go to http://people.cst.cmich.edu/petko1vg/phy130_FL16.html, look over the posted Course calendar and Click on the lecture/Chapter ID # covered the particular day of the semester when the class meets. For your convenience, the lecture/Chapter ID # would appear underlined. Homework: Homework assignments, 13 in number, will be on-line at www.masteringphysics.com. The deadline for submitting the HW is firm as announced in the Course calendar below Registration for the on-line HW: To register you will need a valid e-mail address and a student access code. An access code, at no extra cost, may have been packaged with your NEW text purchased at CMU bookstores. Otherwise, you will have to purchase an access code upon registration at www.masteringphysics.com. Access code alone may be > $ 100 when bundled with the "eText" version of the book. Access code may be < $ 100 if not bundled with the "eText" version of the book. You may also need the ZIP code of our school: 48858, and the ID of our course: MPPETKOV80357 Registration steps: i) go to www.masteringphysics.com, ii) use your access code to register as a student, iii) choose a Login name and you will obtain a Password, iv) join our course using the course ID: MPPETKOV80357 , v) when asked, please, provide your official name (no nicknames), with the first letter of your first and last names capitalized, and the rest lowercase. Also, provide your CMU Global ID (e.g. smith1ja). Leave off @cmich.edu. Logging on: To log-on to the on-line homework point your browser to: www.masteringphysics.com Enter your Login Name and Password. Then you may work on the HW assignments from the Assignements Due Soon List or from the Assignements Page. For self study click on the Study Area or on the on-line "eText" version of the book, if these options are available. Note it is not your Professor who developed and maintains www.masteringphysics.com. Those are done by Pearson Addison-Wesley Publishers of the book. Professors provide feedback & suggestions to Pearson Addison-Wesley but have little to no immediate control on the content of www.masteringphysics.com. Sure it evolves & improves constantly but this rarely happens during school year time. Also note, there are not so many products on the market like www.masteringphysics.com. So, consider that your Professor tried his best to arrange as good as possible a combination of text & on-line HW for PHY 130. Last but not least (technicality): You may need the latest version of the www browser you are using, including all plug-ins, to be able to work on the on-line HW at www.masteringphysics.com. Developers always use most-up-to-date www programming tools. Therefore, you will also have to keep the www browser you are using up-to-date. Useful on-line HW Strategy: i) Do not wait until the last day/hour to do your homework. ii) Use the HW help provided by me for you. It will walk you through the MAJOR steps in solving the HW problems leaving some technicalities (e.g. conversion of units) for you. To access the HW Help (posted in Adobe PDF-format) go to http://people.cst.cmich.edu/petko1vg/phy130_FL16.html, look over the posted Course calendar and Click on the particular HW ID#. For your convenience, it would appear underlined. iii) Go to Dow 231 and ask Tutors for help. Tutors will be available from 6 pm to 9 pm starting the second week of the semester. Exams: Exam 1 Tuesday, Sept. 20th All exams will consist of multiple choice questions. Both quantitative and qualitative questions will be asked.
In general, NO make-up exams will be possible. ONLY if legitimate circumstances cause you to miss ONE of the exams, and you notify me (or leave a message at the Physics Department Office) of your predicament, then this missed exam will not be counted when your final grade is determined. Even under these strict conditions, you may miss ONLY ONE exam. Exam Difficulty: The exams will be hard yet fair. Expect averages between 50% and 70%. Grades: The grade in this course will be based on the five exams (75%) and your homework (25%). Help room: Again, assistance from Tutors will be available on an informal basis on Monday through Thursday evenings in Dow 231. The hours are, typically, 6-9 p.m. The tutors will be prepared to assist you in learning how to solve HW problems yourself. They will not do your homework for you. Final Words: Physics is NOT an easy subject for most students, in particular for those who did not take Physics in High School and/or are lacking basic Math skills. Physics is not Math though. Math is the "language" exact sciences such as Physics, Chemistry, Engineering etc speak. Math "language" is taugth in Math classes and not in PHY130. PHY130 will definitely help you practice and so improve further your Math skills but, due to time constraints, we may not dwell much on Math technicalities in class. Indeed, you may find PHY130 to be particularly fast paced. This is necessary because we have to cover all Chapters (1-14) of Essential College Physics, (vol. 1). In other words, please, acknowledge: i) You are taking PHY130 because You selected a particular major/minor that requires it. ii) The level of Physics in PHY130, including the Math used, is more or less identical to that in Physics classes taken by students in most US colleges. iii) Like other fields of science, Physics is what it is. No "some other Physics" that is "easier" to understand may be "invented" just for You ! So, use the opportunity PHY130 gives you to learn more about the world around us. Also, please, take into account that: Calendar: Below is a Calendar of the material we will cover in each lecture, homework due dates, and exam dates. All exam and homework due dates are firm. ADA: CMU provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodation to participate in educational programs, activities or services. Students with disabilities requiring accommodations to participate in class activities or meet course requirements should contact me as early as possible. Classroom civility: Each CMU student is encouraged to help create an environment during class that promotes learning, dignity, and mutual respect for everyone. Students who speak at inappropriate times, sleep in class, display inattention, take frequent breaks, interrupt the class by coming to class late or leaving early, engage in loud or distractive behaviors, use cell phones in class, use inappropriate language, are verbally abusive, display defiance or disrespect to others, or behave aggressively toward others may be asked to leave the class and subjected to discipline action.
COURSE CALENDAR:
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