Spring 2009 Physics 101:      Basic Concepts of Physics
 

Location: HN 1036

Lecture Times:  Tu and Fr: 2.10pm - 3.25pm


                         

Instructor:      Neepa Maitra 
               email: nmaitra@hunter.cuny.edu 
               phone: 212-650-3518
               office: 1214E HN

Office hours:  Tu and Fr: 12.30pm-1.30pm
                       or, by appointment.

Text: Conceptual Physics, 10th Edition, by Paul G. Hewitt (Pearson, Addison-Wesley, 2005). 

Lectures posted on-line: http://www.ph.hunter.cuny.edu/courses/physics101/Lectures09.htm   after the lecture.

Grading:

ü      Attendance/Participation           10%

ü      Laboratory                               15%

ü      Midterm Exams                        40%

ü      Final Exam                               35%

   Attendance/Participation: Almost all the lectures incorporate a few multiple-choice questions that test the concepts we are learning. You will individually enter answers via a clicker, and a bar graph will be instantly generated for you to see how you all answered. Then, you will be asked to discuss with your neighbor, and convince them of your answer*! After a few minutes, you will all re-enter answers individually and we will all see what happens to the bar graph! Importantly, it is your participation that will give you course credit (10%) for this, NOT the correctness of your actual answers – individual answers are never correlated with individuals. Attendance will also be monitored via the clickers – you will enter the last 4 digits of your SSN at some point in the lecture.

   Laboratory: Make sure you are registered for the lab, Physics 101 LB. You cannot receive credit for the class without taking the lab!!

   Midterms: Two mid-term in-class multiple-choice exams:  Tue Mar 10 and Tue Apr 7

   Final Exam:  Tue May 19, 11.30am-1.30pm, all multiple-choice.

·         Note that this is a one-semester terminal physics course, and it does not fulfill the pre-med physics requirement.

(* based on idea of Eric Mazur, Harvard University, “Peer Instruction”)

 

 

Syllabus:

Topic

Book chapter

 

Introduction/Newton’s First Law

1, 2

 

Linear Motion

3

 

Newton's Second Law

4

 

Newton’s Third Law

5

 

Momentum

6

 

Energy

7

 

Rotation

8

 

Gravity

9

 

The Atomic Nature of Matter

11

 

Liquids

13

 

Gases and Plasmas

14

 

Heat

15

 

Vibrations and Waves

19

 

Sound

20

 

Electrostatics

22

 

Electric current

23

 

Magnetism

24

 

Electromagnetic Induction

25

 

Properties of Light

26

 

Color

27

 

Reflection and Refraction

28

 

Light waves

29

 

Light emission

30

 

Light Quanta

31

 

The Atom and the Quantum

32

 

The Atomic Nucleus and Radioactivity

33

 

 

 
Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism, cheating on examinations, obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents) as serious offenses against the values of intellectual honesty. The college is committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College Academic Integrity Procedures.

Neepa Maitra, Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Hunter College and City University of New York, January 2009.