PHYS111: Introductory Physics with Calculus I

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Instructor: Prof.Varley  Office: Room 1216 HN

Email:  phys111varleyfall2007@gmail.com

Textbook:  Fundamentals of Physics, Volume 1 with WileyPlus

Halliday, Resnick, and Walker.  8th Edition

ISBN:  9780470138366

 

Note:  The price of the textbook includes WileyPlus.  If a students chooses, he/she may purchase just WileyPlus as it contains the entire Halliday, Resnick, and Walker on-line.  The cost of just WileyPlus is less than the textbook/WileyPlus combination. 

 

PHYS111 is primarily about the description and prediction of the motion of objects.  You already have considerable experience predicting motion from everyday life.  For example, in sports you often predict the motion of a ball and this prediction is done quickly and intuitively based on your past experience.  You also undoubtedly travel and experience has taught you certain relations between speed (velocity), distance, and time.  What you will learn in this course will formalize what you already know; however, you probably also come into this course with some misconceptions and hopefully these will be addressed and corrected.

 

The main concepts we will introduce, such as velocity, speed, acceleration, force, momentum, and energy, are already part of your vocabulary. However, you probably do not have a precise definition for these quantities and this course will fix this.  More importantly, your intuition of how these quantities behave and how they are related may be incorrect. Many people have what is known as a pre-scientific or ÒAristotelianÓ picture of the world.  This point of view has been discarded by scientists in favor of the theory of motion developed by Galileo, Newton, and others.  This more modern point of view is accepted because it gives an explanation of many more physical situations.  The course first begins by describing of motion of only one object and then at first in only the simplest cases possible.  Then we discuss the complications of rotation that occur in extended objects.  Next we consider systems having many interacting objects and lastly we find out there are simplifications that occur in the physical description of systems with huge number of objects such as gases and liquids.

 

Mathematics is the natural language used by physicists in describing nature so it is important you have the necessary background. The pace of this course is quite rapid so it is also important that you allow yourself enough time to study the course materials.  What works best is an amount of study each day as opposed to a concentrated effort just before the exams.  It is crucial that you do the homework problems assigned as something them will appear as exam problems.

 

PRE-AND CO-REQUISITES

Algebra, calculus, and trigonometry are prerequisites of PHY 111. There is very little trigonometry you need to know.  However, students with a poor mathematical background do not do well in this course. If you do not have the necessary mathematics background, it is recommended so obtain it before proceeding with PHYS111. The pre-requisite course is MATH 150.

 

The Physics Laboratory associated with PHYS110/111 is required and lab grade will count 15% credit toward your course final grade.

 

COURSE SCHEDULE:

There are two weekly lectures on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The topics to be covered each day are listed in the Syllabus. In addition to the lectures, there is a weekly mandatory Recitation Session, which you will be held after class on Thursdays. The recitations will be used for problem solving and some new concepts will be introduced as well. The problem assignments and due dates appear at the WileyPlus website for this course PHYS111 Hunter College

 

https://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/secure/index.uni

 

There are THREE Midterm Tests and Final Exam covering the entire course material.   Dates for the exams can be found on the syllabus.  There are no makeup exams given for the midterm exams and the highest TWO of the THREE midterm exams counts toward your final course grade. 

 

GRADING: 

 

40%  Average of highest two midterm exams

15%  Grade from Laboratory part of course

10%  Homework Problems

35%  Final Exam Grade

 

COURSE NEWS

Check WileyPlus for course announcements at

 

https://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/secure/index.uni

 

If need be, contact me via email at the address above.  You must use a valid Hunter College email address and include PHYS111 in the subject.  Otherwise my spam filter will reject your email.

 

PHYSICAL SCIENCES LEARNING CENTER ROOM 1217:  The Department of Physics and Astronomy maintains the Physical Sciences Learning Center in conjunction with the Chemistry Department. This room is open a great deal of the time and you are welcome to study there. A major advantage is that you will almost certainly find a fellow PHY 111 student with whom you can work. There also will be undergraduate and graduate physics students who have had this course and should be of help to you.

 

WITHDRAWALS, INCOMPLETES, CREDIT NOCREDIT GRADES are severely restricted. A Withdrawal grade must be requested by the seventh week of the semester; check with the academic calendar at the RegistrarÕs Homepage for the exact date. A withdrawal with a grade ÒWÓ assumes that you are passing the course at the time your request the withdrawal. Incompletes (ÒIÓ) are only given to students who cannot complete the requirements of the course due to a major problem that is adequately documented. The request for a W grade must be approved by the department chairperson by the time the final grades are submitted. No incompletes are given to students who are failing the course.  Credit/NoCredit is not an option if PHYS111 is part of your major/minor requirement or if you are a pre-professional student.  Credit/NoCredit was instituted to allow students to take courses outside their major as a means for broadening the studentÕs background without penalizing the student.

 

RECOMMENDATION LETTERS:  It will be a pleasure to write letters of recommendation for good PHYS111 students. It is recommended the student get a copy of the recommendation form supplied by the Pre-Professional Office as other considerations than pure academics are involved.  For example, the instructor is asked to assess the ÒstudentÕs maturityÓ. You must waive your right to read the recommendation letters and additionally authorize the instructor to disclose their grades before a letter of recommendation will be written.

 

ETHICS and CHEATING 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 Procedure.  Additionally, it is considered unethical to bring to your instructorÕs attention the possible impact of your PHYS111 grade on your future plans, including graduation, scholarships, and jobs. The instructor may exercise his option to withdraw you from the course if he thinks you are compromising his ability to assess your work independently of any other consideration. Students found to be involved in academic dishonesty, including using somebody elseÕs notes will be removed from the class and a grade of ÒEÓ for the course will be submitted to the registrar. The student will be advised to repeat the course with another professor, possibly at another institution. This is the least action taken. Further, more serious actions may be taken if the situation indicated that such actions are appropriate.