PHYSICS 202A
General Physics II
FALL 2007
Teacher: Dr. Richard Grant, Trexler 266, Phone#: 375-2430, Email:
Office Hours:Monday, Wednesday & Friday: 9:00 – 10:50 a.m.
Tuesday: 1:30 – 2:50 p.m.
Class Hours: 10:50 - 11:50a.m. Monday, Wednesday & Friday, Trexler 364.
Text: Serway and Jewett; Principles of Physics, 4th ed., 2005 (Brooks Cole/Thomson)
Grading: Quizzes 25%, Lab 15%, Tests 30%, Final Exam 30%.
Overview/Philosophy: This course is a calculus-based, rigorous introduction to wave phenomena, thermal physics, and electricity and magnetism. Furthermore, there will be many applications to physical, real world problems. Although sometimes difficult, it is very important to THINK NOT MEMORIZE. If you approach this course from a memorization-regurgitation point of view, you will FAIL!You need to look at a physics problem, any physics problem, whether you’re familiar with the material or not, and through intelligent, logical reasoning, formulate a clear and concise path to follow to a solution (right or wrong!). Another goal for this class is to begin to understand THE BIG PICTURE. All areas of physics (mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, quantum theory, etc.) should eventually be integrated into a working knowledge of the world around us. Once this happens, learning a new area of physics becomes a simple application of the foundation you’ve developed. It doesn’t seem like new material at all! To that end, it is very important to keep up with the material, to do the homework, and attend and participate in every class. To check your progress there will be homework assignments, quizzes,and three 1-hour tests. The final exam is comprehensive. The following schedule will remind you of the topics being covered, the text chapters for which you are responsible, and the timing of the tests and final exam.
DATES / TOPIC / CHAPTERSAugust / 29, 31, 3 / Oscillatory Motion / 12
September / 5, 7, 10 / Mechanical Waves / 13
12, 14, 17 / Superposition and Standing Waves / 14
19, 21 / Fluid Mechanics / 15
24 / TEST #1 / 12 – 15
26, 28, 1 / Temperature and Kinetic Theory of Gases / 16
October / 3, 5, 8 / Energy in Thermal Processes: The 1st Law of Thermodynamics / 17
10, 12 / Heat Engines, Entropy, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics / 18
15 – 19 / FALL BREAK
22 / Heat Engines, Entropy, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics / 18
23 / TEST #2 during lab time / 16 – 18
24, 26, 29 / Electric Forces and Fields / 19
31, 2, 5 / Electric Potential and Capacitance / 20
November / 7, 9, 12 / Current and DC Circuits / 21
14, 16, 19 / Magnetic Forces and Magnetic Fields / 22
21 – 23 / THANKSGIVING BREAK
26, 28, 30, 3 / Faraday’s Law and Inductance / 23
December / 5 / TEST #3 / 19 – 23
7 / REVIEW
11 / FINAL EXAM 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. / Comprehensive
Homework: Weekly problem sets will be a mixture of end-of-chapter questions from your textbook and other sources. Most of these problems will require significant effort to solve and a rigorous application of the concepts covered. Don’t leave these until the night before they’re due.
Quizzes:Weekly quizzes will consist of problems from the homework assignments and additional problems you have not seen before. Assuming you work the homework problems, you should have no trouble performing well on the quizzes.
MCSP Colloquium Series: The MCSP department offers a series of discussions that appeal to a broad range of interests related to these fields of study.These co-curricular sessions will engage the community to think about ongoing research, novel applications, and other issues that face our discipline. Members of this class are invited to be involved with all of these meetings; however participation in at least two of these sessions is mandatory. After attending and within one week of the meeting, you will submit a one-page paper reflecting on the discussion. This should not simply be a regurgitation of the content, but rather a personal contemplation of the experience. These papers will be collected, read by me, and graded as a quiz.
Attendance:Students are expected to attend every class. Attendance is checked at each meeting. If a student is going to be absent from class, the instructor must be notified. If 3 classes are missed without prior notification, then I will assume you are not interested in completing the course and you will be dropped from the class (DF). Students are accountable for all work missed because of an absence.
Grading Scale:A:>93
A-:90-92.9C-:70-72.9
B+:87-89.9D+:67-69.9
B:83-86.9D:63-66.9
B-:80-82.9D-:60-62.9
C+:77-79.9F:<60
C:73-76.9
Make-up Tests:Make-up tests will not be given. If you miss a test, and have an official college excuse for that absence, then your final exam grade will count for the missed test.
Academic Integrity:The College academic integrity policies are vigorously enforced. Although I encourage you to help each other with the homework assignments, any work you turn in for a grade must be your own.