PH 202H/212H: GENERAL PHYSICS

Winter 2009

Course Information

General:

Prerequisites: PH 201 or PH211 or equivalent; Mth 252 or equivalent.
Calculators: You will need a calculator in class every day. A cheap (less than $20) "scientific" calculator is sufficient, but you may bring whatever you normally use. At minimum it must have exponentials, logs, trig functions, powers, square roots, etc. Be sure you know how to use the basic functions, especially how to obtain trig functions and inverse trig functions using both degrees and radians.
Help Room: Physics teaching assistants will be available in Weniger 145 to help with any aspect of the course.
Class times: TR 15:00 - 17:30 in WGR 304, W 16:00-16:50 in WGR 153.
Textbook: Matter & Interactions I: Modern Mechanics and Matter and Interactions, II: Electric and Magnetic Interactions by Chabay and Sherwood.

Course Work:

Homework: Homework assignments are due at the beginning of each class. Working together outside of class is strongly encouraged, but everyone must turn in independent work for the homework assignments. If you work with someone, please include that information on your homework paper. DO NOT COPY THE HOMEWORK FROM SOMEONE ELSE IN YOUR GROUP.
Lecture Quizzes: Expect regular quizzes in the lecture based on the reading assigned for that day.
Group Projects: Group projects will be assigned in class. Some of these will be completed in class, and some will require working together outside of class. A single group project report may be turned in by the entire group, but everyone in the group must certify that all contributed equally to the project and the report. Outside groups may not exceed four members.
Laboratory: Frequent short lab activities will occur during any of the scheduled classes. Students will work in groups on the labs, but each member of the group must turn in an independent lab report. Names of lab partners must be listed on your lab report.
Examinations: At the conclusion of each weekly unit, there will be a short test on Tuesday covering material from that unit. The final exam will be comprehensive.

Office Hours:

David McIntyre	Weniger 463	TR 1-3
Jared Stenson	Wormhole Weniger 145	F 1-3

Course Evaluation:

Exam Grading: Partial credit will be given for correct reasoning at any step of a problem, but only if it is communicated clearly enough for the grader to understand. In problems that call for a solution or explanation, no credit will be given for an answer alone; the method or reasoning must also be shown. Always start each solution by writing the equation you are using with algebraic symbols, not numbers.
Final Grades: Your final grade will be determined as follows: homework and outside group projects, 25%; labs, daily quizzes and class participation, 25%; weekly unit tests, 30%, final exam, 20%. A grade of incomplete (I) is given only to allow a student to make up missing work and only when arrangements are made in advance with the instructor. If the missing work is not made up within the deadline, a grade of zero for the missing work will be recorded and the I grade will be replaced with the corresponding letter grade. Your final grade is final - there is no additional or extra-credit work after the final exam to improve your grade.
FINAL: Wednesday, March 18, 18:00, Weniger 304.

Students with Special Needs:

Students with documented disabilities who may need accomodations, who have any emergency medical information which the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, no later than the first week of the term to discuss those accommodations.

Academic Integrity:

All students are expected to uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity in their academic work. Any incidence of academic dishonesty will result in an immediate grade of F in the course. There are no exceptions or second chances. Further information is available on the OSU Student Conduct website, which also lists some examples of violations of standards of academic honesty.

If you have comments or suggestions, email me at mcintyre@ucs.orst.edu

Last Update: 2/16/09

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