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APPLIED PHYSICS 1 - Spring 2016
SYLLABUS
Lectures:
MWF Period 6 (12.50 - 1.40 pm) in 1001 NPB
Office Hours: W, F period 7 (1.55
- 3.45 pm)
and by appointment
Textbook:
Technical Physics by F. Bueche and D. Wallach (4th
ed., John Wiley & Sons, 1994)
Reference Books:
Applied Physics by A. Beiser (Schaum's Outline
Series) (optional)
College Physics by F. Bueche (Schaum's Outline
Series)
Aim: This course will be a survey
of basic physics and some of its practical
applications to the world around us. Topics in
mechanics, properties of materials, heat and
vibratory motion will be covered. The principal goal
will be to show how physical principles and
scientific ways of thinking can be turned to many
real-life situations. The problem-solving skills you
pick up in this course will prove very useful in
your own field of specialization.
Your job: You should attend all
lectures to learn about the basic concepts and how
to apply them in solving problems, and also to hear
any special announcements. Since a large amount of
material is covered, it is essential that you read
the textbook concurrently with the lectures to
strengthen your understanding of physical
principles. Finally, you should work diligently at
the homework assignments, which--although they are
not collected or graded--form a key part of the
course.
SOLUTIONS MANUAL: A solutions
guide to selected homework problems and to old exam
problems will be put together by the Society of
Physics Students (NPB 2229) and will be available
for purchase at Target Copy. SPS uses the proceeds
to fund its activities. This guide is highly
recommended, though it should be consulted only
after considerable time has been spent attempting to
do the homework problems. Old exams that you can
download will be posted on the course WEB PAGE.
Students usually find these helpful in studying for
the current exams.
Problem-solving: This provides a
good measure of your understanding of basic
principles by testing your ability to combine
different physical concepts as they apply to
unfamiliar situations--something which is crucial if
you are ever to apply Physics in ypur careers.
Problem-solving is a skill that has to be developed,
and everyone benefits from practice. Your grade in
this course will based solely on your success at
solving problems in the mid-term and final exams, so
there will be a direct payoff for your effort. You
should be capable of earning an average grade on the
course if you have successfully worked through all
the assigned homework problems (see schedule). If
you are aiming for a B or better, you should expect
to do additional problems.
Try each problem on your own first. Consult your
notes or the textbook for statements of basic
principle or fundamental equations, which you aren't
expected to memorize, even for the exams. If you get
stuck, talk the problem over with a friend, come to
see me during office hours, or--in case of an
assigned homework problem--look up the solution in
the course handout. Whenever you need help to
complete a problem it is essential, though, that you
consolidate your new understanding by successfully
doing another problem of the same type by yourself.
Exams: There will be three
mid-term exams, and a comprehensive final, each in
multiple choice format. You must bring photo ID
(which will be checked) and No. 2 pencils (bring
more than 1) to each exam. You may also bring a
formula sheet, a calculator, and blank scratch
paper, but no other materials.
SCHEDULE FOR MIDTERM EXAMS (subject to change):
An exam consisting of up to10 questions will be
given in class.
- Exam 1: (Tentative) Friday, February 5.
- Exam 2: (Tentative) Wednesday, February 24.
- Exam 3: (Tentative) Wednesday, March 30.
Final Exam: Final Exam, April
27, 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m, NPB 1001.
The exams will emphasize physical reasoning rather
than memorization of facts. This reasoning will be
developed by steady work over the entire semester,
not by last-minute cramming. During the later stages
of your prepation for each exam, you may want to
work through the corresponding sample exams which
are posted at the course web site. You will find
that a significant number of the questions are
closely based on the examples worked out in class.
However, the exam questions are not grouped
chapter-by-chapter, so you may need practice in
identifying which principles are being tested, and
which equations should be used, in each problem.
Memorization of the way to solve a given problem is
not the way to go. Rather, think about the equations
that are needed to solve the problem, why those
equations are needed, and how they are related to
each other. In this connection, you should find it
useful to divide all of the physical quantities that
appear in a problem into those whose values are
known and those unknown. You have to find a number
of independent equations equal to the number of
unknowns, and which, of course, contain all of the
unknowns of the problem but no others. Then you can
solve for the unknowns. It turns out that a certain
type of memorization, namely, of all the important
equations, is in fact useful here. Then you can
quickly jot down equations until you find the right
ones for a problem.
HONOR CODE:
Students are neither to give or receive any
unauthorized aid on any of the examinations (though
they may work together on the homework problems).
We, the members of the University of Florida
community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to
the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
Grades: There will be FOUR exams;
three mid-term exams and one final exam. The final
exam will be comprehensive and include all material
covered in the course. The best two scores of the
three midterm exams and the score on the final exam
will count equally for the final grade. In addition
to the scores associated with the scheduled exams
(the sum of which has a maximum of 100), you will be
able to obtain up to 4 extra points, based on your
performance involving the Student Response System
that the Department has adopted.
Letter grades will be assigned by slightly curving
the overall scores. The grade ranges vary slightly
from semester to semester, but the following is
typical:
≥92
|
A |
|
B- |
≥38
|
D+ |
≥83 |
A- |
≥52 |
C+ |
≥35 |
D |
≥72
|
B+ |
≥45
|
C |
≥32
|
D- |
≥64
|
B |
≥42
|
C- |
<32
|
E |
You are required to purchase a responder that is
used to record your answers to designated questions
(quizzes) posed in class. (The responder can later
be re-sold.) During lecture, questions will be posed
and you will be given typically 1-3 minutes to
choose the correct answer from the displayed
multiple-choice list. The question may involve any
relevant topic, such as material covered the
previous lecture, material you should have read in
advance, a demonstration performed in class, etc.
You will receive a cumulative average Response
System score of 0-4 points, based on performance,
which will be added to your total exam score at the
end of the semester. For each quiz itself, 2 points
will be given for a correct answer, 1 point for an
incorrect answer, and 0 points for no response at
all.
Make-ups: Unless superseded by a
valid excuse a missed exam will result in a zero.
Valid excuses are officially sanctioned UF events,
medical excuses or family emergencies. Acceptable
excuses will require a coach's, doctor's or
instructor sanctioned note with a verifiable contact
phone number. The documentation must be provided to
your instructor within 2 weeks of the missed exam or
a rational reason that it will be delayed must be
e-mailed along with the projected receipt date of
the documentation within those 2 weeks. A valid
excuse will allow you to take the cumulative make-up
exam to replace the zero on the missed exam. There
will be one cumulative make-up exam (covering
material from all three exams) given on Tuesday,
April 19 at a mutually agreeable time.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
Students with disabilities requesting accommodations
should first register with the Disability Resource
Center (352-392-8565, www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/) by
providing appropriate documentation. Once
registered, students will receive an accommodation
letter which must be presented to the instructor
when requesting accommodation. Students with
disabilities should follow this procedure as early
as possible in the semester.
Course evaluations: Students are
expected to provide feedback on the quality of
instruction in this course by completing online evaluations
(https://evaluations.ufl.edu). Evaluations are
typically open during the last two or three weeks of
the semester, but students will be given specific
times when they are open. Summary results of these
assessments are available to students at https://evaluations.ufl.edu/results/.
HELP SERVICES:
If you are encountering difficulties with the
course, please come see me. If necessary, please
contact me for an appointment at a convenient time,
or just try to catch me in my office. Also, the help
services listed below will be available.
The Student Teaching Center in Broward Hall (Tel.
392-2010) offers a range of services, including
individual tutoring in physics.
Course Outline: The day-by-day schedule is provided for
guidance only. Changes may be announced in class.
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