Lectures: MWF 1:55-2:45 (period 7) in NPB 1002
(NPB is the "New Physics Building")

Instructor: Steven Detweiler; NPB 2174; Email: det@ufl.edu

Office hours:
   Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday  3:00 – 3:50pm
   Please do not drop by before class on Mon, Wed, Fri. That is when I am going over my lecture notes.

The final exam makes up a significant portion of your final grade. It will be given on Dec. 18 from 7:30am to 9:30am in our classroom. It is not possible for you to take the final exam at some other time.

Textbook: The Ideas of Physics, Third Edition by Douglas C. Giancoli.
The textbook is required and has been unchanged for several years. I strongly suggest that you purchase a copy via the Amazon website, where a used version can be bought for about $8, including shipping. If you buy the textbook at the UF Bookstore it will cost at least $80.

We will NOT be using a clicker for a student response system.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The cutoffs for all of the final grades will not be determined until after I grade the final.

Copies of the three tests are now posted on the "Homework" page.

There will be a review session lead by a member of the Society of Physics Students on Wednesday, December 17th, at 7:30PM in NPB2205 (up the stairs and near the elevator).

The final version of the formula sheet is now available on the Homework page.

Issues regarding the final exam A number of students have requested to take the final exam earlier than Dec 18. These are reasonable requests, but the logistics are too complicated.

Here is an alternative that might satisfy your desire to start your vacation early. A major part of your grade is determined by the four tests given in class and the final exam. Currently, everyone is allowed to drop the lowest of the in-class tests.

If you wish to take advantage of this option, then you must request the alternative via email to me, before taking the third in-class test! (That is before the beginning of class on December 5.) I will then take the sum of your four in-class tests, and scale the total to match a number comparable to what you might have received if you had followed the initial rules for the test grades.

It is important to note that if you take all four tests and have not emailed me before the third test, then you must take the final exam at its scheduled time. If you do not take the final exam, under those circumstances, then your grade will be an Incomplete.

A histogram of your score on the first class test has been posted in the "Homework" link in the upper lefthand corner of this web page. This should give you some indication of how you are doing in comparison with your classmates.

The reading assignments on the calendar are being modified. The assignments should be read before the class period, and they will usually (but not always) be related to the lectures.

Late homework will not be graded, because I will go over the homework as soon as your homework solutions are handed in.

Follow the Homework link above, on the left, for both the reading assignments and the homework problems. You are encouraged to work together on the homework, but your solutions must be in your own handwriting.