Course Home Calendar HW and Quizzes Tests Links

PHY 2061 (Enriched Physics 2), Spring Term 2014

Instructor: Tarek Saab
Office: 2354 NPB
Email: tsaab@ufl.edu

Class hours: Tuesday, Thursday Periods 2 & 3, 8:30am-10:25pm in NPB 1002.
Office hours: Monday, Period 6 (12:50-1:40 pm) & Wednesday Period 8 (3:00-3:55 pm).

Textbook: The required text is David Halliday, Robert Resnick, and Kenneth S. Krane, Physics, Volume 2 (5th edition, Wiley) ISBN: 0471401943.

Prereq: PHY 2060
Coreq: MAC 2313 or the equivalent.

Course Description: This is the second course of the enriched sequence. The objective of the course is to obtain a thorough understanding of electricity and magnetism. Covered topics include electrostatics, Gauss's Law, potentials, vector analysis, Laplace's equation, conductors and insulators, circuits, magnetism, Maxwell's equations and Electromagnetic fields in matter. Applications to modern technology will be emphasized along with a historical perspective.

e-Learning: The majority of material and announcements for this course will be posted at the e-Learning website. This includes the syllabus, an up-to-date calendar, lecture list and homework assignments. You can log directly into this course by going to the following url: https://elearning2.courses.ufl.edu/portal/site/UFL-PHY2061-33422-12014

Grading policy:

  1. Daily online homework: There will be an online homework set (e-Learning assessments) due at the beginning of every class (i.e. 8:30 am). The questions will address the material which will be covered during the subsequent lecture. These questions are primarily of a conceptual nature are intended to encourage students to read the relevant textbook material prior to the lecture.
  2. Ungraded long-form homework: Typical “long-form” problem set will be given roughly every one to two weeks. These ungraded assignments will address the relevant material in a more quantitative and in-depth manner than the daily homework sets. These problem sets will not be graded, and will not contribute to your total score. Solutions will typically be published online within a week. It is highly recommended that you treat these as normal homework set and spend the appropriate amount of time to solve and understand them as they will help you prepare for the in-class quizzes and exams.
  3. In-class quizzes: There will be roughly 6 short (15 minutes) in-class quizzes, usually on every second Thu. The quizzes will be based on the most recent long-form homework set. No self-made formula sheets will be allowed.
  4. Exams: There will be two in-class midterm exams and a two hour, cumulative final exam. A single handwritten letter sized (both sides) formula sheet will be allowed.

Grade Calculation: The final course grade will be determined as follows:

Item Total Points % of Total Score
Daily Online HW1 100 (125) 25%
In-class quizzes2 20 (25) 25%
In-class midterms 50 (25 each) 25%
Final Exam 50 25%

  1. You will have the opportunity to earn 125 points for the online homework, however, the final score will be evaluated out of 100 and then scaled to 50, e.g. If you earn 90 out of a possible 125 points your homework score will 90/100 = 45/50, or if you earn 110 out of a possible 125 points your homework score will 100/100 = 50/50.
  2. The lowest (single) quiz score will be dropped from the total.

Grading Scale: The letter grading scale is roughly determined as follows:

Grade Total Points
A range >=80
B range >=65
C range >=50
D range >=35

The final letter grade ranges will be determined early in the semester. The course grades are not curved (i.e. your letter grade only depends on your total score). Link to UF grading policy.

Attendance and make up assignments/tests: Regular attendance is expected and strongly encouraged, but is not enforced. The schedule for in-class quizzes and exams will be announced well in advance of the event. Missing a quiz or an exam will automatically result in a score of 0 for that item. Make up quizzes/exams will be given for valid excused absences. Valid excuses are officially sanctioned UF events, medical excuses or family emergencies. If you are aware of a valid conflict with an upcoming quiz/exam you are strongly encouraged to inform the instructor and make the makeup arrangements as early as possible.

Outside Help Services: The Teaching Center in Broward Hall (tel. 392-2010) offers a range of free services, including individual tutoring in physics.

Accommodations: Students requesting classroom accommodations must first register with the Disabilities Resources Program, located in the Dean of Students Office, P202 Peabody Hall. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student, who must then deliver this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodations.

Academic Honesty: All University of Florida students are required to abide by the University's Academic Honesty Guidelines and by the Honor Code, which reads as follows: We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment." Cheating, plagiarism, or other violations of the Academic Honesty Guidelines will not be tolerated and will be pursued through the University's adjudication procedures.


Location: NPB
Gainesville, FL 32611-8440
Last updated: 12/16/13 by Tarek Saab
http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~tsaab