Click the buttons above to get the course syllabus, etc.

Physics 251

General information Spring 2009

Class Schedule:

Text:

UNIVERSITY PHYSICS, 12th edition: Young and Freedman, Addison-Wesley (2008).

Lecturer:

S. Wassall, swassall@iupui.edu, 274-6908

Office Hours: TBA

Recitation Instructors:

B. D. N. Rao, brao@iupui.edu, 274-6897

Office Hours: TBA

Yuri Pishchalnikov, yura@anatomy.iupui.edu

Office Hours: TBA

S. Wassall (see above)

Lab Instructor:

Yu Ding, ding2@iupui.edu

Student Mentors:

Chandra Flack, ckflack@iupui.edu

Derek Scott, derscott@iupui.edu

Faculty Mentor:

Han Paik

Prerequisite: PHYS 152

Corequisite: MATH 261. The ability to use algebra, trigonometry, and basic calculus is essential.

ORGANIZATION: There are three lectures, two recitations, and one laboratory per week. Most of the submissions for this course are done electronically. Our web site can be reached from http://webphysics.iupui.edu/introphysics. Click on the link to Phys251 for the course home page. The Course Information link takes you to this page. Check out all the buttons to see what they do.

Homework assignments are due before every recitation. Homework is handled by the Quest server at the University of Texas. First go the link https://idmanager.its.utexas.edu/eid_self_help/ and then click Get a UT EID. Follow the step-by-step directions. If you have used the UT homework system before and already have an EID, you do not need to obtain another EID.

Once you have your UT EID, go to https://quest.cns.utexas.edu/student/ and click My Courses along the horizontal blue toolbar. After the UT EID login and clicking OK, go to the bottom of the Quest page and click the button Enroll in new course. Our Unique course code # is 89251. Click the button Lookup course info and then click the button Request enrollment. Your instructor will then give you permission within the next 24 hours to enter the course. Please be patient!

Each question on your online homework assignments is graded on a 0 to 10 point scale by the Quest server. Every assignment is graded on a 0 to 5.5 point basis by your instructor. On top of this grade, attendance to the recitation and working on the whiteboard problems gives you 0.5 points, for a total of 6 points per recitation. At the end of the semester, your lowest recitation scores will be dropped so that the maximum will be 150 points.

From the Calendar page you can access a sample homework set with a numerical solution. These sets are there for you to check your procedure or if you are working in a group.

There is a link to the UT server in the navigation bar on all of the 251 pages. If you need additional help with Quest, contact your instructor. Also you may click Help (after logging into Quest) along the horizontal blue toolbar for further information.

Warm-Ups are due once a week by 9 AM before lecture every Monday. They are worth 5 pts each. The objective of the Warm-Ups is to introduce you to the new lecture material for the week. Substantial partial credit is given reflecting the effort put in attempting them.

Puzzles are due once a week by 9 AM before lecture every Friday. They are typically worth 5 pts extra credit each.

Lab meets once a week, on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon depending upon which group you are in. Each lab is worth 10 points – usually 2 points from a Pre-Lab that will due by 9 AM each Wednesday, while the remaining 8 points will come from grading a data sheet that you will turn in at the end of the lab. You will also be asked to write a single lab report, worth 20 points.

"What is Physics Good For?" describing applications of physics pertinent to the class will be posted periodically. There is no extra credit associated with "Good Fors."

The components of the course are assigned the following points:

• There is a single grade for the course determined by test scores and performance in laboratory and recitation.
• To pass you must accumulate a combined total of 300 points on the three hour tests and the final. Other credit cannot be used to supplement the test scores (except as described below).
• Attendance in the lab is mandatory. Unexcused absence will result in an F for the course.
• Extra credit points will become part of your total credit.
• To help you get started: Extra credit points earned before the first test will be added to the first test score.
• Test results will be posted on the web, coded by the last five digits of your student ID number.
  
  The following grades are guaranteed:
  

  900 :	A-
  800 :	B-
  700 :	C-
  600 :	D-

  
  

  The actual breaks may be lower but will not be higher.

   

  Students are encouraged to use their IUPUI email account whenever they wish to contact their instructors. Note that your instructors will not respond to grade requests (or requests for personal information) if they are sent from a non-IUPUI email account.
  

Withdrawal after March 7 requires extraordinary circumstances and rarely is granted. Poor performance in a course is not considered grounds for a late withdrawal.

This site is made possible by funding from the National Science Foundation (DUE-9981111).