Physics 141, Fall 2007.

Instructor:

Professor F. L. H. Wolfs
Department of Physics and Astronomy, B&L 203A
Telephone: (585) 275 - 4937
Email: wolfs@pas.rochester.edu
URL: http://teacher.pas.rochester.edu/

Teaching Assistants:

Aaron Mislivec (mislivec@pas.rochester.edu): recitations
Jason Robin (jrobin@mail.rochester.edu): recitations
Sam Harrold (sharrold@mail.rochester.edu): laboratories
Adam Bublitz (abublitz@mail.rochester.edu): laboratories
Kristen Beck (kbeck@mail.rochester.edu): VPython tutorials

Text:

R. Chabay and B. Sherwood, Matter & Interactions, Volume 1, Modern Mechanics, Second Edition (required)
P. Bevington and D. Robinson, Data Reduction and Error Analysis (required).

PRS:

PRS transmitters are required to be able to participate in the quizzes and Q&A during lecture. These transmitters can be rented from the bookstore.

Course Homepage:

http://teacher.pas.rochester.edu/Phy141/Phy141HomePage.htm

Lectures:

Tuesdays and Thursdays: 9.40 am - 10.55 am (Hoyt).

Recitations:

Tuesdays: 2.00 pm - 3.15 pm (Hylan 618).
Tuesdays: 3.25 pm - 4.40 pm (B&L 315).
Wednesdays: 2.00 pm - 3.15 pm (Morey 524).
Wednesdays: 6.15 pm - 7.30 pm (Gavett 310).
Recitations will start on Tuesday September 11.

Laboratories:

During the semester you will complete 5 laboratory experiments (roughly one experiment every two weeks). The schedule of these experiments is as follows:

Experiment 1: September 17
Experiment 2: October 1
Experiment 3: October 15
Experiment 4: November 12
Experiment 5: December 3

Office Hours:

Wolfs:

Starting September 11 on Tuesdays between 11.30 am and 12.30 pm, on Wednesdays between 9 am and 10 am, and by appointment.

Teaching Assistants:

TBA

Homework:

Homework will be assigned each Thursday. The homework is due the following Thursday at 8.30 am. A fraction of the homework assignments are distributed and completed electronically, using WebWork, while the rest have to be dropped of in the Physics 141 homework locker, across from B&L 106.
Each homework set will consist of a number of quantitative problems that are based on the material discussed the previous week. The problem sets will reinforce the course material and it is critical for your survival in this course to complete the assignments and understand any mistakes you may have made while working on these problems.
Extra credit can be earned by completing various programming problems using the VPython programming language. The extra credit problems will be part of the regular homework assignments.

Final Grade:

The final grade will be the weighted average of:
1. Final exam (20 - 25%)
2. 3 Mid-term exams (15 - 20% each)
3. Homework (15%)
4. Lab (15%)
5. Quizzes (5%)

Pre- and post-tests:

Tuesday September 11, 8.45 am - 9.30 am (Hoyt).
Tuesday December 11, 8.45 am - 9.30 am (Hoyt).

Midterm exams:

Tuesday October 9, 8.00 am - 9.30 am (Location Hoyt).
Thursday November 1, 8.00 am - 9.30 am (Location Hoyt).
Tuesday November 27, 8.00 am - 9.30 am (Location Hoyt).

Final exam:

Wednesday December 19, 4 pm - 7 pm (Hoyt).

Exam policy:

As part of each exam you will receive a sheet of useful equations that cover the material that is covered on the exam.  You will be able to view/download the equation sheet before the exam so that you will be able to determine what information will be provided on the exam.  Do not spend your time memorizing formulas; it is more important that you understand how to use them!

Quizzes:

Quizzes will be given during lecture. Short questions, related to the material being discussed, will be given. The answers will be submitted electronically using your Personal Response System (PRS) transmitter. It is thus very important that you stay up-to-date with the material that is covered in class.