Math & Physics Algebra-Trig Level Physics

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PHYS 1401 – Introductory General Physics I

Course Syllabus

Summer 2010

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Description: Mechanics is studied. Derivations and applications of formulas using algebra and trigonometry are stressed. Problem solving is a basic part of the course. Three hours lecture and two hours laboratory per week. Prerequisite: Mathematics 1401.

Objectives: Each student will (1) develop a conceptual understanding of the basic principles of mechanics; (2) understand the development of mechanics from past to present including a knowledge of the scientists who shaped the course of mechanics and their contributions; and (3) develop a flexible, logical problem solving methodology applicable, not only to this course, but to the greater academic and career challenges ahead.

Scope: This course begins with a survey of vectors and the basic laws of motion. It continues with forces and Newton’s three laws of motion. Work and energy, momentum and collisions are explored. Rotational motion and dynamics, gravity and Kepler’s laws are investigated using previously covered mechanical principles. The last phase of the course introduces solids, fluid mechanics, and wave mechanics.

Instructor: Dr. Buxton L. Johnson, Sr.

Present lectures that compliment the book and reinforce learning objectives; ensure that all components of the course are coordinated and sequenced according to the syllabus; provide help sessions and additional instruction as requested (only simple examples and problems will normally be worked in class); ensure testing and subsequent grading is equitable and consistent; and guide students in the performance of laboratory experiments and the subsequence preparation of laboratory reports.

Students: You

Study assigned sections prior to class; read and attempt to work through assigned problems prior to deadline; develop and maintain a general physics reference sheet (one side of an 8.5” x 11” paper for each hour exam and both sides of one sheet for the final exam); seek addition help early--use instructor’s office hours or make appointments--use Plus Center tutors; participate in study groups within the guidelines of Kentucky Wesleyan’s rules on plagiarism; visit online tutoring sites such as WebAssign; and test yourself before the exam!

Graded Events

Class

Regular quizzes will be given during class using the Turning Point student response system. In addition, regular weekly homework assignments will be assigned/submitted through the WebAssign online homework system. Furthermore, three 1-hour exams and a 2-hour cumulative final exam will be administered. These exams will cover class material, class quizzes, homework assignments, and topics from laboratory.

Laboratory

A laboratory experiment will be performed each week in the General Physics Laboratory and a subsequent report will be due one week later at the beginning of the next laboratory period. The first four laboratory reports will be written by hand in a laboratory book and submitted to the instructor. The remaining eight laboratory reports will be written in Microsoft Word with embedded Excel data tables and analysis, and uploaded to Turnitin.com. Each lab report will contain the following sections:

1. Purpose

a. describe the purpose of the lab experiment;

b. include a diagram(s) of the experimental setup;

c. state the math model(s) being tested.

2. Procedure and Analysis

a. document the procedures you followed during the laboratory experiment;

b. use tables to show your experimental data;

c. perform all your calculations;

d. include required spreadsheets and graphs with regression lines;

e. document your results.

3. Conclusions

a. summarize your conclusions based on your analysis of the data;

b. discuss the specific sources of error in the experiment.

See a sample report. The advance study assignment for each laboratory exercise is due at the beginning of the laboratory period. Late advance study assignments will not be accepted for credit. Quizzes may be given by your instructor during laboratory.

Schedule

Class

Ch 1 – Introduction

Ch 2 – Motion in One Dimension

Ch 3 – Vectors and Two Dimensional Motion

Exam 1

Ch 4 – The Laws of Motion

Ch 5 – Energy

Ch 6 – Momentum and Collisions

Exam 2

Ch 7 – Rotational Motion and the Law of Gravity

Ch 8 – Rotational Equilibrium and Rotational Dynamics

Exam 3

Ch 9 – Solids and Fluids

Ch 13 – Vibrations and Waves

Final Exam

Laboratory

Lab#2 – Measurement Instruments

Lab#3 – The Scientific Method: Simple Pendulum

Lab#4 – Uniformly Accelerated Motion

Lab#5 – The Addition and Resolution of Vectors: The Force Table

Lab#8 – Projectile Motion: The Ballistic Pendulum

Lab#6 – Newton's Second Law: The Atwood Machine

Lab#10 – Friction

Lab#7 – Conservation of Linear Momentum

Lab#12 – Torques, Equilibrium, and Center of Gravity

Lab#14 – Simple Harmonic Motion

Lab#15 – Standing Waves in a String

Handout – Air Column Resonance: The Speed of Sound in Air

Detailed Class/Laboratory Schedule
Class(C) / Lab(L)	Topic	Study/Homework/Laboratory/Quiz
C1: M 5-24	Introduction Units, Measurements, Conversions, and Trigonometry	Ch 1, Sec 1-9
C2: T 5-25	1-D Motion: Velocity & Acceleration	Ch 2, Sec 1-4 TP Quiz#1 Due: Introduction to WebAssign
L1: T 5-25	Lab#2 TI – Measurement Instruments (Mass, Volume, and Density)	Laboratory 1
C3: W 5-26	1-D Motion: Constant Acceleration and Free Fall	Ch 2, Sec 5-6 TP Quiz#2 Due: WebAssign HW#1 (Ch 1)
L2: W 5-26	Lab#3 TI – The Scientific Method: Simple Pendulum	Laboratory 2
C4: Th 5-27	Vectors	Ch 3, Sec 1-2 TP Quiz#3
L3: Th 5-27	Lab#4 TI/CI – Uniformly Accelerated Motion	Laboratory 3
C5: F 5-28	2-D Motion: Constant Acceleration and Projectile Motion	Ch 3, Sec 3-4 TP Quiz#4 Due: WebAssign HW#2 (Ch 2)
M 5-31	Memorial Day	Have a good break!
C6: T 6-1	Newton’s Laws of Motion	Ch 4, Sec 1-4 TP Quiz#5
L4: T 6-1	Free Fall Balloon Drop	Extra Credit Laboratory
C7: W 6-2	Applications of Newton’s Laws	Ch 4, Sec 5-6 TP Quiz#6 Due: WebAssign HW#3 (Ch 3)
L5: W 6-2	Lab#5 TI – The Addition and Resolution of Vectors: Force Table	Laboratory 4
C8: Th 6-3	Exam 1 (Ch 1-3)	75-minute exam
L6: Th 6-3	Lab#8 TI – Projectile Motion: The Ballistic Pendulum	Laboratory 5
C9: F 6-4	Work, Energy, and Energy Conservation	Ch 5, Sec 1-3 TP Quiz#7
C10: M 6-7	Spring Potential Energy Systems & Energy Conservation	Ch 5, Sec 4-6 TP Quiz#8 Due: WebAssign HW#4 (Ch 4)
C11: T 6-8	Linear Momentum and Impulse Conservation of Linear Momentum	Ch 6, Sec 1-2 TP Quiz#9
L7: T 6-8	Air Cannon Lab	Extra Credit Laboratory
C12: W 6-9	1-D and 2-D Collisions	Ch 6, Sec 3-4 TP Quiz#10
L8: W 6-9	Lab#6 CI – Newton's Second Law: The Atwood Machine	Laboratory 6
C13: Th 6-10	Rotational Motion	Ch 7, Sec 1-4 TP Quiz#11 Due: WebAssign HW#5 (Ch 5)
L9: Th 6-10	Lab#10 CI – Friction	Laboratory 7
C14: F 6-11	Universal Gravitation Kepler’s Laws	Ch 7, Sec 5-6 TP Quiz#12
C15: M 6-14	Torque Rotational Equilibrium	Ch 8, Sec 1-4 TP Quiz#13 Due: WebAssign HW#6 (Ch 6)
C16: T 6-15	Exam 2 (Ch 4-6)	75-minute exam
L10: T 6-15	Lab#7 CI – Conservation of Linear Momentum	Laboratory 8
C17: W 6-16	Rotational Dynamics Angular Momentum	Ch 8, Sec 5-7 TP Quiz#14
L11: W 6-16	Rocket Lab	Extra Credit Laboratory
C18: Th 6-17	Solids and Deformation Pressure and its Variation with Depth	Ch 9, Sec 1-5 TP Quiz#15
L12: Th 6-17	Lab#12 TI – Torques, Equilibrium, and Center of Gravity	Laboratory 9
C19: F 6-18	Buoyant Forces Fluid Dynamics Bernoulli’s Equation	Ch 9, Sec 6-8 TP Quiz#16 Due: WebAssign HW#7 (Ch 7)
C20: M 6-21	Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM) Damped Oscillations	Ch 13, Sec 1-6 TP Quiz#17 Due: WebAssign HW#8 (Ch 8)
C21: T 6-22	Exam 3 (7-8)	75-minute exam
L13: T 6-22	Lab#14 TI – Simple Harmonic Motion	Laboratory 10
C22: W 6-23	Mechanical Waves Energy in Simple Harmonic Motion	Ch 13. Sec 7-11 TP Quiz#18 Due: ½ WebAssign HW#9 (Ch 9) Due: ½ WebAssign HW#10 (Ch 13)
L14: W 6-23	Lab#15 TI – Standing Waves in a String Handout TI – Air Column Resonance: The Speed of Sound in Air	Laboratory 11 Laboratory 12
C23: Th 6-24	Final Exam (Ch 1-9,13)	2-hour exam

ATTENDANCE – Your grade in this course is likely to be strongly influenced by your class attendance. Exam questions are designed to cover very specifically the topics as they are discussed in class. In addition, quiz questions will often appear on exams. Six absences are allowed without affecting the student's grade. Beyond this, each additional absence will result in a 20-point reduction in the final grade.

MAKEUP EXAMS – Students who are forced to miss an exam due to unavoidable circumstances (illness, death in the family, athletic tournament, etc.) must contact the instructor. The instructor will determine if the absence is to be excused in accordance with Kentucky Wesleyan regulations on excused absences. Students with an excused absence will be allowed to take a makeup exam. No more than one makeup exam will be approved for any student except in unusual and very well documented cases.

EXAM DISCREPANCIES – Students with exam discrepancies should record, specifically, those items they would like considered for re-evaluation and return their exam to the instructor before leaving the classroom. All other students can retain their exams. No consideration will be given to exam discrepancies submitted after the student has left the classroom.

LABORATORY MAKEUP – All missed laboratory experiments must be made up and all reports must be submitted to receive a grade in the course. Students who are forced to miss a laboratory due to unavoidable circumstances (illness, death in the family, athletic tournament, etc.) must contact the instructor. The instructor will determine if the absence is to be excused in accordance with Kentucky Wesleyan regulations on excused absences. Only students with an excused absence will receive credit for making up the missed laboratory experiment.

LATE WORK – Only one late homework assignment will be accepted for credit. Only one late laboratory report will be accepted for credit.

CHEATING – The first time a student is found cheating, copying, etc., a zero will be given on the compromised work. The second time will result in failure of the course.

Grading Policy

Graded Event

Points

Exams(3)

360

Final Exam

180

Class Quizzes(18)

100

Homework Assignments(10)

180

Laboratory Reports(12)

180

Course Total

1000

Final Grade Assignments are based on the percentage of course points earned according to the following schedule:

• 90% and above – A
• 80% and above – B
• 70% and above – C
• 60% and above – D
• below 60% – F

Academic Accommodations

Kentucky Wesleyan College is committed to providing access to programs and services for qualified students with disabilities. If you are a student with a disability and require accommodations to participate and complete requirements for this class, notify me immediately and contact Dr. Leah Hoover at the Office of Disability Services (FOB #23 or 270-852-3212) for verification of eligibility and determination of specific accommodations.

Academic Help

Several Kentucky Wesleyan offices can be helpful in aiding students.

• Office of Disability Services, 23 Faculty Office Building, (270) 852-3212
• Darrell Plus Center, Library Learning Center, (270) 852-3298
• Academic Dean’s Office, 105 Barnard-Jones Administration Building, (270) 852-3117