Introductory Physics I (Physics 121)

LH 2
MWF 11:00 - 11:50 AM

Instructor: Dr. Michael Hayden (hayden@umbc.edu)

Office: PHYS 409 (410) 455-3199

Office Hours: Mon, Wed 2:00 - 3:00 PM and by appointment

TA: Ms. Megan Leahy (mleahy1@gl.umbc.edu)

Office: PHYS 410 (410) 455-1977

Office Hours: Wed 2:15-3:15, Thu 11-12 and by appointment

This course is the first in the general physics sequence for students of mathematics, engineering, and science. This is a calculus based course and as such you should have completed or be taking MATH 151.

Physics for Scientists and Engineers, by Douglas Giancoli. (Prentice Hall, 3rd ed., 2000).

We will cover Chapters 1-14. There will be roughly two-three lectures per chapter. Stay ahead in the reading! There are 387 pages in the chapters we will cover. You should make a schedule to read about 28 pages per week or 10 pages per lecture.

The course web site is at http://physics.umbc.edu/~hayden/Physics121/Physics121.html. You can reach this web site by typing the URL into your browser or by going to the Physics Department home page (http://physics.umbc.edu) and following the links for Online Classes -->Physics 121

The recitation is very important to your overall understanding and success in the course. During the recitation, you will work sample problems in a group fashion and present your results on the board to the rest of the class. During the recitation you will have a chance to ask your instructor questions about the problem and about that week's lecture topic. The problems will be designed to help you master that week's material. You should try to get all of your questions for the week answered during the recitation.

It will be assumed that you have read the material in the book concerning the lecture before the lecture is given. This is a very useful way for you to learn the material since you will be familiar with it when you hear it during the lecture and will be able to ask questions about things you didn’t understand in the reading. I also strongly suggest that you fill in the missing steps to all the derivations performed on the board and in the book. Only by doing so will you gain a true understanding of the material. Good notes will be invaluable in this regard.

In order to assist you in your quest to learn the material, we will have numerous homework problems, quizzes, tests, and recitations in addition to classroom lectures.

The Physics Department operates a tutorial center. This center is located on the second floor of the Physics building in room 224. This center is free of charge and is usually in operation Monday - Friday from 11 - 3 pm. It will be open starting the second week of class. You should go here first if you have a question about how to do a homework problem. The Learning Resource Center (LRC) located on the 4th floor of Academic IV will supply a private tutor at no charge for this course. The LRC also runs night tutoring activities in the dorms and library (basement) for most intro courses.

I consider homework to be extremely important. As a result, homework will constitute a major part of your grade. All homework must be completed and turned in by the start of my lecture on the day it is due (7 days after it is assigned). Late homework will not be accepted for any reason. Solutions will be posted in the Physics building on the second floor (next to the tutorial center) immediately after the homework is handed in. The solutions will also be posted on the class web site after the lecture. Please read the solutions; they will assist you in your overall understanding of the course and help prepare you for the weekly quizzes. All questions regarding the grading of the homework should be addressed to the TA.

There will be a quiz every Friday during the lecture at the beginning of the period. The quizzes will start promptly at 1100 and end at 1115. The quiz will consist of one problem from the homework assignment that you handed in earlier in the week. The problem may be slightly altered to allow easier calculation in the case of a numerical result or may be entirely algebraic in order to facilitate a closer connection to exam type problems. Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped.

Read every word in the book.
Do all the assigned homework.
Work additional problems as time permits.
Come to class!
Go to the recitations.

To be successful in this course, your goals should be to: remember the information presented in the lectures and text; gain an understanding of the underlying physics; be able to apply that knowledge and understanding to the solution of problems; and be able to explain the physical basis for the phenomena we will study. To support these goals, the tests will be designed to probe your understanding of the basic concepts through essay questions and specific theoretical/numerical problems. No calculators or notes are allowed during any quiz or exam. Please be ready to present a UMBC picture ID at all exams and quizzes. For all exams and quizzes, you will be expected to: (1) draw a simple picture of the situation, labeling pertinent quantities, (2) solve the problem through a series of logical steps that follow from previous ones (i.e., no credit is given for answers without work that explicitly details how those answers were determined), and (3) provide units with any numerical answer.

There will be no make-up exams except as described below.

If you must miss an exam or quiz for official university business (e.g., varsity athletics, debate team, symphony, etc.), you must arrange to take the exam or quiz in advance. You must make these arrangements at least two weeks in advance. If you miss an exam or quiz for health reasons (a certified doctor's excuse is required) a make up may be arranged.

There will be three exams this semester. They will be given in LH2 on the following days:

The Final will be given from 10:30-12:30 on Friday December 14.

Your grade will be a simple average of all the scores you achieve throughout the course. The weight of each type of score is:

Letter grades will be determined from the following scale.

Instructor: Dr. Michael Hayden (hayden@umbc.edu)
Office: PH 409 (410) 455-3199
Office Hours: Mon, Wed 2:00 - 3:00 PM and by appointment

TA: Ms. Megan Leahy (mleahy1@gl.umbc.edu)
Office: PH 410 (410) 455-1977
Office Hours: Wed 2:15-3:15, Thu 11-12 and by appointment