Physics 122-02
Introductory Physics II
Spring 2006
Professor:
Lev Kaplan
Lectures:
TuTh 3:30 – 4:45 in Tilton 305 & Wed 2:00 – 2:50 in Richardson 117
Textbook: Cutnell
& Johnson, Physics, 6th
edition, ISBN 0-471-15183-1 [We will cover chapters 16-31]
Laboratory:
weekly starting the week of Jan. 23. You need to register separately for a
lab section!
Office:
5046 Percival Stern Hall
Office hours: Tue 2:30-3:30 and Wed 3:00 – 4:00
(tentative: days and times to be confirmed during first week of class and
posted on the blackboard website), or by appointment
Email:
lkaplan@tulane.edu [A great way to ask a question or arrange
an appointment]
Telephone:
504-862-3176 (x3176) [Please leave a message if I’m not there or try email]
Web:
blackboard.tulane.edu [See
for assignments, solutions, updated calendar, grades, web links, etc.]
Welcome to Introductory
Physics II at Tulane University!
General
Course Objectives and Requirements:
This course is intended
to continue your university-level introduction to the basic principles of
physics, to help you develop your analytical reasoning and problem-solving
skills, to enhance your ability to apply physics knowledge for understanding
the wonders of the world we live in, to provide experience in laboratory
experiments and in data interpretation and analysis, to build teamwork skills,
and to practice the use of quantitative tools and techniques necessary for a
modern professional. Hopefully, you will discover that physics can be not only
useful, but also interesting and fun. Topics covered will include wave motion,
electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and modern physics.
Grading:
Laboratory: 10% [But
you must pass the lab to pass the course!]
Homework: 15%
Quizzes
and Attendance: 15%
Two
midterm exams: 35%
Comprehensive
final exam: 25%
Team
study extra credit: up to 5%
Tips
for Success:
Laboratory:
Since physics is an
experimental science, the laboratory will obviously be a key component of your
learning experience, and you must earn at least a 59% lab grade
(departmental policy!) in order to earn a passing grade in Physics 122. You
must register separately for a lab section, and you must attend the section
for which you are registered (make sure you have the correct day, time, and
room number). Labs will begin the week of Jan. 23 – 27 (“Electric Fields”) in
or around Percival Stern 2020-2022. The labs are self-contained and some may be
out of sequence with the lectures. You should purchase a lab manual from the
bookstore and bring it to every lab (or you may print the relevant section
of the manual from the “122-132 Schedule” section of the lab website before you come to lab, along with the
introduction, policy, and math appendix; you will not be able to print the
experiment on the lab computers). You will also need to bring a scientific
calculator, ruler with centimeter scale, protractor, graph paper, floppy disk,
and textbook to each lab. You are required to prepare ahead of time for
each lab, as evidenced by a short pre-lab writeup that will be collected
at the beginning of each lab, including the first lab. In addition, there will
be a short quiz at the beginning of each lab, again including the first
lab. Please see the lab manual for more details about lab requirements and lab
grading, and also take a look at the lab.phy.tulane.edu
website, which contains a lot of useful information, including the lab
schedule, lab policies, lab report guidelines, and TA contact information. Dr.
A. Dayle Hancock (hancock@lab.phy.tulane.edu or
x5086) is the lab supervisor; please contact him or your TA ahead of time if
you must miss a lab. Make-up labs will be given only for officially excused absences: (a) illness with a doctor's note or a
dated medical excuses policy form from the student health center, (b) a family
emergency such as a serious illness or death in the immediate family, or (c)
official Tulane business. Make-up labs will be given the week of Apr. 3 – 7.
Documentation will be required to do a make-up lab, and at most two make-up
labs will be allowed.
Student Hand-Held
Controls (“Clickers”):
You will need to obtain
a clicker (also known as an H-ITT transmitter, available in the bookstore for
about $30) if you don’t already have one. Please register your clicker's number
with me by Thursday, Jan 19, or if your clicker needs to be replaced.
You are required to bring your clicker (but not your friends' clickers – see
“Professional Conduct” below) to each class session. I may use the clickers to
check attendance, to get instant feedback on lectures, to take occasional
polls, and/or to administer multiple-choice quizzes. We will practice using
these devices sometime before the first clicker quiz. Please do not use any
electronic device other than your clicker in class, as it may interfere with
the infrared transmission of information.
Blackboard Website and
Tulane Email:
“Blackboard” (blackboard.tulane.edu) is Tulane’s
web-based course-management system, which I will use for posting announcements,
a course calendar, useful web links, assignments, solutions, syllabus updates,
grades, etc. To log in, use your usual Tulane network ID and password – the
same ones you use to access your Tulane email. If you have trouble logging in,
the help desk can be contacted at x8888 (862-8888). If you register for this
course after the beginning of classes, your name should automatically be added
to the “blackboard” roster the following night. This syllabus should already be
available online, with all the links active. Be sure to check the blackboard
website regularly for announcements (including homework announcements,
changes in homework due dates, updated office hours, exam information, etc.).
Sometimes, I may need to
contact you by email, so be sure that you either check your
“yourname@tulane.edu” email on a regular basis, or else arrange to have it
forwarded to another email address that you do monitor.
Problem Solving:
Since problem solving
is an essential component of learning physics, problems will make up the
largest part of homework assignments and exams. (Contrary to what you may have
been led to believe in high school, “finding the right equation” to plug
numbers into is not what science is about.) In general, problem solving steps
include (a) qualitative understanding of the relevant theory and concepts,
which may involve building an idealized “model” of the situation in your mind,
drawing several diagrams, and expressing the key ideas in words, (b)
constructing and then solving the equations that relate the various data,
checking to see that the solutions make sense, and (c) plugging in numbers to
get the answer, including correct units. Typically, you will earn considerable
partial credit on an exam problem if you do (a) and (b) correctly but make a
mistake at the end when punching numbers into your calculator. On the other
hand, no credit will be earned if you simply write down the final answer
without explaining how you obtained it.
Your textbook will
provide guidance, in the form of “Problem Solving Insights” and “Reasoning
Strategies” for dealing with various types of problems that you will encounter
throughout the course. The textbook also provides a number of worked examples
and helpful end-of-chapter conceptual summaries. Together, we will work out a
number of sample problems in class (these will be taken from the “Problems”
section at the end of each chapter). Your active participation is essential
if you are to get the full benefit of these in-class exercises. Sometimes, I
will ask you to think briefly about a question or problem step during class
time, then pair up with a neighbor to compare and discuss the answer each of
you came up with, and finally share with the rest of the class
(“think-pair-share”). Research shows that students who are actively engaged in
such in-class problem solving learn better than those who listen passively to
the instructor’s explanations.
Answers to many
odd-numbered textbook problems appear at the end of the book. An optional Student
Solutions Manual available in the bookstore contains detailed worked-out solutions
to all problems marked with the “ssm” symbol. Selected problem solutions marked
“www” in the text are available on the textbook
website (see WWW Solutions). Finally, solutions to all problems for
a given chapter will be made available through our blackboard website after
each assignment is turned in. However, I cannot overemphasize that you cannot
learn to solve problems simply by looking at other people's solutions. You
will learn to solve problems through practice. See “Homework” below.
An optional Student
Study Guide is also available in the bookstore, and contains additional
examples, practice problems, and self tests. You may wish to work through these
examples either on your own or with a study group (see below).
Homework:
Late homework will not
be accepted, since solutions will be posted online on the due date. Your lowest
homework grade will be dropped. A tentative schedule of homework due
dates appears under “Tentative Course Schedule” below. Please note that this
schedule is subject to modifications. See the “Calendar” button on the blackboard.tulane.edu website for an
updated schedule of due dates.
Some of the homework
problems may be difficult, and will require substantial thought, not simply
plugging in numbers. In general you should not expect homework problems to be
just like examples done in class, although there may be some similarity. Please
start early and try to work on each problem right after you have learned the
relevant material.
You are allowed and encouraged to discuss the homework problems with your study
group, with a tutor, with other students, and/or with me, but you are required
to do the problems individually after understanding how to approach them.
Copying someone else's solutions is not likely to develop your understanding of
physics, enhance your problem-solving skills, or prepare you for the exams. In
the end, you would only be cheating yourselves.
Quizzes:
Short multiple-choice
clicker quizzes will be administered from time to time to ensure that you are
keeping up with the reading and lectures. Quizzes may be announced or
unannounced. Obviously, if you miss class without prior permission, you
will receive a grade of 0 on the quiz. Your lowest grade will be dropped.
Examinations:
Two midterms and a
comprehensive final exam (see “Expected Course Schedule” below) will compose
60% of your final grade. The dates of the midterms are subject to very minor
adjustment. If you miss an exam without prior permission (based on
documented serious illness, family emergency, or official Tulane business), you
will receive a grade of zero. If you do have an excused absence for a
midterm exam, at the professor’s discretion that midterm grade may be dropped
from your final grade, or you may be given a make-up exam. [Make-up exams given
in such extraordinary circumstances may not follow the format or the difficulty
level of the original exam.] Each exam may contain a combination of
theory/definition/conceptual (short-answer) questions and more detailed
problems. Problems will constitute the bulk of each exam, and may be similar to
homework problems, or to examples worked out in class (see “Problem
Solving” above). You may bring a calculator and one handwritten,
single-sided page of notes to each exam. The best way to prepare for each
exam is to keep up with and understand all the readings, lectures, and homework
assignments, and to practice doing lots of problems with accuracy, speed,
and confidence! Your study group is an excellent resource for exam
preparation. Come to the exam well rested. I may also give you some more
specific guidance regarding areas of emphasis before an exam. If you are having
difficulty, please come see me early!
Study
Groups:
During the first week, I
will set aside a few minutes to form study groups. Groups of 3-5 students are
recommended. You will be able to email your teammates through blackboard. You
are responsible for arranging regular group meetings to discuss course
material and homework problems, and to review for exams. Teamwork can be a
great way to solidify your understanding of physics (or any other field) and is
an important part of any professional preparation. It can also be fun! Some
homework assignments may be designated as team assignments, to be completed as
a joint effort with your group. Let me know if you do not have a study group,
or if problems develop within your group. As an added incentive, you will
receive 1% extra credit towards your
final grade for each group study session (for a maximum of 5% during the
semester, not including team assignments). To obtain this extra credit, one of
you must send me an email after each
study session listing the participating students and briefly describing the
material covered.
Study Habits:
The rule of thumb is
that for every hour spent in class, you should be spending two hours on the
material outside of class - that's about 6-8 hours per week for this
course (including group study). If you wish a high grade (or because you love
the subject and want to excel in it) you may want to put in more hours. Read
the text before class, so you know where to ask questions. Take clear notes and
review them soon afterward. Start doing the homework problems early, right
after the relevant material has been covered in class or after you have read
the relevant sections of the textbook. Set up regular study hours for
this and every other class. Also, set up regular sessions with your study
group, come to my office hours, and use other available resources (see “Help
Desk” and “Special Assistance” below). Don't try to learn everything the day
before an assignment is due or the week before an exam. After the homework
assignment has been completed or while studying for an exam, practice on your
own doing problems similar to ones you had difficulty with. After an exam, go
over the solutions to see which questions you missed and why. You are more
likely to succeed if you approach the study of physics with a positive
attitude. Some other study hints that may also help with your other classes
may be found at erc.tulane.edu/studying.
Help Desk:
A free “help desk”
for students with problems and questions in physics is organized by the
department and staffed by physics graduate students. I strongly encourage you
to take advantage of this resource. The schedule, when finalized, will be
available at lab.phy.tulane.edu by
clicking on “Help Desk”.
Special
Assistance, More Free Tutoring, and ERC:
If you are having
difficulties or need any special assistance, or have a learning disability, or
if something is just unclear to you, or you need help in developing better
study habits, please let me know as early as possible, either in person
or via email. The important thing is not to fall behind, since it is
much more difficult to catch up later. Do not wait until the day before the
exam. Remember that I am here for your benefit, but as responsible adults you
need to let me know what I can do to help. Please note also that Educational
Resources and Counseling (ERC), located on the first floor of the
Mechanical Engineering Building (website: erc.tulane.edu,
phone: x5113), can provide help with many of the stresses of college life,
including free and confidential counseling for personal, academic, or career
concerns. ERC also provides free tutoring in physics and many other subjects
on Sunday - Thursday afternoons (check schedule at x5103), which is in addition
to the tutoring services provided by the physics department (see “Help Desk”
above). ERC also provides career testing services, disability accommodations,
and lots of tips on study strategies and maintaining good mental health. More
detailed information is available on their website.
Textbook
Website:
Helpful Interactive
Solutions and Interactive LearningWare problem-solving tutorials,
along with self-assessment tests and practice MCAT quizzes are available on the
textbook website: www.wiley.com/college/cutnell.
There you may also find online Concept Simulations applets and interesting
Web Links related to the material in each chapter. We may occasionally
try some of these simulations and web links in class.
Professional
Conduct:
As Tulane students, you
are expected at all times to uphold high ethical and professional standards, as
described in the LAS “Honor
Code” (a copy of which may be picked up in the Newcomb or Tulane Dean's
office). Any form of cheating on the exams or quizzes will not be tolerated,
and may be punished by failure in the exam, failure in the course, academic
probation, and/or expulsion. “Sharing” clickers with your friends is an example
of cheating. You are also expected always to treat your classmates with
respect, and you have the right to be treated with fairness, respect, and
consideration by me. Disruptive and unprofessional behavior, such as
chatting in class or packing your backpacks before class has ended, disrespects
everyone else who is trying to learn, and such behavior will not be accepted.
Class
Registration, Attendance, Participation, and Involvement:
Please be sure that you
are registered for this class through the TUTOR or TOUR systems. I ask you to
attend class regularly, arrive on time, and not pack up before class ends, so
that you do not miss quizzes or important announcements. Let me know in advance about any unavoidable absences (including Tulane
athletic events). If you must miss a class, it is your responsibility to get
good notes from a colleague. I will use a sign-up sheet during the first
week to make sure that everyone registered is here and everyone here is
registered. Class participation is strongly encouraged. If you have a
question, please do not be afraid to ask it. There is no such thing as a stupid
question in this classroom, and if you are confused about some point, there is
good chance that some other students are too, and they will be grateful to you
for slowing me down. Even if some are not grateful, ask anyway. With your
involvement, we can make this class a valuable learning experience for
everyone.
Physics 122 Sections:
Both sections will be using the same textbook, but
teaching style, discretionary material, homework problems, quizzes, and exam
style will vary between instructors. To promote fairness, it is expected that
the average grades will be similar across different sections. Historically, the
typical average grade in Introductory Physics has been a B-.
Tentative
Course Schedule:
This schedule is subject
to very likely adjustments. For updated due dates, see “Calendar” on the
blackboard website. Extra office hours and/or review sessions may be arranged
prior to the exams, if the demand exists.
Lectures: HW
due:
Ch.
16: Waves and Sound. Jan 17, 18, 19, 24 Thurs,
Jan 26
Ch.
17: Wave Superposition and Interference. Jan 24, 25, 26 Thurs, Feb 2
Ch.
18: Electric Forces and Fields. Jan 26, 31, Feb 1 Thurs,
Feb 9
Ch.
19: Electric Potential Energy and Potential. Feb 2, 7, 8 Thurs, Feb 16
Ch.
20: Electric Circuits. Feb 9, 14, 15, 16 Wed, Feb 22
Midterm
I. Thursday, Feb 23 (Chapters 16 - 20)
Ch.
21: Magnetism. Feb 16, 21, 22, Mar 7 Thurs, Mar 9
Ch.
22: Electromagnetic Induction. Mar 8, 9, 14 Thurs, Mar 16
Ch.
24: Electromagnetic Waves. Mar
15, 16, 21 Thurs, Mar 23
Ch.
25: Reflection of Light. Mar 21, 22, 23 Wed, Mar 29
Midterm
II. Thursday, Mar 30 (Chapters 21 - 25)
Ch.
26: Refraction of Light and Lenses. Mar 28, 29, Apr 4, 5 Tue, Apr 11
Ch.
27: Wave Nature of Light. Apr 5, 6, 11, 12 Tue,
Apr 18
Ch.
29: Quantum Physics. Apr 12, 13, 18 Tue,
Apr 25
Ch.
30: Atoms. Apr 18, 19, 20 Thurs,
Apr 27
Ch.
31: Nuclei and Elementary Particles. Apr 25, 26, 27
Comprehensive
Final. Saturday, May 6, 11:30 –
2:30, in Tilton 305
Considering
a major or double major in physics?
Physics majors graduate
with solid analytical, quantitative, and problem solving skills, which are
valued by many employers, as well as by graduate and professional schools
(including programs in physics, related sciences, medicine, law, and
engineering). If you like physics but are currently planning to major in
another field, you may want to consider doing a double major with physics. The
physics department instituted many years ago a liberalized set of requirements
to accommodate a variety of students, and today about half of physics majors
are double majors. Please see me or Professor Wayne Reed, the undergraduate
physics advisor (wreed@tulane.edu, x5523), if you are interested in getting
more details about this option.
About
me:
This is my third year teaching and doing physics research at Tulane, and I greatly enjoy doing it. My present research interests involve classical and quantum waves in complicated geometries and quantum-classical correspondence (“quantum chaos”). If you want to know more about it, just ask. I was born in Latvia (former USSR), grew up in New Jersey, did my undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and my graduate “work” at Harvard University (on the theory of high-energy particles). Immediately prior to coming here I worked on nuclear theory at the University of Washington in Seattle. I strongly encourage you to stop by my office to talk about physics, Tulane, questions, concerns, suggestions, or anything else that may be on your mind.