http://cosmo.nyu.edu/hogg/genphys1/

NYU General Physics I

This page is for the Fall 2004 semester.

WARNING / DISCLAIMER: Some of the content on this page is preliminary, and subject to change, especially details of future assignments.

Staff

Aims

There are several aims of this course, including:

• practice with elementary physics and development of physical intuition
• development of critical quantitative reasoning abilities
• practice with mathematics
• introduction to some of the human achievements in physics and engineering

Textbooks and materials

The materials required for this course and General Physics II can be purchased as a “bundle” at the NYU Bookstore. Note that your materials include a “transmitter” for use in answering in-class questions.

Evaluation

Reading

There is a small amount of reading assigned (in the table below) for each lecture. You must do your reading in advance of the lecture.

The responsibility for learning the material in this class is yours, and most of that learning will come from individual reading, study, and problem-solving.

Lectures

The lectures themselves are not intended to comprehensively cover all the material for which you are responsible. The lectures are intended to be complementary to your own program of reading and study. This means that it is essential that you come to the lectures prepared, that you participate in lecture discussion, and that you ask questions when there are things you do not understand.

Attendance at lectures is mandatory.

You must bring your personal response transmitter (clicker) to every lecture.

There will be very short reading quizzes at the beginnings of some or all of the lectures. These quizzes will be used to measure attendance and check that the reading has been done.

Problem sets

A small number of problems from the reading are assigned each week, some as “practice” problems and some “to hand in” as your problem set (see the table below). These problem sets are to be handed in at the recitation sections.

If you are not going to be able to complete a problem set on time, ask for an extension from your recitation leader in advance. Problem sets handed in late without granted extensions will be graded zero unless there is a medical excuse. If you will miss a recitation for religious reasons, let your recitation instructor know in advance and get the problem set to your recitation instructor in advance.

Please feel free to discuss problem set questions with other students. However, you must ensure that the work you hand in is your own. This is required by the principles of academic honesty; but it is also the case that you will not perform well on the exams if you have not worked out the problem sets yourself.

Problem sets serve a double purpose. They provide you with practice problems, and they provide the instructors with an evaluation of the abilities of the class. Keep these goals in mind as you work on the problem sets. Even a wrong problem set can get points awarded, but it is your responsibility to make sure your answers contain enough explanation, illustration, and physical reasoning to warrant it.

In the table that follows, problems named things like “2-22” are from Cummings et al, and problems named things like “RP-6” are from Hogg's Real Problems.

Recitations

Recitation sections are used for the discussion of problem solving. In most recitations, you will work problems and discuss them with your recitation instructor and fellow students. Your problem sets (above) are to be handed in at the end of recitation.

Attendance and participation at recitation sections is mandatory. Because the purpose of the recitation sections is discussion, if is your responsibility to make sure that the sections are useful to you.

Recitation and homework grades (which are given by the recitation instructors) will be renormalized, instructor by instructor, to ensure that each recitation instructor's grading statistics are the same, and that each student is treated fairly.

Recitations begin in the week of September 13. There will be no recitations during Thanksgiving week.

Laboratories

Laboratory experiments are used to give you first-hand experience with the subject matter of the course. You will learn in your laboratory sections what is specifically required of you for the completion of each laboratory. However, you should read the relevant laboratory manual section before each laboratory session, and arrive at lab familiar with the experiment you are about to do.

Completion of all laboratory experiments is mandatory. You may be excused from a laboratory for medical reasons. All non-excused laboratory experiments count towards your final grade. All excused laboratory experiments will be pro-rated out. Laboratory experiments will only be excused for medical reasons with a doctors note, or religious reasons so long as the laboratory TA has been notified of this in advance.

Laboratory grades (which are given by the laboratory instructors) will be renormalized, instructor by instructor, to ensure that each laboratory instructor's grading statistics are the same, and that each student is treated fairly.

Laboratories begin in the week of September 13, and there will be no labs during the week of Thanksgiving.

Examinations

There will be three term examinations during the term, and a final exam at the end. The subjects covered are given in the table below.

If you have to miss any examination for any non-medical reason, you must make arrangements with your Professor in advance. Missed exams (with no medical excuse or special arrangement) will be given grades of zero. No excuses will be granted for travel conflicts, not even for the GPII exam scheduled for the Friday before Spring Break. All non-excused exams count towards your final grade. All excused exams will be pro-rated out. If you are going to miss an exam for a religious reason, you must notify your lecture professor in advance and then it will be pro-rated out.

Feedback

Please ask questions during lectures and recitations. If there is something you don't understand, many other students are having the same trouble, guaranteed.

If there is some aspect of the pace, content, or structure of the course you don't like, or any other feedback you would like to give, please let your Professor know as soon as possible. If you wait until course evaluation forms are handed out at the end of the semester, you will have benefited next year's class at the expense of your own!