NYU Physics 1

This page is for the Fall 2007 semester.

Physics 1 (V85.0091) is an introductory mechanics course in the NYU Department of Physics intended for physics majors and other science majors.

Staff

	name	contact	room	office hours
lecture	Prof David W. Hogg		Meyer 501	Wed 11:00–12:15 or by appt.
recitation	Alex Rutenburg		Meyer 639B	Wed 11:00–12:15
tutoring	Ilya Ostrovsky	+1.201.618.8227	Meyer 639B	Mon 15:00–17:00, Thu 10:00–12:00, Fri 11:00–17:00
administration	William LePage	+1.212.998.7704	Meyer 424

Aims

There are several aims of this course, not limited to

learning the basics of mechanics, including forces, mechanical energies, angular and linear momentum;
refinement of physical intuition; and
development of critical quantitative reasoning abilities, including estimation, approximation, and calculation.

Textbook and materials

The following may be supplemented as the semester proceeds.

Chabay, R. & Sherwood, B., Matter and Interactions, vol 1: Modern Mechanics, 2 ed, Wiley (2007), ISBN 978-0-470-10830-7

Make sure you get the second edition of Chabay & Sherwood as it is very different from the first edition.

Evaluation

Grades will be based on a strict numerical ranking generated with the percentages given in this table.

	percent
reading memos	5
recitation worksheets	10
problem sets	25
mid-term exam	20
final exam	40

Reading memos

There is a small amount of reading assigned (in the schedule below) for each week. Twenty-four hours before each Wednesday lecture (that is, by 12:30 each Tuesday) you will be expected to have emailed to Prof Hogg a short memo about the reading (please put the words reading memo in the subject line of your email; please do not send Word documents; just type a plain text email). This memo can say whatever you like, but it is most helpful if it describes what, in the reading, you did not understand, what you found confusing, and what you would like to hear about in class in the coming week. The primary purpose of the memos is to communicate to the instructors challenges encountered in the assigned reading.

Reading memos will be graded (leniently) on the basis that they demonstrate some serious attempt to understand the content of the reading. The secondary purpose of the memos is to ensure that you take the reading seriously and make an attempt to learn from it.

Reading memos emailed late will be graded zero unless there is a medical excuse.

Recitation worksheets

In most recitations, you will work through problems and discuss them with your recitation instructor and fellow students. Some of these problems will be organized into a worksheet that you sign and hand in at the end of the recitation.

It is not possible to do a worksheet in advance of recitation or after the fact. If you are not going to be able to attend a recitation, ask for an excused absence from Prof Hogg in advance. Recitation worksheets missed without excused absences will be graded zero unless there is a medical excuse.

Problem sets

A small number of problems are assigned each week to hand in as your problem set (see the table below). These problem sets are to be handed in at the Monday lecture.

Please feel free to discuss problem set questions with other students. Working together can be very educational and helpful; we encourage it! However, you must ensure that the work you hand in is your own. This is required by the principles of academic integrity; 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.

If you are not going to be able to complete a problem set on time, ask for an extension from Prof Hogg by email in advance. Problem sets handed in late without granted extensions will be graded zero unless there is a medical excuse.

Tutoring

There is free tutoring available for this course, supplied by the Department. The tutor's office hours are given in the weekly schedule below, but you must call or email the tutor one day in advance to reserve a spot and give the tutor a chance to prepare.

Examinations

There will be one mid-term examination during the term and a final exam at the end, on dates given in the schedule below.

If you have to miss any examination for any non-medical reason, you must make arrangements with Prof Hogg by email in advance. Missed exams will be graded zero unless there is a special arrangement made or a medical excuse. No special arrangements will be made for travel conflicts.

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 Prof Hogg 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!

Weekly schedule

Monday: 12:30–13:45, Meyer 121, lecture, problem set due; 15:00–17:00, Meyer 639B, tutoring, email tutor in advance for appointment
Tuesday: 12:30, reading memo due
Wednesday: 09:30–10:45, Meyer 102, recitation, worksheet; 11:00–12:15, Meyer 501, Hogg office hours; 11:00–12:15, Meyer 639B, Rutenburg office hours; 12:30–13:45, Meyer 121, lecture; 14:00–15:15, Meyer 102, recitation, worksheet
Thursday: 10:00–12:00, Meyer 639B, tutoring, email tutor in advance for appointment
Friday: 11:00–17:00, Meyer 639B, tutoring, email tutor in advance for appointment

Assignment schedule

The following table is subject to change; please check back here frequently. Chapter numbers refer to chapters in Chabay & Sherwood.

Monday	problem set due Monday	Monday lecture	reading memo due Tuesday	Wednesday lecture	worksheet on Wednesday	notes
Sep 03	n/a	holiday	n/a	mass of the Earth	n/a	Labor Day Sep 03; no recitations Sep 05
Sep 10	ps 0	dropped bucket	ch 1	thrown stone	numerical integration
Sep 17	ps 1	acceleration, velocity, position	ch 2	bouncing ball	none
Sep 24	ps 2	lecture canceled	ch 3	circular kinematics	dimensional analysis of orbits
Oct 01	ps 3	icy, banked curve	ch 4	mass on a spring	friction
Oct 08	none	holiday	ch 5	strings and pulleys	none	Columbus Day Oct 08
Oct 15	ps 4	roller-coaster design school	none	elastic collisions	none
Oct 22	none	mid-term exam	ch 6	circular and radial orbits	none	mid-term exam in lecture Oct 22
Oct 29	ps 5	midterm solution	ch 7	damped harmonic oscillator	potential energy
Nov 05	ps 6	bound states	ch 8	rolling energy	none
Nov 12	ps 7	pulling on strings	ch 9	inelastic collisions	collisions
Nov 19	ps 8	the rocket	ch 10	collisions of finite bodies	n/a	no recitations Nov 21
Nov 26	ps 9	rolling with and without slipping	none	statics	rolling
Dec 03	ps 10	gyroscopes	ch 11	the ideal gas law	none
Dec 10	ps 11	celestial mechanics	none	navigation in the Solar System	none	last day of classes Dec 12
final exam Wed Dec 19 12:00–13:50 in Meyer 121