Section 1

Course Time:
Lecture: TTh, 930 - 1045, Room 203, physics building

Instructor:
Stephen T. Thornton, Professor of Physics
Room 305, Physics Building. Office telephone: 924-6808
Email address: stt@virginia.edu
Office Hours: Monday (1330 - 1430) and Tuesday (1330 - 1430) or by appointment.

Section 2

Course Time:
Lecture: TTh, 1100 - 1215, Room 203, physics building

Instructor:
Despina Louca, Associate Professor of Physics
Room 317, Physics Building. Office telephone: 924-6802
Email address: dl4f@virginia.edu
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday (1400-1500) or by appointment.

Syllabus - click here

Teaching Assistants/Problem Sessions: Click here for further information

Do you want to hire a tutor?
The following list are physics majors and graduate students who are willing to tutor PHYS 201. We make no recommendations concerning these individuals. In fact we have no information or references about how good they are as tutors. Students and tutors work out the financial compensation between themselves. I list the names in the order in which they gave us their name. Click on their name to contact them by email.

James McCarter physics graduate student
Michael Ronquest physics graduate student
Ruo Jia undergraduate physics major
Brett Sickmiller physics graduate student
Michael Balazs physics graduate student
Luke Langsjoen physics graduate student
Adrienne Criss undergraduate physics major
K. Jeramy Hughes physics graduate student
Daniel Andelin physics graduate student
Daniel Herbst undergraduate physics major

 

Old Exams: Click here for old exams

Answers to this year's exams: Click here

Final Exam:
Section 1: Thursday, December 8, 2005, 1400-1700, Room 203
Section 2: Friday, December 16, 2005, 900-1200, Room 203

Textbook: Physics 2nd edition, by James S. Walker, available at UVa bookstore. You will also need to purchase a transmitter that will be used in lecture class. See below.
We have also ordered an optional Student Study Guide with Selected Solutions for this course that is for sale at the UVa bookstore. Only limited copies of this supplement were ordered, but we can order more if they run out.

Office Hours for Help: Faculty members and teaching assistants have office hours. Click here (not ready) to see the complete schedule and rooms. You can ask questions about homework or about lecture material. We will not work out the homework for you, but will try to guide you. Office hours can sometimes be crowded. They are not really a tutoring session. Click here for schedule.

Student Response System Transmitters
Every student will be required to have a EduCue transmitter in class to personally respond to the opening reading quiz and to conceptual questions throughout the lecture. Two percent of your grade will be derived from the opening multiple choice quiz that will be based on the reading assignment for that lecture. Two percent of your grade will come from your satisfactory participation in the 3-6 conceptual questions given each day. The transmitters allow you to respond anonymously. These transmitters are for sale at the Newcomb Hall University Bookstore. You probably will be able to sell the transmitters back to the bookstore when the class is finished. Click here for further important information.

When you have purchased your transmitter, you must log on here to tell us your transmitter's ID number so we can know when to credit you for answering. Click here to register your transmitter. Do this as soon as possible. We will use the transmitters during the first class.

Course Objectives
The aim of this course is to teach you concepts and understanding of the physical world. Doing problem solving is an important part of this course, and your grade will depend on your ability to understand concepts and to solve problems. An understanding of the material is crucial to your ability in problem solving, as is the acquisition of a set of skills about problem solving. The lectures are oriented towards helping you understand the concepts and how to solve problems. We will perform many demonstrations and solve several examples and problems in class and during the discussion section.

Read each assignment before the lecture and again as soon as possible after the lecture. At the beginning of each lecture there will be a short Reading Quiz based on that day's reading assignment. You will answer this quiz by using your own personal electronic device called a Personal Response System. Attending the lectures and seeing demonstrations is an important way for you to understand the material. Doing the assigned homework problems as well as attending the problem sessions is an important way to acquire problem-solving skills. You must be enrolled in the problem session in addition to the lecture. Quizzes will be given during the problem session. Note that a significant part of your grade depends on these quizzes, so you must attend the problem sessions.

Homework Assignments
Students will be expected to work and study outside the classroom. The problems will be posted and available on WebAssign, and the responses will be given on WebAssign. Note that all homework assignments are from end of chapter problems in the textbook.

Remarks

1. Homework is due when posted on WebAssign. No extra credit or makeup assignments will be given. Keep up! Any request for an extension should be made before the due date, not after.
2. No makeup exams will be given. Missed exams receive a grade of zero unless an excuse for missing the exam is given to and accepted by the professor before the exam. In very unusual circumstances, when an exam is excused, the remaining exams will be averaged. Students should not depend on this happening.
3. Each week there will be a graded quiz in your problem session that contributes to your final grade. Missed quizzes receive a grade of zero unless an excuse for missing the quiz is given to and accepted by the teaching assistant before the quiz. In unusual circumstances, when a quiz is excused, the remaining quizzes will be averaged. Students should not depend on this happening.
4. Collaboration on homework problems: We encourage you to discuss homework problems with each other and to work out together methods of solution. Our experience has been that it is valuable for you to work the homework problems by yourself before seeking help. The homework answer that you submit to WebAssign must be your own that you calculate. It is an honor violation for you to copy another person's solution.
5. Attendance policy: Attendance is not taken, but you are responsible for all assigned material, whether it is presented in lecture or not. You are also responsible for knowing the problem assignments and for any announcements of changes in the schedule that may be made in lecture.

Grading
Final grades will be determined (subject to change in the future) by the following distribution:

Final Exam	35%
Three Hour Exams	30%
Homework	15%
Problem Session Quizzes	16%
Reading Quiz in lecture	2%
Concept Quizzes in lecture	2%

Homework Assignments. We are using WebAssign for the homework, and you must submit your answers on WebAssign. Because the numbers in the problems are randomized, you must log on to WebAssign with your login and password and obtain your personal assignment for the week. Please note each week how many submissions you are allowed. Your last submission is the one graded. Note that you must finish by the posted time on the due date or your grade will be zero. There are no exceptions to this. We can not accept late homework with WebAssign. If for any reason (like sickness, for example), you decide to ask for a homework time extension, no extension will ever be given if you have looked at the answer key on WebAssign.

WebAssign - click here to log onto WebAssign
(First time Logon, click here)

Course Rules and Regulations:

It is important for students to be aware of these rules and regulations which may change throughout the course. Changes will be announced in class, and all changes will be listed on the website. Students are responsible for keeping up with the Course Rules and Regulations as stated on the website.

 In general, assignments and notices will be listed on the course webpage. This includes, but is not limited to, homework assignments, syllabus changes, course rules and regulations changes and additions, dates and times of any review sessions, and material to be covered on class exams.

1. Illness (as an excuse) must always be established in writing.
   
   
2. If you do not turn in an assignment (including homework) on time or miss an exam (including being late and for illness), you will receive a grade of zero, unless you have prearranged approval by your professor. Messages of any kind including, but not limited to, email, telephone message, oral messages of any kind, notes delivered by a third party, etc., are not acceptable by themselves without a response by your professor. Any oral approval given by your professor must be confirmed in writing.
   
   
3. If you miss the beginning of an exam, you will still be expected to turn in the exam at the end of the regular class. Oversleeping is not an acceptable excuse. If you miss the exam, you will receive a grade of zero.
   
   
4. There will be no rescheduling of exams or quizzes. Exams and quizzes are excused only for instructor approved personal or family medical emergencies, official university travel, or certain religious holidays. Leaving town for anything else including, but not limited to, vacations, family reunions, concerts, Nobel prize receptions, White House visits, athletic events for non-participants, etc., will not be an acceptable excuse for missing an exam or quiz or for not turning in homework.
   
   
5. You may work together doing homework, but you must work out the solution you submit to WebAssign.
   
   
6. See the section on Student Reponse System Transmitters for policy considering the transmitters.
   
   
7. The following is unacceptable in class: newspaper reading, cell phones ringing or in use, use of laptop computers or other personal electronic devices for any reason other than directly for the class.