Department
of Physics Spring
2008-09
Physics 110 - Awesome Ideas in Physics
ORGANIZATION
I. LECTURER AND TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Lecturer:
Professor
Clifford Will
Compton 375
Office: 935-6244
email: cmw@wuphys.wustl.edu
website: http://physics.wustl.edu/cmw
Office hours: T, Th 11:00-1:00; other hours by email appointment
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Teaching
Assistant:
Mark Burnett
Compton 364
Office: 935-4968
email: mburnett@physics.wustl.edu
Office hours: M 1:00 - 2:30; W 1:00 - 2:00
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II. MEETING PLACE AND TIME
-
Crow 201, Tuesday/Thursday, 1:00 - 2:30.
III. COURSE PREREQUISITES
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this
course. It is helpful to be familiar with scientific notation and the
theorem of Pythagoras, but the TA can provide a session on such topics,
if needed.
IV. GRADE: will be based on
the following algorithm:
Homework Assignments (7) 50%
Midterm Test
25%
Final Exam
25%
Course
can only be taken for a letter grade. CR/NCR is not allowed.
V. GROUND RULES:
- Attendance: Class attendance is mandatory.
Furthermore it's also wise: although the textbooks cover some of the material,
the lecturers will cover topics in different depth and with different emphases,
which are likely to affect the content of homeworks and tests. Staying away
and relying upon the texts alone would be a major blunder.
-
Homework: The 7 best assignments (out of 8) will
represent 50% of the course grade. These assignments will include short
essays, some quantitative physics problems and an experiment. The essays
should be about 400 words each. Assignments must represent each student's
own work, and conform to university standards of scholarly work. Interaction
among students or consultation with professors and TA are permitted. The
homework that is handed in must be your own version, i.e. in your own
words. Copying is a breach of academic integrity.
-
Midterm
test and Final Exam: The first test will be given in class
on Tuesday, March 3, and will contribute 25% towards the course grade.
The second test will take place during finals on Tuesday May 5 at 1 pm,
and will contribute 25% towards the course grade. The exams will partly
determine whether some ''science literacy'' has been acquired from the
material presented in class. Another important aspect will be the demonstration
of critical thinking associated with the same material. Written exams
and assigned work will be based on the lectures and the reading material.
Some simple calculations will also be part of the tests. A 3X5 file card
with equations may be used during the exams.