Physics 2020: General Physics II, Spring 2000
Lectures: Prof. Steve Pollock. Sec’s 100 (200): MWF 11-11:50 (1-1:50) Duane G1B20
Phone: 492-2495 Office: F419 in the Gamow Tower
Office Hours (tentative): M,W 2:30-4, and other times by appointment.
Email/Electronic Office Hours: Steven.Pollock@Colorado.Edu (anytime)
Course Website:
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys2020
Lots of additional information and updates will be posted there. Please check it periodically!
Physics 2020 is the second semester of an algebra-based sequence in college physics. We will cover topics in modern physics, including electricity, magnetism, light, optics, optical instruments, and properties of atoms including relativity and quantum mechanics. These topics are part of the foundations of our modern technological society. The intent is for you to continue to develop knowledge and intuition about how the world works, learn how to approach, solve, and understand a wide variety of physics problems on both qualitative and quantitative levels, and develop an appreciation of the scientific method.
Required Texts: 1) "Physics " Giancoli, 5th edition (This is the same text that we used in the first semester, Physics 2010) Several copies of the text will be maintained on reserve at the Math/Physics Library in Duane Physics G-140.
2) "Physics 2020 Lab Manual" ‘00, available at the bookstore, or (free) here
There are many excellent books covering introductory physics. Giancoli’s is one of the best. Several others can be found on reserve at the Math/Physics Library. In addition, Prentice Hall maintains a great web site that includes on-line questions for each chapter of the book.
Prerequisites: General Physics I, and some basic algebra, geometry and trigonometry. (College level logic, enthusiasm, curiosity, and an open mind will be helpful!)
Reading: is an essential part of 2020! Reading the text before class is very important. I will assume you have done the required readings in advance! Reading assignments will appear at each lecture (and on the web) for the coming class.
Homework will be administered via CAPA (Computer Assisted Personalized Approach). They are due every Fri evening by 9 PM. Each week you will receive a personalized assignment (everyone’s is slightly different). You should work on it just as you would in any other course, but you will log on to CAPA with any standard web browser and hand in your solutions online. You’ll be told immediately if your answers are right or wrong. If wrong, you may try again without penalty, up to some max number of tries. You can also log out and try again later, as long as you’re done before the deadline. (Late hw’s will not be accepted by CAPA.) Generic solutions will be posted on our web page after the deadline. If you have problems, please check out my CAPA help page .
Group study is fine (encouraged!) as long as you always generate your final solutions by yourself.
Labs: A (2-hour) lab or recitation is held every week in G-2B90 (Duane basement). There will be 6 labs. You must attend the section to which you are assigned! You’ll need a quadrille-ruled lab notebook (the kind with a square grid on each page) and a lab manual. You’ll complete lab write-ups during the 2-hour lab section, and hand in your completed lab at the end of the session to your TA. If you can’t finish, you may only take the lab book home after getting your TA’s permission and instructions, with their initials in your lab book. Please record all lab data in pen in your lab notebook. You should carefully study the lab instructions before coming to lab; otherwise you may not have time to finish. There are pre-lab questions for each lab, the answers to which you must hand in on a separate sheet to your TA at the beginning of the lab period. This will be part of your lab grade. (TA’s will announce their policies for grading recitation hws, quizzes, and labs.) There is also a detailed explanation of lab grading on the website.
NOTE! To pass this course you must complete at least 5 labs, regardless of your performance on tests, hw, and quizzes. However, all 6 labs still count towards your grade.
For those with legitimate written excuses, a missed lab may be made up. It must be made up before the end of the week that follows the missed lab. (Please try to arrange to make it up ahead of time if possible!) See the lab coordinator, Jerry Leigh (492-7368) with your legitimate written excuse to schedule make-up labs.
Recitation: On those weeks when there is no lab, you will still meet in G-2B90 with your TA for a recitation. Here, you will discuss physics, ask questions, learn methods for solving homework problems, and sometimes turn in extra hw problems or take quizzes, which count towards your grade. Recitations will begin Monday, Jan 24
All TA’s will have regular office hours at times and places to be announced. You are free to attend the office hours of any instructor in this course.
Exams: Exams are scheduled for Tuesday evenings, Feb 8, March 7, and April 11
from 7:30-9:00 PM, in locations to be announced. (There will not be any makeup exams.)
The final will be Wed, May 10, 7:30 PM - 10 PM. (location TBA).
It is your responsibility to make sure you have no conflicts with these exams!
Exams are closed book, but you’re allowed one 8.5"x11" crib sheet. You can write anything you want on your crib sheet, both sides, but you must write it by hand: no xeroxing or typing. There will not be any makeup exams. Persons absent for a serious medical reason, or with prior approval from Prof. Pollock, may be excused from 1 midterm exam. Medical excuses must be submitted to Prof. Pollock no later than 1 week following the exam.
Students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities, please let me know early in the semester (1st two weeks) so that your academic needs may be appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation of your disability to the Disability Services Office in Willard 322 (phone 303-492-8671)
Grading: The total grade weighting will be
20% for HW's and quizzes (combined);
12.5% for each of the three midterm exams;
27.5% for the final exam;
15% for the labs.
(Scores from lab reports and hws or quizzes graded by TA’s will be renormalized so that each TA has the same average score, to correct for differences in individual grading styles.)
Any information in this syllabus is as accurate as is possible at the time of writing. Announcements about changes of any kind will be made in class, and (hopefully) posted on the web, and will take precedence over this syllabus. You are responsible for what is said in class, whether or not you are in attendance.