Advice | Physics 2010

Here we save our older announcements! See below.

(More recent pages will be nearer the top)

Announcements (Finals week May 1-5, 2016):

Thanks for a great semester. Your course grade is now posted on D2L!
Don't look at the top of the D2L grades tab - please look at the VERY BOTTOM of the "grades" tab on D2L to find out your letter grade for the semester (and one line above it, your total course score INCLUDING clicker points that was used to determine your grade).
(YES, your clicker bonus/survey bonus HAS BEEN INCLUDED, and yes, that calculation has been done correctly according to the syllabus, no need to email to check...)

These course letter grades will be uploaded to CU on Monday, May 9.

IMPORTANT: If you think some score(s) is/are missing or incorrectly input, please inform Prof. Calkins (Michael.Calkins at Colorado.edu) and/or Steven.Pollock at...Colorado.edu ASAP. However, please do NOT even think about asking for favors, exceptions, or modifications - we only correct clerical errors at this point. Grade assignments in this course are objective and laid out up front. We are of course very sympathetic to individuals' desires to improve their grade, but we obviously cannot change grades based on need (or want), only on what you earned in the course. Thanks for understanding.
Final Exam Room Information is available on our usual exam information page. For those of you who took the evening midterms in RAMY (or upstairs in G125), you will NOT go to that same room for the final - see the link to find out where you need to be for the final. The final is Thursday, May 5, 7:30 AM (yes, that's AM) (There is a famous quote from James Clerk Maxwell, the Scottish physicist who completed and unified all the laws of electricity and magnetism in the mid 1800's and discovered their connection to light. He was told on his arrival at Cambridge University that there would be a compulsory 6 a.m. church service, and he responded "Aye, I suppose I could stay up that late." (I do not recommend all-nighters before finals, though!!)

Sometimes biology trumps physics
D2L now has all your grade information up to the final exam. (The estimated grade is currently assuming your final exam will come out to be the same as your mideterm average. Obviously that can change, but this is the best estimate I can provide right now)

IMPORTANT: If you think some score(s) is/are missing or incorrect, please inform Prof. Calkins (Michael.Calkins at Colorado.edu) and/or Steven.Pollock at...Colorado.edu right away. However, please do NOT even think about emaiingl asking for favors, exceptions, or modifications - we only correct clerical errors at this point. Grade assignments in this course are objective and laid out up front. We are sympathetic to individuals' desires to improve their grade, but we obviously cannot change grades based on need (or want), only on what you earned in the course. Thanks for understanding.

Also note: The "bonus points" are not yet added in - these are described in the detailed grade information page. Every year people email me asking if I have computed them correctly (they generally look at first glance to be a very small number). The answer is yes, I really have! Clicker points do not simply "add" to your total score, they make up for a small fraction of MISSED exam points. (If you have a good exam average, clicker points add up to essentially nothing. They do NOT make up for missed homeworks or other points) Nobody gets 5 points back (that would require that you had a perfect clicker score but ZERO exam average. Thank goodness nobody is in that boat) Look at the formula, but please do not email Prof. Pollock or Calkins about it. I assure you, we used a spreadsheet, doubled checked it - this is what the formula gives, and is what we intended! Thanks...

Announcements (Last week, Apr 25-Apr 29, 2016):

NOW CLOSED: Please fill out this Extra Credit Survey! (It counts as a very small bit of extra credit - adds in to your clicker points) This information is helpful for us to improve the course - and I believe you will find it useful to think about these questions! There is also a link to it on CAPA #15, question #6 -if you do it now, you won't have to do it again there
Final Exam Room Information is available on our usual exam information page. For those of you who took the evening midterms in RAMY (or upstairs in G125), you will NOT go to that same room for the final - see the link to find out where you need to be for the final. The final is Thursday, May 5, 7:30 AM (yes, that's AM) (There is a famous quote from James Clerk Maxwell, the Scottish physicist who completed and unified all the laws of electricity and magnetism in the mid 1800's and discovered their connection to light. He was told on his arrival at Cambridge University that there would be a compulsory 6 a.m. church service, and he responded "Aye, I suppose I could stay up that late." (I do not recommend all-nighters before finals, though!!)
Please note! From the syllabus, " Remember, if you receive a zero on more than 1 lab, you fail the course! "
See D2L for your scores on each lab. Please note that a blank means you were excused, it is only explicit zeroes that are a worry. Also note that we do not include weeks 0, 4, 8, 12, or 15 in this tally of "missed labs", because they were review/discussion days. Of course, those weeks still count towards your grade, zeros are zeros, but missing them does not count towards the "only one lab can be missed or you fail" issue) FYI, in terms of grade computation we do drop one week (all weeks are worth the same) So it is the SECOND missed actual lab that becomes a disaster.

There are no exceptions allowed to this rule - A&S counts this course as satisfying a lab requirement, so we cannot pass you if you have missed more than one lab. We have had regular makeup opportunities to help people deal with illness, travel, etc, but in the end, you MUST make up missed labs. This is your personal responsibility. (You cannot make up numerous missed labs this week, and the lab space is unavailable after Apr 29!) If you are in this situation - if you have an explicit 0 on MORE than one of the actual labs, and you have not yet made it up - you must contact your TA immediately so that you can arrange to make it up this week. If you do not, and you appeal to us at the end of this week (after Apr 28) , we will be extremely sympathetic but there will be nothing we can do. You will have failed Physics 2020 no matter WHAT your scores on exams and homeworks, and you will have to retake the entire class. Don't panic, but don't ignore it either.
Some useful sims for the latter part of the semester:
- a PHET sim on converging lenses
- Here is another sim with diverging lenses (and that same website's sim on converging lenses.)
- Here is a good visualization of the DOUBLE SLIT interference pattern. And, Single slit too
- Here is a PHET sim for waves and interference (used in lab)

Sometimes biology trumps physics

Announcements (Week 15, Apr 18-Apr 22, 2016):

Please fill out this Extra Credit Survey! (It counts as a very small bit of extra credit - adds in to your clicker points)This information is helpful for us to improve the course - and I believe you will find it useful to think about these questions! (There will also be a link to it on the last homeowrk -if you do it now, you won't have to do it again for that last CAPA!)
Final Exam Room Information is available on our usual exam information page. For those of you who took the evening midterms in RAMY (or upstairs), you will NOT go to that same room for the final - see the link to find out where you need to be for the final. The final is Thursday, May 5, 7:30 AM (yes, that's AM) (There is a famous quote from James Clerk Maxwell, the Scottish physicist who completed and unified all the laws of electricity and magnetism in the mid 1800's and discovered their connection to light. He was told on his arrival at Cambridge University that there would be a compulsory 6 a.m. church service,and responded "Aye, I suppose I could stay up that late." (I do not recommend all-nighters before finals, though!!)
Exam 3 solutions are posted on D2L. Your individual scores are also uploaded to D2L. Summary histograms are on our usual Exam Information link.
Here is a PHET sim on converging lenses I showed in class. I find it quite instructive, play with it while doing this week's CAPA! Note: If your browser won't run the PhET sim, try downloading it, and then "control click" the downloaded .jar file, to force it to run. It's safe, but browsers these days are super cautious about running java!...) And, here's a cute one I found that shows you what it looks like looking through the lens...
And, here is the other sim with diverging lenses, that I also showed in class (and that same website's sim on converging lenses. I think both also helpful for visualizing lenses!)

Announcements (Week 14, Apr 11-Apr 15, 2016):

Exam 3 solutions are posted on D2L. I will let you know here (and on D2L) when scanning services has returned individual scores.
Earlier note: Exam 3 is this Thursday. More details are in the usual "Course Info -> Exam Info" tab, as well as our learning goals page.
(I slightly tweaked my cribsheet, so you might re-download it if you already looked at it) As mentioned in class, we decided in the end not to include any Chapter 23 material on this midterm (it'll be on the final!)

Announcements (Week 13, Apr 4-Apr 8, 2016):

Exam 3 is coming up next week (not this week). More details are in the usual "Course Info -> Exam Info" tab, as well as our learning goals page.
CUSG (CU student gov't) elections have begun and will be running through 8 P.M. on Thursday, April 7th on MyCUInfo.colorado.edu. Information on candidates can be found under the elections tab on the CUSG homepage (I've heard that only a tiny fraction of students typically vote in these things. So if you have any interest in student governance, your vote will go a long way!)

Announcements (Week 12, Mar 28 -Apr 1 2016):

Welcome back - here's a student video of the "Can crusher" from the day before spring break in slo-mo. Nice! (Thanks Danielle) And, here is a YouTube video of a way more dramatic version of the superconducting demo I couldn't do friday due to a lack of liquid Nitrogen. (And, a video taken right after class of our own superconducting demo on Monday (For fast connections only, it's a 22MB file, or an even better one where it's the superconductor that "floats" (39 MB download). Thanks, Danielle!)

We have a CAPA set due (as usual) on Wed, and there is a written question due Friday Apr 1. We're back into the usual swing of things!
Dr. Paul's Sunday review/discussion session is back (as usual) on Sunday Mar 27. Pretty sure those meet in G130 (upstairs)

Announcements (Week 11, Mar 21 -Mar 25, 2016):

Enjoy Spring Break! Here's a student video of the "Can crusher" from the day before spring break in slo-mo. Nice! (Thanks Danielle)
Dr. Paul's Sunday review/discussion session is *cancelled* for Sunday Mar 20 (that's during spring break!) but will be back as usual on Sunday Mar 27 (that's the day before we start back up again) Pretty sure those meet in G130 (upstairs)

Announcements (Week 10, Mar 14 -Mar 18, 2016):

Dr. Paul's Sunday review/discussion session is *cancelled* for Sunday Mar 20 (that's during spring break!) but will be back as usual on Sunday Mar 27 (that's the day before we start back up again) Pretty sure those meet in G130 (upstairs)
Solutions to Exam 2 are posted on D2L.
- Your individual score is also on D2L in the grades link.
- The usual Exam information link now shows the class histogram and other information about the exam.
- If you are unhappy with your exam 2 score, please read this page.
At the end of each chapter of Giancoli there are some good questions. In the 7th edition he added "Misconceptual" question which I think are very helpful. If you don't have that edition, here is a link to scans of those pages. (I have updated that to go to the end of the semester)
Take a look at the Phet sim called "Faraday's Electromagnetic lab" if you have a chance. It's a good one to prepare for the next topic we're covering (and fun to mess with!) Check out the various tabs, try to make sense of what you see and connect it to the "formalism" we learn in class!

Announcements (Week 9, Mar 7 -Mar 11, 2016):

Exam #2 is Thursday. See the usual "Exam information" link for more details.
Exams in Physics 2020 are always cumulative, anything from exam 1 can reappear on exam 2 (or beyond), if we think it's important!
For instance, one topic that maybe does not explicitly appear on the practice test but WILL definitely appear in our exam is capacitors and energy stored in them (Section 17-7 and 17-9) - those were featured on CAPA the week of the previous midterm so I thought it was a bit too soon to ask questions about it on exam #1, but we definitely covered it (so don't forget about that topic!) See the exam info page for more, as well as our "course goals" page.

If you commute from off campus on exam night - there is a basketball tournament going on that evening, and CU is advising us that traffic may be heavy on campus (and parking tight). Plan accordingly!

Announcements (Week 8, Feb 29-Mar4, 2016):

Exam #2 is coming up next week. See the usual "Exam information" link for more details.
Are you a registered voter in Colorado? Learn more about the Colorado caucus process at the Colorado Secretary of State website. Caucuses are held this coming Tuesday evening at 7 PM (May 1) Participation in the political process is an important responsibility of an engaged citizenry, I encourage you all to participate if you are able to.

Announcements (Week 7, Feb 22-26, 2016):

See our Resources -> Useful/Fun links page (for e.g. the "Electrifying images" from class last week.)
Check out the Phet website for sims, including the Circuit Construction Kit
Are you a registered voter in Colorado? Learn more about the Colorado caucus process at the Colorado Secretary of State website. Caucuses are held this coming Tuesday evening at 7 PM (May 1) Participation in the political process is an important responsibility of an engaged citizenry, I encourage you all to participate if you are able to.

Announcements (Week 6, Feb 15-19, 2016):

Exam solutions have been posted on D2L. Your grades have been posted on D2L as well. (Exam was a percent, # correct out of 24 questions)
See the usual Course Info -> exam information link for a histogram of grades on exam 1 (and course so far)
If you are unhappy with your score, here is some advice and suggestions - you'll get your exam back in lab, solutions have been posted, and you are welcome to see your TA, Prof. Calkins, or Prof Pollock in office hours if you want to talk privately about study ideas.
There is a Phet simulation of a neuron firing (so you can see what the Phet team thinks about the physics of our written Homework from last week!)

Announcements (Week 5, Feb 8-12, 2016):

First midterm is this Thursday evening Feb. 11. See our "Course Info -> Exam info" tab above (or here) for more details. Many of you will be going to a different room than our regular classroom - please see that exam info link to find out where to go. (Figure it out before Thursday evening, please!)
Be sure you know your student ID and your TA's name when you show up for the exam!
NOTE: This week's CAPA is shorter than usual (exam week). The back side is 100% optional (not extra credit, you don't have to do it, just some practice problems if you want). Possibly more useful would be looking at the Mastering Physics site (you can still sign up if you want!) and looking both at the practice homeworks (especially the first few problems for both sets) and also the "Study area" (find Ch 16 and 17, look for practice questions)
NOTE: No written homework this week!

For perhaps obvious reasons, Ariel Paul's weekly (Sunday evening) study session is being shifted from Sun Feb. 7 ("Superbowl Sunday") to Sat, Feb 6 (Same time, 7 PM, same place, G130)
There is a Phet simulation of a neuron firing (so you can see what the Phet team thinks about the physics of our written Homework from last week!)
Please peruse this course website to find useful info - exams, contact info, schedule, lecture notes, powerpoints, clicker question answers, etc etc! Ask if you can't find what you need. If you didn't do so last term, please register your iclicker.
All our older course announcements can still be found!
Opportunity ($20/hr): As you know, the PhET group makes computer simulations about science. They are looking for volunteers to test some of their new simulations. Email then directly (Kathryn.Dessau at colorado.edu) if you are interested (by Feb 1). It is not part of this course, and will have no bearing on your course grade, your instructor will not know about your participation. You don’t need any experience to participate.

Announcements (Week 4, Feb 1-5, 2016):

First midterm is coming up, Thursday evening Feb. 11. See our "Course Info -> Exam info" tab above (or here) for more details. Many of you will be going to a different room than our regular classroom - please see that exam info link to find out where to go. (Figure it out before Thursday evening, please!) Be sure you know your student ID and your TA's name when you show up for the exam!
Snow days are fun, but a bummer for everyone with Tuesday labs. We will excuse attendance for those students, since CU was officially closed, but ask Tuesday students to do that missed lab next week in their regular lab time (we'll have it set up). The rest of the class will of course do the lab this week, and will spend next week in lab doing an exam review. The Tuesday sections will also receive all those review materials next week, to do on their own time. (If any Tues lab students want to do the lab sooner, i.e. Wed or Thursday of this week, see the "Lab Info -> Lab Sections" tab above, contact the TA you would like to visit, and see if they have room for you. But this is certainly not obligatory, since you can do it next week) It's a good lab, helpful in terms of understanding voltage and equipotentials and E-fields.
For perhaps obvious reasons, Ariel Paul's weekly (Sunday evening) study session is being shifted from Sun Feb. 7 ("Superbowl Sunday") to Sat, Feb 6 (Same time, 7 PM, same place, G130)
Please peruse this course website to find useful info - exams, contact info, schedule, lecture notes, powerpoints, clicker question answers, etc etc! Ask if you can't find what you need. If you didn't do so last term, please register your iclicker.
All our older course announcements can still be found!
Opportunity ($20/hr): As you know, the PhET group makes computer simulations about science. They are looking for volunteers to test some of their new simulations. Email then directly (Kathryn.Dessau at colorado.edu) if you are interested (by Feb 1). It is not part of this course, and will have no bearing on your course grade, your instructor will not know about your participation. You don’t need any experience to participate.

Announcements (Week 3, Jan 25-29, 2016):

Please peruse this course website to find useful info - exams, contact info, schedule, lecture notes, powerpoints, clicker question answers, etc etc! Ask if you can't find what you need. If you didn't do so last term, please register your iclicker.
All our older course announcements can still be found!
Opportunity ($20/hr): As you know, the PhET group makes computer simulations about science. They are looking for volunteers to test some of their new simulations. Email then directly (Kathryn.Dessau at colorado.edu) if you are interested (by Feb 1). It is not part of this course, and will have no bearing on your course grade, your instructor will not know about your participation. You don’t need any experience to participate.

Announcements (Week 2, Jan 18-22, 2016):

Homework: CAPA is due every Wed night (with a free extension to 8 AM on Thursday morning if you need it) Your personalized set is printed out and available in the basement of Duane - be sure to pick up the set with your name on it! Or, use pin-getter. See the Homework -> CAPA tab above if you have any questions.
Lab: Don't forget to print out a lab, and do the pre-lab before coming to lab. (See Lab info -> Manuals tab above)
Study guide: Our textbook publisher has given us free access to an online resource called Mastering Physics. It could be useful as e.g. an exam study tool. More information about mastering Physics is here, or for the free access code, just go here.
Grade information and solutions: Grade info and homework/exam solutions will be available through our Phys 2020 page on D2L.
Online help: We also have a piazza forum for questions and discussion anytime. Please check it out. (If you did not get an email invitation to sign up, let steven.pollock or michael.calkins (at) colorado.edu know.
Study/Review: Every Sunday evening (7PM, in G130, which is one floor up from the lecture hall) Dr. Ariel Paul will run an informal (optional) study session. Go there if you have questions, want help with material or concepts! This will start up right away, the first week of the term!
Please peruse this course website to find useful info - exams, contact info, schedule, lecture notes, powerpoints, clicker question answers, etc etc! Ask if you can't find what you need. If you didn't do so last term, please register your iclicker
For those who are interested - Emma Spratt from the CU Premed student club send me a link to AMSA's (American Medical Student Association) website:
http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/amsa/
She said: "We meet on Monday evenings at 6pm in Benson room 180 and provide students with volunteer opportunities, presentations by doctors and other healthcare professionals, insight about getting involved in research and other valuable information that will help students meet their goals of having a career in medicine."
NightRide/NightWalk. For rides to/from campus after dark, call (303) 492-7233 (B-SAFE)

Contact steven.pollock or michael.calkins (at) colorado.edu if you have any questions at all!

Week 0 and 1 (pre term through Jan 15):

Welcome to Phys 2020! If you didn't do so last term, please register your iclicker
There ARE recitation/lab sections the first week - please attend.
If you registered for Phys 2020 very late (after Saturday, Jan 9), be sure to find the "CAPA late enrollment" link under the Homework/CAPA tab, and get yourself registered. Note that late CAPA registration means you won't get this week's CAPA in the bin, so you'll have to use pin-getter for week 1. (If you also missed a lecture, see the Lecture Info tab
First homework: Our first CAPA set is due Wed Jan 13, just 2 days after classes start! It is very short (no new physics on it, it's just a reminder of how CAPA works) See the Homework Info tab above for more details. (Your personalized set is printed out and available in the basement of Duane - be sure to pick up the set with your name on it!)
Study guide: Our textbook publisher has given us free access to an online resource called Mastering Physics. It could be useful as e.g. an exam study tool. More information about mastering Physics is here, or for the free access code, just go here.
Grade information and solutions: Grade info and homework/exam solutions will be available through our Phys 2020 page on D2L.
Online help: We also have a piazza forum for questions and discussion anytime. Please check it out. (If you did not get an email invitation to sign up, let steven.pollock or michael.calkins (at) colorado.edu know.
Study/Review: Every Sunday evening (7PM, in G130, which is one floor up from the lecture hall) Dr. Ariel Paul will run an informal (optional) study session. Go there if you have questions, want help with material or concepts! This will start up right away, the first week of the term!
Please peruse this course website to find useful info - exams, contact info, schedule, lecture notes, powerpoints, clicker question answers, etc etc! Ask if you can't find what you need.
For those who are interested - Emma Spratt from the CU Premed student club send me a link to AMSA's (American Medical Student Association) website:
http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/amsa/
She said: "We meet on Monday evenings at 6pm in Benson room 180 and provide students with volunteer opportunities, presentations by doctors and other healthcare professionals, insight about getting involved in research and other valuable information that will help students meet their goals of having a career in medicine."
NightRide/NightWalk. For rides to/from campus after dark, call (303) 492-7233 (B-SAFE)

Contact steven.pollock or michael.calkins (at) colorado.edu if you have any questions at all!