Physics 2130

Physics 2130: General Physics 3
Introduction to Modern Physics
Spring 2018

Course Info/Materials :

Ø      Textbook: Knight, Physics for Scientists and Engineers (Custom edition for CU: excerpts of 4th edition from Volumes 3 and 5, ISBN#9781323727997).
Note: any edition is fine (ed. 1 or ed. 2 or 3) is fine. Noting that the assignments will be given for the most recent edition.
We will seek to post desk-copies at the library too.
Additional Readings will be posted on Canvas: canvas.colorado.edu
Supplemental Materials (optional) on Additional Physics Resources tab.

Ø      Calculator: Bring this to class

Ø      A Clicker for use in class, available in bookstore. (We use i>clicker)

Ø      Co-requisite: Math 2400, Pre-reqs: Physics 1120, 1140 or ECEN 2250, 3400

Instructional Team

Professor Noah Finkelstein
Office: F1021 Gamow Tower; Tel: 303-735-6082
E-mail: noah.finkelstein@colorado.edu. For info on Noah and his research see his site

Course Co-Designer: Jessica Hoehn

Lead Teaching Assistant: Julian Gifford
TAs/Graders: Joshua Carr, Manoj Kalubovilage, Hannah Lyle

Learning Assistants: Sarah, David, Megan

Course Homepage with all course information:

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys2130/

Important Times and Dates:

            Lecture:          Tues / Thurs, 5-6:15p, Duane G1B20

            Problem Solving Sessions:

Location: physics help room, G2B90 (1 floor down from main lecture hall)

Friday 3-5 (To Be Confirmed)

Mondays, 1-5 PM ( NEW time)

                                Tues, 9a-noon (To Be Confirmed)

            Office Hours: Noah Finkelstein:        Thurs 3p, Tues 3:30-4:30p,Office 1021 Gamow Tower

Also by appointment or email.

Jessica Hoehn: Mon 2-4p

Julian Gifford: Friday 4-5p, Mon 4-6p

Hour Exams: Feb 22 (exam 1); Mar 22 (exam 2); May 8 (exam 3/ final)
Midterm 1 & 2 Thurs during class time 5-6:30 pm, G1b20                             

Final:              Final Exam is May 8, 7:30p.
If you have three final exams that day, the deadline for making arrangements for rescheduling is Mar 20

Useful websites: 

Ø      http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys2130/ has all the important course information.
We'll be using Canvas, and
for discussion baords and readings, nb (short for nota bene): http://nb.mit.edu (you will be invited to your CU email address)

Ø      http://phet.colorado.edu/ has many of the interactive applets used in class

Overall Course Goals and Approach:

The goal of this course is for you to understand the microscopic origin of the behavior of materials that you may encounter in the world around you or in technological applications.  Engineers and scientists use simplified models to describe material properties, and most of the time these approximations work fine, but not always.  This course will help you to understand why these models work and where they become unreliable and why.  The latter issues become particularly important as one is working in the area of nanotechnology.  A secondary goal is to increase your general knowledge through understanding the “new” (in past hundred years) way physicists have come to understand how the universe behaves, i.e. according to the laws of quantum physics.   A third goal is for you to develop a sense of when and how scientific models and forms of inerpretation work (e.g. when is good to use the Bohr model vs Schrodinger model of the atom? and, what do we mean by "wave-nature of matter"?). A fourth goal is to develop your sense of self as a scientist and engineer (you don't have to become one, but rather see you capacities as a scientist and engineer). A fifth goal is to cultivate a sense of excitement and interest in quantum mechanics. And finally, we wish you to develop your skills in scientific practice, which include collabroative work, analyzing texts, enging in productive argumentation, solving problems, and making sense of the world around you.

Guiding principles of the instruction:

1. People understand concepts better by seeing them in action and thinking about them than by hearing them explained.

2. Understanding physics (asking quesitons and solving problems that test that understanding) is a learned skill, like cooking, or playing basketball or the violin.  It takes time, effort, and practice.

3. People learn best by thinking about topics and discussing them with others.

4. Students learn most when they take the responsibility for what is learned.

In keeping with these principles, there will be a substantial number of homework problems each week.  You will have considerable difficulty completing them if you do not follow strategic problem solving approaches and/or you work alone.  However, if you work with other students and develop a productive and strategic approach to problem solving, the homework problems should take you less time and effort, and you will learn a lot from doing them.  Although you are encouraged to work out the solutions to problems together with other students, you are required to write up the answers in your own words.  So each student’s wording should be unique to the individual. I will fail any student who submits work that is not his/her own or permits another student to do so.

Typically you will need to spend between four and six hours outside of class to master the material.
(Your homework will typically require 3-5 hours and you should spend a couple hours each week reading and preparing for class.)

There will be several problem-solving sessions where you will be able to conveniently get together with other students to work on homework.  The instructors, Noah Finkelstein, Jessica Hoehn, Julian Gifford, and LAs will be present at these sessions to provide “coaching” on problem solving methods. You are encouraged to come to these to work with other students and get coaching in problem solving as necessary. The times and room numbers are listed above. The physics help room is also open 40 hours per week, and there are always students and TAs there, although they are not necessarily from 2130.

Students begin this class with a range of backgrounds in physics and math.As a result, it is impossible for each class to be perfectly matched to everyone’s background.The primary purpose of office hours is to provide individual help to students that need it.We are pleased to provide whatever help is necessary for every student, regardless of background, to do well in the course and achieve all of the learning goals.  However, it is your responsibility to recognize that you need that help, and to take advantage of its availability by asking to meet with us.

Official course dates: for more see registrar schedule for Spring 2018

Jan 6, 5 pm: First Day of Class G1b20 Duane physics! Yey!
Jan 24, 11:59 pm: Last Day to Add a Class in MyCUInfo

Jan 31, 11:59 pm: Last Day to Drop a Class without Tuition/Fee Charges and without a W Grade
Mar 23: last day to move final if you have 3 or more same day

Mar 23, 11:59pm: Last Day to Drop a Class in MyCUInfo
May 3, 6:15p Last Day of Class G1b20 Duane physics! Sighhh!
and see the Academic Calendar here

GRADES:

Ø      Grading philosophy: the amount you will learn depends on how much thought and practice you put in distributed sensibly over the term.  Everyone who makes an honest attempt to do all the assigned work on time will pass, normally with a grade of A or B

Ø      Grade components:

o       In-class activities and Online Participation (12.5% of grade):

§        Participation points (not graded): 2 pts per class for participating in clicker questions. Occasionally additional participation points for more extended activities.

§        Graded in-class points: 3 pts for each reading quiz (~once per week). Occasionally there will be a graded clicker questions during class (1 pt each).

§        Drop lowest 2 participation days.

Online (canvas and nb) and In-person/in-class participation is expected as well.

o       Homeworks (42.5% of grade): Weekly homeworks, various numbers of points each.

§         Drop the lowest homework grade.

§         Online Feedback: + 1 extra-credit point each week towards Homework grade (not to exceed 100%)

o       Exams (45% of grade): 3 x 1-Hour Exams are 50pts each, Final Exam is 75 pts

             § Your Lowest Exam (of the 3, 1-hour exams) can be dropped (if it helps your overall exam grade).

§ This drop includes a 0 you will get for missing an exam.

Ø      Letter grades will be assigned based on the total grade: A’s for 90% or higher; B’s for 80-90%; C’s for 70-80% = C; D’s for 60%-70%, less than 60% is an F.  We reserve the right to lower these cut off’s, but we will not raise them.

Ø      With this grading system, the most important requirement for getting a good grade is to do all the homework assignments and participate in class!  Missing several weeks of class and homework will likely put you in danger of failing, no matter how well you do on the exams!  Your lowest weekly homework score and your 2 lowest in-class scores will be thrown out, so you can miss one week’s homework and one class or forget your clicker twice times without penalty. In the event that you miss or have uncharacteristic troubles on one of the three mid terms, this grade will be dropped and your final score weighted more heavily (see above).

Ø There will be no make-up homeworks or exams. These “throw-outs” are made to cover illness, car trouble, forgotten clickers, participation in athletic events, etc.  There will be no other corrections made to grades other than for major medical or personal catastrophes.  Also, don’t waste your homework or class exemptions, because you may need them later if you get sick, forget your clicker, or other reasons.

 

Weekly checklist for best learning (and grade):

1) Was there reading due this week?  Did I do it?

2) Did I come to class and bring my clicker and calculator?

3) Did I submit my homework online by the deadline?

4) Is there an evening exam this week?

5) Did I turn in online participation by Tues night?

More details on how points are earned in the class:

1. Homework:

Ø      New Homework Assignments will be posted on the course webpage every Friday by noon at the latest, but we hope to have them up by Wed night. They will cover material though that Friday's lecture.

Ø      Homeworks will typically be due Tues noon (12:00 p Tues) this is for both Canvas Short & Long Answer sections.

Ø      Homeworks are web based and accessed through the course homepage table of contents. They are availabe directly on Canvas.. Many weeks there will be one long answer write up where you will need to show your work that will be due written in hand, scanned and submitted online. Information will be posted on the homework site about scanning applications (from your phone for example). If you need any assistance let one of the instructors or lead TA know.

Ø      We encourage you to work together on the homework problems, but you must write up the answers in your own words.  There will be several Problem Solving Sessions each week: see schedule above. The location is at reserved tables near the rear of the Physics Help Room.  This is a great opportunity to come work on the homework with your classmates!

Ø      Homework is a large part of your grade, so failing to turn in more than one assignment, and thereby getting a 0 will have a big impact on your grade. Talk to us, NOW, if you will have a scheduling problem during the term so that you will be unable to complete any of the assignments.  Permission for exceptions from the normal class work schedule must be requested in advance.

Ø      It is best if you print out the assignment early, so you see the problems before class.

Ø      Homework solutions may be accessed through the Physics 2130 Canvas page.  The answers and solutions to the previous weeks homework will normally be available the Wed after they are due.  

Ø      Grading of the homeworks will be done by the course grader/ TAs. There will be essay questions on the homeworks.  To do well on the essays consider the following rubric, which will help you succeeed:

Criteria for succeeedin in long answers and essayss.  Many of the homework questions ask you to use physical principles discussed in class to analyze a situation and reason an outcome.  For each of the questions or parts of questions, consider the following elements. Do your answers:   

Ø     Identify physical principle or principles that are relevant to answering the question?

 Ø   Explain how the principle(s) apply to the situation described in the problem?

 Ø  Employ proper reasoning to explain the logic in going from how a given principle applies to the situation to the answer to the question.

Ø     Demonstrate clarity and completeness in writing?

2. In-class questions, activities, and quizzes on reading: 

Ø      Clickers: You will need to buy personal response systems (usually referred to as “clickers”) from the bookstore for answering questions in class. 

Ø      Reading Quizzes: After each reading assignment there will be a very short quiz covering the material in class worth 2 to 3 points

Ø      In-class clicker questions:During class there will be many questions on which you enter your response using clickers.  Your answers will be recorded and you will receive 2 points towards your in-class grade per class for submitting any answer to all of the questions, whether or not your answers are correct.  There will be a few questions, typically 0 to 2 per classes, for which you will receive one point if you have the correct answer, and 0 if incorrect.  Graded questions will usually be late in the class and ones that nearly all students get correct if they have been paying attention.

Ø      In-class activities: Some weeks there will be a more extended in-class activity for which you will receive additional points for participating...

Ø      Technology in the classroom: All technology in the classroom will be used to support your learning. This means no cell phone use in class and no tablet or computers unless in service to taking notes or supporting your and other students' learning. There is ample evidence that these forms of technology distract you and others from learning. We welcome and encrouage you to take notes. If you are found using technology inapporpriately you will lose participation points for that class session.  If you need tools or incentives to help prevent you from using your cell phone try pocket points.

Ø      Online Participation due Tues at noon: Each week you will be asked to fill out an online participation form to give us feedback on various aspects of the course, what you are learning, how you are thinking about the ideas, etc. You are not graded on your response, but we value this feedback and thoughts as it helps us better understand how to teach the class effectively. You will receive 1 point of extra-credit towards homework for submitting the form.  

3. Hour exams:

Ø      Each exam is worth 50 points towards your total exam grade.

Ø      There will be no early or late exams given and no make-up exams.

Ø      Be sure to bring formula card(s) and calculator. All exams will be closed book. You may make up a single 3 x 5 formula card for each exam and bring your previous cards with you to subsequent exams so you will have one card for first exam, two for the second and four for the final.  You can write anything you want on your formula card, but you must write it by hand - no photocopying or printing allowed. You should bring a calculator to class and exam. Sharing of calculators during exams and quizzes will not be allowed.  

Ø      Important: To accomodate travel, illness, etc, 1-hour exam score can be dropped. You should not need to be excused for a second. Only in the rare instance of a servere medical or family emergency will an excuse for a second absence be considered. To be excused from a second exam you must notify Noah Finkelstein by email or telephone before the exam, and you must provide a physician's note or other documentation to one of us within two weeks of the exam.  If you failed to call before the exam, you must provide documentation why a medical condition made this impossible.  For this excused absence, you will be given the class average on that exam.

Ø      Exam grades and solutions will be posted after the exam on the course website / Canvas.

4. Final exam:

Ø      The final is worth 75 points towards your total exam grade.

5. Extra Credit Points:

Ø      Approximately once per week there will be an online participation question - one point per week of extra credit towards your homework grade

Ø      The Online Participation forms are due by Tues noon with the HW.

   

Additional General Principles:

The following additional guidelines are primarily to prevent these students from obtaining an unfair advantage over the others in the class. If the guidelines above or following principles are going to cramp your style, then this class is probably not for you.

1. No students should fail who makes a serious effort at all the assigned work. If you miss a homework assignment or do not take an exam, it becomes possible for you to fail the course.

2. Although you are encouraged to work together with other students, you must hand in your own work and put the explanation in your own words.  Handing in a copy of another student’s work is considered cheating.  We will fail any student who submits for a grade work that is not his, her, or thier own or permits another student to do so.

Accommodations:

If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to your professor a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner (for exam accommodations provide your letter at least one week prior to the exam) so that your needs can be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact Disability Services at 303-492-8671 or by e-mail at dsinfo@colorado.edu. If you have a temporary medical condition or injury, see Temporary Medical Conditions: Injuries, Surgeries, and Illnesses guidelines under Quick Links at Disability Services website and discuss your needs with your professor. The syllabus statements and answers to Frequently Asked Questions can be found at www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices .

Religious Obligations – Conflicts with Scheduled Exams, Assignments or Class Attendance: We will make every effort to accommodate all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments, or other required attendance, provided you notify me at least two weeks in advance of the scheduled conflict. Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. See full details at here

Student Classroom and Course-Related Behavior: Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, color, culture, religion, creed, politics, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, disability, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records.
See polices at https://www.colorado.edu/policies/student-classroom-and-course-related-behavior and at https://www.colorado.edu/policies

Honor Code: The purpose of an Honor Code at the University of Colorado at Boulder is to secure an environment where academic integrity, and the resulting behavior, can flourish. The Honor Code recognizes the importance of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility and wishes these principles to be a defining part of the CU-Boulder campus. All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior.  All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at https://www.colorado.edu/policies/student-honor-code-policy

Bringing someone else's clicker to class to give them credit is a direct and serious violation of the CU honor code - please don't do it, nor tolerate other people doing it.

I know this is a big class, but I really want to establish an atmosphere of trust and respect. Please feel free to talk to me if anything is going on you're not comfortable with! (In keeping with this, I will immediately fail any student who: submits for a grade work that is not his or her own or permits another student to do so/ submits for a re-grade any work that was modified after it was graded/ lies in an effort to improve their grade or to obtain any special consideration or exception from the normal class work schedule.)

Discrimination and Harassment:
The University of Colorado at Boulder policy on Discrimination and Harassment (https://www.colorado.edu/policies/discrimination-and-harassment-policy-and-procedures, the University of Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy on Amorous Relationships applies to all students, staff and faculty.  Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550.  Information about the ODH and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at  http://www.colorado.edu/odh .