Syllabus

Personnel

Course Coordinator:	B Alex Brown, Tibor F Nagy
Teaching Assistant:	Robert Sutherland, Chaoyue Liu, Brandon J Ewert, Joseph Wade Nutter, Jacob Michael Calcutt

Instructor Information

Alex Brown (section 001)
Homepage: http://people.nscl.msu.edu/~brown/
Office: Cyclotron Room 2043.
Phone: 517-908-6328.
Email: brown@nscl.msu.edu.

Tibor F. Nagy (sections 002 and 003)
Homepage: http://www.pa.msu.edu/~nagy_t/
Office: BPS 1253.
Phone: (517) 884-5508.
Email: nagy_t@pa.msu.edu or nagytibo@msu.edu.
Office hour: Tuesday 1:00-2:00 PM, BPS 1248.

Teaching Assistants: Jacob Calcutt (calcuttj@msu.edu), Brandon Ewert (ewertbr1@msu.edu), Chaoyue Liu (liuchaoy@msu.edu), Joseph Nutter (nutterj1@msu.edu), Robert Sutherland (suther89@msu.edu).

Course Description

PHY 231 is an algebra-based general physics class, recommended for a variety of majors. Topics include: kinematics, Newton's laws of motion, work and energy, momentum and collisions, oscillations, rotational motion, gravitation, solids and fluids, waves and sound, temperature, heat, thermodynamics.

Prerequisites

MTH 103 or MTH 116 or MTH 124 or MTH 132 or LBS 117.

Class Hours

BPS 1410; Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Section 001 (Brown) : 8:00-8:50 AM,
Section 002 (Nagy) : 9:10-10:00 AM,
Section 003 (Nagy): 10:20-11:10 AM.

Homework is at loncapa.msu.edu The homework sets will be opened 10 days before they are due. Corrections are open at noon on the Thursday after each exam.

Set 00 is due Sunday September 7 at 10 PM (Ch 1).
The rest are due Tuesdays at 10 pm as follows:
Set 01: September 09 (Ch 2)
Set 02: September 16 (Ch 3)
Set 03: September 23 (Ch 4)
Correction 1: September 30
Set 04: October 07 (Ch 5,6)
Set 05: October 14 (Ch 7)
Set 06: October 21 (Ch 8)
Correction 2: October 28
Set 07: November 04 (Ch 9,10)
Set 08: November 11 (Ch 11)
Set 09: November 18 (Ch 12)
Correction 3: November 25
Set 10: December 05 (Ch 13,14)

Helproom Hours

Teaching Assistants: Jacob Calcutt (calcuttj@msu.edu), Brandon Ewert (ewertbr1@msu.edu), Chaoyue Liu (liuchaoy@msu.edu), Joseph Nutter (nutterj1@msu.edu), Robert Sutherland (suther89@msu.edu).

BPS 1248, Strosacker Learning Center schedule:
Friday: 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM.
Monday: 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM.
Tuesday: 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM.

You are also encouraged to use the discussion board inside LON-CAPA. If you don't understand a problem, or you need help, just click on the "Post Discussion" link and post your question. If you know the answer to somebody else's question, just don't be afraid to post your answer. Don't forget: The best way to learn is to teach. (Doscendo discimus.)

Project Information

Honors option: Honors option is not be available for PHY 231 in the Fall of 2013.

Exam Information

For each exam, each student should bring a picture ID, two #2 pencils, an eraser, a calculator with fresh batteries. (Graphing calculators are allowed, but not necessary.) On the exams the students must work individually and rules and procedures regarding academic dishonesty are strictly applied without exceptions.

Students with disabilities or other circumstances that require special arrangements should inform their instructors as soon as possible (ideally in the first two weeks) and well ahead of the exams so that proper arrangements can be made. Please present the instructor with your RCPD form.

Make-ups: Attendance of a make-up exam requires advance approval from the instructor and evidence of a serious conflict (e.g. Doctor, Dean, Coach etc) must be provided at least one week before the exam date. In case of sickness where you cannot contact us 1 week in advance, you should inform us at least prior to the actual exam time. As a rule, make-up exams are scheduled BEFORE the regular exam dates.

Midterm exam #1: Sep 24, Wednesday, lecture hour and room (BPS 1410).
Midterm exam #2: Oct 22, Wednesday, lecture hour and room (BPS 1410).
Midterm exam #3: Nov 19, Wednesday, lecture hour and room (BPS 1410).
Final exam: Dec 9, Tuesday, 8-10 pm, sec 001: CEM 138, sec 002-003: BCC N130.

On the midterm exams a one-sided handwritten help sheet is allowed together with the sheets from the previous midterm exams. On the final exam the three one-sided help sheets from the midterms together with a fourth one-sided sheet are allowed. These can all fit on two pieces of paper.

Grading Information

Percent weights: Homework: 20%. Three midterm exams: 3x15% = 45%. Final exam: 30%, Pre- and Post-Tests: 2x2% = 4%. Clicker questions: 4%. Total: 103%.

Clicker questions: Correct answer: 3 points. Incorrect answer: 1 point. Not present: zero point. There are no makeups for the clicker questions.

Homework: Every homework question is worth 1 point.

Midterm exams: Maximum score on each midterm: 50 points. The midterm exams will have correction exams as a homework. 30% of the positive difference between the correction exam and the in-class exam will be added to your in-class exam score as bonus. For example, if you got 35 points on the midterm and got 46 points on the correction exam, you new total will be 35 + (0.3)x(46-35) = 38.3. In this case, if you got less than 35 points on the correction exam your total would still be 35.

Final Exam: Maximum score on the final: 100 points. The final exam will not have correction.

Grading scale:
4.0 >= 94%,
3.5 >= 86%,
3.0 >= 78%,
2.5 >= 70%,
2.0 >= 62%,
1.5 >= 54%,
1.0 >= 46%,
0.0 < 46%.

This grading scale might be lowered, but it will not be raised.

Textbook

Andrew Rex, Richard Wolfson: Essential College Physics, Volume 1, 1st edition, 2010. ISBN-10: 0-321-61116-0, ISBN-13: 978-0-321-61116-1.

We will use i-clicker in this class.