WEB page addresses:
http://solidstate.physics.sunysb.edu/teach/phy131/
Check out this page from time to time for course announcements, grades
etc.
http://cw.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/giancoli3/
Textbook
Lecture: For Sections 1-8 the lectures will be at 11:35 - 12:30 PM, MWF in Harriman Hall. Sections 9-16 will meet at 9:25-10:20, MWF in Engineering 145. The same topics will be covered, but there will be more experimental illustrations in Harriman Hall. Attendance is not mandatory, but highly recommended. Concepts and problems treated in lecture will dominate the examinations.
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Giancoli, D.C.: Physics for Scientists and Engineers, third edition.
Required. The combined edition, Volumes I and II (ISBN: 0132431068)
will serve PHY 131 and 132. Volume I alone (ISBN: 013021518X) is for PHY
131 alone.
Laboratory Manual (required, available in the campus bookstore). Study Guide and Student Solution Manual (not required, copies are on reserve in the Math-Physics Library) Practice problems from the book's WEB site. |
Recitation/Laboratory: Attendance is mandatory. There will be a three-hour recitation/laboratory section each week. Recitations will be held during the first hour. The purpose of these sessions is to provide a small-class atmosphere where assigned problems and physics concepts can be discussed and where your personal questions can be answered. Problems are assigned each week serving as the basis for discussion in recitation. It is VERY important to work on these problems before coming to recitation and to have your questions ready for discussion there. Your level of preparation and knowledge will be tested during the recitation period.
In most weeks during the second and third hour of the three-hour time block you will conduct a laboratory experiment in Room A-117. The Lab is intended to give practical demonstration of the principles of the course, and to give experience in the techniques of laboratory work. You should come to the lab with the laboratory manual, a lab notebook which includes graph paper (such as the "Engineering and Science" notebook available in the campus bookstore), and a pocket calculator, and you should read the write-up in the manual before coming to lab. The data should be collected directly in your lab book, and you must obtain the signature of the TA before leaving the Lab. Do not remove pages from your lab book. The write-ups of your lab, showing the analysis of your data and giving answers to the questions in the Lab instructions should be entered also in your lab book and submitted for grading (in Room A-131) approximately two days after the lab (your Lab TA will set the exact deadline for your section). Late submission will result in reduced lab grade. A lab report turned in more than two weeks late will get a "zero" grade, but should be turned in anyway, to prove that you have done the work. If you must miss a lab, you should notify your Lab TA and obtain approval to do a makeup. Make up labs should be done in the first available no-lab week (this may be a week with a midterm exam). If you fall behind with the labs, you will fail the course.
In the process of collecting the data you will work with your partner. Evaluating the results and writing the report is done individually. Successful prior completion of the Laboratory part of Physics 131 can be used, with the instructors permission, to satisfy the Lab requirement.
Homework: The homework problems are listed in the enclosed schedule. You are strongly urged to read the book sections listed there before coming to the lecture; the lecture will be much more meaningful if you do this. Each week's homework problems are due at the time when your recitation group meets the next week. Submit written solutions to the three problems marked by * in the schedule. The "WEB homeworks" should be E-mailed each week The procedure for accessing the homework and E-mailing the solution is also described at the end of the schedule. You do not need to have your own E-mail account.
Help will be available for you in the physics help room (A 129). Check the schedule on the door, as it will change according to the needs of the students. You may also contact your lab TA or recitation instructor during her/his office hours.
Computer access: The University has several SINC sites, where a large number of computers are located. For example, there is a SINC site in the basement of the Math building. Depending on the local policies of the SINC site you are using, you may need an account to log in to the campus network. Some of the sites are more busy than others. Contact the personnel at a SINC site close to you and ask about the details. The phone number for the residential SINC sites is 2-6966.
Examinations:
Midterm 1: Wednesday, October 3, 8:30-10:00PM
Midterm 2: Monday, November 12, 8:30-10:00PM
Final: Wednesday, December 19, 8:00-10:30PM
All exams are in the evening. Notice that the final exam is NOT scheduled according to the class meeting times, but there is a single common exam for the whole class. The exams will cover the book sections indicated in the enclosed schedule.
Exams are closed books and notes, but you will be allowed to bring your own notes on a single sheet of regular size white paper. The text on the paper should be written with your own hand (no photographic, xerox etc. copies) and it should be readable without the use of any instruments (magnifying glass, microscope, etc). You may use both sides of the paper. Otherwise, use only the paper that is distributed in the exam room. Bring a photo ID to the exams. Acceptable IDs: Stony Brook student ID, driver's license, green card/passport. Bring also a pen/pencil and a handheld calculator capable of doing simple arithmetic and trigonometric functions. We can not provide a replacement calculator (or allow exchange of calculators) if yours does not work or you forgot to bring one. Notebook computers, Palm Pilots, devices with infrared ports or any other communication options are not allowed. No beepers, cell phones, buzzers, headphones, etc.
Exam grading policy: Solutions to the exam problems are published on the course WEB page. There is no partial credit for the multiple choice questions, but you should still submit all the work you did. For numerical questions
If you know in advance that you can not make it to a midterm (due to major family events, scheduled medical procedure, athletic commitment, etc.), let us know at least 9 days before the exam. We will most likely arrange a make-up exam for you a few days before the regular exam time, covering the same material as the regular exam. No make-up exams will be offered after the exam date for unexpected absences.
Absence from the exams will be excused only in emergencies. A written proof is required: for example, if you were ill, we need a letter from a doctor attesting to this fact. The letter should have the doctor's phone number, and we reserve the right to call the doctor's office for confirmation. If you had an excused absence on one of the two midterms, you did not miss the other midterm and all of your lab reports were submitted on time, a properly calculated average of your other grades will replace your midterm grade. An unexcused absence, or absences from both of the two midterms will result in the loss of the corresponding contribution to your final grade. An unexcused absence from the final leads to an automatic F grade. Otherwise, missing the final exam (but satisfying all other course requirements) will qualify you for an incomplete grade in the course.
A make-up lab is scheduled at the end of the Semester. Contact your lab TA at least a week earlier if you were excused from a lab and want to have a make-up. (If you do not make up the lab, it will directly affect your final grade, as explained below.)
Changing sections, moving to PHY 125: The enrollment for each Section must be limited according to the capacity of the laboratories. As long as it accepts requests, the telephone registration system should be used exclusively for Section changes. No signatures are needed from the instructors. Do not give up trying, even if the Section you want is full at the very beginning of the Semester. Free places may appear any time as students move to other sections.
Experience shows that quite a few students will find the pace of PHY 131 too fast. PHY125-126-127 is a slower course sequence, covering the same material as PHY131-132 in a three semester sequence. Several sections of PHY125 meet at the same time as sections of PHY131, and the labs performed in PHY 131 will be accepted. Students who are not making satisfactory progress are encouraged to move to this course. The earlier you switch, the smaller is the inconvenience. If your first midterm did not turn out to be as good as you expected, do not risk a low grade in PHY 131, but move to PHY125.
If you want to move to PHY 125, use the telephone registration system during the add/drop period. After that you should talk to the instructor of PHY 125 first, and inquire about the available Sections. Bring the add/drop form to your PHY 131 lecturer for signature, and take it to the Administration Bldg. to make the change. If you decide to move to PHY 125 at such a late date that the Registrar does not accept changes, take the add/drop form to the Director of the Undergraduate Program in the Physics office, and he will help you to avoid incurring tuition or other penalties. The last day of moving to PHY 125 is October 19. The last day to withdraw or change to P/NC is November 2.
The course grade: Your final letter grade for the course will be determined by weighting your various course performances as follows:
You are required to complete all laboratories. If, for whatever reasons, you end up with missing lab(s) we will average the Lab grade for the full set, including zeros for missed labs. In addition, if you miss more than one lab, each additional missing lab will be penalized by dropping your course grade by two 'notches'. (A 'notch' is a bump from B- to C+, C to C-, etc. For example, if you miss 3 labs and your grade would otherwise been B, you will receive a reduced grade of C-.)
Academic Honesty: An environment of honesty
and integrity is important for both the conduct of science and for learning
science, and we expect your honesty in all academic matters. Students
are encouraged to discuss homework problems, laboratories and issues in
the course with each other and with the staff. Indeed, you should find
that you learn a great deal from each other. Keep in mind, however, that
the lab report should be your own work. Copying lab reports is strictly
prohibited. Any evidence of cheating on the exams will be reported to the
Academic
Judiciary Office and will also result in a stiff grade penalty.
Complaints: We recognize that we may make mistakes, and we want to give you an opportunity to help us to correct them. The solutions to the exam problems will be published on the WEB right after the exam is over. This, together with the grading policy outlined above, should give you an approximate idea about your expected exam grade. The graded exams will be returned to you in the recitation session following the exam date, and will be shortly discussed in the same session. If you believe that the grading of your exam needs reconsideration, talk to your recitation instructor first.
If you are the member of an intercollegiate athletic team, and you see
any conflict between the course requirements and your athletic schedule,
contact the course instructor at the beginning of the Semester or at least
9 days before the scheduled exams.