Welcome! This is a special section of Physics I, designed for students majoring in Physics, or just plain interested in the subject. We will study Physics from the perspective of a physicist, and cover some contemporary material that will give you some idea of modern Physics research.
This is the first time that we have taught a course like this in quite a while. Consequently, we'll all be learning about this as we go, and we'll be flexible with the material we cover and other organizational details. Most importantly, though, I believe that we'll have a lot of fun exploring Physics together.
A bit of caution is in order. I will assume that you have already had a respectable course in physics, as would be the case for most high school students entering Rensselaer. I will also assume that you are comfortable with the basics of differential and integral calculus, again, as is the case for many students who come to this University. In any case, the important background concepts will be reviewed, and ambitious students should not have much trouble filling in the gaps.
People, Places, and Things
The course instructor is me, Jim Napolitano. My office is room 1W07 in the Jonsson-Rowland Science Center. It is best to reach me by email, but my office phone is x8019. Josh Witthuhn is the graduate teaching assistant, and he will be grading your papers, among other things. His office is 3C23, x8403, and you can also reach him by email. You will also work with Eli Carreiro, a senior physics major who will help out during class time. You can also reach him by email.
Class meets Mondays and Thursdays in room 2C30, from noon until 2pm. We may also schedule time on Wednesdays for extra study time if people are interested. Homework is due on Thursdays, and all three midterm exams are scheduled on Thursdays.
I will have regular office hours on Tuesdays, from 2pm until 4pm. However, if you would like to schedule some other time, please suggest an alternative after checking my regular weekly schedule. You are also welcome to contact Josh and Eli for their own plans for help outside of class.
The textbook is "Physics, 5th Edition, Volume 1", by Resnick, Halliday, and Krane. (This is not the same textbook being used by the other sections!) All reading and homework assignments refer to this book, unless otherwise indicated.
Grading Policy
Your final course grade will be determined from your homework (20%), laboratory notebook (20%), three mid term exams (3x10%), and your final exam (30%). The cutoffs for A, B, C, and D, are 90, 80, 70, and 60 respectively. I may make small adjustments in this formula in special cases. I may also use "grade modifiers" (i.e. + or - after the grade) when everything is tabulated at the end of the term.
Mid term and final exam grades will be scaled up (if necessary) so that the class average is approximately 75. I believe the curve makes it unfair to borderline students if the final is optional, so everyone must take the exam.
Course Format
The course syllabus details what we will do on any particular day. Not all the homework assignments are listed yet, but they will appear before the previous assignment is due. This syllabus will get updated throughout the term, so make sure you are looking at a current version. However, I will let you all know when there is significant change.
The syllabus indicates three types of class activities. In regular classes we will discuss the material of the day, including plenty of time for questions and for working sample problems together. For these classes, please read over the assigned material before coming to class; you'll get a lot more out of our time together if you do so. During laboratory classes you will study and take data from a particular laboratory setup. It is crucial that you bring your laptops on these days. Descriptions of the laboratory exercise will be posted ahead of time on the web site, and it will help if you are familiar with that before you come to class. Three class periods are devoted to midterm exams.
Homework is due on the dates indicated. When referring to our textbook, there are four kinds of assigned work indicated, namely Multiple Choice ("M"), Question ("Q"), Exercise ("E"), and Problems ("P"). These are clearly separated out at the end of each chapter. Homework will be collected promptly at noon at the start of the class period. If for some reason you cannot get your homework in on time, get in touch with me or Josh well ahead of time. We will consider giving extensions on homework only for very special circumstances.
You need to keep a laboratory notebook in which you will take notes on your measurements, and record results of your data analyses. These lab books will be collected twice during the term, once in order to give you some feedback, and then during the last class after which the notebook will be graded.
Academic Integrity Statement
I want you all to collaborate with each other on homework as much as possible, and to come for help during office hours, help sessions, or at any mutually convenient time. However, it is very important for me to trust that you are handing in your own work. (Just the same, it is important that you trust me to organize and teach a quality course for you!) If you want to look over the Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities regarding Academic (Dis)Honesty, that might be a good idea. However, to put it simply...
Don't copy someone else's homework, and don't cheat on exams. If I suspect you of either, I will ask for an explanation. If your explanation is unsatisfactory, you will be given a grade of zero and reported to the Dean of Students. If this happens more than once, you will be given an F for the course.