Physics 233: General Physics 3
Spring 2008

To help with learning about lenses, you may find the following documents helpful:

• Unit O - chapter 1
• Unit O - chapter 2
• Unit O - chapter 3
• Unit O - chapter 4
• Unit O - chapter 5

The homework assignment sheet is now availible.

Solutions to homework are available on-line through the use of the ProbViewer program. Download it and use the password given in class to access solutions. Two versions are available:

• Macintosh OS X version (1.3 MB .zip file)
• Windows version (1.2 MB .exe.zip file)

Syllabus

Content
The course will cover Geometric Optics, Wave Optics, Introductory Quantum Mechanics, Thermodynamics, and Introductory Statistical Mechanics.

Class Meetings T Th 9:30 am - 10:50 am, AHON 117
This class will not be a lecture course. Instead, we will discuss the reading due that day to discover together the high points. We will work on problems, experiments, and exercises during class time and discuss concepts. Class participation is required. Frequent unexcused absences and tardiness will result in grade reduction. If you will be absent from class for a valid reason (such as university approved events), you must inform me well in advance in order to have any opportunity to make up missed work.

Texts
From the series Six Ideas that Shaped Physics:
Unit Q: Particles Behave Like Waves 2nd edition, by Thomas A. Moore
Unit T: Some Processes are Irreversible 2nd edition, by Thomas A. Moore
We will be covering one chapter per class period. The chapter must be read before class, and since I will not be lecturing, you should take notes while reading the book. Exercises are distributed throughout the chapters with the solutions at the end of each chapter. You are responsible for working out and understanding all example problems in each chapter.

Goals
After completing this course, students will be able to

• Discuss scientific concepts as well as work out mathematical problems.
• Use homework not only as practice, but as a means of communicating information.
• Discuss the experimental results which led to the overthrow of some of the concepts of classical physics.
• Explain and apply the rules of quantum mechanics.
• Discuss the concepts of thermodynamics, including heat, temperature, and irreversibility.
• Calculate the entropy of a system using statistical mechanics.
• Determine the location, size, and reality of an image formed by a mirror or lens.
• Calculate values from a series of data using linear regression.
• Understand how measurement errors propagate through calculations.
• Write coherent, concise, and correct reports on laboratory exercises.

Prerequisites
Physics 232 and Math 221. Knowledge of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, derivatives, integrals, and basic vector calculus will be assumed.

Laboratories
Lab meets once per week on Tuesdays 1:00 PM - 3:50 PM in AHON 117. The lab assignment will be passed out in advance and MUST be read before lab and MUST be brought to lab.

Laboratory Notebook
Bring a bound quadrille-ruled laboratory notebook to the first laboratory. You will not bee admitted to any laboratory without your notebook. All entries in the notebook must be in ink and each page should be numbered and dated. The lab notebook must be turned in every Monday at 10am and should include solutions to all after-lab problems from the previous week and all before-lab problems for that week's lab.

Exams
The final exam will be Wednesday, April 16th at 3:00 pm. This time cannot be changed. This exam is cumulative. The mid-term exam will be during lab on Tuesday, March 4th. Exams will be closed book and will contain both conceptual and quantitative problems. You may use a calculator for basic functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, powers, exponentials, logarithms). You are on your honor not to use a calculator for advanced functions (including integration, differentiation, solving equations, unit conversions) or to store formulas or notes of any type in its memory. Calculators may not be shared.

Grading
Final grades will be based on the following:

• 25% - Laboratory
• 25% - Homework
• 15% - Class participation & in-class work (incl. quizzes)
• 15% - Mid-term Exam
• 20% - Final Exam

• Daily - Since you will be responsible for reading the book on your own, problems will be assigned for every class period. These will demonstrate that you understand the basic concepts in the chapter. They are due at 9:30 am at the beginning of class and under no circumstances will late homework be accepted. Since these problems are for practice, they will be graded with a 0 (for poor effort including not attempting all problems), check (for a good effort), or check+ (for a good effort with correct results and reasoning). Homework will be handed back at the next class and solutions will be made available. Corrections are due at the beginning of the next class and will be awarded an additional point if everything is suitably corrected and no points if major issues are uncorrected. Correcting your own homework is a valuable exercise that will help you understand the material better. The daily homework grade will be assigned based on the following: 40 points or more: A+, 38-39:A, 37:A-, 36:B+, 34-35:B, 33:B-, 32:C+, 30-31:C, 29:C-, 28:D+, 26-27:D, less than 26 points: F. You can expect to spend 2-3 hours per class on reading and daily homework.
• Weekly - More difficult problems will be collected once a week on Friday at 4pm and again, no late homework will be accepted. These problems will be graded on clarity as well as correctness, with an additional point given for excellent presentation. Corrections for weekly homework are also due Fridays at 4 pm and can earn up to 2 additional points (including one for corrections to presentation). You can expect to spend 6-8 hours per week on weekly homework. You MUST begin this assignment early. You will not be able to complete it if you begin the night before it is due. The weekly homework grade will be assigned based on the following: 36: A+, 34-35: A, 33:A-, 32:B+, 30-31:B, 29:B-, 28:C+, 26-27:C, 25:C-, 24:D+, 23:D, less than 22 points: F.

Outside of class activities

• The physics department will be holding its annual senior symposium at 4 pm on Friday, March 28th. You are REQUIRED to attend this event. If you have a conflict, you MUST inform me by the end of January to have any chance to make up the assignment.
• Research - I STRONGLY encourage everyone, especially physics majors, to consider applying for summer research programs.
• Advisors - All physics majors MUST declare by the end of the semester and I strongly encourage you to declare before Fall registration.

• Talk to your instructor, she is here to help.
• Come to office hours. Because class meets only two days a week (less frequently than your previous physics classes) you are expected to do more work outside of class. It is intended that you will have questions and that you will come to office hours to get them answered. I can also help with things other than homework, suggestions on studying, advice on research, etc. Further, I strongly encourage you to work in a group in the study area outside my office so that I may help you if you encounter any difficulties.
• Do all reading in advance.
• Work on problems in a group. We will do lots of problems in class as group problems and you will notice how easy it is to make small errors and how working in a group will allow these mistakes to be corrected by others.
• Work on physics everyday. For example, if you have evenings free, the following schedule will work well:
  • Monday - Do reading and problems for Tuesday's class
  • Tuesday - Start the weekly homework and complete the problems from today's chapter
  • Wednesday - Do reading and problems for Thursday's class
  • Thursday - Finish weekly homework due tomorrow, go to Friday's office hours with any last minute questions
  • Weekend - Complete any assignments for the laboratory section of the course
• Make corrections to your homework.
• Talk in class, ask questions, make explanations, and join in discussions.

Some of the material on this page is in PDF format. If your computer does not already have it, you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software) to view that content.

Updated 1/8/07