Physics 202: Applied Principles of Physics II

Spring 2006

 

Instructor:

Dr. Greg Taft

 

 

E-mail:

gtaft@uwsp.edu

Phone:

715-346-4892

Office:

SCI B103

 

 

 

Office Hours:

Monday 

10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

 

Tuesday

10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

 

Wednesday 

10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

 

Thursday 

11:00 a.m. - 12:50 p.m.

 

(other times by appointment)

 

 

Textbook:

College Physics, Serway & Faughn

 

Seventh Edition

 

Lectures:

Mondays & Wednesdays at 9 a.m.

SCI A107

Labs:

Section 1:  Thursdays  8 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.

SCI B104

Section 2:  Wednesdays  3 p.m. - 5:50 p.m.

SCI B104

 


Schedule

Week

Lecture Topics

Reading

Laboratory

1/23

Electric Forces and Electric Fields

Ch. 15

(none)

1/30

Electrical Energy and Capacitance

Ch. 16

Mapping Electric Fields

2/6

Current and Resistance

Ch. 17

Introduction to the Solar Cell

2/13

Direct Current Circuits

Ch. 18

Direct Current Circuits

Exam 1  (Monday, February 20, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m., SCI A107)  Ch. 15-18

2/20

Magnetism

Ch. 19

(none)

2/27

Magnetism & Induced Voltage

Ch. 19-20

Measuring Earth's Magnetic Field

3/6

Induced Voltages and Inductance

Ch. 20

Motors and Generators

3/13

Reflection and Refraction of Light

Ch. 22

The Oscilloscope

Spring Break (Saturday, March 18 – Sunday, March 26)

3/27

Mirrors and Lenses

Ch. 23

Single and Compound Lenses

Exam 2  (Monday, April 3, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m., SCI A107)  Ch. 19, 20, 22, 23

4/3

Wave Optics

Ch. 24

Polarization of Light

4/10

Optical Instruments

Ch. 25

The Diffraction Spectrometer

4/17

Quantum Physics

Ch. 27

CD Groove Density

4/24

Atomic Physics

Ch. 28

Radioactive Half Life

5/1

Nuclear Physics

Ch. 29

Absorption of Radiation

5/8

review (and catch-up)

 

(none)

Final Exam  (Wednesday, May 17, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.,  SCI A107)  Ch. 24, 25, 27-29

 

Policies

Attendance: Although attendance is not recorded for the lectures, it is highly recommended that you attend. Regular attendance will help you learn the material and, thus, lead to better performance on quizzes and exams. Laboratory attendance is required to receive a laboratory grade. Although laboratory reports are generally a group effort, everyone in the group must attend the lab and contribute to the group’s effort in order to receive a grade for the lab report.

Grading: Grades are based on the total number of points earned on lab reports, quizzes, and exams. Although changes may be made during the semester, it is anticipated that the points will be distributed as follows:

  Quizzes:

11 x 10 points

= 110 points

Labs:

12 x 10 points

= 120 points

Exams:

3 x 100 points

= 300 points

Total:

530 points

 

Letter grades are determined by dividing the total points earned by the total points possible, rounding this percentage to three significant figures, and then using the table shown below. For example, if a student earns 476 out of 530 points, the grade is: 476/530 = 89.8% = B+.  You can check on your grades throughout the semester on the course D2L website:  https://uwsp.courses.wisconsin.edu/  .  Quiz grades are automatically posted after you take each quiz.  Lab and exam grades will be updated and posted throughout the semester.

A

94.0% or higher

A-

90.0% - 93.9%

B+

86.0% - 89.9%

B

83.0% - 85.9%

B-

80.0% - 82.9%

C+

76.0% - 79.9%

C

73.0% - 75.9%

C-

70.0% - 72.9%

D

60.0% - 69.9%

F

Less than 60%

 

LaboratoryLab manuals should be purchased at the UWSP book store. The schedule for the laboratories is shown above. Note that there are some weeks without labs. Make-up labs are possible; however, they are usually less enjoyable since they are performed alone without the help of group members.  It is your responsibility to contact the instructor if you need to schedule a make-up lab.  The best times to schedule a make-up lab are during the weeks when there are no regularly scheduled labs.  Also, it is often possible to collect the data for a missed lab near the end of a normally scheduled lab period.  No lab reports will be accepted after Friday, May 5th.

Lectures:  Some students like to be able to print out PowerPoint lecture notes.  Lecture notes are posted in the "Content" area of the Desire 2 Learn (D2L) class website.

Homework Assignments:  Although assigned problems are not collected or graded, doing them should help increase your scores on quizzes and exams.  Homework assignments and solutions are posted in the "Content" area of the Desire 2 Learn (D2L) class website. You will learn more if you attempt the problems before viewing the instructor's solutions.  The answers to the odd-numbered problems are given in the back of your textbook.  You should do more than the assigned problems—especially from any sections you find particularly challenging.  Discuss any difficulties you have with your professor during office hours or at the end of your lab sessions.

Quizzes: For part of your grade, you will take online homework quizzes that are based on material from homework assignments and lectures. The quizzes are composed of multiple-choice conceptual questions and fill-in-the-blank numerical questions.  To take the quizzes, use any computer connected to the internet with a current web browser.  The on-campus computer labs schedule is posted on the web at http://www.uwsp.edu/it/labs/hours/.  The quizzes are taken on the Desire2Learn (D2L) website: https://uwsp.courses.wisconsin.edu/ .  You will be asked to enter your Desire2Learn user ID and password.  The Desire2Learn user ID and password are the same as your UWSP logon ID (e.g. spoin111) and password.

You have two chances to take each quiz.  However, each time you take a quiz you may be given different numbers in the problems or different versions of the multiple-choice questions.  If you are having problems with the quiz, you may ask other students or the professor for assistance.  Think of the quizzes as automatically graded homework.  You should only take the quiz after you have completed the corresponding homework assignments and reviewed your lecture notes.  Many students like to print out the quiz questions, work on them at home, and then enter their answers into the computer.  To print a quiz, simply click with the right mouse button in the quiz window, and then select "Print" from the pop-up menu.  You may use the printer in the physics lab for printing your quiz.  Usually quizzes must be completed by Thursdays at 11:59 p.m.  Check your e-mail for any changes to this schedule.  Many of the quiz questions will require calculations, so be sure to have a pencil, notebook, and basic scientific calculator handy.  After answering each quiz question, click on the "Save" disk icon.  If you change an answer, be sure to click on this button again.  You can take several days to complete a quiz, since the next time you log on, the previously saved answers should still be there.  When you are finished answering all of the questions, you should click on the "Submit Quiz" link at the bottom of the quiz.  If you think there is a problem with a question or how it was graded, please contact your professor (gtaft@uwsp.edu).

Exams: The dates, times, and locations of the three major exams are listed on the course schedule. You should bring a basic scientific calculator, pencil, eraser, and equation sheet (provided by the instructor) to the exams.  You should not bring any notes or books.  Since each exam is worth approximately 20% of your course grade, missing an exam can severely lower your course grade. Although make-up exams are possible, they are usually more difficult and consist of both oral and written parts.  A make-up exam is defined as any exam given at a date or time different from those listed in the course schedule shown above.

Tutoring:  The Department of Physics and Astronomy has several student tutors available to help students in introductory physics courses.  You can stop by SCI A105 if you need some extra help.  The tutoring schedule can be viewed on the web at http://www.uwsp.edu/physastr/tutor_schedule.htm.  The tutoring is free of charge.

Website: The class Desire2Learn (D2L) website: https://uwsp.courses.wisconsin.edu/ provides a wealth of information for this course.  In the “Content” area you will find homework assignments, homework solutions, old exams, equation sheets, and lecture notes.  There are also areas to view your grades and take homework quizzes.

E-mail:  Any notices to the class will be sent via e-mail, so it is a good idea to check your UWSP e-mail regularly.