Physics
213 Course Description
Goals
- The goals
of this course are to help you learn the basic ideas of thermodynamics and
how they relate to modern applications. The approaches used to achieve these
goals involve 1) lectures to interactively discuss and demonstrate the principles,
2) interaction with instructors in discussion sections to provide one-on-one
help with concepts and problem solving, 3) laboratory experiments allowing
you to actively explore these principles, and 4) computerized homework on
the World Wide Web using the TYCHO system.
Background Needed
- Credit
for Physics 211 and credit or concurrent registration in Math 242 are prerequisites
for Physics 213. We expect you to have a good understanding of classical mechanics
and to be able to differentiate and integrate simple functions. We also deal
in this course with combinatorics and some ideas from statistics.
Lectures
- Two 75
minute lectures will be given each week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In addition
to the traditional presentation of lecture and demonstration material,
each lecture will involve a few interactive learning sessions (we call them
ACTs). During these sessions students will work in groups on a specific
assigned question and will discuss the results with other students and with
the instructors. This will allow the instructor to pinpoint problems in understanding
and deal with them before moving on. The purpose is to help you understand;
your participation is necessary for this to occur
- In order to provide an environment more conducive to participation and interaction, each student will have an "I-clicker" with which to answer various questions during lecture. Some minor credit will be assigned for each lecture in which the clickers are used (but only one lecture per day per student).
- Come
to the lecture! We will go through examples and ACTs which are not available
in the published lecture notes, and the lecture discussion will elaborate
on the material published in the lecture notes.
- Although we do not have Preflights in 213, we still want to retain the feature
that you can ask questions or make comments on confusing issues from the previous lecture. This is now enabled via the "Ask the Professor" link off the course homepage.
There are normally no 'points' for submitting a question (it's for your own benefit!); however,
a bonus will be given for completing the survey due before the second lecture.
- The Lecture
notes will be available at TIS, Follett's and University Bookstores. Note
that the lecture slides may be modified somewhat from the published notes
due to the necessity for making corrections, correcting typographical errors,
etc. The most updated version of the lectures (including answers to ACTs)
will be available on the 213
Webpage after all lectures on a given day are given.
- Do not
let yourself get behind! This course covers a large amount of material. The
understanding of new topics will frequently require knowledge of previous
material.
Discussion
Sessions
- Each
week you will attend a two-hour discussion section conducted by a TA. These
sections will be active learning sessions in which you will work in small
groups solving problems presented to you by your TA. Discussion problems are
designed to aid and test you in the understanding of the course material;
you should find them beneficial in preparation for the hour exams. The solutions
to these problems will be posted online (see link off the course homepage) at the end
of each week.
- During
each discussion session (except the first week), your TA will administer a
short quiz (usually about 15-20 minutes in length) based on the material covered
in the previous week's lectures and homeworks, including homework due at the
beginning of the current week. The quiz will be graded and recorded in the
gradebook.
- If you
cannot attend your regular discussion section on a particular week due to
a conflict, contact your discussion TA at least the week before your conflict.
It is usually possible to attend an alternate section on these occasions.
Lab Sessions
- Each
of the 2-hour laboratories will involve a series of activities, including
(i) setting up simple experiments to study topics studied in class, (ii) making
predictions about the outcome of your experiments, (iii) performing measurements
of different phenomena you have studied, (iv) analyzing your results, and
(v) answering questions concerning your results and predictions. In addition,
at the beginning of each lab, you are expected to turn in your Prelab, a short
set of questions designed to address the main topics of the lab. The Prelab
will be graded and will count for 1/4 of your lab grade.
- If you
miss a lab experiment, consult your laboratory instructor as soon as possible.
It may be possible to make up a laboratory experiment later in the week, if
the equipment has not yet been dismantled. Laboratory experiments are set
up on Monday morning and are taken down after section L5G on Friday at noon.
For a listing of all of the sections, see the course
syllabus. If a make-up laboratory is not possible, an EX grade
will be assigned for excused absences. Missed and unexcused labs will be assigned
a grade of zero. This penalty can have severe consequences.
TYCHO (our
WWW homework and gradebook system)
- Each
week you will be responsible for completing a computer-based homework assignment.
These assigments are graded and are an important part of the course.
- LOG-IN
and LOG-OUT: Some of the on-line activities (homework, gradebook, etc.) for
this course run on a secure server and must be logged into. Students enrolled
in (and staff associated with) the course must log in using their UIUC NetID
and their ph password (this is the same id and password used to access the
U of I Direct registration system and the CCSO dial-up system). If you are
enrolled in the course and are having trouble logging in, send email to dkane@uiuc.edu.
If you are not enrolled, you can log into many of the secure activities using
guest/phyug as your NetID and guest as your password. (Enrolled students should
avoid using the guest login since credit is not recorded for guest.) You should
always log out of the secure server at the end of your work session.
- Many
homework pages use symbol font for mathematical equations. Without symbol
font equations will be difficult to read, e.g. you will see "p" instead of
"pi". Symbol font is usually available on Macs and PCs without any special
effort. Unix systems must be correctly configured. The Engineering College
workstations were reconfigured in January, 1998. Contact the HW Master, if
you are having difficulty.
-
To start
work on a homework assignment, click on "Homework Assignments" on the Physics
213 homepage. Then click on the assignment you wish to work on. To receive
full credit, the homework must be completed by the date indicated on the assignments
page (usually 8am on the Tuesday, sometimes Thursday-- look at the
syllabus).
Homework completed during the week immediately
following the due date will be accepted but will earn only a maximum of 90%
of the original grade. Homework submitted more than 7 days after the original
due date (i.e., after 8AM on the next Tuesday) will not receive any credit.
Although all of the homework problems appear on the Homework index page, homework
problems for all but the current week are generally not available. The homework
problems will be made available at least one week before they are due.
- You may
work a problem as many times as you like and only the highest grade is recorded
in the gradebook. You can never lower your score by reworking a problem.
Exams
- One 90
minute multiple choice exam will be given at 7 PM on Monday, April 7. You will be assigned a room for the exam based on your
discussion section, and attendance will be taken by your discussion TA. Bring
a calculator and pencils to the exams. In addition, bring your official university
identification card to show upon request.
- A conflict
exam will be scheduled for those with a legitimate (documented) schedule conflict.
This exam will be given at 5:15 PM on the same evening as the regular exam.
- A midterm
exam review session will be held in Lincoln Hall Theater on Sunday,
April 6 from 3-5 PM in Lincoln Hall
Theater.
Grading:
- Your
final grade for Physics 213 will be based your total score on all the components
of the course. The total score is the sum of your scores on the final exam
(350 pts), the midterm exam (200 pts), four labs (145 pts total), six TYCHO
homework sets (145 pts total), five quizzes (four highest = 150 pts total), and i-clicker participation (10 pts total).
Rough guidelines for letter grade ranges are:A+(960), A(935), A-(910), B+(885),
B(855), B-(830), C+(800), C(770), C-(740), D+(700), D(660), D-(620), and F(<620),
where the number in parentheses is the lowest score for that grade.
- There
will be 5 Discussion quizzes; your quiz grade will be the sum of your 4 highest
individual quiz scores, adjusted to compensate for grading differences among
discussion section instructors.
- All 4
lab scores will be used in calculating your lab total at the end of the semester.
(No lab scores will be dropped.) Scores used in this calculation will be adjusted
to compensate for grading differences among lab section instructors.
- Since
most students in this course work conscientiously, scores on TYCHO homework
assignments will be very high. For example, last semester most Physics 213
students had homework-quiz and lab scores greater than 160 pts (80%). Consequently,
high homework and lab grades will not compensate for low examination grades.
On the other hand, you can seriously lower your grade if you have low homework
and lab grades. The real payoff for doing well on the homeworks and the
labs is a better understanding of the physics and, consequently, higher examination
scores.
- To give
you an indication of your standing during the semester, you will be given
renormalized (curved) scores for the midterm exam. Recently, Physics 213 students
who received final grades of (A, B, C, D) had average exam scores of (91%,
82%, 70%, 61%).
- You will
be able to view your grades on all components of the course using the course
gradebook accessable from the homepage. During the semester, you should check
that your lab and quiz grades are correctly entered in the gradebook; any
problems here should be brought to the attention of your section instructor
immediately.
Final Exam:
Absences
and Excused Grades:
- Unexcused
absences from any quiz, lab (or any missing lab report), or the midterm
exam will be assigned a zero grade; excused absences will receive an EX
grade. If excused grades on quizzes and labs are not made up as decribed
below, they will be converted to a numerical grade at the end of the semester
that is determined by the grades on the remainder of the labs or quizzes
taken during the semester.
An EX grade on the midterm exam will be changed to a numerical grade based
on a make-up exam to be given as soon as possible after the regularly scheduled
exam. Arrangements for this exam must be made by the student with the Exam
Master PRIOR to the date of the regular exam.
- If
you miss a discussion quiz for a reason you believe to be valid, go to your
discussion TA and describe the circumstances. He or she will evaluate your
case and in the process may consult relevant offices within the university
for additional information before making a decision. If the reason for your
absence is judged meritorious, you will be assigned an EX grade for the
missed quiz. Unexcused, missed quizzes will be assigned a grade of zero.
- If
you miss a lab experiment, consult your lab instructor as soon as possible.
It may be possible to make up a lab experiment if the equipment has not
yet been dismantled. If a make-up lab or quiz is not possible, an EX grade
will be assigned for excused absences. Missed and unexcused labs will be
assigned a grade of zero.
- Excused
grades for lab reports, quizzes and the midterm exam will be given only
in one of the following circumstances: (a) illness; (b) personal crisis
(e.g. automobile accident, required court appearance, death of a close relative,
weather conditions which make it impossible to get to the university); and
(c) required attendance at an official UIUC activity (e.g. varsity athletics,
band concert).
- In
case of (a), go to the McKinley Health Center. If upon examination the staff
decides you are sick, you will receive a slip from the Center with a telephone
number that you should bring to 231/233 Loomis. OR go
to your private physician and obtain a written excuse. The excuse should
contain your doctor's name and telephone number so that your T.A. can call
to verify the information.
- In
case (b) contact the Dean of Students' Office 333-0050. (At night this number
is known as the Emergency Dean). Inform your lab or quiz T.A. that you have
done so. The Dean's office will send confirmation of this to the course
office, 233 Loomis. They will place the excuse into the gradebook and give
a copy to your instructors.
- In
case (c) inform Johnetta or Cindy in 231/233 Loomis in advance if you will
miss the midterm exam; similarly inform them and your discussion or laboratory
instructor about quizzes and labs that you will miss.
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