PHY 41: General Physics

This course offers an introduction to two important areas of physics (1) mechanics and (2) thermal physics. In mechanics we will study newtonian mechanics, fluid mechanics and wave mechanics. In thermal physics we will understand the concept of temperature and study the three laws that govern systems at finite temperature. The course is intended for physics majors and minors with a strong interest in physics.

General Information

Prerequisites: High School Math and Science and Basic Calculus

Instructor: Shailesh Chandrasekharan, Room 253, Duke Phone: 660-2462, sch@phy.duke.edu.

Laboratory Instructor: Kenneth Mckenzie, Room 148, Duke Phone: 668-2659, labs@phy.duke.edu.

Time and Place:

Lectures: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 8:45 am - 9:35 am in room 154 located in the Physics and Mathematics building.
Recitations: Wednesdays 1:15pm-3:15pm in Physics 154
Laboratories: Mondays 1:15pm-3:15pm (section 1), 3:30-5:30pm (section 2) in room 146.

Office Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 9:45-10:45am

Teaching Assistants

Abhijit Mehta acm17@phy.duke.edu will be the TA for the recitation session on Wednesdays. He will have additional office hours on Tuesdays 3:30-4:30pm and Thursdays 4:00-5:00pm so as to help you solve problems.

Hannah Guilbert heg3@phy.duke.edu and Yu Chuan Jian yuchuan.jian@duke.edu will be the TAs for the laboratory sections on Mondays.

Help Room : Room to be decided

Abhijit Mehta : Tuesdays and Thursdays time to be decided.

Textbook: Tipler and Mosca Physics for Scientists & Engineers, Vol 1, Sixth edition (ISBN 0-7167-0809-4)

Students may wish to buy the three volume set of Tipler and Mosca since the other volumes will be useful in other physics courses, specially PHY42, PHY43,

Lecture/Laboratory Schedule: The schedule of lectures and laboratories planned can be down loaded as a pdf file here

Laboratory Instructions Guidelines for lab work is given here . The specific instructions for the various labs can be found at here and updated regularly. You can use these to develop your lab reports.

Grades: Grades will be assigned according to the following weighted average:

Homeworks: 15%
Quizes: 10%
Labs: 15%
Two Midterms: 15% each
Final exam: 30%
Midterm 1: Monday, October 1, 2006; In class
Midterm 2: Friday, November 2, 2006; In class
Final Exam Time: Sunday December 16, 2pm-5pm; In class

Exam Schedule:

Midterm Exam 1: Friday September 25, 2009
Midterm Exam 2: Friday October 30, 2009
Final Exam: 2:00-5:00pm Tuesday December 8, 2009. Grading Policy
- Punctuality is very important. If you come to recitations and labs more than 10 mins late you may not be allowed in the section. So make sure you are on time.
- Attending recitations is important. At the end of every recitation you will be given a quiz which accounts for 10% of the total grade.(see above). If you miss a recitation, you will not get any credit for that particular quiz. At the end, you will be allowed to drop ONE (the worst) quiz grade. No exceptions.
- Attending lab sections is important. If you miss a lab, you will not get any credit for that lab. At the end, you will be allowed to drop ONE (the worst) lab grade. No exceptions.
- Lab reports are due before 5pm on Fridays the same week as the lab.
- Homeworks will be posted on the web every Wednesdays, and are due in the box (beside room 146) near the physics office before 5pm on Fridays the following week..
- Typically ten problems will be assigned and two problems will be graded at random.
- If you miss the above deadlines you will not get credit for that Laboratory or Homework. At the end of the course, you will be allowed to drop ONE (the worst) homework grade and one laboratory grade. No exceptions.
- If you are absent or cannot return a homework/lab report in time, due to an illness or an emergency please contact the professor as soon as you can. The professor will work with you to find a way to make up for the lost work.

Expectations:

Read the topics planned in the Schedule from the textbook before coming to lectures.
Complete all weekly tasks before the deadline.
Begin to think about the homework problems soon after they are assigned.
Read the material for the lab before coming to the lab.
Be punctual to all the classes (lectures, recitations and labs).
Attend all the lectures, recitations and labs.
Ask questions if you do not understand something and dont wait until the exam to clarify your questions.
Do extra problems from the text book and other sources beyond your regular homeworks as much as possible. As you solve more problems, you will understand the material better!
Follow the "Honor Code", that you signed when you entered Duke, very strictly.

Weekly Tasks/Updates: Will be updated often. So please check regularly.

1. Homework Assignments

1. Challenge Problems

Problems

3. Weekly Announcements:

9/1/09 5pm : Homework Set 1 has been updated properly. Please check.
9/1/09 5pm: Abhijit has set his office hours. Tuesdays 3:30-4:30pm and Thursdays 4:00-5:00pm. Please email him to decide where to meet him.
9/16/09 12:30pm: The first Mid term exam will be next Friday and will be on the first five chapters.
11/21/09 We will not have chapters R,13 and 20 for the final exam.