PHY 53: General 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: Mary A. Creason, Room 148, Duke Phone: 668-2659, mary@phy.duke.edu.

Time and Place:

• Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:05 am - 11:20 am in room 150 located in the Physics and Mathematics building.
• Recitations: Mondays 1:15pm-3:15pm (section 1), 3:30-5:30pm (section 2) in room 299
• Laboratories: Fridays 1:15pm-3:15pm (section 1), 3:30-5:30pm (section 2) in room 141.

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00-3:00pm, Room 253.

Teaching Assistant

Changchun Sun cs49@phy.duke.edu will be the TA for the Recitation sections.

Martin Frank mjf12@phy.duke.edu will be the TA for the Laboratory sections. Office hours:

Textbook: Douglas C. Giancoli Physics for Scientists & Engineers, Vol 1, Third edition (ISBN 0-13-021518-x)

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

• Homeworks: 20%
• Quizes: 10%
• Labs: 20%
• Two Midterms: 10% each
• Final exam: 30%
• Midterm 1: Tuesday, February 7, 2006; In class
• Midterm 2: Tuesday, March 21, 2006; In class
• Final Exam Time: Wednesday, May 3, 2006; 7:00pm - 10:00pm.

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 within one week after the lab is completed before 1pm on Fridays . No exceptions.
• Homeworks are due in the box (beside room 146) near the physics office before 1pm on Mondays . If you miss the deadline you will not get credit for that homework. At the end, you will be allowed to drop ONE (the worst) homework grade. No exceptions.
• If you need to be absent, or cannot return a homework in time, due to an emergency you need to produce a Dean's excuse in order to receive a grade for the missed exam/quiz/lab. The professor will make a judgement call in such cases at the end of the course depending on your overall performance in the course including attendance and understanding of the material. Normally, if the absence was well justified and you made good progress, your overall performance in other similar activities will be reweighted. For example, if you missed two labs because you were sick, then your performance in the other labs will be weighted by 20%. If you miss two recitations, your performance in the other recitations will be weighted by 10% etc. Note: This will only be possible in exceptional cases.

Expectations:

• Complete all reading assignments before you come to the lectures.
• Complete all weekly homework assignments before the deadline.
• Think about the problems assigned for recitations before coming to class.
• 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 don't 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. Reading Assignments

2. Homework Assignments

3. Recitation Problems

4. Quiz

5. Extra Review Problems

6. Weekly Announcements:

• First Class will be on Thursday January 12, 2006.
• First Lab will be on Friday January 13, 2006.
• Homework 1, due on Monday January 23, 2006 before 1pm.
• First Recitation will be on Monday January 23, 2006.
• First Midterm Exam will be on Tuesday February 7, 2006.
• Extra Review Problems are now available (see above).
• The solutions to first Midterm can be found here .
• The solutions to second Midterm can be found here .