PHYSICS 9HC SPRING 2012

TuTh 10:30-11:50am, 140 Physics

(This info is as of March 29 and is subject to change.) 

This document is to make the information about the course
easily available. It can save time for you and for me.
Please read it carefully and remember that it is here for
your use. Please look here first for answers to your
questions about logistics, etc. I welcome email or in person
questions about physics or other things not covered here.

This course uses the honor system. You are on your honor to 
follow the  Code of Academic Conduct.
http://sja.ucdavis.edu/cac.html

WEBSITES
The main website for the class is at
http://www.physics.ucdavis.edu/kiskis/courses/phy9hc-s12/phy9hc_hp.html
There is also a SmartSite with title PHY 009HC A01-A02 SQ 2012.
It will be used for just a few specialized items like the gradebook.

PEOPLE
Instructor: Joe Kiskis, 443 Phy/Geo, jekiskis@ucdavis.edu
             http://www.physics.ucdavis.edu/kiskis/kiskis_hp.html    
Office hour: Tuesday 12:00-12:30 and 3:30-4:00 or whenever 
             you find me in my office, or send me email to make an appointment.
Problem solving: Monday 5:30-6:30 pm 432 Phy/Geo

Lab and discussion section instructor: Ryan Applegat, rpapplegate@ucdavis.edu

Reader: Josh Cooperman, jhcooperman@ucdavis.edu 

PREREQUISITES: Physics 9HB, Math 21C    Corequisite: Math 21D

TEXTS: Six Ideas that Shaped Physics, unit Q (2nd Ed.), Moore
       The Feynman Lectures, vol. III
       
SUBJECTS: Waves and quantum mechanics
          Tentative coverage:
             Moore chapters 1-11
             Feynman chapters 1,2,3,5,7,13,16,19 (or parts thereof)
             Supplemental eHandouts

STRUCTURE: Reading, reading quizzes, lectures, problem sets, midterm,
final, labs, discussion sections.

EXAMS:
Midterm: There will be one midterm roughly half way through the quarter. 
Date to be determined later.
Final: Wednesday, June 13, 1:00-3:00pm, 140 Roessler
NO makeup exams for the midterm or final.

GRADING:
         Reading Quizzes          10%
         Problem sets:            30%
         Midterm:                 30%
         Final:                   30%   
         Lab:                     see LAB GRADING below
         
For more important information on grading, read the sections below.

MORE DETAIL:

In addition to the comments below, please read the documents 
        Course goals
        Learning physics
        How to read physics
        SmartSite

PHILOSOPHY: The course is structured to encourage you to actively engage
the physics. There is ample research which demonstrates that even in
good lectures, passive listeners absorb very little. There are also
results which show that the traditional physics course format of lecture
and problem solving is not very effective in building a good conceptual
understanding of physics, even among many of the students who are
proficient at problem solving. There is a difference between learning
procedures for solving various kinds of problems and understanding the
physics so that one can analyze a new problem. I can transmit some
information, but I cannot transmit knowledge or understanding. You must
actively struggle to construct your own understanding.  I encourage you
to actively engage the material in the text. I will try to be a useful
guide and help you over or around the rough spots.

LABS AND DISCUSSION SECTIONS: You should be in a 9HC discussion/lab that
meets twice a week. Failure to pass the lab part of the discussion/labs
results in an automatic grade of F for the entire course. 

READING AND LECTURES: For each lecture, there will be a reading
assignment which you should study BEFORE the lecture. (Check out the
document "How to read physics".)  At the beginning of class, there
will be a brief, closed book quiz on the reading. Lectures will deal
with conceptual questions and problem solving. During the lecture, I
will pose questions for you to ponder, discuss with a neighbor or a
group, and answer by a show of hands or by groups. You are encouraged
to participate actively with questions and comments. I will not be
lecturing directly from the text. That would be a waste of your time
and implies that you are not capable of reading it yourselves. You
should consider the text to be your first and primary source. Class
will explore and reinforce your understanding and apply it to
problems. In class, we will not discuss all the topics in the reading,
but we will strive for a good understanding of the most important
principles.

You are strongly DISCOURAGED from taking extensive notes in class. If
you attempt to record what happens in class without understanding it in
real time, it is unlikely that your notes will be useful to you later.
If you are thinking and participating in class, you probably will not be
able write very much. I think that it is much more important to think
and participate and ask questions. If there is anything in class that is
not in the reading and that you will need on an exam, I will tell you.
Class is an opportunity to build your understanding by engaging the
subject with me and your classmates.

PROBLEM SETS: There will be five to ten problem sets. Problem solving
skills will be emphasized in the discussion sections. 
There is great value in working independently to solve problems.
However, if you get stuck and are not making progress, you are
encouraged to discuss the problems with me, your TA, or your classmates.
Nevertheless, the solutions that you hand in must be written by you
alone and independently and must be *your own understanding* of the
problem in your own words. You may achieve that understanding on your
own or in discussions with others, but what goes on the paper you turn in
must include only your own presentation of the understanding that you
have reached and not what someone else has told you is correct.
Collaboration beyond that just described or including on your paper
information that you got from others but do not understand yourself is a
violation of the Code of Academic Conduct. Thus students who turn in papers 
that are too much like each other or too much like other sources will be
referred to Student Judicial Affairs.

Usually two of the problems will be graded. You will receive
points for turning in solutions to all the problems, points for the
correctness of the problem or problems that are graded, and points for
presentation. Yes, good communication counts, and you can lose points
for work that is messy or difficult to read.

EXAMS: The examinations will include both problem solving and conceptual
questions. Students are sometimes surprised that the problems on physics
exams are not just like ones that they have already been assigned. This
is deliberate! The ability to solve a problem that you have already done
tests your memory. The ability to do a problem that you have not already
done tests your understanding of physical principles. To a physicist,
physics is not a large collection of facts and formulas. It is a small
number of general principles and laws that can be applied in many
different situations. There will be one midterm. The exact date will be
given later, but it will probably be around the middle of the quarter.
Closed book. One 3"x5" note card. There will be a final. Closed book. 
Two 3"x5" note cards. No make-up exams for the midterm or final. 

Do not make travel plans that conflict with the final. 

The time listed above is the only time that the final will be given.
                                   
LAB GRADING: The possible grades for the lab are High Pass, Pass, Low
Pass, and Fail. Most students will receive a Pass. For outstanding work,
the grade will be High Pass, and for low quality but passing work, the
grade will be Low Pass. A Fail is most likely to result from poor lab
attendance. A Pass will have no effect on your grade for the course. A
High Pass will raise your grade in the course by one step from what it
otherwise would have been, e.g. B+ --> A-. (The exception is that an A
does not become an A+.) A Low Pass will move your course grade down by
one step (but not D- to F). Failing the lab results in failing the
course.

MORE ON GRADING: To get credit for your answers, you must show your
work, and it is to your advantage to make it neat, clear, and organized.
Please keep in mind that you are writing your solutions for someone else
to read---someone who is not a mind reader and who has limited time to
try to figure out your solution. If we cannot figure out what you have
done, we cannot give you any credit. Write up your solution after you
have figured out how to do it on scratch paper. Whenever possible, draw
a picture and label it with the relevant physical variables. List the
quantities that you are given with their values and the unknown
quantities that you are trying to find. Then state the most important
physical laws or principles that you are going to use to solve the
problem. If you turn in solutions on the exams and problem sets that are
difficult to read and that do not follow this structure, you will lose
points even it your answer is correct!

One week after graded papers are returned the grade becomes final. You
should have any errors corrected during that week. I will look at papers
only if you have spoken with the reader and failed to reach an
agreement. If you bring me a grading issue, I will review the grading on
the whole problem set or exam, and there may be problems that are not
the one you are interested in where I would be less generous than the
reader.

GLASS CASE: In the east wing of the first floor of the Physics/Geology 
building, there is a glass case (#9) where various things relevant to this 
class will be posted.


COMPUTER STUFF: You will need a UC Davis computer account and a the
ability to authenticate via Kerberos. The main things that you will need
to be able to do for this course are handle email and use a web browser.
You should have a PDF reader. I will use PDF for some of the class documents.
For general computer help, contact IT-EXPRESS Help Desk.
Most of the electronic communication will be
handled via the main course site 
http://www.physics.ucdavis.edu/kiskis/courses/phy9hc-s12/phy9hc_hp.html
and email. There will be some limited use of the course
SmartSite, PHY 009HC A01-A02 SQ 2012. 
The email address for the whole class list is
      
phy9hc-s12@smartsite.ucdavis.edu
Check your email daily.

Copyright Joe Kiskis 2012. All federal and state copyrights reserved for
all original material presented in this course through any medium
including lecture, print, and electronic.