GENERAL PHYSICS 115 (CALCULUS-BASED)
Instructor:
Dr. Tom MichalikTextbook: Fundamentals of Physics, 7th ed., Halliday & Resnick & Walker, Wiley, 2005
Course Goals: The course goals are to practice and develop quantitative problem solving skills, to apply mathematics and quantitative reasoning to the physical world, and to learn selected topics in elementary physics in the detail and depth appropriate for students interested in the natural sciences or mathematics.
Attendance: Class attendance is expected. Attendance will be taken each day. An absence does not relieve you from the responsibility for work required when you are absent. Absences, no matter what the cause, will be resolved individually case-by-case. Talk to me!
Homework: Homework is usually assigned each class meeting. Homework assignments are pledged. Homework assignments are due at the beginning of the class period immediately following the period in which the assignment was made. I do not accept late work or give partial credit for late work. (I make an exception, of course, for illness. Please notify me when you are ill.)
Tests: There will be two take-home tests during the semester and a final three hour exam. All tests and exams are open book, open notes, and open homework. You will have the entire weekend to complete the take-home tests. There are no set dates for the take-home tests. The class will decide which weekends are best. The first test is usually given at the end of the sixth week and the second test is usually given at the end of the eleventh week.
Grading: The course grade is computed from three contributions. Homework contributes 40%. The final exam contributes 30%. The best score from the two take-home tests contributes the remaining 30%. (Yes, I drop the lower grade of the two take-home tests.)
Course Content: The following topics will be covered in order: 1-D Kinematics, Vectors, 2-D Kinematics, Relative Motion, Newton's Laws of Motion, Circular Motion, Work & Energy, Energy Conservation, Momentum Conservation, Rotational Kinematics, Torque & Rigid Body Rotation, and Angular Momentum Conservation.