Physics 2: Basic Physics
Summer 2009

Lecture: MTW 12:30-1:55 Broida 1640
Discussions: R 11:00-12:25 & 12:30-1:55 Broida 1640

http://hep.ucsb.edu/people/claudio/ph2-s09/

Announcements:

Announcements will be listed below and also sent out via email.

August 5: Solutions to Quiz 1 are posted.
August 12: Information on the midterm are available here.
August 12: IEEE invitation
August 20: the midterm, the solutions, and the distributions of scores are now available:
- The test
- The solutions
- The distribution of scores. Approximate letter grade equivalent:
  - A: 13-20
  - B: 9-12
  - C: 6-8

September 3: Information on the final is here.

September 9: The final has been scored. Information here.

Instructor:
Email:
Office hours:
Office:
Administrative Assistant
TA

Claudio Campagnari
claudio@physics.ucsb.edu
Wednesday 11:30-12:30, or by appointment, or whenever you can find me.
Broida 5019. Phone 893-7567.
Debbie Ceder, dla@hep.ucsb.edu. Broida 5014. Phone 893-2058.
Yinbo Shi, yshi@physics.ucsb.edu, Office hours xxxxx in Physics Study Room (Broida 1019).
Benson Way, benson@physics.ucsb.edu, Office hours xxxxx in Physics Study Room (Broida 1019)

Course Description

Welcome to Physics 2. This is the second quarter of the introductory Physics sequence intended for engineering and physical science majors.
The prerequisite for Physics 2 are succesful completion of Physics 1 (or 21) and of Math 3A-B.
In Physics 2 we will study rotational and periodic motion, gravitation, fluid mechanics, temperature and heat, the thermal properties of matter, and the laws of thermodynamics.
The textbook is University Physics, 12th edition, Young and Freedman.

How to succeed in this class

Physics should be approached differently than other discipline. You will find that the emphasis is on problem solving. You may read the book and listen to the lectures and think that you understand, but the proof of whether you have really understood the material rests in your ability to do the problems. The problems is where you are supposed to apply the concepts that you have supposedly learnt.

That is why the homeworks are so important. Only if you can do the homeworks you will do well on the exams.
You are welcome, even encouraged, to do the homeworks with your friends. But be very careful. Working with your friends on the homeworks may result in a perfect homework, but if you end up not doing the problems yourself, you will pay a heavy price at exam time. It is much like learning to ride a bicycle. You can watch other people ride, and think that you know how to ride also -- after all it looks so easy! But the reality is that you have to do it yourself if you really want to learn.

Beginning physics students are often obsessed by formulas. When presented with a problem, they frantically search the book for the right formula to plug in. This is not the way to do it! In the majority of cases you cannot take a formula from some example in the book and expect it to work for the problem that you have to solve. Instead, you must use logical reasoning. You should attack the problem methodically. Draw a diagram; make sure you have identified what you know and what you do not know about the problem; organize your thoughts; figure out what concepts you need to apply; go one step-at-a-time. Hopefully this will become clear as I will show how to solve problems during the quarter.

Memorization in physics is pretty much useless. It is useful to memorize a few basic formulas, but do not waste your time memorizing all of the steps in solved problems.

The best way to prepare for the exams is to do problems, do problems, do problems. There are many problems, beyond those assigned to you in the homework, at the end of every chapter in the book.

The weekly lecture schedule is listed on this web page. You should read the book ahead, that is to say if you know that on a given week the lectures will cover Chapter X, read Chapter X the week-end before. If you do this you will get a lot more out of the lectures. In some cases I will assume that you have read the book before class. This will allow me to skip some of the material in the book and spend more time teaching you how to do the problems.

There is no such thing as a stupid question in physics. Do not be afraid to interrupt my lectures to ask questions. Do not be afraid to come to my (or the TAs) office hours. We are here to help you.

Finally, there is a tremendous amount of material to cover in this class, and the schedule is very compressed. The pace is going to be fast, and most new concepts build on the material from the previous chapters. Be careful not to fall behind, because catching up is going to be extremely difficult.

Homework

Homework assignments will be posted weekly on this website, usually on Wednesdays. They will be due, nominally, the following Wednesday. However, the assignments will not be collected and will not be graded. Solutions to the assignments will also be posted on this website.

I strongly recommend that you do the homeworks, but ultimately it is up to you.

Homework	Problems from text	Due Date	Solutions
Homework 1	Chapter 1 problems 1.56, 1.58 Chapter 10 problems 10.1, 10.5, 10.7, 10.12, 10.21, 10.32, 10.35, 10.40, 10.42	August 5	pdf
Homework 2	Chapter 11 problems 11.3, 11.8, 11.12, 11.16, 11.23 Chapter 12 problems 12.5, 12.9, 12.14, 12.20, 12.22	August 12	pdf
Homework 3	Chapter 12 problems 12.25, 12.27, 12.37, 12.39, 12.41, 12.43 Chapter 13 problems 13.13, 13.15, 13.26, 13.31, 13.42	August 19	pdf
Homework 4	Chapter 13 problems 13.55, 13.57, 13.61 Chapter 14 question Q14.30 Chapter 14 problems 14.4, 14.10, 14.16, 14.17, 14.31, 14.34, 14.40	August 26	pdf
Homework 5	Chapter 17 problems 17.8, 17.16, 17.26, 17.35, 17.38, 17.49, 17.81 17.92, 17.97 Chapter 18 problems 18.11, 18.28, 18.63, 18.73	September 2	pdf
Homework 6	Chapter 19 problems 19.3, 19.7, 19.15, 19.16, 19.24, 19.30, 19.48 Chapter 20 problems 20.3, 20.6, 20.14, 20.26	September 9	pdf

Quizzes

There will be a short quiz every week on Wednesday. The first quiz will be August 5.
The quizzes will cover the material from the lectures following the previous quiz. For example, the August 5 quiz will cover the material from the August 3 and 4 lectures. The August 12 quiz will cover the material from the August 5, 10, and 11 lectures. And so on. The quizzes will be multiple choice. In order to take the quizzes, you are supposed to bring to class every Wednesday the following items

a scantron sheet. It should be one of the pink ParSCORE sheets that looks like this

a pencil

a calculator

(optionally) solutions to the homework assignments. Some of the questions on the quiz may be the same or similar to the questions on the homework, so here is finally an incentive to actually doing the homework!

Your score on the quizzes will count towards your final grade, see below. The quiz with the lowest score will be dropped from the calculation.

What to do if you miss a quiz:

For the first quiz that you miss, do nothing. This quiz will be dropped from the calculation of your final score, since it will be the quiz with the lowest score. This applies regardless of whether you missed the quiz because you went surfing or because you were sick.

If you miss a second (or third...) quiz and you can provide a physician's note, this quiz will also be dropped from the computation of your score.

Quiz 1	Solutions and Results
Quiz 2	Solutions and Results
Quiz 3	Solutions and Results
Quiz 4	Solutions and Results
Quiz 5	Solutions and Results

Exams

There will be one midterm and one final.
You are allowed to bring two sheets of notes to the exams, i.e., no need to memorize formulas.

Midterm: Wednesday August 19, during regular class time.

Final: Wednesday, September 9, during regular class time

If you miss the midterm, and you can provide a physician's note, the midterm will not count towards your final grade. Otherwise, your midterm score will be zero.
If you miss the final, and you can provide a physician's note, you will receive a grade of Incomplete, and you will have to take the final the next time that Physics 2 is offered. I will then use the score on your final and the rest of the scores for this quarter, to update your Incomplete to a letter grade.
If you miss the final and you cannot provide a physician's note you will fail the class.

Grading

The final grade for this class will be calculated on a curve from:

Quizzes: 30%

Midterm: 30%

Final: 40%

Where to Get Help

Talk to your instructor.

See your TA.

Campus Learning Assistance Services (http://www.clas.ucsb.edu/) offers drop-in hours and tutoring, however I am not sure about summer hours.

Any TA on duty in the Physics Study Room (Broida 1019) should be able to help you

A word about email

Email is a great communication tool, but it can be abused. This is my email policy for Physics 2:

I will answer every email with questions about physics or the content of the course. Be aware, however, that unless your question is extremely simple and specific, it would be much better for you to come and talk to me in person. If my office hours conflict with your schedule, you can always ask for an appointment, or drop by my office. If I am in my office, and not on the phone or in a meeting, I will definitely talk to you.

If your question is not about physics, I will answer your email only if your question/request is reasonable. If the answer to your question can be found on this website, or was announced in class, I will ignore your email. Examples (from last year) of questions that I will not answer are

When is the final?
What book are we using?
Where does my discussion section meet?
I got a 50 on the midterm, can I still get an A for the course?
I don't have time to pick up the midterm in your secretary's office. Can you look-up my score and email it to me?
You gave me a C+ but I really need a B+ to keep my scholarship/get into medical school/not make my parents angry. Can I do some extra work over spring break to bring my grade up?

Basically, any request for special treatment will be ignored.

Approximate Lecture Schedule (will be adjusted as we go, so check often)

Date
Mon 3 Aug	Chapter 10
Tue 4 Aug	Chapter 10
Wed 5 Aug	Chapter 11
Mon 10 Aug	Chapter 11-12
Tue 11 Aug	Chapter 12
Wed 12 Aug	Chapter 13
Mon 17 Aug	Chapter 13
Tue 18 Aug	Chapter 14
Wed 19 Aug	Midterm
Mon 24 Aug	Chapter 14
Tue 25 Aug	Chapter 17
Wed 26 Aug	Chapter 17-18
Mon 31 Aug	Chaoter 18
Tue 1 Sep	Chapter 19
Wed 2 Sep	Chapter 19-20
Mon 7 Sep	Holiday
Tue 8 Sep	Chapter 20
Wed 9 Sep	Final

Physics 2: Basic Physics Summer 2009

Lecture: MTW 12:30-1:55 Broida 1640 Discussions: R 11:00-12:25 & 12:30-1:55 Broida 1640