Millersville University                                                             SPRING 2009 

COURSE SYLLABUS

PHYSICS 103: ELEMENTS OF PHYSICS

Instructor:                  Dr. Natalia Dushkina  
Office:            CAPUTO Hall, Room 237
Phone:            (717) 872-3424
Email:             Natalia.Dushkina@millersville.edu
Office hours:              MTW 9:00  – 11:00 a.m.; Tue 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

  INTRODUCTION

Physics is the most fundamental of all the basic sciences. A thorough knowledge of fundamental scientific ideas is a key step in learning to master whatever technical area you have chosen. Some of the following terms are among those that you will encounter most frequently in other disciplines: energy, force, velocity, temperature, heat, equilibrium, voltage, current, magnetic field, radiation, laser, lens and refraction. And Conceptual Physics is your best opportunity to arrive at a good understanding of these basic concepts. 

In fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to read a newspaper or to listen to a television news report without encountering concepts from physics. How do you decide what information is reliable and where is the elusive boundary between science and pseudoscience? The study of physics has the potential to develop critical and analytical thinking, as well as to build skills and habits that are helpful when you come across such a situation. Physics is very much concerned with verifying the laws of nature.

A good physics course emphasizes that data collected in the laboratory part of the course elucidates the basic concepts and their connections, discussed in lecture. Solving problems also play an essential role in adding concreteness to your knowledge of the basic ideas introduced in the lecture. Therefore, you are expected to work at home on selected questions and problems that are assigned to each lecture and will also be part of the student-centered learning strategy. It is essential that you attend every lecture and laboratory, and conscientiously prepare your assignments, in order to realize your potential as a good physics student.

COURSE GOALS

• To make you familiar with basic concepts and principles of physics from mechanics, electricity and magnetism, light and modern physics through the investigation of physical phenomena, theories and experimental methods.
• To foster scientific habits of mind including curiosity, creativity, objectivity and critical thinking.
• To understand the interconnections of physics to the other sciences, society, culture, and technology.

This course will concentrate on comprehension of concepts and will build the base for further understanding of the theoretical approaches, if computation follows. Scientific inquiry is the basis of this course. The goal of the laboratory exercises is to provide you with some direct experience with the concepts you will study in lecture portion of the course.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
           
Through this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand basic physical concepts and relationships in mechanics, electricity and magnetism, light and modern physics to a sufficient precision that you can apply these to concrete physical situations (problem identification and problem solving skills). Assessment: tests, class presentations, homework and lab experiments.
2. Form testable questions and hypotheses that can be addressed by science and engineering (communication skills). Assessment: class and group discussions, and lab experiments.
3. Design and conduct appropriate investigative procedures, including the identification and control of appropriate variables. Assessment: lab experiments and reports.
4. Organize, display, critically analyze and summarize results and draw conclusions (critical thinking skills). Assessment: class/group discussions, presentations and lab reports.
5. Obtain valid conclusions from reliable input information (analytical skills). Assessment:  internet/library search, class/group discussions and lab reports.
6. Explain scientific ideas to your classmates and your instructors (communication skills). Assessment: class presentations, tests and lab reports.

COURSE CONTENT

The course includes basic notions and concepts from Mechanics, Properties of Matter, Thermodynamics, Sound, Electricity and Magnetism, Light and will finish with few lectures on Modern Physics figuring Atomic and Nuclear Physics, and Nuclear Fusion and Fission.

CLASS ORGANIZATION

Class meetings: Teaching strategies include in depth laboratory investigations, demonstrations, student hands-on experiences, group work and collaborative peer-to-peer discussions. Therefore, you have to read the assigned chapter before every class meeting. The homework assigned to each chapter (see the course outline) will be graded and a correct answer will bring you one point. You will receive also two points per chapter (total 60 points) when you work out the practice pages from “Practicing Physics” of P.G. Hewitt. The workbooks will be collected and twice during the semester. There are seven intermediate exams (one hour each) and a comprehensive final (two hours). The dates of the exams are given in the course outline.
LABS: Lab will start with a brief introduction of the experiment and lab goals. You will work in groups of three, as everybody should perform the experiment, process the data and write an individual report. The lab exercises and reports must be completed and signed by your lab instructor before leaving the lab. The lab portion of the course will finish with a final exam of two hours. Your lab notebooks will be collected and graded twice during the semester. Since you will be allowed to use your lab notebook during the lab exam, it is in your favor to write down well organized and detailed lab reports (see the provided suggestion for a lab report).

IMPORTANT DATES

Add/drop a course
JAN 16            Last day to drop a course without a grade.
JAN 20            W grade period begins
JAN 21            Last day to add a course
MAR 28          Last day to withdraw from a course and receive a W grade.
Homework is due at latest at 5:00 p.m. on:
FEB 20            Submit homework (Chs. 1 - 7)
APR 22           Submit homework (Chs. 8 - 16)
Lab notebook is due for grading at latest at 5:00 p.m. on:
            FEB 27            Submit reports for Labs 1 - 6.
            APR 13           Submit reports for Labs 7 - 12.
The workbook “Practicing Physics” of P.G. Hewitt is due for grading at latest at 5:00 p.m. on: APR 20 (all chapters)

Note: Extensions will not be honored.

COURSE POLICY

Attendance to all lectures is highly recommended! Since Physics 103 is a lab course, you must pass lab in order to pass the course! One unexcused missed lab results in “incomplete” final grade! If you miss an exam, you must contact me within 24 hours to arrange to make it up. Only one excused absence from a lab or an exam will be considered. Makeup of more than one exam or lab will be possible only in exceptional cases, such as student’s hospitalization or death in the family (student should provide an official document), and will be processed according to the official policy of Millersville University. If you miss a lab due to excused absence, its make-up will be completed during the last scheduled lab period. Please, contact your instructor as soon as possible to arrange the make-up of the missed exam. The rules of academic honesty will be followed during labs and exams. The final grades will be based on the following point totals:

CLASSROOM ETIQUET

No food and drinks are allowed in the classroom and laboratory room! Cell phones should be switched off during lectures, labs and exams. Please, leave the rooms neat after lecture and lab!

OTHER INFORMATION

Students with physical and learning disabilities will be provided with the special conditions described and requested in an official letter from the Department of Student Affairs.

If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact me. PHYS 103 tutors will be available for help with homework or lecture material.

I am here to help you achieve your goals in this course!

Natalia Dushkina