Introduction to Physics, Physics 102, Section 001

Spring 2009, Prof. Steven J. Koch, Instructor

Course Description
Designed for non-science students in all colleges as well as for students planning to major
in the sciences who want a general introduction to the basic phenomena and concepts of
physics. The treatment is primarily descriptive, with practical demonstrations and
applications and with a minimum of elementary mathematics. No previous preparation is
assumed. Topics covered may include the structure of matter, energy, sound, light,
atomic and nuclear physics, mechanics, electricity and relativity. However, not all topics
will be covered and content will be adjusted to fit the needs of the class.

Goals
The primary goal of the course is to help students develop a better understanding of a
variety of physics concepts that they experience or hear about in their every day lives.
We will strive for true understanding of the concept versus tiresome memorization of
facts and trivia. This may lead to a heightened enjoyment of everyday physics wonders
(such as rainbows, sunsets, waves, phases of the moon), improved ability to understand
technological issues (such as energy shortages and sources, nuclear power and radiation,
cell phone communication), and a deeper understanding of future scientific material
including biology, chemistry, geology, medicine, and possibly a subsequent more
advanced physics course!

Required Materials

Textbook: Conceptual Physics, 10th edition, Paul Hewitt, used or new.

iClickers, available at bookstore

 http://panda.unm.edu/Courses/StudentHelp/iclick_howto.html
 Registration is required in order to get participation grade. We will discuss this
during lecture and instructions may be posted on WebCT.

WebCT Vista: Automatically enrolled http://vista.unm.edu

 This is the main website for the course, and will be used for electronic quizzes
and homework, announcements and other electronic course materials. The most
up to date schedule and syllabus will be posted on WebCT. Assignments and due
dates will be posted. You are expected to check WebCT regularly as will be
discussed in lecture.
 Computers are available at multiple locations on campus, see
http://its.unm.edu/pods/ for updated locations.

Pencils are necessary for the in-class exams.

Technical Support
Cathy Webster is available to help with iClickers and WebCT. Her contact information,
office hours and answers to some FAQs can be found here:
http://panda.unm.edu/Courses/StudentHelp/index.html

Teaching Assistant
Mr. Zhang Jiang, Physics Graduate Student. john6060@unm.edu.

Learning Disabilities
If you have a learning disability, you can contact Accessibility Services,
http://as2.unm.edu/.

Quizzes and Homework Assignments

There will be regular homework assignments posted on WebCT. These will consist of
required readings, problems and exercises. There will be no grading of homework
(neither for correctness nor participation), but on-time submissions may receive feedback
and will be eligible for display to other students as excellent answers. The weekly
reading will take around an hour for an average student (though it may inspire you to do
extra web reading), and the homework exercises could take as little as 15 minutes. Most
weeks will require a written response to a homework question, with excellent answers
often a paragraph or less.

In addition, there will also be electronic quizzes on WebCT. These quizzes will be of a
similar format to the exams and therefore will be an excellent way to assess learning
progress along the way. Completion of the quizzes is required and they will have a strict
due date, but they will not count towards the course grade. However, performance on the
quizzes correlates with performance on the upcoming exam and serves as a crucial
indicator of concepts a student still needs to study. Quizzes require about 15 minutes or
less for an average student.

Because homework and quizzes do not count towards your grade, there is a significant
risk that a few students will not take them seriously. If it becomes evident that a student
has fallen behind and is not completing these assignments, I will drop the student from
the course.

Exams
The exams will be written so that a student who has attended all of the lectures and
completed all of the assignments should not be surprised by any question. Questions will
be multiple choice and will challenge the student’s understanding of the concept (rather
than memorization of a fact). Questions will span a range of difficulties. Each exam will
be equally weighted and will only cover material since the previous exam. The final
exam will not be comprehensive. Some concepts will require understanding of other
concepts covered earlier in the course, and thus some exam questions may cover topics
from prior exams.
Exam Dates (subject to change)
Feb. 12, Thursday, normal class time Exam #1
March 12, Thursday, normal class time Exam #2
April 23, Thursday, normal class time Exam #3
May 14, Thursday, 10 am (not normal time) Exam #4 (Final exam time slot)

Grading
The grading policy of the course is designed to best reflect success in the goal of learning
basic physics concepts. Therefore, the bulk of the grade for the course will be derived
from the four exams. In addition, to promote interaction in the classroom a small amount
of the grade will be derived from participation in “clicker questions” in class. The final
course grade will be as follows:

90% Exams
10% iClicker questions, participation only:
credit from correct or incorrect answers

Grades will be on an absolute scale, according to the following percentages (averages

rounded to nearest integer):

A+ 97 – 100 A 93 – 96 A- 90 – 92
B+ 87 – 89 B 83 – 86 B- 80 – 82
C+ 77 – 79 C 73 – 76 C- 70 – 72
D+ 67 – 69 D 63 – 66 D- 60 – 62
F Below 60