Instructor: Wayne F. Reed, Stern Hall 5068, ph. 862-3185, wreed@tulane.edu

Office Hours: MWF 10:00-11:00, or by appt.

Class hours: MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m., T 2-3:15 (** see note on page 4)

Building Room: Mechanical Engineering 206

Text: "Fundamentals of Physics", 7^th Ed., parts 1 & 2, by Halliday, Resnick and Walker.

This syllabus available at http://www.tulane.edu/~wreed/PH131/ph131.html

Click here for problem solutions: http://www.tulane.edu/~wreed/ph131/ph131sol.htm

Physics is the study of the motion, interactions, and transformations of matter and energy within the framework of spacetime. Although Modern Physics has moved on to the realm of the amazingly tiny in its quest for the elementary particles that compose matter, and to the staggeringly huge in its attempt to understand the origin, structure, and fate of our universe, Physics begins with observations in our own, daily world. As such, Classical Mechanics, which is the main subject of this semester's course, deals with concepts for which we can readily see examples in everyday life, and for which vernacular terms exist; distance, speed, acceleration, mass, force, momentum, impulse, energy, and so on. The difference is, of course, that Physics must make every term it uses mathematically precise. Hence, throughout the semester we will be taking common words for which you have an intuitive feeling and imparting an exact physical and mathematical sense to them in a way that builds the foundation for Physics.

In order to define and utilize the physical concepts there is a certain amount of Mathematics that is needed. The description of particle trajectories, collisions, and the motion of waves, for example, requires the use of algebraic equations, geometrical reasoning, trigonometric functions, vector analysis, and the calculus concepts of the limit and the integral. It turns out, however, that the difficulties facing us in elementary Physics rarely involve the Mathematics itself, because the operations required are usually quite manageable. Rather, the stumbling block is usually how to take a physical situation and develop the appropriate set of equations describing it, no matter how simple the equations turn out to be. It is much like the famous 'word problems' throughout high school, where the challenge was to take the concepts embodied in words and formulate them in equations. You might remember that the word problems were usually much more challenging than was the list of 'solve the following equations' exercises. As such, you are urged to put serious effort into independently solving the problems that are assigned in each chapter in order to truly grasp all the ideas.

With that said the Classical Mechanics and Wave Motion that constitute the basis of this course provide the underpinnings for many science and engineering studies, including large areas of Mechanical and Civil Engineering. Virtually all of the concepts developed in this semester emerge again in Physics 132, where the subjects of Electromagnetic Theory, Relativity, and basic Quantum Physics are studied. These areas, in turn, provide the foundation for many other science and engineering disciplines, especially Astronomy, Earth Sciences, Chemistry, Molecular Biology, and Electrical, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering.

1) There will be three tests during the semester, each counting towards

16.67% of the final grade. No exam grades are dropped.

2) There will be a comprehensive final (i.e. covering the entire semester's work)

worth 25% of the final grade. The final exam is Saturday Dec. 11, 2004, 1-5pm.

3) The laboratories will account for 10% of the final grade. You must pass the laboratory component of the course in order to pass Physics 131.

4) Quizzes, homework and class participation will account for 15% of the grade. Attendance will frequently be taken. No make-up quizzes will be given, but one quiz grade will be dropped.

The exact dates of the three semester exams will be announced as the semester proceeds. For each semester test and the final exam you must bring a calculator and you are allowed one 81/2" x 11" page with any information on both sides of it that you want. Make-up exams will be given only if a signed note indicating a valid excuse for absence is obtained both from a Physician (or other person directly involved in the justified absence; e.g. an Athletic Director), and the Office of the Academic Dean. No exceptions to this rule will be made. Make-up exams will not be curved and will not necessarily follow the same format as the exam missed.

This semester there will be problems both from the Halliday/Resnick/Walker text and from the web-based Mastering Physics problems. The problems assigned for each text chapter will not be collected or graded, but it can not be stressed too much that problem solving is the only true measure of how well you are learning Physics. Some class time each week will be devoted to solving assigned problems. Solutions will be posted. The problems assigned from Mastering Physics will be graded automatically as you enter your answers on the web, and will count towards the 15% mentioned in 4) above. Please seek me out during office hours or by appointment whenever you need help. Test problems will be very similar to those assigned, so it is ultimately up to you to keep up with the homework if you plan to do well in the course.

Each Physics 131 section is run independently by an instructor, who develops his/her own teaching style, testing and grading scheme, and introduces optional materials. It was very recently decided to incorporate the web-based Mastering Physics problem package into Physics 131. This is described more fully below, and each 131 section will incorporate it to some degree.

It is too difficult to cover all the chapters in Volume 1 of Halliday, Resnick and Walker. We will try to pick the most important topics and omit other important topics. Tentatively, we will cover Chapters 1-12 on Classical Mechanics but omit Chapter 13 on Equilibrium and Elasticity. Chapter 14 deals with Gravitation, one of the four Fundamental Forces of Nature that we know of, and we will cover it in full. Chapter 15 concerns Fluid Mechanics, and deals with elementary fluid flow and pressure concepts. The topics are so close to many important real world situations that we will cover most of it. Finally, we will cover some areas of wave motion, tentatively both chapters 17 and 18. With no time left, the fundamentally important area of Thermodynamics, the subject of chapters 19-21 will be omitted.

All sections adhere to the rule that the Laboratory component counts for at least 10% of the final grade and must be passed in order to pass the course. In some cases the laboratories will cover material and topics not covered in the lecture portion of the course. Information on the laboratories is given below. Dr. Dayle Hancock is in charge of the laboratory operations. Please contact him for all laboratory related questions: hancock@lab.phy.tulane.edu

It is expected that the average final grades from each instructor are about the same, so that there is no grade advantage to be gained by switching from one instructor to another.

Most sections of Physics 131 have a total weekly meeting time of 200 minutes (four 50 minute sessions). Through an apparent anomaly, our section has 225 minutes per week (three 50 minute sessions, and one 75 minute session). This means we would have the equivalent of nearly 7 extra 50 minute session during the semester, compared to other sections. To partially offset this imbalance, hence, a few of our class sessions will be cancelled during the semester. The cancellations will normally be announced at least one week ahead of time.

If you enjoy Physics but are not a Physics major, you might consider the possibility of a double major. About one half of the Physics Department's 30 plus majors have a double major in another field. The majority of these double majors come from all branches of Engineering, while others have their second major in areas such as Math, Chemistry, Philosophy, Economics, Political Science, and foreign languages. Some Physics majors go on to Medical School, Law School and other professional schools, while others go on to graduate school in Physics, related Sciences, and Engineering. Yet others join the work force immediately in a wide variety of sectors. Graduate and Professional schools, as well as savvy employers in many areas know that a graduate with a B.S. in Physics possesses superlative problem solving skills that can be brought to bear on a surprising range of areas. Realizing that the B.S. in Physics is such a good credential, the Tulane Physics department instituted a liberalized Physics major many years ago, in order to accommodate the many students who wanted to pursue two majors.

If you are interested in finding out more about this option, please see the Undergraduate Physics Advisor, who is currently Professor Wayne Reed.

Note: Web-based Mastering Physics problem assignments are found on the Mastering Physics web-site: http://www.masteringphysics.com/

Chapter 1: Problems: 3, 9, 10, 14, 20, 23, 57

Chapter 2: Problems: 10, 12, 15, 17a-e, 27, 36, 52, 54

Chapter 3: Problems: 1, 3, 11, 17, 31, 32, 39

Questions: 2, 3, 4, 8

Chapter 4: Problems: 3, 6, 11, 20, 23, 31, 41, 66, 82, 116

Questions: 3, 4, 7, 13

Chapter 5: Problems: 1, 9, 18, 31, 33, 41, 45, 49, 54, 64

Questions: 1, 8, 9

Chapter 6: Problems: 6, 13, 17, 23, 31, 37, 41, 46, 52

Chapter 7: Problems: 8, 13, 14, 17, 20, 29, 30, 35, 39, 41, 44

Chapter 8: Problems: 7, 16, 19, 23, 27, 30, 36, 42, 46, 52, 58, 59

Chapter 9: Problems: 1, 4, 14, 16, 20, 25, 37, 40, 44, 46, 50, 58, 61, 67, 71

Chapter 10: Problems: 4, 7, 12, 29, 36, 38, 41, 46, 51, 54, 60, 67

Chapter 11: Problems: 4, 8, 21, 29, 35, 46, 51, 60, 61

Chapter 12: omitted

Chapter 13: Problems: 9, 16, 22, 30, 33, 35, 39, 46, 53, 56, 59, 60

Chapter 14: omitted

Chapter 15: Problems: 9, 12, 17, 19, 33, 37, 42, 45, 48, 58, 60, 62

Chapter 16: Problems: 3, 4, 7, 15, 23, 24, 30, 31, 34, 39, 48, 51

Chapter 18:

Chapters 19-21: omitted

Address all questions and inquiries concerning the laboratories to:

Dr. A. Dayle Hancock office: (504) 865-5086

fax: (504) 862-8702

hancock@lab.phy.tulane.edu

The departmental policy is a student must pass the lab to pass the course. A passing lab average is 59% . The labs are self-contained. Students must come prepared for each lab.

Some labs may not be 'in sequence' with the lecture. The first lab ('Vector Forces') will be the week of September 13-17 . There will be no labs the week of September 6-10 because of the Labor day holiday. There are no labs the first partial week of class (August 25-27) or the week of August 30 - September 3. Every student must attend the correct section (day, time and room number). Each student should bring a scientific calculator, ruler with centimeter scale, protractor, textbook and a floppy disk to class. Each student is required to write a short (150-200 word) pre-lab summary before coming to class as an introduction to their lab report. There will also be a short quiz before each lab to insure the student is properly prepared for the lab. There will be a quiz and a pre-lab is required at the first lab. More detail is given in the lab manual about lab grading. Make up labs are only given for officially excused absences. An official excuse is defined as: (a) illness with a doctor's note or a dated medical excuses policy form from the student health center, (b) a family emergency such as a serious illness or death in the immediate family or (c) official Tulane business. Make up labs will be the week of November 15-19. Documentation will be required to do a make-up lab. Only two make-up labs will be allowed.

Usually, the Physics department sets up a Physics help desk, where Physics graduate students help undergraduates with concepts and problems. The hours of operation and location of the Help Desk will be announced as soon as available.

1) Go to http://www.masteringphysics.com/, and click on the "Mastering Physics Stand Alone" page.

2) If this is your first time using Mastering Physics, click on "First Time User - Register". Do not click "Buy Now" to purchase access; this class test is free.

Follow the instructions. The student access code for all students this semester is:

• For best results, work on each problem part on paper first, just as you would a textbook assignment, and draw your own figures as needed. After you're done on paper, enter your answer in the box.

• Use the "help" and "constants" tabs for help on how to enter equations or constants.

• If you get stuck, some problems offer hints. Note however that you may receive bonus points for not opening the hints.

• After you hit the "submit" button on a part, you cannot change your answer. If you are incorrect you may get another chance for partial credit, along with feedback to help guide you to the correct answer.

• Click the "submit problem" button only after completing all parts. Each problem is saved when submitted, so you can stop in the middle of an assignment if you like and finish it later. Note that you must submit an entire problem to save it (not just a part).