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Welcome to PHYS 111 (T Th 9:35-10:50am, SCI 210)    Physics, by James S. Walker (Pearson, 2009 or 2007). 

Click here for home work solutions and lecture notes (Notice that webassign randomize the numbers used in each problem. The short answer keys provided by the webassign are based on the chosen number listed in this question.  While the detailed solution method is demonstrated using the numbers chosen in our textbook. It is your job to understand the HW solution and be able to apply the same method to different numbers). 

Phy111 Syllabus Pdf format     

Homework assignments are all on Webassign (click here for introduction),    Click here to login.

Entrance Math Exam. (9:35 AM) Thur. 08/27.  SCI 210 

Click here for the math exam results pdf format (also will be posted outside of TH 125 )  Those who pass, please do your webassign homework asap¡­

Syllabus for Physics 111: General Physics I

Lecture: T Th 9:35-10:50 am, SCI 210

Instructor: Dr. Weining Man             Email: Weining(AT)sfsu.edu             Office: TH 316                                                        phone:  415-338-2731

Office Hours: Thur. 3:30pm ¨C 5:00pm, also available by appointment (see me after lectures)

Welcome to Phys 111 General Physics I: Mechanics, fluid, sound, and heat using algebra and trigonometry.

In this semester we will discuss motion, force, energy, fluid, waves, and thermodynamics. We will cover most of the 18 chapters of Physics, Custom Edition for SFSU (Volume I), by James S. Walker (Pearson, 2009). Physics, 3rd Edition or 4thEdition by James S. Walker is also fine.  If you plan to take PHYS 121 too, you may want to get the combined version including both Vol. I and Vol. II. Both Vol. I and Vol. II are packaged with the lab manual. This course must be taken concurrently with PHYS 112, the lab session.  PHYS 112 start to meet during the first week of class. Please attend any PHYS 112 sections now and wait for permit numbers, if you have not registered.

 

Reading: Complete each reading assignment before the class during which the topic is discussed, otherwise the lectures will be too hard and too quick to follow. Repeat the reading, especially the chapter summary, before doing homework.

 

Class attendances: Attendance and participation in classroom activities are extremely important. Bring your calculator to class. Be on time for class. Unannounced quizzes will occasionally be given, based on homework or reading assignments. We focus on understanding concepts, equations, applications and ¡°why¡± in the lectures, and there is no way to really learn physics by memorizing facts and following steps to plug numbers into equations.  Do not use cell-phone, make noise, walk in-out, or do other things to disturb lectures.

 

Homework: There will be a homework assignment due before each lecture, twice a week. These will be entirely on the WebAssign system. You should follow the instruction http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~wman/webassignintro.pdf  and log in here https://www.webassign.net/login.html ($19.95 per semester). In the first 2 weeks, it is free. Try it ASAP. Once the due date passes, the system will not accept answers.  No HW extensions. Homework solutions will be posted online after it is due (within a week).

 

To do homework actively is the most effective step to learn physics. It is very important! Group study is encouraged, but make sure to work out your own problems independently after discussing with your friends or tutors. If you get fish (the homework solutions) without really learn fishing (to solve similar problem alone), you will do poorly in quizzes and exams. 

 

Problem solving and help session: The lab instructors offer 8 hours of help sessions each week for PHYS 111. Not many sample questions can be solved step by step during the PHYS 111 lectures, due to the fact that we cover more than one chapter each week. Make sure that you go to at least one help session each week, if you need problem solving guide and homework help.

 

Exams: 5 to 6 quizzes, 2 midterms and a comprehensive final. Missing exam will receive zero point, unless previously discussed.

 

Academic dishonesty: Students are expected to perform their own work on all assignments in the course. Dishonesty on an exam, quiz, or homework will result in a grade of zero for that assignment, or even a failing grade for the course.

 

Grading: The final score will be based on the homework and exam scores as indicated below:

Final Exam 25%                Midterms 40% (20% each)              Quizzes (drop 1)  20%                     Homework (drop  2)   15%

Final letter grade:               90 and up : A:                      75 and up :  B;                     60 and up:  C;                      50 and up : D.

Some individual exams can be curved if they are too hard for most students, but I will not curve the final score. I wish everyone to do very well and get B or better (75 out of 100 or better). I do not limit the number of people who get A. Extra bonus points can be given to students who finish bonus assignments actively. (The class average of last semester was B-.  25% students got As, and another 25% failed or dropped.).

 

Prerequisites: MATH 109 or equivalent. Also you need a passing grade on the Physics Dept. Math Entrance readiness exam, http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/Academics/Readiness.html(about algebra, geometry, trigonometry), which will be administered during the SECOND MEETING OF LECTURE.  (Make sure to take the exam if you want to add).  If you fail the entrance exam, or no longer wish to continue with the course, you must drop yourself on both PHYS 111 and PHYS 112.

 

Course objectives and learning outcomes:   You will be able to

¡¤        Study Newton's laws of motion and learn how to apply them to simple mechanical systems.

¡¤        Learn the physical concept of energy and how it relates to different physical systems.

¡¤        Study the phenomena involved in gravitation, wave motion and oscillations.

¡¤        Study the concepts and phenomena in the fields of heat, thermodynamics and thermal physics.

¡¤        Learn how to translate realistic physical problems into the equations which describe them; solve these equations for the variables describing the problem; and interpret the results to describe the resulting behavior of the realistic physical system.

¡¤        Learn to carry out numerical evaluation of algebraic results rapidly and accurately, using appropriate units for physical quantities.  

¡¤        Describe simple physical systems by graphing system variables, and interpret graphs of system variables.

¡¤        Relate the equations of physics to intuitive concepts.

 

Lecture Schedule (tentative):

Week

Dates

Topics for reading before coming to the class

Reading

Comments

1

8/25
8/27

Fall in love with Physics. Why and how to learn physics

Introduction; Units & Dimensions, Sci. Notation

 

Chapter 1

 

Math entrance readiness exam  (8/27)

2

9/1

9/3

Position, displacement, velocity acceleration; free fall;

Vectors, vectors operations, relative motion

2

3  

Results of math exam available (8/31)

Last Day to drop(9/11)

3

9/8

9/10

 

2D kinematics; projectile motion

 

4

No class. (campus close, furlough day)

 

4

9/15

9/17

Mass, forces, weight, normal forces

Newton¡¯s  laws, gravity,

5

5, 12  (1-2)

 

5

9/22

9/24

Static & kinetic friction;

Circular motion & centripetal force; forces in equilibrium

6

6

Last day to add (9/22)

6

9/29
10/1

Work and energy; kinetic energy, power,

Midterm 1 

7

 

Midterm 1. Chapters 1¨C 6.

7

10/6
10/8

Conservative & non-conservative force, Conservation of energy

Momentum; impulse,   

8

9

 

8

10/13
10/15

Collisions, center of mass, conservation of momentum,

Angular motion, rotational kinematics, moment of inertia

9
10

 

 

9

10/20

10/22

Torque: static equilibrium,
Angular momentum and its conservation

11

11

Last day for CR/NC(10/20)

10

10/27
10/29

Spring forces, simple harmonic motion: resonance

Midterm 2

13

 

 

Midterm 2. Chapters 7 ¨C 11.

11

11/3
11/5

WAVES: waves on a string, sound,
Doppler effect, standing waves; musical instruments.

14

14

 

12

11/10
11/12

FLUIDS: density, pressure, static equilibrium.

15

 

 

No class. (Phys. Dept. furlough day)

13

11/17

11/19

Archimedes¡¯ principle & buoyancy, Bernoulli's equation.
Temperature, heat and work, specific heat, heat exchange

15

16

 

Last day to withdraw (11/19)

14

11/24-26

 

 

Fall Recess

 

15

12/1
12/3

Ideal gas law, kinetic theory, and latent heat,

phase changes , Thermodynamics laws

17

17/18

 

16

12/8

12/10

Heat engines and refrigerators
Makeup, wrap up and review

18

1-18

 

Final

12/15

Chapter 1-18

 

8:00-10:30 AM                         SCI 210

 

Checklist of what you should do: (10-12 hours a week is expected in order to understand 18 chapters in 16 weeks.)

¡¤        Read the text before each lecture, otherwise lectures will definitely be too quick and too hard for you.

¡¤        Understand all concepts, equations and ¡°why¡± in lectures. You will get lost if you just memorize facts or plug numbers.

¡¤        Don¡¯t miss class. To make-up takes 3 times of lecture time.  Carefully review notes if you have an unavoidable absence.

¡¤        Study in groups and help each other, but do not simply give or ask for answers.

¡¤        Do homework independently after discussions. Make sure that you understand everything by yourself. Mark those hard ones.

¡¤        Request keys on webassign. Review HW solutions posted after due date. Redo all the hard ones before quizzes and exams.

¡¤        Go to at least one help session every week. PHYS 111 lectures are not long enough for showing many step by step examples.

¡¤        Improve your math skills. Otherwise, you will have a hard time solving equations for physical quantities.  

¡¤        Keep up with the materials as it is covered. New sessions build on the previous. It is much harder to catch up once fall behind.

 

How to make homework easier:

¡¤        Start to attempt HW ASAP. In order to finish, allow 2-4 days (4-8 hours) for reviewing, practicing, and reading before the due date.

¡¤        Review the text, chapter summary, lecture notes, and problem-solving steps on notes and textbooks..

¡¤        Understand your questions before plugging numbers into equations.

¡¤        Start the problem by drawing a diagram.  Explain your solution in words.

¡¤        If homework looks hard, first try to solve the sample problems on the book and lecture notes without peeking.

¡¤        Pay attention to units. Check results and order of magnitude to make sure they are reasonable. Pay attention to round off error.

¡¤        Get help--but only after trying the problems yourself. Discussions are allowed and encouraged. But NEVER cheat! Offering or asking homework answers completely destroy the precious learning opportunities.

 

* Students with medical conditions or leaning disabilities who need reasonable accommodations are encouraged to contact me for necessary arrangements. The DPRC is available to facilitate the process (dprc@sfsu.edu)

Please visit my website for updates, lecture notes, and HW solutions. http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~wman/phy111.htm

Please keep an eye on your webassign announcements and sfsu email accounts for announcements.

Please keep in touch and let me know how you are doing and how I can help. I am looking forward to a fun and successful semester.                 Let¡¯s start the journey to the fun Physics world. Enjoy!                                                

                  (Last updated Aug/24)

 

Entrance exam: 9:35AM Thur. in the first week at SCI210, (Make sure to take the exam no matter you registered or not).

 

Text: Physics, Third Edition, by James S. Walker (Pearson, 2007).  If you plan to take PHYS 121 too, you may want to get the combined version, ISBN: 9780536220394.  The first half of the book, corresponding to PHYS 111, is sold as Vol. 1, ISBN: 9780536261533.  Both are packaged with the lab manual and a subscription to WebAssign, the online homework service that you need to purchase on-line about 1-2 weeks into the semester, after your log-in is enabled. See details here. First 1-2 weeks are free. Try it ASAP.