Welcome to Physics 121, Spring 2012

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Labs: Every other weeks as scheduled. At this site you will find videos of the Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes. Use these to go over concepts you didn't understand in class, for review, ...

Instructor:	Glenn Starkman, Rockefeller 215 (2nd floor) Phone: 216-368-3660(office) E-mail: glenn.starkman@cwru.edu Skype: glennstarkman Phorum: Outside of class, this on-line discussion space is the best way to ask questions that are likely of interest to your classmates: http://www.phys.cwru.edu/forums/list.php?68
Lab Instructor:	Diana Driscoll, Rockefeller 222A (2nd floor) Phone: 216-368-8844(office) E-mail: diana.driscoll@cwru.edu
Supplemental Instructors (SIs):	Danielle Pajerski (dpp18@case.edu) Nathaniel Lombard Poirot (njl49@case.edu)
Schedule:	Lectures: M W F 11:30 to 12:20 PM in Strosacker Auditorium Consult the Course Calendar to find daily class topics, daily readings, homework due dates, test dates, lab topics, ...
Learning Objectives:	This course aims to teach you to think rationally and critically about the physical world in which we live. You will be taught and encouraged to identify the essentials in a situation, to convert the properties of physical systems into the language of mathematics, so that they can be studied quantitatively, and to interpret the results of the analysis in terms of the original system. The subject matter is mechanics, the study of the motion of material bodies subjected to forces. Since the behavior of most of the world around you ­ planes, trains, automobiles, bicycles, baseballs, footballs, basketballs, roller-coasters, violins, runners, jumpers, planets, stars, rockets, etc. ­ is governed by simple mechanics, this is a particularly fertile field to plough. The second aim of the course is to teach you basic mechanics. Most of this material has been known to physicists for hundreds of years. You should not let this bother you -- great scientists and engineers stand on the shoulders of giants, who stand on the shoulders of giants, who stand on the shoulders of giants, ... You must begin to ascend this human tower of knowledge from its base; besides, there is much beautiful science and mathematics in 17th and 18th century mechanics. Moreover, frequently we will attempt, with your participation, to draw connections between this basic mechanics and cutting edge research.
Key Concepts:	Kinematics, Particle dynamics, Forces, Newton's laws of motion, Energy (kinetic and potential), Energy and momentum conservation, Work, momentum, Rotational motion, angular momentum, Conservation of angular momentum, Torque
Cycles:	The course has been organized in cycles. We will often seem to be covering the same material a second and then a third time. However, the first time we will confine ourselves to one spatial dimension, the second time we will consider motion in two dimensions, and then third time in three. (If we were studying string theory we could add another 7 cycles.) This repetition is purposeful and designed to help you master the material.
Prerequisites:	One of these (concurrent) MATH 121, MATH 121, MATH 125 or one year of high school calculus
Course Web Page:	http://www.phys.cwru.edu/courses/p121
Lab Web Page:	http://physicslabs.phys.cwru.edu/MECH/121
Phorum Discussion Board:	http://www.phys.cwru.edu/forums/list.php?68 This is a really important site. This is where you should post any question that may be of interest to other class members. (If you have a more individual quesiton, ask by email, skype or in person.)
Mediavision Site:	https://mvcw.case.edu/cw3/index.php
Office Hours:	My office is open, but best is M-Th 10:30pm - midnight by Skype. I have reserved the Pioneer Room at Wade and will generally make these hours in-person on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Week 2.
Course Text:	University Physics Vol 1, 13th Ed by Young and Freedman You may also want to by the Student Solutions Manual (Chapters 1-20) by Lewis Ford and Wayne Anderson
Groups:	To encourage participation and to help stimulate active intellectual exchange, much of the course work will be done cooperatively. You have now (Jan 19) been placed in those Groups of three to four -- here are the group assignments with email addresses You should try to find out the addresses and phone numbers of the people in your group. Get to know the members of your group, they are your first line of defense against getting lost. If there is something that you do not understand, ask your group members. You are strongly encouraged to get together regularly with them to work on assignments, and study for tests. Some of the homework will be turned in as a group. Each group will be assigned an identifying code (A, B, ... ) All assignments and tests must be marked with both your name and your group code.
Homework:	Worth collectively 25% of your grade, it consists of two pieces -- individual homework and group homework. Homework is generally due weekly except test weeks, usually on Fridays at 11:30 am, at the front of class. Homework turned in after 11:30am on the due date will be considered late, and will lose 10% of the earned marks. No homework will be accepted after 12:20pm on the due date under any circumstances. Homework solutions done by the instructor will be posted online. Individual Homework: Students are encouraged to work in their groups on both individual and group homework , but individual homework must be written up individually. This means more than it being in your own handwriting, it means that while you may solve the problem collectively, you must write up the solutions for individual homework on your own. Out of the twelve assignments, your lowest two scores will be dropped. Group Homework: Group homework must be done by the group. Only one set of solutions will be accepted per group. The front page should be a cover page and should contain the following statement:    "The following students have contributed to this work and should be awarded credit:" Beneath this statement should appear the signatures of all group members who expect to receive credit. Out of the twelve assignments, the group's lowest two scores will be dropped. (Note that this may be different than each individual in the group's two lowest scores if an individual does not participate in some group assignments.)
Tests:	There will be three in-class 50-minutes tests worth collectively 25% of your grade. The test dates are:     Test I: Fri., Feb. 17     Test II: Fri., Mar. 30     Test III: Wed., Apr. 25 Tests are cumulative, but focus on the material since the last test. There are no makeup tests. Unexcused test-day absences receive a zero. If you miss test for an excused absence (medical with doctor's note, prior arrangement in consultation with CWRU team coach, ...) then the better of your two remaining tests will count for 15%, the less good will count for 10%. If you miss two tests for excused absences then your remaining tests will count for 25%. You may not miss three tests.
Final exam	The final exam will be on Mon May 7, 4-7PM
Grading Scheme:	Individual Homework (best 10 of 12): 15% Group Homework (best 10 of 12): 10% Tests:     best 50 min. test 12%     2nd best 50 min. test 8%     3rd best 50 min. test 5% Laboratory 25% Final exam 25% Letter Grade Assignments: Final cutoffs for letter grades are at the discretion of the instructor. Preliminary cutoffs will be annoucned at the time of midterm grades. Final cutoffs will be no higher than midterm cutoffs. Historically the cutoffs have been approximately 85 or up for A, 75 or up for B, 65 or up for C, 55 or up for D, below 55 for F.