syllabus250

Physics 250 is part of a two semester, algebra based physics sequence; it is intended primarily for students in life sciences and agricultural sciences. If you are interested in majoring in a physical science, engineering discipline or pre-med, you need to be in the Physics 211 sequence; if you are not in a science major and your major does not specifically require Physics 250, you might wish to consider Physics 001 - Conceptual Physics. If you are not certain in which course you belong, talk to me right away!

Physics 250 will cover topics in classical mechanics, wave motion and oscillation and some thermodynamics; Physics 251 will cover electricity and magnetism, optics and some modern physics.

Your grade in this course will be based on the sum of the grades of the two in-class exams (100 points each), the final exam (100 points), recitation (quizzes and homework for a total of 100 points) and laboratory (100 points) -- see table below. I reserve the right to announce additional sources of points at any time during the semester (in the form of special out of class assignments) and to revise the grading table as necessary. I will always announce such changes in lecture and post them on my webpage. You are responsible for keeping up with any special assignments or changes to the grading scale if you should miss lecture.

You are expected to take the exams at the scheduled time. ``Make-up'' exams are rarely given, and only in the most extreme and well-documented case. An announcement will be made, in class, a few days before each scheduled exam concerning the exam. Note: you are allowed to bring one $8 \frac{1}{2} \times 11$ note card to each exam. You may write anything on one side only of the note card, but the note card must be hand written.

Details of the laboratory grading will be provided by the laboratory instructor at the first laboratory meeting, however, you are required to perform all laboratories! Furthermore, you need to pass both the laboratory and the lecture + recitation parts (in the same semester: it is now department policy that the laboratory and lecture parts of the course must be taken in the same semester) in order to pass the course. The laboratory activities are designed to take little out of class time. Some of the labs will, however, have a Post-Lab, intended to be completed outside of the normal laboratory period; they are not particularly difficult or time comsuming, and they are required for full credit on the associated lab.

Due to past abuses of a liberal lab make-up policy, the lab make-up policy is now stricter. If you are going to miss a lab, contact (email or phone is acceptable) your lab instructor in advance. If you have missed a lab, you are responsible for scheduling a make-up, and you will not be permitted to perform the next lab until you make up the missed lab. If you miss several consecutive labs due to an extended illness, you will not be permitted to perform the next lab until you have made a good faith effort to make-up the missed labs (i.e., arrange a reasonable schedule to make up those missed). Finally, no late labs will be accepted for grading after Wednesday of the final week of classes (12 Dec.); labs turned in later than that date will be accepted as evidence that you have performed the lab, but no grade will be assigned.

I assign Problems not Conceptual Questions; the answers to the odd-numbered problems are available in the back of the book, so I will generally assign odd-numbered problems. On occasion, though, an even-numbered problem will be interesting enough that I will assign it. Typically, I'll collect a small number (announced in class) of the assigned problems after we complete each chapter; please come prepared to turn in those problems. Quizzes will be taken directly from the assignment previously covered, and they will be open book. Note that, although I will not collect and grade all problems assignment, it is absolutely essential that you do the problem assignments! The exams will be made up of problems similar to those in the assignments, so if you haven't done the assignments, you will not do well on the exams.

I encourage you to ask questions in class, after class, or to visit me in my office. My office hours will be Monday 11:00-12:00, Tuesday 3:40-4:30 and Thursday 11:00-12:00. During these times I will be in my office and happy to help you with any question or problems. You may also make an appointment for a different time if these times do not suit you.

Academic Integrity: All students are expected to act with civility, personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights and property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment of academic integrity is requisite to respect for self and others and a civil community.

Academic integrity includes a commitment to not engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty include cheating or copying, plagiarizing, submitting another persons' work as one's own, using Internet sources without citation, fabricating field data or citations, "ghosting" (taking or having another student take an exam), stealing examinations, tampering with the academic work of another student, facilitating other students' acts of academic dishonesty, etc.

Students charged with a breach of academic integrity will receive due process and, if the charge is found valid, academic sanctions may range, depending on the severity of the offense, from F for the assignment to F for the course.

The University's statement on academic integrity, from which the above statement is drawn, is available at http://www.psu.edu/dept/oue/aappm/G-9.html .

Day	Assignment
Aug 28	Ch 1 - Introduction to Physics
	Ch 1: 3, 9, 13, 23, 29, 35
Aug 29	no lab meeting this week
Aug 30	Ch 2 - One-Dimensional Kinematics
	Ch 2: 1, 5, 7, 11, 13, 21, 29, 37, 43, 45, 49, 67, 75, 79, 85, 99
Sep 04	Ch 2 - One-Dimensional Kinematics (continued)
Sep 05	Lab 01 - Measurement and Measurement Uncertainties
Sep 06	Ch 3 - Vectors in Physics
	Ch 3: 1, 5, 7, 13, 14, 17, 21, 27, 31, 35, 41, 45
	Drop/add period ends Sep 05!
Sep 11	Ch 3 - Vectors in Physics (continued)
Sep 12	Lab 02 - Measurement of
Sep 13	Ch 4 - Two-Dimensional Kinematics
	Ch 4: 1, 5, 7, 11, 15, 19, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 39, 43, 47
Sep 18	Ch 5 - Newton's Laws of Motion
	Ch 5: 1, 9, 13, 17, 21, 23, 27, 31, 35, 37, 39, 41, 51
Sep 19	Lab 03 - Newton's First Law (Parachutes)
Sep 20	Ch 5 - Newton's Laws of Motion (continued)
Sep 25	Ch 6 - Applications of Newton's Laws
	Ch 6: 1, 7, 11, 15, 19, 21, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 45, 49, 51
Sep 26	Lab 04 - Newton's Second Law
Sep 27	Ch 6 - Applications of Newton's Laws (continued)
Oct 02	Ch 7 - Work and Kinetic Energy
	Ch 7: 1, 5, 9, 13, 15, 19, 23, 25, 29, 31, 34, 37, 41, 47
Oct 03	Lab - TEST I Ch 1-6
Oct 04	Ch 7 - Work and Kinetic Energy (continued)
Oct 09	Ch 8 - Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy
	Ch 8: 1, 5, 7, 13, 17, 21, 27, 29, 35, 39, 43, 47
Oct 10	Lab 05 - Bungee Jumping
Oct 11	Ch 8 - Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy (continued)
Oct 16	Ch 9 - Linear Motion and Collisions
	Ch 9: 3, 7, 11, 15, 17, 21, 23, 27, 33, 38, 39, 43, 47
Oct 17	Lab 06 - Momentum
Oct 18	Ch 9 - Linear Motion and Collisions (continued)
Oct 23	Ch 10 - Rotational Kinematics and Energy
	Ch 10: 1, 7, 13, 17, 23, 27, 29, 33, 37, 43, 47, 51, 57, 61, 69
Oct 24	Lab 07 - Rotational Dynamics and Kinematics
Oct 25	Ch 10 - Rotational Kinematics and Energy (continued)
Oct 30	Ch 11 - Rotational Dynamics and Static Equilibrium
	Ch 11: 1, 5, 9, 13, 19, 23, 27, 35, 39, 43, 51, 53, 61, 63, 69, 73
Oct 31	Lab 08 - Young's Modulus
Nov 01	Ch 11 - Rotational Dynamics and Static Equilibrium (continued)
Nov 06	Ch 12 - Gravity
	Ch 12: 1, 7, 11, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37, 41, 47, 51
Nov 07	Lab 09 - Standing Waves in Pipes
Nov 08	Ch 12 - Gravity (continued)
Nov 13	Ch 13 - Oscillations About Equilibrium
	Ch 13: 1, 9, 13, 17, 31, 35, 45, 53
Nov 14	Lab - TEST II Ch 7-12
Nov 15	Ch 14 - Waves and Sound
	Ch 14: 7, 9, 13, 17, 21, 29, 37, 45, 51, 59, 63, 71
Nov 16	Late drop deadline!
Nov 27	Ch 15 - Fluids
	Ch 15: 3, 7, 14, 19, 29, 33, 35, 39, 45, 47, 49, 51, 55
Nov 28	Lab 10 - Coefficient of Linear Thermal Expansion
Nov 29	Ch 16 - Temperature and Heat
	Ch 16: 1, 11, 15, 23, 29, 35, 40, 43, 47
Dec 04	Ch 17 - Phases and Phase Changes
	Ch 17: 1, 9, 13, 19, 25, 29, 35, 41, 45, 53, 59
Dec 05	Lab 11 - Specific Heat of Solids
Dec 06	Ch 17 - Phases and Phase Changes (continued)
Dec 11	Ch 18 - The Laws of Thermodynamics
	Ch 18: 1, 9, 17, 21, 27, 33, 39, 45, 49, 53, 57, 65
Dec 12	No lab this week!
Dec 13	Ch 18 - The Laws of Thermodynamics (continued)
Dec 14	Last day of classes!
Dec 20	FINAL EXAM Ch 13-18; 10:30-12:20 in 106 Sci/Tech

Grade	Points
A	465-500
A	450-464
B+	435-449
B	415-434
B	400-414
C+	385-399
C	350-384
D	300-349
F	000-299