Physics 103 Syllabus, Summer 2000
St. Lawrence University
Daniel W. Koon, Instructor


TEXT: College Physics, Paul Peter Urone, Brooks/Cole Publishing.

RESERVE: The following are on reserve at the Science Library: Two Schaum outline books (College Physics and Beginning Physics I), The Cartoon Guide to Physics, Precalculus by Kaufman, our text, and three other College Physics textbooks.

LEARNING PHYSICS: Much of what you will learn in this course is counter-intuitive and contradicts preconceived notions we all have had about how the Universe operates. To overcome these notions, it is important to confront them. This requires a lot of practise. Read the sections of the book listed below before each lecture. Do the homework. Do extra problems. Discuss problems with classmates or the prof. Check my homepage, for additional resources , including an exam file, and lecture notes (from several years ago).

ATTENDANCE: The instructor reserves the right to subtract one-half of a letter grade for each absence beyond the first two. I do not expect you to learn all of your physics from my magnificent lectures, just as I would not expect you to learn it all simply from reading every sentence of the text, or by doing every homework problem. However, each one of these items you miss diminishes the understanding you are likely to gain of the course material.

EXAMS: There will be three exams during regular class time during the semester, Wednesday, June 7, Thursday, June 15, and Friday, June 23, plus a Final Exam, Saturday, July 1. You may bring with you to the exam a calculator and all the notes you can fit on a 3" x 5" index card (both sides, handwritten).

HOMEWORK: Your goal in writing a homework solution is to communicate what you understand and what you don't understand about the problem. I encourage you to write (scientists do use complete sentences) about those points of the problem that confuse or interest you and to make commentary on the plausibility of your answers. You will receive credit for recognizing an answer is wrong and being able to explain why it is incorrect.

GRADING POLICY: Your final average will be calculated from the following:
Homework
35%
Three semester exams
30%
Laboratory *
25%
Final Exam
10%
92% and above
4.0
 70% and above
2.0
86% and above
3.5
 65% and above
1.5
80% and above
3.0
 60% and above
1.0
75% and above
2.5
* Failure to complete the laboratory section of this course automatically results in failure of this course.

All exams, homeworks, and labs will be counted toward your final average. All cutoffs are exact: I do not round percentages up before calculating the final grade: a grade of 91.99 is still a 3.5. Should you feel inclined to argue this point with me at the end of the semester, I will simply remind you that the time to negotiate any subtleties of the syllabus is during the first week of classes.

THE LECTURES: -- Tentative schedule
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
5/31: Ch. 1:1-4
Intro & Math Overview		 6/1: Ch. 1.5-8


 6/2: Ch. 2.1-4
One-dimensional motion
6/5: Ch. 2.5-7


 6/6: Ch. 3.1-4
Two-dimensional motion		 6/7: EXAM I


 6/8: 3.5, Ch. 4. 1-3
Newton's laws of motion		 6/9: Ch. 4.4-7
6/12: Ch. 5.1-5
Statics and torque		 6/13: Ch. 5.6-8, 6.1-2
Work, energy, power		 6/14: Ch. 6.3-6

 6/15: EXAM II

 6/16: Ch. 6.7-8, 7.1-3
Linear momentum
6/19: Ch. 7.4-5, 8.1-2
Circ. motion, gravitation		 6/20: Ch. 8. 3-6


 6/21: Ch. 9. 1-5
Rotation, angular mo.
 6/22: EXAM III


 6/23: Ch. 10.1-5
Fluid statics
6/26: Ch. 10.6-7, 11.1-2
Fluid dynamics		 6/27: Ch. 11.3-4, 15.1-4
Oscillation, waves		 6/28: Ch. 15. 5-10


 6/29: Ch. 16.1-5
Sound and hearing		 6/30: Ch. 16.6-7, review
FINAL EXAM: Saturday, July 1