Physics 104 Syllabus, Spring 1999
St. Lawrence University
Daniel W. Koon, Instructor

TEXT: College Physics, Paul Peter Urone, Brooks/Cole Publishing, 893+ pp., 2.30kg.

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. You will get some of this practise in the laboratory, but you need to do everything you can to confront these preconceived notions. Read the sections of the book listed below before each lecture. Do the homework. (not just because it will harm your grade if you don't) Do extra problems. Discuss problems with classmates, the tutor, and the prof.

ATTENDANCE POLICY: The instructor reserves the right to subtract one-half of a letter grade for each absence beyond the first three. 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, Friday, Feb. 12, Monday, March 8, and Monday, April 12, plus a Final Exam, Monday, May 10.

GRADING POLICY: Your final average will be calculated from the following:
 Homework 
35%
Three semester exams 
30%
Laboratory 
25%
Final Exam 
10%
 Essay 
5% maximum
 
92-100%
4.0
86% and above
3.5
80% and above
3.0
75% and above
2.5
70% and above
2.0
65% and above
1.5
60% and above
1.0
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. Failure to complete the laboratory section of this course will automatically cause you to fail the course.

THE LECTURES:
 
 
MONDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY WEEK'S LAB
1/25: Ch. 17.1-3 
Electrical Charge and E-field		 1/27: Ch. 17.4-5 
 		 1/29: Ch. 17.6-7 
 		 Electrostatic Charges 
 
2/1: Ch. 18.1-4  
Electrical potential and energy		 2/3: Ch. 18.5-7  
 		 2/5: Ch. 19.1-3 Electric Current, Resistance, Ohm's Law Potential field of a dipole  
 
2/8: Ch. 19.3-4  
 		 2/10: Ch. 19.5-7  
 		 2/12: EXAM I  
 		 Simple Circuits  
 
2/15: Ch. 20.1-3  
Circuits & DC Instruments		 2/17: Ch. 20.4,6
 		 2/19: Ch. 21.1-4  
Magnetism		 Ohm's Law 
 
2/22: Ch. 21. 5-8
 		 2/24: Ch. 21. 9-11
 		 2/26: Ch. 22.1-3  
Induction		 Magnetic Fields  
 
3/1: Ch. 22.4-8
 		 3/3: Ch. 22.9-12
 		 3/5: Ch. 23.1-3  
Electromagnetic waves		 The Laws of Faraday & Lenz  
 
3/8: EXAM II  
 		 3/10: Ch. 24.1-4  
Geometric Optics		 3/12: Ch. 24.5-6 
 		 Optics and Ray Geometry I 
 
3/15: Spring break 3/17: Spring break 3/19: Spring break No laboratory
3/22: Ch. 24. 6-7 
 		 3/24: Ch. 24.8-9 
 		 3/26: Ch. 25.1-3 
Wave Optics		 Optics and Ray Geometry II 
 
3/29: Ch. 25.4-5 3/31: Ch. 25.7-8 
 		 4/2: Ch. 26.1 
Special Relativity		 Diffraction and Interference 
 
4/5: Ch. 26.2, 4 4/7: Ch. 26.3, 5 4/9: Ch. 26.6 Michelson/Morley
4/12: EXAM III 
 		 4/14: Ch. 27.1-2 
Introduction to Quantum Mech.		 4/16: Ch. 27.3-4 
 		 No laboratory
4/19: Ch. 27.5-7 
 		 4/21: Ch. 28.1-2 
Atomic Physics		 4/23: Ch. 28.3-4 
 		 Hydrogen Spectrum 
 
4/26: Ch. 28.6-9 
 		 4/28: Ch. 29.1-41 
Radioactivity & Nuclear Physics		 4/30: Ch. 29.5-7 
 		 Photoelectric effect 
 
5/3: Ch. 30.1-7 
Applications of Nuclear Physics		 5/5: Ch. 31 
Particle Physics		 5/7: Ch. 32 
Frontiers of Physics		 Creation of the Universe
 
 Final Exam: Monday, May 10, 8:30-11:30.

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