Web Site: http://tesla.ices.utexas.edu/physics_303k
Instructor: Professor Jim Chelikowsky
Office: ACE 4.324
Office Hours: MWF 3-4 pm (or by appointment)
Phone: 232-9083 Email: jrc@ices.utexas.edu (email is better), please put “303 K” in the subject header.
Teaching Assistant (TA) : Aditya Aravind (aditya@physics.utexas.edu)
Learning Assistants (LA’s): Alex Fairchild (ajfairc@gmail.com), Seth Whitsitt (theleaderoftheplace@hotmail.com) and Travis Autry (travis-autry@mail.utexas.edu)
TA and LA’s website (office hrs, online learning, coaching): http://www.ph.utexas.edu/~303kcom/chelikowsky/
Class Meeting Times:
Lectures: Tuesday, Thursday
3:30-5:00 p.m. in PAI 2.48
TA Sessions:
Monday
7-8 pm (56665, RLM 6.112)
8-9 pm (56675, RLM 6.112)
Tuesday
7-8 pm (56670, GAR 0.120)
8-9 pm (56680, GAR 0.120)
Prerequisites: A very good high school physics course, Physics 306, or consent of the undergraduate advisor. Mathematics 408C, or 408K, and concurrent enrollment in 408L, and credit or registration for Physics 103M.
Text: Matter & Interactions I, Modern Mechanics, R.W. Chabay and B.A. Sherwood, Wiley, 3rd edition, 2011.
Other class materials: Online resources, lecture notes and clicker questions.
Evaluation:
4 Mid-term exams: 42 % [One exam will be dropped]
Final exam: 25%
Homework 15% [3 homework assignments will be dropped]
In class quizzes: 6% [4 quizzes will be dropped]
TA section: 12% [computer models and attendance]
Exam schedule: All mid-term exams are from 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, September 15, October 13, November 10, and December 1. Location to be announced. The final exam will be on Saturday, December 11, 2:00-5:00 pm. Location to be announced. The final exam will be comprehensive; other midterm exams will focus on the most recent material covered. Calculators will be allowed for the exams. Programmable calculators will be allowed, but the memory must be cleared before the exam. Academic dishonesty will NOT be tolerated.
Quizzes: The lectures will be interspersed with interactive quizzes on a semi-regular basis. During these quizzes students are encouraged to discuss and interact with neighbors. Clickers will be used for these sessions. The specific clickers used for this course are called “Iclickers.” They are available at the UT-coop.
Homework: Homework assignments will be made on weekly basis. The assignments will be web based and will allow you to work at your own pace, save the deadline for completion is absolute. Normally, each will have a short homework assignment. The lecture on Tuesday will have a homework due on Friday; the lecture on Thursday will have a homework due on Monday. The homework assignment will be due at 11:30 p.m., local time.
Grading policy: The letter grade cutoffs for the exams will be determined by two schemes
(a) Percent scores: A (>90%), B (89-76%), C(75-51%) D(50-40%), F(< 40%)
(b) Scaled scores as determined by the QUEST system (which automatically scales the median to 500): A (>600), B (599-525), C(524-450), D(449-400), F(< 400).
The BETTER grade as assigned by the percent scores and scaled scores will be used.
Exam policy:
There is normally no make-up exam offered for any mid-term exams. If you have a legitimate excuse for missing an exam, you must have permission from the instructor beforehand. Legitimately missed exams will be replaced by rescaling the final exam.
TA Sessions: These sessions will of computer modeling and discussions on materials covered in the lectures and textbook. The scores for these sessions will be assigned by the TA’s.