Besides studying physics this course is also designed to teach you problem solving techniques which are important for all branches of science. The mathematics that we will use are algebra, trignometry and calculus. In order to be in this class you must have finished the first semester of calculus.
Homework assignments will be given every week on Friday and you will turn them in the following Friday at the beginning of the class. Late homework will not be accepted unless you have a college approved absence. It is not fair to the others in class who hand their work in on time to have others hands it in late. There are no exceptions to this rule. You may work with others on your homework, but you must hand in your own work. Copying others homework is a violation of the College's honor code and besides this will not help you on the tests since the exams will have problems similar to the homework. On Wed. evenings from 7 to 10 pm there is a homework help session in room 110 of Mickle, you will be enrolled in this course (Physics 001) for 0 credit if you have not done so. One of the ways to learn and understand physics is by doing problems. The test questions will many times be similar to homework questions. Homework will be posted on the Physics Departments homepage http://alpha.centenary.edu. Once in our homepage go to Course homepages, the rest should be self-evident. You can also view a copy of this syllabus from our homepage.
There will be in class activities in which you will work on a conceptual question with one or two other students on solving the question. Your group will hand in its work on that question. These problems will account for 4% of your grade and they can't be made up. These activities will be randomly scheduled so it is strongly suggested that you attend classes. Also, I have observed a correlation between class attendance and your class grade.
The required text for this course is Essential University Physics by Richard Wolfson.
Your grade in this course is based on the following: