PHYS OF HOW THINGS WORK
Phys 101
Session: 01/12-05/05’09; 05 May ’09 Final Exam
______
Professor: T. Datta
Office: PSC 501/502 (777-7669) 3:00 PM -4:00 PM, M &W or by appointment
Contact:
Class- Lecture: PSC 002, 4:00 PM -5:15 PM, MW.
HW: PSC 208, 11:15 AM -12:05 PM, F
Course description:
The course will introduce the basics of principles classical and modern physics. Applications of these principles in every day life of the 21 century technology such as space travel, nuclear & solar energy, GPS & Laser will be explained.
Course goals:
Upon successful completion of physics 101, the student should be able to:
1) Recognize scientific fact from fiction
2) Be familiar with basic physical principles
3) Understand charts, graphs, and diagrams
4) Acquired skills to interpret, interpolate and extrapolate a set of given information
5) Apply basic math to determine quantitative results
6) Realized the role of physics in modern life.
Lecture class/notes: Large parts of this course will be lectures from my personal notes and open source educational information available over the WWW.
Companion Book: How Everything Works by Louis Bloomfield, John Wiley.
Attendance & honor code: All university rules regarding absences and academic responsibilities will apply.
Home work: Charts, tables, graphs, figures, numerical, qualitative & quantitative compositions.
Tests & Exams: Three 1hr tests & Final
Grading: tests 60% + HW 30% & in-class work 10%
Scale: Standard 10 pt, viz., 100-90% = A, etc.
A tentative Calendar for the spring 2009 semester
Please check on line throughout the semester for updates:
Jan. 16 Last day change/drop with no “W”.
Jan. 19 MLK, no classes.
Feb. 2 Last day to apply May’09 graduation.
Feb. 9 Test 1
Feb. 23 Last day change/drop with no “WF”.
Mar. 2 Midpoint of semester
Mar. 8-15 Spring break, no classes.
Mar. 16 Test II
Apr. 20 Test III
Apr. 28 Reading day; no classes.
Final Exam: Wed, May 5’09 @ 2 PM in class
NB: Proficiency with searching and retrieving on-line information is expected also because it is advisable not to waste resources such as paper most of the course information will be electronic.