Instructor: Dr Luca Bombelli

E-mail: bombelli"at"olemiss.edu
Website: www.olemiss.edu/~bombelli
Office: Lewis Hall 105
Office Hours: MWF 10:00 – 10:50 am, or by appointment
Phone: (662) 915-5319; Fax: (662) 915-5045

Lecture: Lewis 109, MWF 11:00 – 11:50

Text: D Halliday, R Resnick, and J Walker, Fundamentals of Physics Extended, 8th Edition, John Wiley & Sons 2008.

The book sold at the bookstores on campus and nearby also includes an access code for the WileyPLUS online homework site for our course which you will need; the URL is http://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/class/cls54140/.

Clicker: A GTCOcalcomp PRS RF "clicker" is required. Unless we discuss other arrangements, you may only use one clicker for the duration of the course.

Additional Material: A calculator with keys for the main functions used in scientific calculations (trig functions, square root, logs, inverse, square, value of pi) is highly recommended.

This is the second course of a two-course sequence on calculus-based introductory physics, mainly for science and engineering majors; the companion course and prerequisite is PHYS 211. Students who enroll must also take, or have previously passed, the PHYS 222 lab or an equivalent lab course, and MATH 262 or an equivalent calculus II course; They should also be comfortable with algebra up to the solution of quadratic equations, and with the basics of trigonometry.

We cover roughly the second half of the textbook. The main theme of the course is electricity, magnetism, and optics, and we spend the bulk of the semester on these topics; In addition, we also go over a quick overview of heat and thermodynamics, and a short introduction to special relativity and the first ideas of quantum theory.

Significant goals of this course are for students to improve their analytical reasoning and problem solving skills. Part of this consists in "applying equations" and "getting the right result", but students will be evaluated on a broader set of skills, including the way they analyze a problem and place it in context, and the way they write about it and about general concepts.

Homework: Homework will be assigned, both to be done online and to be turned in on paper; announcements will be made in class and posted on this website. Homework turned in after the time it is due (both online and on paper) may not be accepted, but students may be excused from turning in an assignment if there is a valid reason. Paper homework must be easy to read; pages must be stapled together, and have smooth (not torn) edges. Answers to questions and problems must always include explanations, and the grade will reflect content, presentation, and English. The lowest homework grade (both online and on paper) will be dropped.

Clickers: About half of the classes will begin with a quiz consisiting of multiple-choice questions to be answered using a "clicker"; those questions will be graded; the lowest quiz grade (or one missed quiz) will be dropped. In addition, other clicker questions may be asked during the lectures, but those will not be used for grading purposes.

Tests: There will be three midterm tests and a final exam, consisting of problems to be worked out as well as questions to be answered in writing. Students will be allowed to use a calculator, but no equation sheets, books or notes during the tests. The final will be comprehensive.

Honors College Academic Integrity Policy: Academic integrity is essential to all the values upon which the university is founded. Honors students must therefore embody academic honesty in all aspects of their work. A student with a documented case of plagiarism or academic cheating in an honors course will face the possibility of receiving the grade of F for the course and being dismissed from the Honors College. Specific consequences of such behavior will be determined by the administration and individual faculty member.

Honors College Attendance Policy: Honors courses are small classes, usually taught in seminar style with no more than fifteen students. They are reading, writing and discussion intensive. Student participation is therefore essential. In addition, the university commits extensive resources, especially in terms of faculty time, to these small classes. For these reasons, the Honors College has an attendance policy for all honors courses, both required and departmental. Students are entitled to two absences in Tuesday/Thursday classes and to three absences in Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes. Consequences of additional absences will be determined by the individual faculty member, but additional absences will lower your grade.

Additional Attendance Policy: Also, there will normally be no make-ups for missed tests, but one midterm grade may be dropped if there is a good reason for it.

Note: If a change in the class policies became necessary during the semester, it would be discussed in class before being implemented. After this discussion, the change would be posted on this website.