Instructor: Dr Luca Bombelli

E-mail: bombelli"at"olemiss.edu
Website: www.olemiss.edu/~bombelli
Office: Lewis Hall 105
Office Hours: TuTh 8:00–9:00 am, or by appointment
Phone: (662) 915-5319; Fax: (662) 915-5045

Lecture: Lewis 101, TuTh 9:30–9:45

Required Text: J Touger, Introductory Physics, Building Understanding, John Wiley & Sons 2006. You will also need access to the WileyPLUS site for our course, at edugen.wiley.com/edugen/class/cls24571/, with an access code that comes with the textbook.

Additional Material: A "clicker" is required; If you purchase the textbook at one of the campus bookstores, one will be bundled together with the book. 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 first course of a two-course sequence on general physics, mainly for pre-med majors. (The companion course, offered in the Spring, is PHYS 214.) Students who enroll must also take, or have previously passed, the PHYS 223 lab or an equivalent lab course. Students should also be comfortable with algebra up to the solution of quadratic equations, and with the basic relations of trigonometry.

We cover roughly the first half of the textbook. The main themes are: Motion, forces and energy for small objects in one and two dimensions; Analogous topics for larger objects that can rotate; Fluids, temperature, heat and thermodynamics; and Periodic motion and oscillations.

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 will be dropped.

Clickers: Most 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 will be asked during the lectures, but those will not be used for grading purposes.

Tests: There will be two 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.

Absences: There is no attendance policy for the course, but keep in mind that you will be responsible for knowing what is said in class, answering any clicker questions that are asked of the class during a lecture, and absences from quizzes and tests count as zeros, unless they are justified. 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.