PHYS102N - Conceptual Physics II | Winter/Spring 2023, TR 9:30 -
10:45
| OCNPS 200
Continuum Dynamics and Modern Physics - Instructor: Dr. Sebastian E. Kuhn -
Department of Physics
- Physical Sciences Building II Room 2100J
Drop-in Student Hours: Mondays and Thursdays 11 a.m.-12 noon in my office
as well as by appointment (email skuhn at odu.edu)
Important Links:
Welcome to PHYS102N.
This site is under construction - new items and updates will be
added frequently. Return occasionally to get the newest information.
General information
- Our final "midterm" test (#3) is done -
Here are the
Solutions.
- Here are the
Solutions for our second midterm test.
- Here are the
Solutions for our first "midterm" test.
- What do you need? If you have taken PHYS101 last semester, you should
still have nearly everything you need, including the Echo360/Turning polling system.
If you bought only 1-semester subscription (or if you didn't take PHYS101 in
Fall 2021) you will have to (re)subscribe for this semester following
THESE instructions. You don't
need a new book. The new Lab manual for PHYS102 is available on the companion
Lab CANVAS site.
- If you are new to this course, this is what you need: Our textbook ("Conceptual
Physics" by Hewitt,
ed. 12) and the lab manual (CANVAS). Also, we will be using the Echo360/TurningPoint polling system - see
detailed information under "Important Links" above.
- I also recommend some additional books (from the library or even
to buy if you're interested): "Guesstimation" by Profs. Lawrence
Weinstein and John Adam (both at ODU), Princeton Press (a nice primer
on how to use rough quantitative estimations in everyday life); "How
Things Work" by Louis Bloomfield (UVa), Wiley; and "The Cartoon Guide
to Physics" by Gonick and Huffman, Harper Perennial. Also books by
Lawrence Krauss, Brian Greene etc....
- We will use
CANVAS
for all time-critical information, feedback,
assignments (both to receive and to submit), grades etc. You should log in
to Canvas and select the course ID
"202220_FALL_PHYS102N_20105 CONCEPTUAL PHYSICS" (bookmark or pin that course).
- Feel free to send me email for
any questions you may have, or to set up an appointment outside of regular
office hours.
General Considerations
1) Is this course for me?
Note: This course is the continuation
of PHYS101N. You must have
passed PHYS101N or an equivalent course to
enroll; if you did badly in PHYS101N, you might have a hard time with
this course also.
The purpose of this course is to give you a fundamental understanding
how
Physics
can describe the world around us with a coherent body of
concepts and models.
We will develop some very abstract ideas (energy, heat, wave, matter)
that
have precise meanings (as opposed to the loose everyday meanings we
associate
with some of these words). We will also have to "unlearn" some of the
"obvious"
things we thought we knew about the physical world around us and how it
works.
Finally,
to demonstrate the relationship between the abstract concepts and
models
and everyday phenomena or technical applications, we will have to study
a variety of examples and observations and solve problems (as well as
do lab experiments).
It helps if you have some knowledge of math (high school algebra and
geometry) and
had some science courses in high school as well. Even more importantly,
you should have some curiosity about science and how it can explain the
natural world.
If you tend to faint at the sight of any mathematical equation, this
course may not come easy. If you have too heavy a course load already
and cannot commit substantial time and effort to this course, you may
be disappointed by the outcome (I recommend to reserve AT LEAST
10 hours every week for this course).
If you can commit some serious effort and time, then this course
should reward you
with a deeper understanding of the world around you (not to mention a
reasonable grade – but no guarantees!). In that case, this course is
definitely for you!
Note that you only have until the beginning
of the second week of classes to
withdraw with full tuition refund, and only one more week to withdraw
with 1/2 tuition refund. It pays (literally) to figure out right away
whether or not you plan to continue the course.
2) Suggestions for Homework
Homework will be submitted through Canvas.
All deadlines are hard and fast - no extensions under
any circumstances (that includes late-night technical glitches).
Some general suggestions:
- Typically, HW problems are keyed towards new "tools" covered in
the
chapter
they are attached to. If a problem in Chapter 7 asks you to calculate
the
speed of an object after falling in Earth's gravitational field,
chances
are you should use "Energy" to solve
this
problem (which is the chapter title). Also, look at the "Summary of
Terms" and the "Review Questions" at the end of each chapter to find
relevant information.
- If you don't have enough time to thoroughly study the book, at
least
make
sure you go over several of the examples and "check yourself" questions
for each
chapter.
Try to "think ahead", by covering up the "solution" and first trying
your
own hand at it. If you are really pressed for time (HW deadline), try
to
find examples that look similar to the problem at hand and see which
tools
are applied how (and why).
- Never wait until the last minute before the deadline to submit
your answers - there could be a last-minute technical problem and there
won't be any extensions! In fact, you should ALWAYS plan to submit your
solutions on the day before the hard deadline.
- For extra practice,
you should do additional problems/exercises (and the "Review
Questions") in the book. Try to get
as far
as possible on your own,
and then ask me or a Learning Center staffer (or a fellow student) for
help where you need it. I also strongly encourage you to try out some
of the "projects" in the book and as many of the animations in
the web links below as you can.
- Some of you will have the companion book "Practicing Physics"
which has many nice practice questions with solutions (plus a list of
solutions to all odd-numbered exercises and problems in the book).
Study these!
- I can not do more than a sample problem every now and then in
class.
However, make sure you benefit at least from the ones I do by
interrupting
me if I'm doing something you can't
follow.
I'd rather have you understand one
worked-out example than getting
confused by a torrent of several running by too quickly.
- Doing problems is not easy, but you will get better at it with
practice.
Unfortunately, there is no shortcut or a simple collection of
"recipies"
- you need to understand the underlying concepts to solve a problem.
- Often it helps to work with other people and/or in the Learning
Center.
Bouncing ideas and questions of each other may clear things up - and
there's
often someone experienced around to ask if you really get stuck. For
your convenience, you can submit your HW answers to Blackboard from the
computers in the Learning Center.
- As you can see, this class DOES require several extra hours of
work every week outside of the class room!
Get involved: Tell
me
(via email, office hour, note, after class)
what you would
like
me (or the TA) to do or change to make the
learning easier for you. However, don't expect miracles: We can't
simply
reduce the material to be covered by a large fraction, so be prepared
to
give us trade-off options ("do more of this and less of that").
Remember,
if you never go to office hours, the Learning Center, etc.,
we can't help you. No student who
made an effort to meet with me when (s)he encountered problems has ever
failed this class!
3) Suggestions on
how to prepare for tests and exams
Many of the suggestions above for the homework also apply for the
preparation
for a midterm or final exam (e.g., doing sample problems, following the
examples in the text very carefully, etc.).
In particular, the best
preparation
for exams is to do both your regular homework and maybe a couple extra
"practice exercises" every week. But to get anything out of that, you
really
have
to work hard at getting the answer on your own. Don't expect your
fellow classmates or the learning center to "just do
the
problems for you". Not only is this against my rules (honor code), but
it also
deprives you of the learning process. Even if you don't get the final
answer
(right), if you at least have made a serious attempt, you will
understand
the correct solution better and be able to see where you may have
troubles
or weak areas.
And now some other "good advice":
- When you study the book, focus on the summaries at the end
of each
chapter and the "Review Questions". Make sure you understand
the terms listed (read the relevant part of the
chapter
in the book if in doubt) and find at least one
example
in the text that illustrates each concept. Do all the "check yourself"
problems in the text by covering up the solution first, then check!
Make use of any additional study material that came with the book, or
go to the book website.
- The companion book "Practicing Physics is a perfect study guide -
but you have to keep up with each topic as it is treated in class. Fill
in the blanks and then check yourself!
- Go over past homework problems. Often an exam problem is just a
variation
of a previous homework problem. Try to remember (or reconstruct) which
concepts where used and how you could tell those were the relevant
ones. Look at my solutions!
- Take a look at the formula
sheet. It
contains equations and formulae that
you might need during the exam.
Try to recollect where and how each of these equations were introduced,
and what situations they apply to (again, look for examples in the
book).
- Remember, midterm exams will cover the chapters in the book
treated in
class up to the day before the exam, beginning with the first chapter
not covered in the previous midterm (for the second and third).
However, some
"background
knowledge" from all of 101 and 102 may be needed to answer a given
question.
The
final exam covers all material from 102 equally.
Finally, don't wait until the last moment. Spend a couple hours each
week
reviewing material and maybe 1-2 hours each day before the exam to
prepare
yourself. This is more efficient than cramming for one night (not only
will you be tired, you will also forget everything more quickly again).
Recent research shows that you learn more if you make sure you sleep
enough during the night before the exam!
Solutions to
previous Homework Problem Sets and Tests
