Phys 2012 - General Physics II
Fall 2008
Some materials are in pdf format, which requires Acrobat Reader.
Some resources are acccessible only from the d.umn.edu domain and require use of VPN for access from off-campus.
Syllabus (pdf)
Assignments
Lab and help session info
HW and Test Solutions
Key laws and results (pdf)
eGradebook
Notes
- Homework sets 12 and 13 are back from the grader and may be picked up. I expect
to be around most of the day throughout this week, but will be out of the office at various times,
including Tuesday from 11:30 am til 2pm.
- Sample multiple choice questions covering the last part of the course (since test 3) are available
here. Answers at end.
- Blank versions for review/practice of test 1,
test 2, and test 3.
- Read a news item on a recent experiment studying
the momentum carried by light through a fiber optic.
- Another meeting will force postponement of office hours Thursday, 12/11, until 1 pm following class.
- E-gradebook can only provide an estimate of your course grade because of the weighting algorithm it
applies does not reflect proper weights for each element in the course. Its report of your total is therefore
not definitive. To better estimate your grade:
- Each homework set carries an equal weight. Find the percentage score for each homework set, drop the lowest,
and find the average (0-100%) of the rest. Multiply the average by 0.25 (the homework weight listed in the
syllabus), yielding 0 to 25 points.
- Sum the percentages for the three tests and multiply by .12, yielding 0 to 36 points.
- Lab grades will be adjusted to reflect that some TA's are harder graders and some are much easier.
If you have completed all labs on time with a grade of at least S-, give yourself 10 points. The remaining 5
points for lab will be apportioned by your performance relative to your classmates and adjusted for the
average grade of your lab TA.
- Sum up these points so far. This will tell you where you stand prior to the final exam, which
is worth an additional 24 points.
- The final exam is Friday, December 19, at 2:00 pm in MWAH 195. It will be comprehensive. It will not be available earlier.
- I must postpone the 10 am office hour for Thursday, 12/4, until 1 pm. I expect I'll be around most of the afternoon
afterwards as well.
- Test 3 percentages are based on 50 points.
- Homework set 10 is back from the grader. If you want to pick it up before the test on Monday 11/24,
I expect to be in my office until 4:30 Saturday afternoon and probably in from roughly 1-4 on Sunday afternoon.
- Test #3 is Monday, November 24th. Coverage is through chapter 32 (we have omitted ch. 31).
Practice multiple choice questions are available here (pdf). Answers
(but not the explanations!) are included at the end.
- Test #2 percentages are based on a maximum score of 48.
- Mid-term alerts have been sent, based on performance on first five problem sets
and test #1, to those falling at or below the C- threshold. If you have questions, please come see me.
- Test #2 will be on Thursday, October 23 - coverage through chapter 27.
I expect to be in my office Tuesday and Wednesday evenings before the test, from approximately 8:30-10:30.
- Office hour on Thurs, Oct. 9 re-scheduled from 10am to 1 pm.
(If my scheduled office hours don't match your schedule well, you can look for me in my office at other times.
The best times are late afternoons. I'm frequently around until 5:15 or 5:30.)
- Explore more about DC electric circuits with another PhET simulation of
DC circuits.
Notice that this simulation shows the motion of electrons in the circuit. The direction of flow of electrons
is opposite to the flow of conventional currents, which are assumed to be the flow of positive charges.
- Percentage scores on Test #1 will be based on a maximum possible score of 64, not 84 points.
The boxed score on your test is the raw score. % = (Raw/64)*100.
- Test #1 is Friday, September 26, covering chapters 21, 22, and 24.
- Build some intuition about electrostatic charges and fields with simulations developed by the
Physics Educational Technology group (PhET) at the
University of Colorado (PhET simulations typically require Java or the
Adobe Flash Player).
Balloons and Static
Electricity
Charges and Fields,
a simulation for exploring the electric field patterns produced by various arrangements of electric charges.
-
Labs for Phys 2012 do not meet the first week of class. Pick up a lab notebook (8 x 10 inch, quad-ruled)
from the Bookstore.
-
Phys 2112 - Solving Physics Problems II is a 1-credit companion course to Phys 2012.
It is recommended for students needing additional practice in developing problem-solving skills and for all physics
majors. It meets Wed, 4-5 pm. Enrollment is limited.