El Camino College Physics 1A Mechanics of solids. Fall 2011
Section 1362 meets Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00 - 3:25 and Wednesdays 2:00 - 5:05 in Physics 112.
Instructor: Perry Hacking; Office Planetarium; (310) 660-3593 (x3245); Office Hours: Mondays 12:30-2:30; Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00-2:00. Email: phacking@elcamino.edu
Text: Sear's & Zemansky's University Physics by Young and Freedman, 13th edition; and the ECC Physics 1A lab manual.
Prerequisites: Math 190 or taken concurrently. Physics 2A and B or equivalent.
Free Tutor: Jerry in the Learning Resources Center hours TBD His email is jerrytutor@yahoo.com Also don't forget the MESA Center Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 1-5PM
Exams: There will be four 50-point exams and a 100 point comprehensive final exam. The exam questions will be similar to the homework questions.
Homework: There will be homework assignments for every chapter of the book that we cover. Homework will be worth 100 points total. No late homework will be accepted.
Labs: We will perform approximately 8 labs. Your total lab work will be worth 100 points.
Grading: I will total all of your points at the end of the semester to determine your grade. The grade scale is as follows:
each exam for the course
90 - 100 A 450 – 500 A
80 - 89 B 400 - 449 B
65 - 79 C 325 - 399 C
50 - 64 D 250 - 324 D
Students who withdraw after September 23rd will have a record of it on their transcript. Those that withdraw after November 18th will receive a letter grade based on the entire semester's requirements.
Preparation: Make certain that you are ahead in your reading, and current on your homework! Homework will be due almost every time we meet (including labs). You will be able to find every topic that we cover in your text and ECC physics 1A manual.
Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcome (SLO): In general, the objectives of this course are to learn the physics of static and moving bodies and to learn to correctly analyze physical problems that deal with those subjects. The official course objectives and SLO can be found at: Physics 1A Course Objectives.
About this course: The best way to learn physics is by seeing as many different ways that it can be applied in the real world. That is what we are going to do. Most of the examples that we will use will be simple ones that isolate the concepts that we will be learning about. Of course the real world is more complicated and real world problems often involve many different laws or concepts. The process is the same, however - try to identify the concepts at work in the problem. Before we can tackle the real world, we will start in this course to understand and solve problems that usually involve only one or two concepts, and rarely three or more. Before we are done, we will routinely solve problems that involve multiple concepts.
Advice: This is a very important course for you. I will assume that it shares top priority with your math course in your schedule. If you do not give this course top priority, future physics and related courses will suffer. The Physics 1 series is often thought of as the cornerstone of your college education in any technical field. Make it a strong cornerstone. Even though the homework grade is only worth 20% of the total points, it is probably the most important aspect of this course. Practice, practice, practice. That will be our motto. Homework will be our tool. We will practice a great deal in class also. You can be assured that I will treat this course as your most important one also. I pledge to do my best to make this wonderful course as understandable and interesting as I possibly can. I hope to fill you with the wonder that I have for our physical universe around us.
However, when I stumble and you become confused, it is YOUR responsibility to stop me and ask for clarification or a different explanation or illustration. Silence on your part translates into an assumption on my part that you understand.
Come to class with an active mind ready to learn every time that we meet. Don't show up burned out and hungry. This is not a painting class where you can relax and unwind. I require your FULL attention and your mind at top speed. I need fresh brains in my class!
Disabilities: If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.
Here is our schedule - note that Wednesdays may not always be lab days. Most of your exams will take place on Wednesdays. I will announce any changes in class.
Week Chapter Subjects Lab Period
1. 1 Units, Measurements, and Vectors
2 5.1, 5.3,11.1-3 Translational Equilibrium M-1
3 10.1 Rotational Equilibrium M-2
4 Rotational Equilibrium M-4
5. 2 Linear motion Exam 1
6. 4, 5 Newton's laws of motion
7. 3 Projectiles, center of mass M-13
8. 6, 7 Work and Energy
9. 8 Impulse and Momentum Exam 2
10. 3.5 Circular motion M-28
11. 5.4, 9, 10 Rotational dynamics M-30
12. Rotational dynamics Exam 3
13. 11.4, 11.5 Elasticity M-36
14. 14 Simple Harmonic Motion. Make-up lab M-5 (Saturday)
15. 13 Simple Harmonic Motion and Gravity Exam 4
16. Gravity and Exp M-40 Final Exam