Physics 221 – Spring 2002

Sections 22, 25, 28

Recitation instructor: Nathan Grau

Contact Information:

Office: A332 Physics Building

Office Phone: 294-3565 Home Phone: 233-1891

Email: ncgrau@iastate.edu

Help Hours Etc:

Office Hours: to be set soon

Help Room Hours: T 10-11, W 12-2

Course Home Page: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~ncgrau/phys221/phys221.html

The Course

This is an introductory physics course using calculus. Throughout the semester we

will be introduced the fields of classical mechanics and electrostatics. The first topic deals with Newton’s three laws of motion and their consequences. This includes motion of objects, static objects, rotational dynamics, and we will touch on gravity. Electrostatics will deal with the specific electric force and an introduction to fields and simple circuitry.

The Policies

As stated in the syllabus recitation and lab will consist of 100 points out of the whole 400 points possible in the course (25% of the course grade) of which ~ 60-70% of the 100 (that is 60-70 of the total 400 points) will be from the recitation part of the course. The grades will be broken down as follows: 60% weekly homework, %20 in-class, group quizzes, and %20 in-class questions, problems, etc.

The homework is assigned and due every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the semester. Homework will be due at the end of recitation or on the Thursdays that you have lab they are due in my mailbox in Physics Room 12 (the main office) by 4 PM Thursday afternoon.

There will be roughly 5 quizzes given throughout the semester. These quizzes will

take a large amount of the class time and you will be working in groups. They will consist of one or two problems and one or two short answer/multiple choice/fill-in-the-blank questions that are more conceptual. I will attempt to write them in a form that mimics the test so as to give you some practice.

The final part of your grade will consist of questions and problems posed throughout the recitation. These will done individually and take a short amount of time. They will also happen much more frequently that the quizzes. I expect typically once per week. These will be questions that will extend the scope of what we have learned from lecture and recitation. An example of these types of questions would be: how far can a goose fly? That’s it, no numbers. But you must use some reasonable simplifying assumptions and using some knowledge of thermodynamics and mechanics calculate your estimate of how far the goose would fly. Notice in this example the distances will vary and the grade will be based on your assumptions and your use of the physics.