Proposed PHYS 121-122 combined description: An enriched introductory sequence of first year Physics courses. The main emphasis of Physics 121 is classical mechanics whereas the main emphasis of Physics 122 is electricity and magnetism. The aim of these courses is to develop a conceptual understanding of the basic forces in nature and how their interactions explain the behaviour of physical systems.
Place & Time: Hennings 201 - Monday, Wednesday & Friday 8:00-8:50 AM
Instructor: Jess H. Brewer
Office:
Hennings 320A: 822-6455
Lab:
TRIUMF: 222-1047, ext 6471
Office Hours:
in Henn 201 the hour before each lecture.
In addition, the two graduate students
(Geoff Mullins & Kyle Elliott)
who mark the weekly assignments will each be available
for an hour each week (Monday 4:00-5:00PM in Henn 302
and Tuesday 12:00-1:00PM in Henn 304)
to help with assignments and provide general assistance.
| ITEM | MARKS |
| Labs | 30 |
| Assignments | 10 |
| Midterm Exam | 20 |
| Final Exam | 40 |
| TOTAL | 100 |
Note: Students must pass both lecture and lab
parts of the course and the Final Exam
in order to receive passing credit for Physics 122.
(Faculty members responsible for the courses
reserve the right to override this scheme and/or to
adjudicate any or all marks.)
The Midterm will likely take place on Friday 1 March 2002
during the scheduled lecture hour.
References:
J.H. Brewer, "Skeptic's Guide to Physics"
First Year Science HyperTextBook
Every assignment will have two parts: in addition to the written solutions of detailed problems involving calculations and/or derivations, described above, there will be a short on-line quiz on the WebCT site which is to be completed halfway through each week. The purpose of the quiz is to get you thinking about the reading and the assignment before the last minute, and to show your instructor and TAs which aspects of the current material (if any) are giving you trouble; this should facilitate more helpful lectures. The quiz component will count for 20% of each assignment.
MY PHILOSOPHY: Erich Vogt gave you an eloquent explanation of how and why Physics 121-122 are so successful in developing the skills, discipline and imagination of first year science students at UBC. Rather than repeat that explanation, let me discuss the differences between Physics 121 and Physics 122. The former dealt primarily with classical mechanics, a discipline of enormous depth and subtlety, but one with which every person has a very direct familiarity and therefore a strong physical intuition.2 Physics 122 deals with thermal physics, electromagnetism and wave optics - all abstract subjects for which your physical intuition will (with a few exceptions) have to be dismantled and reconstructed as we go. It is therefore absolutely essential that you not fall behind in your reading and thinking about these topics, or nothing you hear in class will make any sense to you.
I believe you can read the textbook without my help. In addition, I don't like the way the textbook tells you the answer first, shows you how to solve problems with it, and then finally (sometimes) explains where it comes from. I understand that this may be appropriate if you only want to learn enough Physics to apply to selected practical problems, but I cannot develop any enthusiasm for such ``Philistine Physics'' and I doubt that you can either. Therefore I will warn you in advance that my lectures will contain far more ``derivations'' and explanations of why things happen than catalogues of what happens or the formulae describing same. I will try to do lots of problems, too, but it's more important that you do them. That's how you learn.
Speaking of which, here is what I consider the best teaching evaluation I have ever heard: