Instructors:
Douglas Scott (DS)
and
Jess H. Brewer (JB)
Offices:
DS: Henn 300A, 604-822-2802 JB: Henn 320A, 604-822-6455
Lab: JHB: TRIUMF, 222-1047
Office Hours: Any time, within reason.
Marking: According to the "Essentials 101" handout from Week 1, 70% of the overall Science 1 marks are allocated for exams and assignments, to be divided equally between the four disciplines. Here is how the "Physics share" of this part will be reckoned:
| Quizzes and in-class activities | 14/4 |
| Midterm(s) | 16/4 |
| December Exam | 20/4 |
| April Exam | 20/4 |
| total Physics share (excluding Labs) | 70/4 |
Textbook: Randall D. Knight, "Physics for Scientists & Engineers: a strategic approach" with Modern Physics and Mastering Physics (Addison-Wesley, ©2008), ISBN 978-0-321-51333-5.
References:
ASSIGNMENTS: Problem sets are handed out at a Physics lecture and posted on the Science 1 Physics Web site almost every week. Solutions are posted on the Web site a week later. Although the assignments are not all marked for credit, they are an essential part of the learning process. Each student should first attempt each problem independently before consulting colleagues or instructors. Collaborative peer learning is encouraged, but anything to be handed in must be your own work.
READING: The texbook is a very good one, and we will try to follow its outline. However, we are starting with Chapter 20! After that, we will go back to the beginning and work our way through about half the book in each semester. There may be parts of the course where additional material is covered, and then there will be handouts given. Note that the book contains a lot of words; this is because it has evolved to include additional discussion on topics where some students are known to need extra help with the concepts. A good way to know if you have mastered the material is to use the "Workbook" that comes with the textbook.
At the end of each Physics lecture, reading or other home study will be assigned. At the next Physics lecture you will be expected to have studied this material; a large part of that lecture will be reserved for discussion of the assigned topics, particularly areas that some of the class found challenging . . . or . . .
QUIZZES: . . . if there appear to be no questions on the day's home study material, there is the possibility of a quiz to give you a chance to show how well you have mastered it. These quizzes and other in-class activities will be marked and form the basis for part of the overall grade.
MASTERING PHYSICS: The textbook comes with access to a set of additional resources called "Mastering Physics". We will use this simply as a supplement to the textbook (i.e. we will not have a "course" there). This means you will have access to tutorials, including Java applets illustrating many physical principles, and you will have access to a full electronic version ("E-book") of the textbook (which weighs more than most laptops!).
HYPERTEXTBOOK: Over several years Jess Brewer has been developing the Science 1 HyperTextBook, an interactive database of "learning quanta" which will serve as an additional learning resource for you (and you can also contribute as co-authors of the HyperTextBook, as you'll see how when you try it out).
SCIENCE 1 PHYSICS: How does Science 1 Physics differ from other first year Physics courses? One difference is that we try to accelerate the development of your intellectual maturity - your recognition of the fact that "teach" is an intransitive verb and that learning is something you have to do. This may sound obvious, but it is a rare first year student who has had much experience with taking responsibility for learning. We will help in any way we can, of course, but you may find our "teaching style" unfamiliar at first. Stick with it. You'll be glad you did!
Another difference is obvious and somewhat trivial, but nonetheless profoundly important: since the teaching staff of Science 1 attend each other's lectures, we all know what is going on in the other subjects, whereas professors teaching "normal" Physics courses usually have no idea what is happening in their students' Mathematics, Chemistry or Biology courses. Hence we will be able to foster the connections between topics in different fields. And you are encouraged to discuss them.
NATURAL PHILOSOPHY: We are here to help you learn Physics, the discipline, not "about" Physics. On the other hand, until quite recently Physics was known officially as Natural Philosophy; moreover, modern Physics has drastically altered the ways we perceive the world we live in. So we will be dealing with important concepts, and will be reflecting on the philosophical implications of our new knowledge. Physicists like to say that what they study is the most "fundamental" of the sciences - what does this mean? How does "Physics thinking" apply to related areas? And how is it different?
We will try to lay out the possibilities (and limitations) of Physics as a discipline:
OUTCOMES: The intention is that when you pass this course you will:
A knowledge of Physics is valuable for its predictive power - the tools of Physics allow us to build wonderful devices, to manipulate matter profitably and to move wisely through our physical environment. An understanding of Physics requires integration of new paradigms and metaphors into one's intellectual repertoire - your mind will be permanently altered by this experience.