Instructor: Dr. Thomas Handler

Office: 226E Ayres Hall

Phone: 974-7820

Email: thandler@utk.edu

Class Hours: 08:10 - 9:25 Tues/Thurs

Office Hours: 09:30 - 10:30 Tues/Thurs or by appointment

Textbook:

Required: 
Serway & Faughn, College Physics, 7^th Edition

Suggested: 
Schaum's Outline of Physics for Biology and Pre-Med, Biology, and Allied Health Students by George J. Hademenos
Schaum's Outline of Beginning Physics I by Alvin Halpern - Mechanics and Heat
Schaum's Outline of Beginning Physics II by Alvin Halpern - Waves, Electromagnetism, Optics and Modern Physics
or any other similar physics problem solving book.

General Course Description;

This course is intended to provide a foundation on Kinematics, Thermodynamics, Waves, and Optics.

Prerequisites:

The course and textbook presume a familiarity with a precalculus type course such as Math 130 but most definitely a familiarity with with trigonometry and algebra.

Grading Policy:

The semester grade will be determined from the following:

Hour Tests & Final Exam will comprise 58% of the final semester grade

There will be three 1 Hour Tests, counting for 34% ( The 1^st two exams count 12% each while the 3^rd exam counts 10%) of the final grade and one Final Exam counting for 24% of the final grade. The final exam is cumulative. No hour exam score will be dropped and ordinarily no make-up hour exams will be given. However, if there are documentable circumstances, a makeup will be considered. Hour exams will be closed book, but a list of useful equations and constants will be provided.

A MISSED FINAL EXAMINATION IS EXCEPTIONALLY SERIOUS

Laboratory Scores will comprise 24% of the final semester grade.

While laboratory work will be graded by each Lab Instructor independently, an effort will be made to insure a uniform grading policy between different laboratory sections.

Laboratory make-ups are entirely at the lab instructor’s discretion and arrangements for such must be made with the lab instructor.

Homework will comprise 18% of the final semester grade

Homework sets will be assigned using Web Assign. The availability of the problem sets will be announced in class with the available time for each set being ~ 1 week. Due dates for problem sets are firm.

NO EXTENSIONS OR MAKE-UP PROBLEM SETS WILL BE GIVEN

Grading Scale

Your grade will be determined using the number determined from the above description. The grade boundaries are:

Problem Solving

If you have difficulty in solving problems, you can find some problem solving tips at

Study Tips for Introductory Physics Students
Solving Problems in Physics
Tips

Examination Schedule:

Dates for hour exams are provisional and are subject to change as situations may warrant. Date changes will be announced in class. It is the student’s responsibility to verify exam dates.

Examination Grading:

If you have any questions concerning the grading of a particular examination, you have one week from the time that the examination is returned in class. After one week, the grade is final!

Please note that in the grading of individual problems, a correct answer obtained by erroneous means will count for zero points.

Academic Honesty

All work submitted by a student is expected to represent their own work. Students are expected to enter their own homework without assistance from others. Students are expected to perform all work in conformance with the University policies regarding Academic Honesty.

Class Schedule

The class will meet formally 29 times with 26 lectures and 3 hour exams. It is expected that the student will have read through the material that is to be covered for a particular class.

Lecture slides will be posted as PDF files as the lectures and the semester progresses.