Course Information for Physics 232 - Spring 1999

Course Outline: Electricity and magnetism; geometric and wave optics; relativity, quantum physics; atomic, nuclear, and subatomic physics

Lectures: MWF 1:50pm, 3:00pm in 118 PA (Physics & Astronomy). To avoid overcrowding, and because of quizzes, please attend at your scheduled lecture time.

Lecturer: Prof. Jon Pumplin, Office 127 PA, phone 355-9275, email pumplin@pa.msu.edu. Office Hours 4:00-5:00pm Fri and by appointment.

Recitations: There will be no recitations. Instead, students can get individual attention, or help in small groups, during many convenient hours in the HELP ROOM (B2 North Kedzie, or 209 PA) which will be staffed by Physics 232 TA's or professors. A Schedule of Help Room hours is given separately.

Textbook: Physics, by Cutnell & Johnson, 4th Ed. (John Wiley & Sons)

Web page: http://www.pa.msu.edu/courses/PHY232/ has lecture notes and other course information. Important announcements may also appear when you login to the CAPA system (see below).

Homework: There will be 11 CAPA homework assignments. Each student will have his or her personal set of homework problems. You pick up your homework papers in lecture, and answer the problems using the CAPA (Computer-Assisted Personalized Assignment) system. Using any one of several hundred terminals on campus, or via the internet, you enter your answer to each problem. The answer is accepted or rejected instantaneously. There is no penalty for incorrect answers and each problem may be attempted as often as needed, up to a maximum of (generally) 30 tries. Credit is earned for all correct answers entered before each week's due date, which is THURSDAY at 3:00AM. (Think of the CAPA deadline as midnight Wednesday or earlier - especially if you depend on a telephone connection to the internet, which is not always available!) Details of Using CAPA and the Format for entering answers are described separately.

Exams: Four Midterm Exams (50 minutes) and final exam (2 hrs). The lowest midterm exam score will be dropped. You may bring one 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper with notes and formulas to each midterm, and two such sheets to the final exam. You will also need a calculator and a pencil (not pen) for marking the bubble sheet. You must also bring a picture identification with your signature on it to every exam. Absences from exams require a written excuse from your doctor, dean, etc. There will be no makeups for missed hour exams or for missed homework. If a valid excuse is provided, your grade will be calculated based on your other exams and homework assignments.

Exam Supplements similar to the exam but with different numbers will be passed out after each midterm. These provide you the opportunity to redo the exam at leisure using the CAPA system, to add up to 10% of the total possible points to your exam score. Exam scores > 100% are therefore possible.

Quizzes: An undetermined number of 10 minute quizzes will be given during lecture, as added incentive to keep up to date in the course. Quiz scores will be treated as bonus points, so excuses for missing a quiz will not be considered.

Grades: Final grades will be calculated from CAPA homework (25%), midterms (50%) and the final exam (25%). After quiz points are added in, your final course grade will be calculated according to the following scale. This is your minimum grade: requirements may be lowered a little but will not be raised.