Physics 1403-001 (General Physics I) Web Page
Spring, 2008, Last update, 5/16/08
9:00-9:50AM, Monday, Wednesday,  AND Friday, Science Room 007
Course Syllabus. Learning Outcomes. Lab Syllabus.
  Spring, 2008 TTU Academic Calendar. Final Exam Schedule.
Announcements    Lectures    Quizzes
   Reading Quizzes    Exams
Note: Homework will be done on-line on the Mastering Physics website. More details will be given soon.
Dr. Myles' Future Teaching is discussed Here.
Attention! This course is finished! The next time I teach it will be in the Fall of 2008!
Instructor & Contact Information
Dr. Charles W. Myles, Professor of Physics. Office: Science Room 18. Phone: 742-3768. Office Hours: 10-noon MWF & by appointment.  E-mail: Charley.Myles@ttu.edu. A class email distribution list will be developed & we can have email discussions . It is vital that I have your correct email address, that you tell me if it changes, & that you check your email DAILY!! Here is an important email announcement!!
Textbook
Physics, by Douglas C. Giancoli (Prentice Hall). The 6th Edition is REQUIRED!! The textbook Website contains helpful items: Topical Outlines of each chapter, Extra Problems (+ answers!), Homework Problems (graded online!), Help resources, & discussions of "What is Physics Good For?".

Course Topics, Objective & Level; Math Pre-Requisites
Topics: (Selected) from Chapters 1-12 of text. Detailed coverage announced as we go. Objective: Survey of 1st semester Physics (mechanics & waves). This is Algebra/Trigonometry based physics. See Course Objectives (Learning Outcomes) for more details.  The pace of the material is, of necessity, very fast. (Some of my colleagues call this "firehose Physics" because it goes so fast that learning something is analogous to trying to drink out a a firehose!) Level: Standard (nationwide) introductory physics level. Math Pre-Requisites: Algebra & Trigonometry  (or Pre- Calculus). This ISN'T a math course! It's is not my job to teach you math! I must assume that you know it! Major problems students have with this course are the fast pace & the math. Course Syllabus: The course details, including discussions of Exams, Quizzes, Homework, & the grading scheme, are found there. PLEASE READ IT!

Laboratory Co-Requisite
You MUST be enrolled concurrently in Physics 1403 (no credit) Laboratory. For exceptions, see the Department of Physics office (Science Room 101, 742-3767)! Lab  Syllabus. will be posted later! ATTENTION! Labs begin NEXT WEEK, STARTING MONDAY, JANUARY 14!!!

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Attend as many classes as possible, come to class prepared, do the homework, READ the material BEFORE I lecture over it, & keep up as we go along! Attendance: I don't take roll & I have no specific attendance policy. However, isn't it obvious that (unless you are a genius!) class attendance is REQUIRED to get a good grade? (or better, to LEARN SOMETHING!)? There's a correlation between class attendance & grades. Skipping also means that you are WASTING the tuition & fees that you (or your parents) paid! With tuition & fees for a full-time (Texas) student, each class meeting costs about $16.15!! So, each time you skip, you are throwing away $16.15!! After a while this adds up! My lectures may not be entertaining or brilliant, but I do expose you to the material. NOTE: The weekend doesn't start Thursday evening or end Monday evening! Friday & Monday are class days & NOT weekend days!

WHERE TO GO FOR HELP?!
Here is a Help Resources document with links to Physics Help Webpages. Here is another possibly useful Document: "How to Succeed in Physics by Really Trying"! Help Sessions will soon be scheduled. Suppplemental Instruction (SI) sessions may be arranged. Details will be anounced soon.  Numerous help resources are available! Please take advantage of them! Helpful Hints: This course is difficult & very fast paced! If you are typical, to get a good grade, you should spend at least 2 to 3 hours per week outside of class studying this course for every hour in class (6 to 9 hours/week)!!

Important Announcements & Calendar Items are posted on the Announcements Page, linked below. Also below are links to Pages where Lectures, Old Exams (+ solutions) & Old Quizzes (+ solutions) are posted.

Do you want to know more about Dr. Myles (education, experience, research, personal, etc.)? See his Homepage & Research Page. Are you curious about Physics? Go to Physics Central. For a more advanced level, go to Focus News from the American Physical Society. To see that Physics can be  Fun, click Here.

Announcements & Calendar Items
Announcement Page: Has class announcements & calendar items. Please check it at least two or three times a week!
Lectures, Homework Solutions, Exams & Quizzes
Click Here to find out how to reduce the # of pages when printing a Power Point file! Click Here to find out how to get Power Point, Word, & other software for free or almost free! Word & Power Point come in the same package - Office. COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: All lectures, exams, & quizzes are copyrighted & owned by Charles W. Myles! All homework solutions are copyrighted & owned by the Textbook Author! No reproduction &/or use of any of these documents other than by students in this course  is allowed!

              Lecture Page: Has lectures (Power Point format).

              Exams Page: Has old exams (Word format) & solutions (.jpg format).

          ATTENTION! A NOTE ABOUT THE FRIDAY QUIZZES
                Since there is now on-line homework, the Quizzes this semester will be shorter than my  past Quizzes.
                They may also have questions on them  similar to my past Reading Quizzes.  See the links below.
        
           Quizzes Page: Has old quizzes & solutions.  Reading Quizzes Page: Has old reading quizzes & solutions.

A good strategy is to try to solve the old exams & quizzes BEFORE looking at the solutions. You CAN'T LEARN PHYSICS by copying solutions! New quizzes or exams & solutions will be posted after the quiz or exam. The quizzes & exams are composed uniquely for this semester! You are strongly encouraged to form study groups to work on homework (& study!) together! This is how most professionals work in real situations! Homework will do you the most good if you try the problems BEFORE looking at the solutions. Copying solutions WON'T teach you physics!

Some Miscellaneous Course-Related Information is Here.
Items covered are: Attendance, Study Groups, Labs, Email List, My Teaching Philosophy, Tips on Downloading & Printing Course Related Files, Fonts in Course Related Files and Textbook.
Miscellaneous Topics
1. Dr. Myles' Homepage  & Research Page. A page discussing Dr. Myles' Future Teaching is Here.

2. Physics News: Physics Central (for the public).  Focus News (advanced level) from the APS. Physics Fun!

3. Check out the Top 10 most influential people of the last 1000 years! (Link borrowed from Dr. Tom Gibson!)

4. In this course, we'll talk about the view of the physical (mechanical) world developed first by Galileo Galilei & later put into precise mathematical form by Sir Isaac Newton. The lives of both are interesting (to me) from a historical viewpoint as well as from a scientific viewpoint. The following two documents (Word, .doc) give brief illustrations of what I mean. Galileo Galilei document (255 kB). Sir Isaac Newton document (492 kB). A "Google" search on Galileo gives 2,110,000 hits. Here is an interesting one. A "Google" search on Newton gives 2,600,000 hits. Here is a good one.

WY Physics LogoLast year was the WORLD YEAR OF PHYSICS 2005 marking 100 years since Albert Einstein published 3 pioneering papers (Relativity, Brownian Motion, Photoelectric Effect), which changed physics forever & are considered the beginning of "modern" physics! The United Nations, the US Congress, & the governments & scientific societies of many countries endorsed it. For more information, click the image on the left.

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