Physics 1403 (General Physics I)
Miscellaneous Course Information
Physics 1403 Homepage. Course Syllabus.  Learning Outcomes.
  Course Objectives (Learning Outcomes).  Lab Syllabus.
The ONLY way to learn this stuff is to DO PHYSICS YOURSELF  by
WORKING MANY, MANY, MANY PROBLEMS!!

ATTENDANCE!!!!!
THE WEEKEND DOESN'T BEGIN ON THURSDAY!
FRIDAY IS A REGULAR CLASS DAY!
    I don't take roll & have no specific attendance policy. But, isn't it obvious that (unless you are a genius!) class attendance is required to get a good grade (or better, to actually LEARN SOMETHING!)? There's a correlation between class attendance & your grade. Skipping means that you are WASTING the tuition & fees that you (or your parents) paid! With tuition & fees for a full-time (Texas resident) student, each class meeting costs about $16. Each time you skip, you are throwing away $16!! After a while this adds up! My lectures may not be entertaining or brilliant, but I do expose you to the material.
    1. Study Groups are an EXCELLENT idea! It's easier to learn stuff with friends' help! You are strongly encouraged to form such groups to work on homework & study for quizzes & exams together! This is how most professionals work in real situations! If you don't have friends in class, perhaps its time to make some!
    2. Lab Co-Requisite: You MUST be enrolled in Physics 1403 Lab. Lab Syllabus. Lab Manuals: You must purchase this at the bookstore.
    3. Email List: For 15 EXTRA POINTS(!!) on your Quiz Grade, please send me an email! Send it to me at Charley.Myles@ttu.edu. DEADLINE: 5PM, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18!!!  I'll use it to "capture" your email address so I can develop a class email distribution list. We can then have email discussions (homework, etc). It is vital that I have your correct email address, that you tell me if it changes, & that you check your email DAILY!!  If you aren't on my list, you won't receive periodic messages & announcements. If you don't receive them & are on the list, something is wrong! Common problems causing this are discussed Here. Please see me if there are other problems! Please tell me your email address changes, & check your email DAILY!!
   4. Teaching Philosophy: Physics is a set of PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES, not equations to memorize! For Exams, you get a "cheat sheet" (1 regular-sized piece of paper) with anything written on it (BOTH SIDES!). For Quizzes, I give you equations. Making a "cheat sheet" helps in studying. Just knowing equations isn't enough. Knowing the PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES behind them & how to apply them are more important!    
    5. Downloading Homework, Quizzes, Exams, Lectures: Some files (especially lectures) are large! If you have dial-up, this means long download times. It might be more efficient to SAVE the file & open it later, rather than open it directly. It might be more efficient to go to the ATLC (library basement), & use a direct connection. I've tested all files using Internet Explorer (IE) & Netscape browsers. All work well.
    6. Printing Quiz/Exam Solutions: If you use the IE browser, there's a problem printing .jpg files. For some reason, these don't fit properly on the page when you "Print" from the screen, even though it looks ok on the screen. A (cumbersome) way around this  is to download the .jpg to a file & use a picture viewer to view & print it. Using both the  Netscape & Mozzilla browsers, this doesn't occur. I think its a defect in IE, not a problem with the .jpg files, which were always fine until the latest version of IE came out. Sorry!
    7. Fonts: Difficulty with fonts in the lectures, exams, etc. (garbage symbols) means the fonts on your computer & those on mine aren't compatible. I have no good answer. With the lectures, this should happen rarely, because I've recently tried to fix previous font problems. When this happens, it should usually be obvious what a "garbage" symbol should be, especially if you make changes by hand on your printed versions when I show the transparencies. Power Point allows you to make 2,3,4,6, or 9 (tiny) slides per page. More Information.
    8. Text: 6th or 5th Edition? I use the 6th Ed & strongly urge you to also  WARNING! 6th Ed. problems are different than in the 5th Ed. Assigned problem NUMBERS are from the 6th Edition! These may be different than in the 5th Ed.! Even if a problem is similar in the 2 editions, it might have different NUMBERS for physical quantities in it!  2 Volumes: You have the option of buying the 6th Ed. in 2 volumes. Vol. 1 is Chs. 1-15 & all you need for Phys. 1403. Vol.  2 is Chs. 16-33. You'll need it for Physics 1404. Hopefully, Vol. 1 is about half the price of the full text? "PRS transmitter & PH Grade Assist": Apparently, the bookstore tells you that you'll need the "PRS transmitter & PH Grade Assist". The 1st item may deal with a technology allowing student electronic responses to questions by me. The 2nd item may deal with on-line homework. We won't use either one. If you bought them, you should take them back & get a refund if you can!

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