Physics 2C

Winter 2015 Section 827058

Course Information

The only constant is change. You must check the TED web site before each class for changes.
Updated 1/12/2015 9:27:09

Announcements
To get credit on Mastering Physics, you must use your official UCSD email address.
Although all the homework is strongly recommended, only the online homework is collected or
graded.
All email to me must include your 9-character student ID.

General Information
You should check all your grades as they are posted. You must notify me of any grade questions
within 1 week of their posting.
Podcasts available: http://Podcast.ucsd.edu

Instructor

Dr. Eric L. Michelsen

emichels at physics etc.

SERF 317
Office hours: Tu 11:15-1:15

Teaching Assistant

Devin Cela
dcela at physics etc.

Office hours: Thursdays 5-7pm,

Mayer 5681

Text

Randall D. Knight, Physics for

Scientists and Engineers, 3rd ed.,
UCSD Custom

Custom Edition for UCSD,

3 copies on reserve in Geisel library

Course coordinator

Patti Hey
plhey at physics etc.

2571 Mayer Hall Addition, 822-1468,

Lecture times

TR 9:30-10:50am, F 10-10:50am
YORK 2722

iClickers required every class

Discussion

Wed 8-8:50am, Peterson 108

Attendance optional. See below.

Problem session

Th 7-8:50pm, York 2622

Attendance optional. See below.

Quizzes

On even week Fridays

see schedule below

Final Exam

Tu 3/17, 8-11am

location TBA (To Be Announced)

Physics Department
Tutorial Center

Sunday-Thursday. For hours, see

http://tutorialcenter.ucsd.edu/

2702 Mayer Hall Addition

Check the Schedule of Classes for updates:

https://www-act.ucsd.edu/cgi-bin/tritonlink.pl/7/students/academic/classes/class_schedule.pl

Cool Websites
Sound of fire:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpovwbPGEoo&feature=player_embedded

Dispersive sound waves in ice: http://silentlistening.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/dispersion-of-soundwaves-in-ice-sheets/ , and http://silentlistening.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/ice-recordings-updated/ .

Water waves: http://faculty.gvsu.edu/videticp/waves.htm

Geometric optics: http://phet.colorado.edu/sims/geometric-optics/geometric-optics_en.html ,
I recommend choosing many rays, virtual image, and ruler.
Gas properties: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gas-properties
Get a feel for the size of the everything: http://htwins.net/scale/ (Thanks to a Winter-2011 student.)
My Funky Physics tutorials:

http://physics.ucsd.edu/~emichels/ .

Thank you to Dr. Anderson, Dr. Groisman, and Dr. Fogler for their help in preparing this class.

Course Description
Physics 2C is the third quarter of a four-quarter introductory physics sequence. The course is aimed at
students majoring in science and engineering (e.g. chemistry, molecular biology, computer science,
mathematics). It is a continuation of Physics 2B. We will follow most of the topics in the book, but likely
in a different order.
Book chaps 14-24, 34
Week

Tentative Schedule of Topics

1: 1/5

Review, Chap 14: Oscillations

Chapter 20: Traveling Waves

Quiz dates are

topics may vary

firm,

HW: Chap 14: Conc: 1, 2, 3, 5. Ex: 2, 3, 7, 10, 75.

Chap 20: Conc: 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12. Ex: 1, 10, 12, 17, 18.
2: 1/12

Chapter 21: Superposition: more waves; interference

Quiz Fri 1/16

HW: Chap 20: Ex: 22, 24, 26, 28, 31, 35

3: 1/19

Chapter 34: Electromagnetic Fields and Waves:

Maxwells equations; polarization

4: 1/26

Chapter 22: Wave Optics: interference and diffraction;

phasors (p 383).

5: 2/2

Chapter 23: Ray optics: Reflection and refraction

6: 2/9

Chapter 23: Ray optics: Image formation; geometric

optics
Chapter 24: Optical Instruments

7: 2/16

Chapter 16: Macroscopic Description of Matter: solids,

liquids, gasses; temperature; ideal gasses

8: 2/23

Chapter 17: Work, Heat, and First Law of

Thermodynamics: matter; temperature; specific heat;
phase

9: 3/2

Chapter 18: The Micro/Macro Connection: collisions,

energy, and temperature; the 2nd law of thermodynamics

Quiz Fri 1/30

Quiz Fri 2/13:

Quiz Fri 2/27:

Chapter 19: Heat Engines and Refrigerators: converting

heat to work; efficiency; Carnot cycle
10: 3/9

Chapter 15: Fluid Motion: pressure; fluids; buoyancy;

fluid flow

Quiz Fri 3/13:

We want you to succeed. As part of that, we expect you to read ahead of the class, and start the
homework even as it is being discussed in class. I don't cover every topic in class; some I leave to the

book. I encourage questions in class, but if you want more individual questions answered, I also
recommend going to the office hours, discussion/problem sessions, and the Physics Tutorial Center.

Prerequisites
Physics 2A and 2B. Integral and differential calculus of multivariate functions is required (Math 20C
and concurrent enrollment in Math 20D, or equivalent).

Course Goals

We want to understand not just the facts of physics, but the methods by which people came to
understand them.
And so empower ourselves to discover/build/invent/do new things
We seek a conceptual and quantitative understanding of basic waves, optics, thermodynamics, and
fluids concepts, to allow:
Understanding a physical situation.
Deducing the qualitative behavior of it.
Assessing what information is available or needed to perform meaningful calculations
Performing such calculations.
Virtually all physical science occupations require such an understanding of basic physics.
Email or talk with me about your course goals.

Academic Integrity
Every honest student benefits from maintaining high academic integrity. Please read UCSD Policy
on
Integrity
of
Scholarship
in
the
UCSD
General
Catalog,
http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/front/AcadRegu.html. These rules will be rigorously enforced. A confirmed
case of cheating may result in a dishonesty F grade in this course, and/or referral to the dean for
disciplinary action. Cheating includes submitting another persons work as your own; copying from
another student on homework, or exams; knowingly allowing another student to copy from you; use of
unauthorized materials during a quiz or exam; or any attempt to obtain a higher grade by means other than
honest effort. Cheating also includes attempts to manipulate grades unfairly; and intentionally misusing
iClickers.

Homework
You are required to answer some questions online before we cover it in class. This is to encourage you
to read the material before we cover it in class, which makes the class discussion much more productive.
The purpose of homework is to help learning.
To understand the material, you must practice solving problems.
Problems will be assigned roughly weekly. All the homework is strongly recommended, but only the
online homework is collected or graded.
The first step in solving a problem is often the most difficult, so it is very important for you to start
work on your own. Studying in groups may be valuable, but can not completely replace working on your
own. Problems given on the weekly quizzes will resemble the homework and iClicker questions. The
textbook contains numerous worked sample problems, and a number of questions and exercises at the end
of the chapter.
Learning physics is about understanding why a solution works, rather than just getting the correct
numbers.
Blindly plugging numbers into formulas is useless.

iClickers
The classroom response system is used to stimulate discussion and thought throughout the lectures.
You must bring your iClicker to every class. Responses are a small part of your grade, though credit will
be given for any overall effort judged significant.
The point is thinking, not necessarily getting right answers the first time.
Please think for yourself, as that will improve your grade on other materials (rather than letting others think
for you). Dont distract yourself searching the book for the right answer; that only hurts you. Instead,
think for yourself.
Registering your iClicker: You must register your iClicker online to get credit. Use your full 9character student ID, starting with A, and the full 8-digit clicker ID, including any leading zeros.
You can share an iClicker with someone in a different class, but not with someone in the same class.
More answers at:
http://iclicker.com/dnn/SupportCenter/FAQs/tabid/179/Default.aspx
Your iClicker score is the number of days where you answered 75% of the questions. This will be
enough for full credit. Extra credit will be determined by overall class performance (essentially, curved).

Mastering Physics
To get credit on Mastering Physics, you must use your official UCSD email address. You are required
to submit some homework on the Pearson Mastering Physics web site.
See:
http://www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com/northamerica/masteringphysics/students/support/index.html
for information on setting up to use the site. If you bought any version of the book, Mastering Physics is
free; your access code is unique to this course:
WSSKPN-SMELL-FOUND-FAUNA-GIGOT-AIDES

Discussion and Problem Sessions

There is a weekly discussion session, and a weekly problem session, hosted by the TA. The topics are
driven by student questions during the session. This is a chance for you to get answers to your questions.
After working on the homework, please come with good questions. You should ask, I tried doing the
problem this way, and ran into a roadblock. Can you help me through it? Or, What concept do I use to
get started on this problem? (You should not ask, How do I do this problem?)
There is little difference between the two sessions, though the problem session is slightly more focused
on working problems than discussion session. Usually, there is enough time for you to ask any question at
either session. Problem Session ends early if there are no more student questions.

How to Read a Textbook

From Professor Benjamin Grinstein: Pause after each paragraph and ask yourself whether you
understood it. (Do not read the text as you would read a novel.) Pause again at the end of each section and
try to summarize what you have learned without consulting the text. Skim through the end-of-chapter
questions, which test your qualitative understanding of the material, and convince yourself that you can
answer them fully. If you cant, re-read the section that contains the relevant material, then try to answer
the question again.

Quizzes
You must bring your Scantron form, and two soft pencils with you to quizzes, and know your Student
ID. Fill out your student ID and quiz code ahead of time. Please do not fold your Scantron sheet.
There may be reading quizzes done with iClickers on any day after reading is assigned.

There are 5 closed-book quizzes, given on the schedule above. No note-sheets are allowed. You must
know some basic equations (e.g., F = ma); any equations beyond those will be given. I will post ahead of
time the formulas that will be given on the quiz. Quiz scores and correct answers will be posted on the
web. Your overall quiz grade will be computed from your best 4 of the 5 quizzes; one quiz can therefore
be missed without penalty.
The purpose of dropping one quiz is to accommodate one unavoidable conflict for
medical, academic, athletic, or other reasons. The purpose is not to improve your grade.

There are no make-up quizzes. If you anticipate missing more than one quiz due to unavoidable
circumstances, you must discuss this with the instructor in the first week. There is no guarantee
that you can be accommodated, and you will likely have to drop or withdraw from the class.

Please do not ask to take any exam early or late; to be fair to everyone, the answer is always No.

The quizzes are multiple choice and approximately 10 questions. You must provide your own Scantron
form (form # X-1018640PAR-L) and #2 (soft) pencil. They are available at the bookstore and the general
co-op store. I recommend you fill in your 9-digit Student ID (use 1 for A) before coming to class.

Quizzes may ask about any concept used in HW, or iClicker questions. They are not simply
rehashed HW questions with different numbers.

All quizzes are cumulative, and may include anything covered so far.

You will need a calculator (but may not use a laptop or phone) during the quiz. You may wish to
bring some blank scratch paper as well.

You must enter your 9-digit Student ID on every quiz/exam, using 1 for A. Fill out your
name and Student ID before coming to class, so youre not rushed. Write your name, the course
number, and quarter on the Scantron form. ID errors (missing or incorrect) will be penalized from
the quiz score.

Final Exam
Your student I.D. is required to take the final exam.
The final will be just a big quiz: a closed-book exam, with no note sheets, and uniformly cover the
whole course. It will be multiple choice questions, just like the quizzes. As always, you must bring a
Scantron form (same as quizzes) with you, and a calculator (but not a laptop or phone). You may wish to
bring some blank scratch paper as well. There will be approximately 30 questions.

Course Grade
The final grade weighting will be determined when all the scores are in, as part of the overall grading
process. Ranges are:
Homework

10%

Classroom response 5% + up to 5% extra credit

Quizzes (best 4 of 5) 50%
Final Exam

35%

The following grades are a minimum:

85%

A-

75%

B-

65%

C-

55%

<55%

Plusses and minuses at instructor discretion. Actual grades may be higher if warranted by overall class
performance, but dont count on it.

Course Notes
See TED.

Book Corrections and Clarifications

The index for phasors should say p1024.

Week 1
See Quirky Quantum Concepts (on the web page given above) for a description of the Greek alphabet,
and a brief review of complex numbers.
See Funky Electromagnetic Concepts for a description of phasors.

Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10