Introduction to Physics IA

PHY A10 - Fall 2013

Tuesday 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm AA 112 Arts & Administration Building

Thursday 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm AA 112 Arts & Administration Building

“The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.”

– Albert Einstein

Instructor: Johann Bayer Practical Sessions: 3 hours/week

Office: SW 503B Mon. / Wed. 9:00 am
Email: jbayer@utsc.utoronto.ca Mon. / Wed. 1:00 pm
Phone Number: 416-287-7327 Thu. / Fri. 9:00 am
Course Website: portal.utoronto.ca Leaders & Schedule: portal.utoronto.ca

Office Hours
Monday (Virtual) 9:30 am - 11:30 am 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Tuesday and Thursday 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Wednesday 11:30 am - 1:30 pm 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Friday (Virtual) 9:30 am - 11:30 am

Course Description
In this first course for many of the Specialist and Major Programs in Physical and Environmental Sci-
ences, we will provide an introduction to the concepts, approaches, and tools the physicist uses to describe
the physical world while laying the foundation for classical and modern mechanics. Topics will include:
the mathematics of physics, energy and work, momentum and conservation laws, kinematics and dynam-
ics, Newtonian gravity, rigid-body motion, oscillatory motion, and wave phenomena.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Identify and define the vocabulary used in Physics to describe types of motion and their causes.

• Solve analytical and numerical problems that go beyond a plug-in-the-formula approach.

• Interpret and give examples of the laws of Nature governing the field of Newtonian mechanics.

• Using mathematics as our scientific language, employ techniques of single-variable calculus to

model, simplify, and solve physical problems.

• Recognize and apply the fundamental laws describing wave and oscillatory phenomena.

• Employ problem-solving skills useful in the analysis of physical systems, in the form of: experiments,
conceptual and phenomenological questions, and multi-concept detailed problems.

• Recognize the existence of a basic model for the study of Physics, and translate this model into
tools and learning skills useful in other disciplines.

• Develop strategies to implement the acquired organization, study, and discipline skills learned in
the course to future academic and professional areas.

Course Corequisite: Calculus I (MATA30 or MATA31)

Course Pre-requisites: Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U), Physics (SPH4U)

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 Required Materials

• Textbook: Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Randall D. Knight (Pearson, 3rd Ed.)

ISBN-10# 0133513254 or 0133523810

U of T Bookstore SKU# 12933143 or 12933167

The schedule provided at the end of this document indicates the readings you must complete before
each lecture. The reading quizzes and in-class participation will be based on this assigned readings.

Your first time reading the assigned material does not need to be highly detailed. Focus on the main
concepts, read one or two examples, and browse quickly thorough any derivations. This first reading will
be the assumed starting point for all lectures. Therefore, failing to complete the readings and associated
reading quizzes will impair your ability to understand our lecture discussions.

The textbook also provides the conceptual questions and detailed problems that will be the subject of the
weekly online homework, practical activities, and group quizzes. Please note that you will need an access
code to MasteringPhysics, either through a bundled textbook or bought separately from the bookstore.

• Automated Student Response System: i>clicker by Macmillan

U of T Bookstore SKU# 10599037 or 12982561

You will need a clicker to answer the in-class participation quizzes. To receive the participation mark you
must register your clicker by Sunday, September 16. Instructions are available on the course website.

Note that in order to receive this participation mark you must be present with your clicker during the
lectures. Having somebody else use your clicker in your place or using somebody else’s clicker in their
place is a serious academic offence that could have you facing expulsion from the university.

• Calculator:
Texas Instruments: TI-30X IIS (SKU# 10048306)
Sharp: EL-520XB (SKU# 10048016), EL-531XB (SKU# 10047965), EL-546XB (SKU# 10047880)

For the course any scientific and non-programmable calculator will be required. The models listed
above are those available at the bookstore that satisfy the course requirements.

Grading Scheme

Component Points Due Date

Reading Quizzes 5 Ongoing (Pre-Lecture)
Participation 5 Ongoing (Lecture)
Online Homework 5 Ongoing (Weekly)
Practical Activities 10 Ongoing (Weekly Practicals)
Formal Lab Reports 10 Week 9 & Week 12
Test #1 10 Week 5
Test #2 20 Week 10
Final Examination 35 Exam Period (December 06 - 20)

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 Grade Components

Reading Quizzes (5%)

Before each Tuesday lecture and on MasteringPhysics you will be asked a set of questions from the
assigned textbook readings for that week. You will have until 11:55 am on Tuesday to submit your
answers. Each quiz is worth 5 points, and your final grade is the total sum of all quizzes up to a
maximum of 50 points. Use the Class Schedule to prepare for the lectures and reading quizzes.

Participation (5%)
During each lecture we will work on clicker questions from the textbook readings and the lecture presen-
tation. During each lecture 1 point can be earned by answering at least 75% of the questions asked.
The total sum of all lecture points makes up your participation grade up to a maximum of 20 points. In
addition, after each lecture one participation question will be selected for a performance bonus. An extra
1% will be awarded to those students that correctly answer 50% or more of the performance questions.

Online Homework (5%)

These will be a weekly set of questions posted on MasteringPhysics. The questions will be based on
the previous week’s textbook reading material and lecture presentations. Each homework is worth 10
points, and your final grade is the average of the best 10 results. A mix of conceptual questions and
applied problem-solving exercises will be included.

Practical Sessions (20%)

In these three-hour weekly sessions we will discuss examples on the concepts introduced in your textbook
readings and lecture presentations. We will apply these concepts and principles, in order to develop
skills useful in scientific conceptual analysis and general problem-solving. Further work will focus on
the development of experimental techniques related to Physics and the Scientific Method. Your grade
will depend on group quizzes (2%), notebook-recorded group activities (8%), and two experiment-based
formal lab reports (3% and 7%) written in collaboration with your assigned group.

Attendance to the practicals is mandatory and a deduction to your final practical grade would be
applied should you miss a session. This deduction will be a percentage equal to the cube (third power),
of the number of absences. More information will be provided during your first practical session (second
week of classes) and in the course website.

Test #1 (10%)
The first test will be scheduled during Week 5 and it will be 1 hour long. This test will feature
the material from the lectures and textbook readings up to and including the discussions of Thursday,
September 26. The questions will also be based on the practical activities and online homework up to and
including material due on the week of Monday, September 23. The format includes only multiple-choice
questions. The only aids allowed are your non-programmable scientific calculator, and a hand-written,
double-sided, and letter-sized equation sheet. Photocopies or computer printouts are not allowed.

Test #2 (20%)
The second test will be scheduled during Week 10 and it will be 2 hours long. This test will feature the
material from the lectures and textbook readings up to and including the discussions of Thursday, Novem-
ber 07. The questions and problems will also be based on the practical activities and online homework up
to and including material due on the week of Monday, November 04. The format includes multiple-choice
questions as well as detailed problems. The only aids allowed are your non-programmable scientific cal-
culator, and a hand-written, double-sided, and letter-sized aid sheet. Photocopies or computer printouts
are not allowed.

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Final Examination (35%)
The final examination will be scheduled during the exam period of December 06 - 20. Material for
the final examination will include all the topics discussed in the assigned textbook readings, lecture
presentations, online homework, and practical sessions. The final examination will be 3 hours long
and the format includes multiple-choice questions as well as detailed problems. The only aids allowed
are your non-programmable scientific calculator, and a hand-written, double-sided, and letter-sized aid
sheet. Photocopies or computer printouts are not allowed.

Class Policies

Name and Student Number

Any work you hand in must clearly indicate your name and student number, this includes practical activ-
ities, formal reports, tests, and the final exam. Any work you submit that fails to meet this requirement
will be penalized with a 10% deduction, provided we are able to identify the work as yours. If we are
unable to identify the work as yours, a grade of zero will be awarded.

In-class Conduct

• Please turn off all cellphones, laptop computers, and tablets when you come into the class.

• Class starts at 3:10 pm, and ends at 4:00 pm on Tuesday and 5:00 pm on Thursday. Late arrival
or early departure from class is inappropriate and will negatively affect your participation grade.

• Do not bring food into the classroom as this creates unwanted distractions that will affect the
learning environment.

• Regarding anything that you might want to use in the classroom: if you are not using it to per-
form a task specifically related to what we are doing in class at that very moment, please put it away.

e-mail
If you want to ask a question via e-mail, please first check the electronic forums in the Discussion
Board of the course website. Quite likely, you are not the only person with that same question, and
if that question has already been asked, you will find the answer there. If the question has not been
asked, go ahead and post it yourself instead of sending it by e-mail. This way you will also help other
students facing the same issue. The forums in the discussion board are monitored regularly by the course
instructor and your peers, making it the best way of communicating for various queries of a diverse nature.

However, if the electronic forums are not the best place for your query, make sure you send your e-mail
from an official utoronto.ca address (e.g., your UTmail+ account), as all other addresses will be fil-
tered out automatically. Furthermore, include the code PHYA10 somewhere in the subject line of your
message, to ensure a quicker response time. I reply to e-mails within a period of 24 hours and I rarely
reply to e-mails during weekends.

Absences
There will be no makeup options for practical activities, formal reports, or the tests. In the case of
a valid and documented problem that supports an absence to a practical session, the grade will be
calculated on the basis of all other submitted work. In the case of a valid and documented problem
that supports an absence to the first test, the second test will have its weight increased accordingly. In
the case of a valid and documented problem that supports an absence to the second test, the final
examination will have its weight increased accordingly.

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Academic Integrity and Respect for the Academic Endeavor
Academic integrity is essential to the pursuit of learning and scholarship in a university, and to ensuring
that a degree from the University of Toronto is a strong signal of each student’s individual academic
achievement. As a result, the University treats cases of cheating and plagiarism very seriously. The
University of Toronto’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters:

http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/policies/behaveac.htm

outlines the behaviours that constitute academic dishonesty and the processes for addressing academic
offences. Potential offences include, but are not limited to:

• In papers and assignments: Using someone else’s ideas or words without appropriate acknowledg-
ment; submitting your own work in more than one course without the permission of the instructor;
making up sources or facts; obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on any assignment;
using someone else’s clicker or multiple clickers for participation grades.

• On tests and exams: Using or possessing unauthorized aids; looking at someone else’s answers
during an exam or test; misrepresenting your identity.

• In academic work: Falsifying institutional documents or grades; falsifying or altering any docu-
mentation required by the University, including (but not limited to) doctor’s notes.

All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be investigated following procedures outlined in the Code
of Behaviour on Academic Matters. If you have questions or concerns about what constitutes appro-
priate academic behaviour or appropriate research and citation methods, you are expected to seek out
additional information on academic integrity from your instructor or from other institutional resources
(see http://www.utoronto.ca/academicintegrity/resourcesforstudents.html).

Course Support

AccessAbility
Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. In particular, if you have a
disability/health consideration that may require accommodations, please feel free to approach me and/or
the AccessAbility Services Office as soon as possible. I will work with you and AccessAbility Services
to ensure you can achieve your learning goals in this course. Enquiries are confidential. The UTSC
AccessAbility Services staff (located in SW302) are available by appointment to assess specific needs,
provide referrals and arrange appropriate accommodations (416) 287-7560 or ability@utsc.utoronto.ca

Discussion Board
The course website supports electronic forums useful for questions and discussions on course content,
conceptual and detailed problems, textbook readings, as well as any issues relating to administrative
details of the course such as deadlines, future topics, and scheduling. It is recommended that you check
the forums on a regular basis to keep on top of current issues. You can subscribe to the various forums in
order to receive email notifications when new posts are available, and there are also options for posting
anonymously.

Physics Aid Centre

Held in SW503 outside the lab area, this centre is managed and run by the Environmental and Physi-
cal Sciences students’ Association (EPSA) and the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences
(DPES). Selected outstanding volunteer students will be available to offer help with Physics questions
and problems. The schedule will be posted at http://www.myepsa.ca/resources/physic-aid-centre/

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Lecturecasts and Lecture Notes
Videos of the lectures will be available after each session and will remain accessible for a period of two
weeks. The slides from the lectures will be made available on the course website after each lecture. To
prepare for a lecture you should read the assigned textbook materials.

Facilitated Study Groups (FSG)

Facilitated Study Groups are structured, weekly study groups for this class and other selected UTSC
classes. Students share study strategies, compare notes and strategize for exams in a low-key, comfortable
environment. FSG days and times will be announced in the course website. Everyone is welcome!

Class Schedule

This schedule is tentative and might change during the term in order to accommodate for variations in
the lectures in response to student performance and understanding of the various topics.

Please note that it is your responsibility to read the assigned sections and chapters before each lecture.
The lecture discussions will not be a direct repetition of the basic material found in the textbook.

Failing to complete the readings before each lecture will hinder your ability to understand the class dis-
cussions as a minimum understanding of the basic concepts will be assumed from the assigned reading.

Tuesday Lecture Thursday Lectures

Dates 3pm - 4pm 3pm - 4pm / 4pm - 5pm
Sep. 03 Introduction Position and Velocity Ch.1: 1 - 4
Sep. 05 Acceleration Ch.1: 5 - 8
Sep. 10 1D-Kinematics Ch.2: 1 - 3 1D-Kinematics Ch.2: 7
Sep. 12 1D-Kinematics Ch.2: 4 - 6
Sep. 17 Vectors and Coordinates Ch.3: 1 - 4 2D-Kinematics Ch.4: 1 - 3
Sep. 19 2D-Kinematics Ch.4: 4
Sep. 24 2D-Kinematics Ch.4: 5 - 6 2D-Kinematics Ch.4: 7
Sep. 26 Newton and Forces Ch.5: 1, 4 - 6
Oct. 01 Newton and Forces Ch.5: 2 - 3, 7 1D-Dynamics Ch.6: 1 - 6
Oct. 03 Newton’s 3rd Law Ch.7: 1 - 3
Oct. 08 Newton’s 3rd Law Ch.7: 4 - 5 2D-Dynamics Ch.8: 1 - 3
Oct. 10 2D-Dynamics Ch.8: 5
Oct. 15 Reading Week Reading Week
Oct. 17 Reading Week
Oct. 22 Impulse and Momentum Ch.9: 1 - 3 Momentum Conservation Ch.9: 4 - 6
Oct. 24 Energy Ch.10: 1 - 5
Oct. 29 Elastic Collisions Ch.10: 6 - 7 Work and Energy Ch.11: 1 - 5
Oct. 31 Energy Conservation Ch.11: 6 - 9
Nov. 05 Rotation and Torque Ch.12: 1 - 2, 5 Rotational Dynamics Ch.12: 10, 6, 4
Nov. 07 Energy and Momentum Ch.12: 3, 7 - 11
Nov. 12 Simple Harmonic Motion Ch.14: 1 - 2 Energy and Dynamics Ch.14: 3 - 5
Nov. 14 The Pendulum Ch.14: 6
Nov. 19 1D-Waves Ch.20: 1 - 3 Sound and Light Ch.20: 4 - 5
Nov. 21 Intensity and Doppler Effect 20: 6 - 7
Nov. 26 Standing Waves Ch.21: 1 - 4 Wave Interference Ch.21: 5 - 7
Nov. 28 Beats Ch.21: 8