Homework / Quizzes / Labs / Exams

Here's the basic plan: quiz one day, homework the next. Repeat.

Every other day, you'll have a short quiz, usually at the beginning of the lecture. The quiz will be ~3-5 questions, and designed to take about 15 minutes. It will cover material from the previous day's lecture, and is meant as nothing more than a check to be sure that you're (a) paying attention in lecture, (b) doing the reading, or (c) both. As long as you didn't answer 'none of the above' you will be fine. Your first quiz is Wednesday 8 July, and it will cover the beginnings of Relativity (time dilation and length contraction only).

When there is not a quiz, there is a short homework set due. These homework sets will cover the previous two lectures or so, and will usually consist of ~5-7 problems. They will take some time - don't wait until the last minute - but will not be exceedingly difficult. Homework sets are not due until the end of the day specified, i.e., 11:59pm, and they can be submitted electronically (details forthcoming in class). Scanned pages are fine, as are digital pictures of sufficiently high resolution. Your first homework is due before 9 July at 11:59pm, and will cover relativity (basically the whole chapter / 2 lectures).

Labs are mostly self-contained, and will typically not require work outside of the laboratory period. There may be minimal exceptions, i.e., writing up reports that you could not finish during the allotted time. Lab material will be synchronized with lecture material as much as possible, and the beginning of each lab period will be devoted to reviewing any questions you might have about that day's lecture or the forthcoming homework/quiz.

There are two exams and a final: the two exams are given during the lab periods on 16 and 30 July, the final is 6 Aug at 8am. The two 'normal' exams will consist of 8-10 problems to be solved, and are designed to take ~90min (the format of the final exam is currently in flux). The first exam covers the start of the course through material presented on 15 July, the second exam covers material from 16 July through 29 July, and the final is comprehensive.

Ok: that's the official stuff out of the way ... it won't be so bad!