Eating candy off of the ground

Using equations at random is like eating candy off of the ground.

Why calculators are not helping you learn physics (or math)

Have a read. In particular, comment 6 is appropriate.

In my opinion, and Dr. Orzel's it seems, using a calculator except when absolutely necessary is really obscuring a lot of the physics going on in the problems, and, ironically, making things more tedious than they need to be. (I have a sort of boilerplate rant about using numbers in problems, which is why I often just don't include numbers in the problems. They only hide the interesting physics.)

That being said, you're free to use calculators whenever you like. All I'm saying is that they are, if anything, probably hindering your learning process if you become too reliant on them. Try solving some of the next homework set without a calculator, and see if you notice a difference in your understanding of the problems.

Lab 2: uncertainty & standard deviation

Thursday's lab will deal mostly with how to assess uncertainty in measurement, and introduce you to some key data analysis techniques. The procedure is here, please read through it quickly before Thursday's lab period.

You might also find this short PPT presentation useful/amusing. Basically, it applies the same statistical techniques to a very simple experiment: drawing cards from a well-shuffled deck.

Online matrix calculator

Handy. Solves systems of equations and calculates determinants, among many other things.

Welcome to PH102, Fall 2007

It worked very well last semester, so once again I am blogging ph102. There are many good reasons for doing this, but most importantly, it lets me keep you up to date on a daily (or better) basis. Browsing the archives will give you an idea of how I run things.

Bookmark this blog, it will be your main source of information this semester. I suggest you check it in the morning before class, if you are not into the RSS madness.

A few things to note:

• atom/rss feeds available. you even can get updates on facebook
  
• search for "rss" under facebook apps
• you can post comments and give me feedback or ask questions.
  
• you can post anonymously
• I will respond promptly
• all posts are archived and search-able
• I try to tag all the posts to keep things organized
  
• this blog is public. no grades/personal info of any kind will be posted. your privacy will be preserved
• do not add any personal information in comments if you don't want it public
• there is no 'undo' on the internet
  
• inappropriate comments will be swiftly deleted
  

I keep very late hours. Don't assume it is too late to send a message, Futurama is on at 1:30.

Here are a series of informative posts from last semester which will be useful to get you started:

Logging on to WebAssign (homework system)

Useful online resources

Course Calendar (Google Calendar; no account required to view)

Finally: I am trying to write a ph102 book. The notes available at the supestore (not required) are the first draft of that book, save a couple of unfinished chapters. I will greatly appreciate any comments you might have on the notes, suggestions for improving clarity, and especially finding and squashing obvious bugs.

Quadratic equation solver ...

All Hail Google.

This should make your lives much easier.

Useful resources

Just a small collection of links you might find useful throughout the semester.

Math and Numbers

Google Calculator It does unit conversions ...
Quadratic Equation solver
Fundamental Constants (NIST)
Trig formulas
Math World
Wolfram Integrator solves integrals ...
SI derived units
Wikipedia | Unit conversions

Reference

World of Physics
Physics
Dictionary
Wikipedia | Physics Many links ...
Physics and Astronomy Online
Education and Reference
How to take notes effectively

Online Courseware

MIT Open Courseware
Physics applets

Physics Student Resources

UA Society of Physics Students
American Physical Society Internet
Resource Page
American Institute of Physics
Student Resources Page
Institute of Physics

"Fun"

Wikipedia | Strange units
Bad Movie Physics
Bad Movie Astronomy
Physics
Movies
Skateboard physics