Lab for Wed 8 July 2009

We'll start the lab session by going over Thursday's homework problems, and then dive into the lab, a crash-course in research papers.

Here is the handout.

When you get to the lab session, download it and give it a once-over.

Relativity

Couple of random comments, since Tuesday's lecture probably seemed really tough.

(1) I think relativity is the hardest stuff we cover. We cover it first because we can make use of it later in a good way, and because it follows PH101 more logically.

(2) Particularly the first day, relativity is really bewildering. Typically, it makes a lot more sense on day 2, when we get a little bit further along and start to apply it in a concrete way. It is something like 'day 1: why things are weirder than we think' and 'day 2: shut up and calculate.' Day 2 is usually where things make more sense, or at least one just trusts the formulas we developed and tries to figure out what one can do with them.

(3) Based on the above, don't get too worried if today seemed like a rough start. It will make more sense on day 2, and the subsequent material is conceptually easy by comparison.

Wednesday's quiz

Wednesday's quiz will only cover time dilation, and it will be 3 questions long. Simple calculations, one-liners almost.

Example 26.1 in the textbook would be a good one to look at, as would problems 1.2 and 1.20 in the notes.* Seriously.

* It is either problem 1.20 or 1.21 in the notes ... the one about a clock running half as fast as it should.

Contact ...

Here is the email address which is most convenient for contacting me:

Today's slides

Here [pdf] is what I presented in lecture today. These are all the slides I used (course overview + relativity figures) as well as some example questions.

Homework 1 is due Thursday, we will go over some of the questions tomorrow during the lecture and lab sessions to get you started. You might have had trouble accessing this link earlier today (before about 12:30) ... that problem should be fixed now. Let me know if problems persist.

Also, tomorrow's quiz will be about 3-4 questions long, and cover length contraction and time dilation. You might find the notes useful [15Mb PDF]; there are problems & solutions at the end of the chapter. Note that the colored links are clickable in the PDF.

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!

Welcome to PH102 / Summer 2009

Welcome to PH102! At the bottom of this page, or here, you will find our course calendar, which you should review carefully. We will stick to our schedule rigidly, as our time is quite short over the summer semester.

You may also want to look over the course syllabus and other information, which you can find here. The slides I'll present in lecture will also show up online shortly, I will post separately here to let you know.

Finally, your first homework set is already due by the end of the day on Thursday, 9 July 2009. Have a look here. It isn't so bad, by the end of Wednesday's lecture you will know how to do several of the problems already.

See you at 10am ...