Fall 2009

General Information

Section Changes

You are encouraged to find a recitation section that is both enjoyable and beneficial. If you decide to change sections, first get the signature of the instructor of the new section on your yellow card. Then get the course secretary to sign the drop column of the yellow card. Room assignments are sometimes changed by the instructors: the course secretary and the Ph1a web page should have the most up-to-date information.

Textbooks

The required textbook for this course is Frautschi et al, The Mechanical Universe, Advanced Edition. Required reading and homework problems will be assigned from this book. The Feynman Lectures Volumes I & II are recommended but not required.

Homework Assignments

Homeworks will generally be due on Wednesday by 4 PM outside the lecture hall, 201 E. Bridge, sorted by section. Homework will be accepted starting from the afternoon before it is due until 4 PM on the due date. Each HW should be labeled with the student's name and section number. For prompt and accurate grading, please follow the guidelines for writing your homeworks and quizzes. Graded HW will be returned on the following Thursday in Recitation. Late HW will be accepted up to one week late for half-credit, and should be turned in to the box labeled LATE HOMEWORK. If there are extenuating circumstances (e.g. illness), you may request an extension from your TA. If granted, please ask your TA to write a note on your HW before turning it in. Solutions to the HW may be picked up at the section mailboxes in the Bridge Annex or in Recitation.

The HW you hand in must be your own and not copied from others or from the blackboard in Recitation. You are encouraged to work on the problems with others and to seek additional help if you find that useful, but the write-up must be your own. Also, you may not consult any prepared solutions for the problems, whether they are this year's or from previous years, or from Caltech or external sources. As a guideline for the collaboration policy, you should be able to reproduce any solution you hand in without help from anyone else. It is possible to achieve high scores on the HW but still fail the quizzes and the final exam. This indicates poor adherence to the collaboration policy: the object of the HW problems and the collaboration policy is to help you learn the material.

The problems QP1 - QP53 are from real previous quizzes and FP1 - FP23 are from previous final exams. These are found on the course web site. They are intended to help you prepare for the level of dificulty you will encounter on the quizzes and on the final.
You are certainly welcome to work through extra problems other than those assigned to gain more practice. Your TA can assist you in selecting problems.

Quizzes

Quizzes will be due on four Mondays throughout the term: October 12, October 26, November 9, November 23. The completed problems should be STAPLED TOGETHER and turned in at the locked box outside 201 E. Bridge. This means you need to have a STAPLER, or a good supply of BLUE BOOKS. The quiz should be labeled with the student's name, UID number, and section number. The quizzes will generally cover the material from the previous two weeks. The quizzes will be distributed on the preceeding Wednesday at lecture. The quizzes must be worked independently without collaboration.

Exams

There will be a final exam covering the entire term. The final will be handed out on Wednesday, December 2 at lecture, and will be due at noon on Thursday, December 10. There will be no midterm exam.

Grading

Your grade for the course will be determined by your performance on the final exam (40%), quizzes (40%), and homework (20%). A combined grade of 50% is required to pass the course. Your attendance and performance in Recitation and your general level of effort may be used as a basis for extra credit according to the judgement of your instructor.

Ombuds

We would like have one ombudsperson from each House. Please feel free volunteer yourself. Those chosen should notify the course secretary of their identities.