PHYS 151
Overview and Course Learning Objective – This course focuses on motion of objects and systems in our physical world. Students will learn how to use the fundamental laws of physics to model physical systems that involve linear motion, curved and rotational motion, energy and motion, oscillatory motion, and the physical modeling of thermodynamic systems and fluids.
This course and its associated laboratory section are entirely online. For this lecture section, the online book required is “Physics”, 10’th edition by Cutnell and Johnson. The book, reading assignments, chalkboard examples, homework problems, and exams are all accessed online through “Wiley Plus”. All students in this course must create an account for themselves in Wiley Plus to purchase the online book and access the online course materials and assignments. You may create your account by visiting https://www.wileyplus.com, and typing in University of Nevada Las Vegas in the search box to find the course(s) PHYS 151/152. Register for the course and pay for the online book and course at that time.
In addition to Wiley Plus online, short video lectures and examples for each module or chapter are required viewing. These videos may be accesses through your UNLV online portal for the course.
Modules and Individual Learning Objectives – The chapter listed for each module below indicates the Wiley Plus chapter that is covered for that course module. Assignments for each module are available and listed online at Wiley Plus.
Vectors – Chap. 1. Study the mathematics of vectors and their relationship to the physical world.
Kinematics in One Dimension – Chap. 2. Learn how to model motion in one dimension mathematically.
Kinematics in Two Dimensions – Chap. 3. Model motion in two dimensions.
Newton’s Laws – Chap. 4. Learn how forces affect motion using Newton’s laws.
Uniform Circular Motion – Chap. 5. Learn how to use the laws of physics to study circular motion.
Exam 1 – Examination covering the first five course modules.
Work and Energy – Chap. 6. Study the basics of energy conservation and its relationship to work.
Momentum – Chap. 7. Learn the concepts of conservation of momentum and apply to collisions.
Rotational Kinematics – Chap. 8. Learn the kinematic equations and apply them to rotational motion.
Rotational Dynamics – Chap. 9. Learn how to model the effect of forces in rotational motion.
Harmonic Motion – Chap. 10. Learn the basic principles of oscillatory systems.
Exam 2 – Examination covering course modules six through ten.
Waves and Sound – Chap 16. Explore the physics behind the wave equation and its relation to sound.
Temperature and Heat – Chap. 12. Learn the concept of heat and its relation to system temperature.
Ideal Gas Law – Chap. 14. Learn how to model the fundamental parameters of ideal gas systems.
Thermodynamics – Chap 15. Learn the basic equations of thermodynamics and apply to simple cases.
Final Exam – Examination covering modules eleven through fifteen.
Assignments
All course assignments except for the assigned video files are accessed through Wiley Plus. Each student must create their own account in Wiley Plus to purchase the book and access the assignments. Go to:
https://www.wileyplus.com/
to register yourself for the course prior to the start of the semester. You may type in “University of Nevada Las Vegas” in the search box on the Wiley Plus login page, then find the courses PHYS 151/152 to begin the registration process.
Each module or chapter covered in this course will contain 5 assignments. The five assignments for each module will consist of (1) reading assignment, (2) chalkboard video assignment, (3) question assignment, and (4) problem assignment. (5) Each chapter will also have two short video files to watch. The book, reading assignments, chalkboard examples, homework problems, and exams are all accessed online through Wiley Plus.
Reading Assignments – The reading assignments for each chapter will consist of a list of sections in the online or printed textbook that are required for study in that particular chapter.
Chalkboard Video Assignments – These are worked example problems presented as short videos.
Question Assignments – These are homework questions that each student must complete online prior to the due date for each question assignment. These questions are graded. Students are given more than one attempt at arriving at the correct answer, however credit for each question is reduced by 25% after two attempts and zero credit is given after the third attempt.
Problem Assignments - These are homework problems that each student must complete inline prior to the due date for each problem assignment. Home “problems” are generally more difficult that homework “questions”. These problems are graded. Students are given more than one attempt at arriving at the correct answer, however credit for each question is reduced by 25% after two attempts and zero credit is given after the third attempt. After the second unsuccessful attempt at a solution, a “hint” may be given for a problem.
There are also video files to be viewed for each chapter. These videos will cover important topics or examples for the given chapter. These videos are not part of Wiley Plus, but may be accesses through your UNLV online portal for the course.
Your homework grade, consisting of graded questions and problems in each chapter will contribute 20% of your total, final grade for the course.
Course Schedule
All course modules or chapters are immediately available upon your registration for the course at Wiley Plus. In general, each module must be completed per week of the course. The exact due dates for each module or chapter are explicitly listed on the Wiley Plus website for the course. You may, if you like, complete the course at a faster rate than the listed due dates. If a module or chapter is not completed by the listed due date, however, a penalty is incurred. The exact penalty is indicated on the website.
Exams
There will be three exams given during this course. These exams will consist of two midterms and one final exam. Each exam (including the final) will cover material in approximately one-third of the course. This will generally consist of only the course material that has been covered since the previous exam. I note, however, that exam 2 and exam 3 (final exam) are always “comprehensive” in nature since material presented throughout this course always builds upon, and thus requires knowledge and study of all previous course material.
Exams will be taken online through Wiley Plus. On the day of an exam, you may login and take the exam anytime between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm. Once you begin the exam, though, the system will limit you to 90 minutes to complete the exam. You MUST complete as much of the exam as you can during this 90 min. time period, as no extra time is given.
Each exam will consist of 20 questions and problems. There are no multiple attempts, and no hints or partial credit given. Some of the exam problems will be more difficult than others. Do the best you can and complete as many problems as you can in the 90 minute allotted time period for the exam.
Exam Content – as mentioned above, each exam (including the final) will cover material in approximately one-third of the course. There is so much material in this course that 20 problem exams will not be able to test you on all subject areas that are covered in the course, though we will try to include problems on as much material as we can. Also, do not expect that exam problems will simply be exact duplicates or “clones” of homework questions and problems. Exam problems will require that you apply the concepts, principles, and knowledge gained in the reading and video assignments as well as the homework assignments to similar, but generally new applications.
Grading
Your final grade for the course will be calculated per the following weighting:
Homework – 20%
Exams – 60% (Three exams at 20% each)
Laboratory grade - 20% (Grade obtained in PHYS 151L).
Since the laboratory grade is part of the grade for this course, you will be given the same final grade in both PHYS151 and PHYS 151L.