Generic

Announcements
Announcements
Eric L.
Michelsen

08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

A Word about 2D
Relativity and Quantum Mechanics are the pillars of
physics
This class touches the core of physics
Concepts are unfamiliar, perhaps non-intuitive
requires some real thinking on your part

But 2D more than any other course lures students into

physics

08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

A Word about Summer Session

Whose idea was this?
Normally, a 4-unit course expects 12 hours/week
But in summer, its 24 hours/week!
6 hours lecture, 4 hours DI/PB, leaves 14 hr/wk for reading,
HW, exam prep, office hours, pondering, studying
This is why only 2 courses are allowed at a time in summer

So buckle up! Were going to all work hard

Hopefully, these mind-bending ideas will have time to
gel
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

Course goals
We want to understand not just the facts of our topics,
but the methods by which people came to understand them
And so empower ourselves to discover/build/invent and do new things

We seek a conceptual and quantitative understanding of basic

physics concepts, to allow:
Understanding a physical situation
Deducing the qualitative behavior of it
Assessing what information is available or needed to perform meaningful
calculations
Performing such calculations

Virtually all physical science occupations require such a basic

understanding and skills
Email or talk with me about your course goals
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

I Cant Teach You

Anything
I guess they picked the wrong
guy for this job
You must learn
I can help you

What is the best way to get a good grade?

Understand the concepts!
Do homework alone at first, to force thinking on your own
Then get together and explain concepts to each other

Its about concepts and practice

No one ever learned to play the piano by watching someone else play
Therefore, I dont do problems in class
You work problems, with help from Discussion, Problem Solving, Office Hours,
and Tutorial Center
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

Smart People Ask

Questions
Thats how they got that way
We never look down at questions
or incorrect answers
Better to think, risk, and learn, than
to do nothing and learn nothing

My job is to provide a safe

environment conducive to
learning and questions
I take that very seriously

08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

Take chances
Make mistakes
In class
On exams, not so much

08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

Schedule of Classes

08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

Discussion and
Problem Sessions
See schedule for times
Discussion (optional)
Wed. 4-6
Please bring iClickers to Discussion, though it doesnt
affect your grade

Problem session (optional)

Thu. 3-5
Ends when questions do
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

Weekly Cadence
Summer Session is compressed!
480 minute lectures/week, M, Tu, W, Th
come prepared, so we can work on hard parts in lecture

Discussion Wed.: first chance to confront difficulties

Problem Session Thu.: expect you to have done/tried
HW so you have targeted questions
HW due Monday, also quizzes/midterm Mondays
proficiency at HW is great practice for quiz/exam

Final Exam on Friday, Sept. 4

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Reading
In order for this to work
by work, we mean: master material so you do well

You need to come to lecture prepared

lecture time is not first exposure
rather, time to synthesize and master

So we rely on reading sections ahead of time

Likely to implement reading quiz in TED

08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Homework
HW is essential for numerical practice
Collected and graded
check, check-minus, check-plus (or no check)
100% credit on all check; check-plus compensates
for check-minus
due on Mondays

Class discussion provides a conceptual

understanding for numerical calculations
Class discussion alone is insufficient for
doing well on the exams
HW is assigned mostly from the textbook
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Grading

Classroom response
TBD, ~= 10%, optional; modifies exam weight
Reading quizzes TBD, ~= 5%
Homework
TBD, ~= 15%
3 Quizzes TBD, ~= 25%
1 midterm TBD, ~= 25%
Final Exam
TBD, ~= 30%

The following grades are a minimum:

85%
75%
65%
55%

ABCD

F D C-

C+

B-

B+ A- A A+
?

Plusses and minuses at instructor discretion

Actual grades may be higher if warranted by overall class
performance ...
But dont count on it
Curves in my previous similar classes were small (avg ~72%)
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Study ideas
Quizzes/Exams Mondays
Study ideas
Practice problems: HW, past quizzes, iClickers
For each formula:
Draw a diagram depicting its use, illustrating every symbol
in it
Describe the meaning of each symbol out loud in words

Review each slide, and say out loud the concept on it

Every slide is there for a reason
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Who am I?
Eric Michelsen
BSEE: An electrical engineer for a
few decades
Integrated circuits: circuit & device design
Digital Signal Processing

Software Engineer
PhD Physics UCSD, June 2010
Research: Lunar Laser Ranging
Study of gravity, aka General Relativity

My book was published in

February 2014 from Springer
Available at bookstore, and Amazon

Interests:

08/01/15

Human Rights
Medical physics
Quantum Field Theory
Scuba diving
Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Teaching Assistant (TA)

Shauna Kravec: skravec@ucsd.edu
She will handle:

Weekly discussion session

Some weekly problem sessions
Some grading
Office hours: TBD; probably Tue and Fri

Raul Herrera as grader (HW, mostly)

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Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Who Are You?

What majors?
What years?
Who has had me before?

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Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Required things
TED
iClicker

May share with another class

Can not share with another student in this class
If you need to recover its ID, I can help after class
Every class counts
Register your iClicker on TED under Tools, i>clicker Student Registration.

R. Harris, Modern Physics, 2nd ed.

4 copies on reserve at Geisel
HW and reading from textbook

Homework:
When you send me an email,
always include your student ID

08/01/15

A23456789

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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TED

http://ted.ucsd.edu

Login instructions:
http://acms.ucsd.edu/units/iwdc/password.html
Waitlisted students:
You should have access to TED already

Extension students see:

http://sdacs.ucsd.edu/~icc/ce.php

You must check your grades on TED

I have to update grades on TED manually
~ once per week

You must notify me within 1 week of posting of any discrepancy

You can configure TED to send you email when I post

announcements
Such as when I announce that HW is assigned
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Electronics in class
Be fair to those around you: please dont distract
them
During our class, please open computers for this
class only
If you dont want to be in class, dont come

No cell phones
If you must take a call, sit on
the aisles, and feel free to
step outside
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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OSD Students
You must meet with me in week 1 to determine if
this is the right class for you
Establish the accommodations for this class
Extended exam hours are available
No late HW

08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Waitlisted students
Historically, waitlists are
highly variable
There are no guarantees

To be eligible to enroll if space opens up:

Pretend you are in the class:

08/01/15

Do the iClickers
Do the homework
Take the quizzes
etc.
Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Physics Tutorial
Center
2nd floor Mayer Hall
Addition, room 2702
NE corner

For hours, see

http://tutorialcenter.ucsd.edu/
~1-5 pm Mon-Thur
16 hours/week, drop in

If you have any problem with the Tutorial Center

Send me email immediately
Date/time
TA on duty
Nature of problem

Send me good comments, too

08/01/15

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Course Administration
You must check the web page every
day for updates
Schedules, contact info, etc. are there

I will post the class slides there

With updates and corrections
Podcasts are online: audio and video

Respect your classmates

No cell phones in class
If you expect an important call or text, sit on the aisle, and excuse yourself
quietly before taking it

I will allow computers for now

But only for class-related work
Be fair to your fellow students

You must check your official UCSD email regularly

I am required to use it for any private matters, e.g. grades
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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No Quiz Drops

Summer session is too compressed to afford dropping a

quiz
To be fair to everyone:
No early exams, no late exams, no makeup exams
If you miss a quiz, its about an 8% effect on your grade
consider it a choice

08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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No trick questions
Life is tricky enough
Every quiz/exam question is a
description of a situation ...
As plainly and simply as I can
But often, there is extraneous information

Its like real life

When real-life is crammed into a short quiz/exam
quizzes will be about 25 minutes; midterm 80 minutes; final 3
hours

08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Academic Integrity:
Dont Cheat
Every honest student benefits from
maintaining high academic integrity
Please read UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship in the
UCSD General Catalog,
http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/front/AcadRegu.html
These rules will be rigorously enforced

Cheating includes

Submitting another persons work as your own

Copying from another student on homework, quizzes, or exams
Knowingly allowing another student to copy from you
Use of unauthorized materials during a quiz or exam
Misusing iClickers
Attempts to manipulate grades unfairly; and intentionally misusing
iClickers
Any attempt to obtain a higher grade by means other than honest effort
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Academic Integrity (2)

The Scarlet Letter: F
Any case of suspected cheating will be referred to the
Office of Academic Integrity for disciplinary action
And may result in an F grade for the course
I have given Fs for cheating in the past
Dont make me do it again

When caught, more cooperation => more leniency

Unlike an F earned by honest effort ...

An F earned by cheating cannot be excluded
There is no forgiveness for a dishonest F
08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Set subfrequency code 1/2 = A/A

(the default).
Have you used iClickers before?
A Yes, and I have mine with me.
B Yes, but I dont have mine with me now. I
promise to bring it every day from now on.
C I dont know what iClickers are.
D I dont know how to spell iClicker.
E I dont know what class Im in.

08/01/15

Physics 2D: Eric L. Michelsen

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Do you know how to register your

iClicker online?
A Yes, and I will do it tonight on TED
I will use my 9-character Student ID to register
I will use full 8-digit clicker ID, including leading zeros

B Yes, but I dont have mine with me now

I promise to bring it every day from now on.

C I dont know what iClickers are

D I dont know how to spell iClicker
E I dont know what class Im in
In TED, on the left list, choose "Tools". Then in the lower right corner of
the tools pane (you probably need to scroll down), is iClicker Student
Registration.
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Quizes
Following directions is part of the quiz
While you are waiting:
Make sure name/ID are on blue book

How to relax your eyes

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