Physics 131 Home Page (Fall 2011)

Prof. E. F. Redish

Physics 131: Fundamentals of Physics for Biologists I

Description and Prerequisites

This course is intended for biology majors and pre-health care professionals. The physics topics chosen are selected for these students and the contexts emphasize authentic biological examples. Prerequisites for the course include:

• One year of college biology (BSCI 105 and 106 or the equivalent)
• One semester of college chemistry (CHEM 131 or the equivalent)
• One year of college mathematics (MATH 130 and 131 or the equivalent -- calculus and an introduction to probability).

What do I need to buy?

There is no textbook to buy for this course. We are developing a WikiBook that you will be able to read on line.

There is also no lab manual to buy. The lab instructions will be made available online.

You will need to have

• A Clicker -- a remote control device from TurningPoint that allows you to contribute answers in lecture. It is available at the Campus Book Store. This is the campus standard. If you have one from another class, you are likely to able to use it here. If you have an iPhone or iTouch you should be able to use it as a clicker. See the campus clicker page for more information.
• An Online HW service -- most of the HW will be done online through the online service, MasteringPhysics, from Pearson publishers. You may buy this at the bookstore or at http://www.masteringphysics.com/site/register/new-students.html. The course code is Redish131. (You can buy this without a text but you have to identify Knight, College Physics, 2nd ed. as the text. This gives access to the problems and tutorials from the text, but not the text itself. If you want access to the text, it costs extra.)
• Access to a computer -- if you have your own laptop you will be able to use that. If not, you will have to seek out campus computers that run the programs we will be using.

What else do I need to get?

A lot of what we'll be doing this term will be on the computer. Our readings and our homework will be on the internet. You will also need access to a spreadsheet, and a data analysis program. If you do not have your own laptop, you will need to seek out the campus computer rooms and find the places where you can access the appropriate programs. You need:

• A Spreadsheet -- You can either use Excel or the spreadsheet available at Googledocs (http://docs.google.com/) to do repetitive calculations. If you plan to use Googledocs you will need to have a Google account (a free Gmail account will work.)
  For those of you who are unfamiliar with spreadsheets, there are a number of good tutorials on the web. These two look particularly appropriate. Many others are easily found by putting "Excel tutorial" into your favorite search engine.
  • http://phoenix.phys.clemson.edu/tutorials/excel/
  • http://www.usd.edu/trio/tut/excel/
  • http://www.baycongroup.com/excel.htm
    
    
• A Data Analysis Program -- We'll be doing a fair amount of analysis of data taken into the computer by a variety of probes as well as analyzing video clips quantitatively. The tool we will use for this will be LoggerPro. If you have your own laptop, we will help you install this in the laboratory period during the first week of class (8/31).

What do I need to do to succeed in this class?

• Do the reading and commentary for each lecture! -- For each lecture there will be a required reading of a few web pages. For a few (3-4) of these you will be asked to comment on the page and answer the following questions on your Mastering Physics online homework program.
  • What was the main point of the page? Summarize briefly in a couple of sentences.
  • Was anything on the page confusing or unclear? Be specific.
  • Do you have any questions about what you have read?
    
    
• Attend and participate in all the lectures and recitations! -- This is a class very much about doing, not just about learning facts or equations. In lecture we will be doing a lot of answering questions, group problem solving, and class discussions. You will get participation points for some of this stuff, but that's not the point -- the point is that in the doing in lecture and recitation is where a lot of the real learning in this class takes place. A major part of what you will be learning is how to talk about and make sense of physics through problem solving with your classmates.
  
• Do the weekly homework! -- While the lecture and recitation is where you will learn to talk about and make sense of physics through problem solving, the homework is where you will get to try it out with your classmates on your own. You are encouraged to work with others and we have a Course Center (room 0208) set up where you can find people to work with (and get help when you are stuck). But be careful! If you work together DO NOT create a common solution and everyone copy it. Once you have worked out a solution together, each person must write it up separately in your own words. If two solutions are too nearly identical neither will get credit!
  
• Keep up! -- I know that you're busy, and in many classes you can let things slide and then catch up for the exam. In this class that will be very difficult. Each class builds on the last and on the homework from previous weeks. If you miss too much you may find yourself lost.

131H: What if I'm in the Honors Section?

The only difference between the regular and the honors section is to get honors credit, you will have to write a term paper on an example of using physics in biology. We have lots of examples of possible topics and readings to start from.

• The term paper should be about 10-20 typewritten pages long and should be about an application of physics in biology or medicine.
• The paper should include writing and solving a physics problem in a biological context.
• You will pick a topic early in the term and will be assigned an advisor appropriate for your topic to consult and to answer your questions.
• We will meet regularly throughout the semester to check on your progress.
• The paper will account for approximately 20% of the grade for students choosing the honors option. (See honors grading pattern.)

Note: Although the class has been divided equally between 131 and 131H, during the first week of the semester we will permit you to switch freely from one section to the other. So the total number of students in this class can't be larger than 24, but you will be able to switch to or from honors depending on whether you want to research and write a paper or not.

More Information

• Mechanics -- How does the class work?

• Grading

• Detailed Schedule

• Reading Assignments

• Homework Assignments

• Lab Info

• Lecture Notes (PowerPoint slides) / Clicker Questions

Times and Places

Instructors

Honor code:

If you have any questions about policy or procedures, please feel free to ask. I am looking forward to working with you and hope that you will both enjoy and learn a lot from the class.

Email Connections
To send a message to the entire class to start or contribute to a discussion, send it to me and I will forward it to everyone.

• Prof. E.F. Redish (Lecture Instructor): (redish@physics.umd.edu)
• Prof. Dieter Brill (Lab Instructor) (brill@umd.edu)

RETURNS

University of Maryland	Physics Department	Physics 131 Home

Last revision 23 September, 2011.