Instructor: Dr. Lubna Rana  Room 4105 (Physics Bldg.), Phone 301-405-6011  lubna@physics.umd.edu   Office hours: Wednesday, Friday after class (1:00-2:00pm) , or by appointment.

Teaching Assistant: Damian Blazy Room 4210 (Physics Bldg.), Phone 301-405-6191 baal@wam.umd.edu Please note: TA Office Hrs to be held in Room 4223.

Course Title:  General Physics: Mechanics & Particle Dynamics

Textbook:  Physics for Scientists and Engineers , vol. 1, 5th ed., Serway & Beichner.

E-mail:    I encourage students to make use of e-mail for quick correspondence with me (or the T.A.) regarding lecture material, homework problems, or whatever.

Course web site :   Course plan, homework assignments, class notes, supplements, and homework, and exam solutions will all be posted at the course web site.

Homework (25%):   There will be weekly homework assignments. The problems will {\underline {not}} be exclusively from your textbook.
I reserve the right to shop around for good problems or to make some on my own. Please note that LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. However, I will drop TWO of the lowest homework grades to accommodate sickness or such excuses.

Lecture Quizzes (10%): 
Lecture quizzes will be given frequently either during lecture (unannounced) or as take home assignments.
Their purpose is to bring you to class often and keep you caught up with the lecture. The take-home quizzes are to be done in
groups of at least two and at most three and may take one of the following forms

1). A take-home questionnaire based on upcoming topics due at the
beginning of next lecture.

2). A take-home questionnaire based on topics covered in previous
lecture(s).

3). Home Experiments, again due at the beginning of next lecture.

There will be NO MAKE-UPS since that obviously defeats the purpose of these assignments. However, you will be granted two free passes

Recitation Quizzes (15%):

There will be weekly quizzes during your recitation session based on the previous week's homework or lecture. There will be NO MAKE-UPS.
 To accomodate sickness or such excuses,  the lowest TWO Quiz grades will be dropped.

Exams (50%):

ExamI (15%): Monday, March 3, 12:00 - 12:50 pm.
Exam II (15%): Monday, April 14, 12:00 - 12:50 pm.
Final Exam (20%): Wednesday, May 21, 2003, 8:00 am - 10:00 am.

Make-Up Policy for Exams:

Make-ups will be granted in accordance with the University policy and ONLY WITH WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION.
You MUST inform me ahead of time if you expect not to be able to take an exam during the scheduled time.

Tips for doing well :

• Freely ask questions in class.
• Read the textbook.
• Do all of the homework problems. You are allowed and encouraged to discuss the homework with anyone you wish.  However, in order to optimize your learning, you should initially make a serious attempt to solve the problems by yourself. If you think you can do well in the course without doing well on the homework, you are almost certainly mistaken!
• Don't wait until the night before the homework is due to begin working the problems!!
• Seek help immediately if you don't understand the material.