Physics 131 Physics for Biologists I

Prerequisites

We expect you to have successfully completed intro classes in bio, chem, and math.

• 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 math (MATH 130 and 131 or the equivalent -- calculus and an introduction to probability)

We expect you to know the basics, not all the details -- what a cell is and its structure, how evolution works, what a chemical bond is, etc. You will be expected to bring your knowledge from these classes into our class and, on occassion, to share it.

What do I need to buy?

All our materials are online on the open web. You will only need to buy an online access program that we will use for our in-class activities and an program where you will do your homework.

• TopHat -- This is the online app that will give you access to our in-class activities. Using this repquires a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. If you don't have any of those, see you instructor for an accommodation. You have three choices in how to purchase access to TopHat
  1. Just buy access to the slides. Read the assigned text on a browser on a laptop. $26.
  2. Buy access to the slides and text. This will allow you to link directly to the text from slides. $41.
  3. Buy access to the slides and text from the bookstore for $46. If you have University-based support for class materials, this will allow you to pay for it directly.

  You will be getting a email from TopHat that tells you how to sign up and pay. Once you have purchased TopHat sign in at http://tophat.com. Our join code is: 248695.

• ExpertTA (XTA) -- This is the online app that you will use to do most of our homework problems. (There is also one problem per week to be done on paper.) This costs $32.50 per semester. When you activate the first homework assignment in Canvas you will have to pay and will be registered with XTA.
• What about a text? -- We are trying to keep costs down for you by using an online text. You can read it in TopHat or in a browser.  But some people prefer paper. Our text is offered in an optional printed version through XanEdu for about $35. (Though you won't get the links and videos connected to the text if you use paper.) If you would prefer to work with a pdf version, ask your instructor for it.
• What about a lab manual? -- The recitation and lab worksheetsare online at our lab page. You will need to print them out before coming to recitation and lab each week.

What else do I need?

• A Spreadsheet -- Some of our homework and lab activities require a spreadsheet to do repetitive calculations. You can use Excel, OpenOffice, or the spreadsheet available at Google Docs (http://docs.google.com/). To use Google Docs, you need to have a Google account (a free Gmail account will work.)
  • If you are unfamiliar with spreadsheets, there are good tutorials on the web. Here are some that look particularly appropriate. Many others are easily found by putting "Excel tutorial" into your favorite search engine. We will do our own training on Excel in the first lab.
    
    • http://www.excel-easy.com
    • http://www.baycongroup.com/excel.htm
• A Video Analysis Program -- In the lab, you will use ImageJ to quantitatively analyze images and videos. .
  We will help you install this in the laboratory period during the second week of the term if you have not already done so.