University
of Maryland - Department of Physics
Spring 2013 Prof.
Carter Hall Physics 273/273H
Title: PHYS 273/273H Introductory
Physics: Waves. Oscillations and
AC circuits using complex variables, Fourier series and integrals, waves on strings,
sound; electromagnetic waves from Maxwell's equations in differential form;
physical optics.
Prerequisites: PHYS272 (Introductory Physics: Fields), and
MATH241 (Calculus III – Multivariable Calculus). (MATH 340 is also
acceptable.)
Instructor: Prof. Carter Hall, Room 4211B, Phone: 5-6103, e-mail:
crhall@umd.edu.
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10:45
am to 11:30 am, and by appointment. You are also welcome to come to my office without an
appointment, however I may not be available.
Schedule: 3 meetings weekly:
T,H....... 9:30 am - 10:45 am (PHYS 1410)
F........... 9:00 am - 9:50 am
(CHEM 1402)
Optional Texts:
· The Physics of Vibrations and
Waves, H.J. Pain, 6th Edition (2005), ISBN 13: 978-0-470-01296-3.
· Waves and Oscillations, Walter
Fox Smith (2010), ISBN: 978-0-19-539349-1.
Website: http://www.physics.umd.edu/courses/Phys273/Hall-Spring-2013/
Homework: The homework assignment will be posted on the course website each
Thursday. It is the student's responsibility to check the website for the
assignment each week. Homework will
be collected at the beginning of class each Thursday, except for exam weeks,
for a total of 12 homework assignments. The homework problems will be graded on
a scale from zero to three: three points if completely correct, two points if
mostly correct, one point if mostly incorrect, zero points for entirely
incorrect or no answer. No make-up homework will be accepted, but the lowest
two homework grades will be dropped when your final grade is calculated. Homework will not be accepted electronically.
If you use a computer but you have trouble printing your results, you may copy
them by hand.
Lecture: Class time will be spent on a mixture of lecture material
and lecture demonstrations.
Exams: We will have two in-class mid-term exams and a final
exam. The final exam will take place on Monday May 13, from 8:00 am to 10:00 am
in PHYS 1410.
Undergraduate
Peer Tutoring: There is a new tutoring service available to undergraduate
physics majors in the introductory courses, provided by physics majors who have
already completed the introductory series. The tutoring service is available
Monday through Friday, from 4pm - 6pm in PHYS 1304 (the room next to the
undergraduate student lounge). The tutors are happy to provide homework help
and discuss course topics in general with students at no cost. If you have
any questions, please direct them to Hannalore Gerling-Dunsmore at hannagd@terpmail.umd.edu .
Honors Section: Honors students will complete an honors project, to be approved by
the instructor. Honors students will meet with the each other and the
instructor once a month to discuss the status of their projects. Each student
will prepare a presentation based on their project to be given to the other
honors students at the end of the semester. There may also be additional homework
questions and exam questions for students enrolled in 273H.
Credit: Phys 273 Phys 273H
Midterm
1 20% 15%
Midterm
2 20% 15%
Final Exam 30% 25%
Homework 30% 25%
Honors Project 20%
Grading Scale:
A ten-point grading scale will be used to assign final letter grades, with the
“-“ and “+” grades reserved for the lowest three and highest three points in
each bracket. For example, 97% to 100% will be an A+, 93% to 97% will be an A,
and 90% to 93% will be an A-.