Models of Motion – 2014-15

This is a reminder about next week’s presentations.  You can find the day of your presentation here.  Everyone who asked for Tuesday got Tuesday, and everyone else got Thursday.  One or two additional groups could move to Tuesday if you don’t need to use technology.  Let me know if you are in this category and want to move (the issue is we only have limited time in our technology room).  Stay tuned for a list of times/rooms.

Here is a first draft of a proposed spring quarter class schedule. Click on the image for a larger version.

I welcome your suggestions for how to modify this schedule. Some constraints to consider:

• Electronics Lecture and Lab can’t be moved.
• We have Lab 1 1050 on Monday morning, and have Lab 1 2046 the rest of the week.
• Still no class meetings on Friday.
• We can’t have class after 3 pm on Monday and after 1 pm on Wednesday due to governance time.
• Moving Monday afternoon’s Physics Lecture & Lab might be possible but would require consultation with staff support.
• We should avoid have Physics Lab Thursday morning due to Thursday afternoon Electronics Lab.
• I plan to be present at Tuesday afternoon’s Open/Optional Project Time.

Problems 35 and 37 from Mazur Ch. 29 are probably the hardest problems on this week’s set (though there are some challenging other problems as well). It’s a good idea to plan to work on them with classmates during Thursday’s problem session. If you’d like to get started on them on your own and you’re stuck on how to begin, here are some thoughts:

1. Determine the current using I = ε/R, and find ε using Faraday’s Law.
2. Now, you have a current I in a magnetic field B. You can find the magnetic force acting on the wire using the magnetic force law for currents.
3. Newton’s Second Law says that F = ma, and you know that a = dv/dt.
4. Put that together, and you have a differential equation which you can solve by separating variables and integrating.

You can find solutions to the Week 17 problem sets in the Assignments area in that week’s Calendar page.

You can find the Week 18 Calendar page using the link above.

Some upcoming location & schedule changes for Week 18.

• Wed. Feb. 25. Meet in Lab 1 2046 instead of Lecture Hall 2. Start at 9 am as usual.
• Thu. Feb. 26. Problem Session starts at 1:00 rather than noon and goes till 2:30. Meets in Sem 2 D3105 as usual.

You can find solutions to the Week 16 problem sets in the Assignments area in that week’s Calendar page.

This scholarship opportunity was recently brought to my attention. Here’s an advertising blurb from their email to me:

“Washington State Opportunity Scholarship: The Washington State Opportunity Scholarship is an exciting opportunity for eligible Washington state undergraduates pursuing a baccalaureate degree in an eligible high demand field such as computer science and engineering at an approved Washington state college or university. With nearly 800 new awardees each year receiving up to $22,500, please visit the program website at www.waopportunityscholarship.org for further details!”

• Math, Physics, and other sciences are among the high demand fields eligible for this scholarship.
• At the link above, click on Scholarship/Supports, then Scholarship, then choose from the selections.
• Scholarship application deadline is 5 pm Monday March 2 2015.
• Eligibility and Application Checklist
• Sample Application (pay particular attention to the response to question 6, which addresses the GPA issue)

There are a number of scholarship opportunities out there, especially for students majoring in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field. Please do some research and apply for every scholarship for which you are eligible.

You can find a preliminary Week 17 Calendar page using the link above. Check back for the week’s assignments.

It is just past the end of the fifth week of the quarter. The college requests that faculty notify students if they are in danger of earning reduced credit or no credit at this point. This is consistent with the faculty responsibility to notify any student who may be at risk for losing credit, as described in our Program Covenant. As noted in the Covenant, students may lose some or all credit because of unsatisfactory performance (on problem sets, quizzes, or the winter midterm exam), failure to complete assignments (problem sets or seminar assignments), poor attendance (specifically at seminars or labs), or other violations of the covenant.  To make this concrete in the context of the current quarter, below we have summarized the main points by which we make judgments as to who is in danger of not earning full credit at this point.  In keeping with Evergreen’s first Expectation about taking responsibility for your own work, we are providing this information to allow you to take stock of your work thus far, and thereby know if you are in danger of losing credit.  If you have any questions about your specific situation in relation to the information below, please contact us for further clarification.

Attendance/Activities: by the end of the 5th week of winter quarter (end of Week 15), you have had the opportunity to participate in the following class sessions; we expect that you take responsibility in contacting faculty when you miss a session and get notes/other materials from a classmate or as needed from faculty. We consider full attendance to include arriving reasonably on time and staying to the end of the session, coming prepared for the session, and fully participating in the session’s activity.

• Multiple Calculus Lectures, Physics Lectures, and Problem Sessions; we are in general paying attention to your attendance and engagement at these sessions. Missing more than 2 Problem Sessions is cause for concern, especially as these are opportunities for you to both learn the material and demonstrate your progress.
• 3 Math Labs (weeks 11, 12, and 14); if you missed a Math Lab you are especially responsible for a high quality Lab Notebook entry though you should be keeping quality notes for all labs in your Lab Notebook. Missing more than 1 Math Lab is cause for concern.
• 3 Physics Lab (week 13, 14, and 15); if you missed a Physics Lab you are especially responsible for a high quality Lab Notebook entry though you should be keeping quality notes for all labs in your Lab Notebook. Some Physics Labs cannot be made up on your own. Missing more than 1 Physics Lab is cause for concern.
• Seminars. There were 3 seminars associated with Simonyi, 4 seminars associated with Strogatz (there will be 3 more with presentations in week 19), and 3 seminars associated with Ascher (there will be 3 more). Missing more than 1 Simonyi Seminar, more than 1 Strogatz Seminar, or more than 1 Ascher Seminar is cause for concern (for those of you in the Ascher Seminar).

Assignments: by the end of the 5th week of winter quarter (end of Week 15), you have had the opportunity to submit

• 5 Reading Responses via MasteringPhysics. (There should be 4 more Reading Responses this quarter).
• 5 Physics Problem Sets via MasteringPhysics; scores of at least 50% are considered minimally passing. You should also be keeping a Problem Set Notebook of all problems – missing or non-passing assignments especially should be of high quality in your Problem Set Notebook. (There should be 4 more Physics Problem Sets this quarter).
• 5 Calculus Problem Sets submitted via paper version, which are evaluated on a 0 – 3 point scale for each of Clarity, Completeness, and Correctness. You should also be keeping a Problem Set Notebook of all problems – missing or poor assignments especially should be of high quality in your Problem Set Notebook. (There should be 4 more Calculus Problem Sets this quarter).
• 1 peer-reviewed and revised Seminar Paper on Simonyi Chapter 5.
• 1 Paper Prospectus. (See Winter Quarter Seminar Details for upcoming Paper deadlines).
• Ascher Small Group Seminar Plans. Seminar Plans are to be posted by Group Leaders by 6 pm Mondays. So far you have seminared on Ascher Ch. 1 – 3; Ch. 4 – 7 remain.

Assessments: by the end of the 5th week of winter quarter (end of Week 15), you have had the opportunity to demonstrate your learning through

• In-Class Work (see above).
• Problem Sets (see above).
• Seminar Papers and Assignments (see above).
• 3 Calculus Quizzes. Each Calculus Quiz is out of 16 points; scores of 8 or higher (50% or better) are considered passing. You should be completing high quality Quiz Revisions on your own both for your own learning and for submission in your Portfolio, especially if you have scored less than 50%. There will be 4 or 5 more calculus quizzes this quarter.
• 3 Physics Quizzes. The first Physics Quiz was out of 32 points, the second out of 16 points, and the third out of 20 points; scores of 50% or better are considered passing. You should be completing high quality Quiz Revisions on your own both for your own learning and for submission in your Portfolio, especially if you have scored less than 50%. There will be 4 or 5 more physics quizzes this quarter.
• Calculus and Physics Midterms. Students who scored 20 points or less (out of 40 points) on the calculus exam or 45 points or less (out of 75 points) on the physics exam are required to submit Exam Revisions (see this post for details). There will be final exams in calculus and physics in the last week of winter quarter.