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Lectures
Lectures will be given by Prof. Stanley Kowalski on Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays at 10:05 a.m. and again at 11:05 a.m., in Room 26-100.
We expect you to attend the lectures. The lectures will explain
the concepts that you are expected to understand, and in addition
there will be live demonstrations that are important to your understanding
of the material.
Recitation Classes
You will be assigned to a recitation class that meets twice a week,
for 50 minutes each meeting. These classes will give you an opportunity
to ask questions about the material, and to practice the art of
problem solving. There will be five 25-minute quizzes given during
recitation. If you need to change your recitation class, ask at
the Physics Education Office, Room 4-352.
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Tutoring and Instructors’ Office Hours
Graduate student tutors will be available in Room 4-344 throughout
the term, and you are strongly encouraged to seek their help. Tutoring
sessions last 25 minutes. Initially they will be on a drop-in basis,
but we may switch to a sign-up system if there is a problem with
overcrowded sessions. The tutoring schedule will be posted here
and also outside Room 4-344.
You are welcome to attend the office hours of any instructor in
the course. A list of the office hours of all the instructors is
available here.
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Textbook
University Physics, 11th Edition 2003
by Young and Freedman
The textbook is available at the Coop, and is a required purchase.
When the material in the Study Guide is too concise for your taste,
you can turn to the textbook, which provides more detailed derivations
and explanations of the results and formulas. It also has more worked
examples and problems, problem-solving hints, etc. Homework problems
will be assigned from the textbook.
8.01 Study Guide
Essentials of Introductory Classical Mechanics, 6th Edition
by Wit Busza, Susan Cartwright, and Alan H. Guth
The Study Guide is available from the Coop. It is not a required
purchase, but is recommended. It was written especially for this
course and will be your main resource for the course’s material.
It defines the content of the course, provides a concise discussion
of the relevant principles of physics, and includes a large collection
of physics problems, some with full solutions and some without.
If by the end of the term you understand and know how to use the
material in the Study Guide, you will deserve an A for the course.
Since the Study Guide is still under development, it may contain
some errors. If you discover any errors, we would very much appreciate
your sending an e-mail message about them to Alan
Guth. No error is too small to be worth correcting.
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Problem Sets
Problem sets will be assigned about once a week; the exact schedule
of hand-out dates and due dates is included on the Course Calendar,
attached to this handout. Normally, written homework will be posted
here on the web on Wednesdays. It will
be due the following week on Thursdays in Room 4-339B by 4 pm. There
are exceptions. Check the web. Normally, Mastering Physics assignments
will be posted on the web on Tuesdays. They will be due the following
week on Tuesdays by 10 pm. Check the course
calendar for exceptions. The two lowest homework scores will
be excluded from the homework grade.
We believe that working out the problems on the homework is absolutely
essential to learning the material of this course. Trying to learn
physics without doing problems is like trying to learn how to ride
a bicycle by reading a book. We strongly encourage students to get
together in groups to discuss the homework, but of course the mere
copying of solutions written by your friends will not help you learn
physics. Solutions to each problem set will be made available immediately
after they are due.
Mastering Physics
Logging in: You will need the student access kit that comes
with Young and Freedman’s Eleventh edition.
Go to www.masteringphysics.com
and register with the access code in the front of the access kit.
WRITE DOWN YOUR NAME AND PASSWORD
This makes you a registered user. You must now register for 8.01.
Registering for 8.01 Fall 2003: Log into masteringphysics.com
with your new name and password.
The MIT zip code is 02138
The class ID is MPPRITCHARD0004
After entering this information, you are ready to start assignment
#1.
A common login problem: Sometimes when you attempt to
sign up for 8.01 (after you are recognized by the system), the computer
will say: "You have been deactivated. Please contact the instructor
to be reactivated or enter an alternate Course ID."
In this case, the easiest thing to do is to submit a bogus class
code such as MPJUNK0017 It will say it doesn't recognize this class
code. Then type the one for 8.01 listed above and it may work. If
it doesn't, contact AW help at 800-677-6337.
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Examinations
Recitation Quizzes: On five selected weeks, 25-minute quizzes
will be given in the Wednesday and Thursday recitation sections.
The dates of the recitation quizzes are shown on the course
calendar.
50-minute Exams: Three lecture periods during the term —
Monday, September 29, Friday, October 24, and Friday, November 21—will
be used for 50-minute exams. Each exam will focus on all the material
since the previous exam, and will include at least one problem that
is at most a slight modification of a previously assigned homework
problem. Each exam will be held in three rooms. Exam #1 will be
held in 26-100 and 4-370. Exams #2 and #3 will be held in 26-100
and 4-270. Students will be assigned to exam rooms according to
their family names.
Target Scores: The material in this course is tightly interconnected,
so it is very difficult to understand the contents of Chapter N
if you are not comfortable with the ideas in Chapters 1 . . . N
-1. For that reason, we want to do everything that we can to encourage
you to stay on top of the subject, avoiding any gaps in your understanding.
As part of this encouragement, after each exam Prof. Kowalski will
announce a target score — a level that is comfortably above
the passing line, which we would like all students to attain. Students
who fall below the target score will have the opportunity to improve
their grades (and their understanding) by taking a Make-Up Exam.
Make-Up Exams: The Make-up Exams will be given on Tuesday
evenings at 7:30 p.m., at least one week after the original 50-minute
Exam. Make-up Exam #1 will be held on Tuesday, October 7 at 7:30
pm, Room 26-100; #2 will be held on Tuesday, November 4 at 7:30
pm, Room 26-100; #3 will be held on Tuesday, December 2 at 7:30
pm, Room 26-100. The dates for the 50-minute Exams and the Make-up
Exams are shown on the course calendar.
Students electing to take the Make-up Exam will have a grade recorded
as their exam grade which is the average of the Make-Up Exam and
the regular 50-minute Exam, if any, up to a maximum of the target
score.
Final Examination: The 3-hour final exam, which will cover
the material from the entire course, will be given on Monday, December
15, 9 am - noon, in Johnson Athletic Center. There will be no make-up
final.
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Grading
| Problem Sets |
9% |
| Mastering Physics |
9% |
| Recitation |
10% |
| 50-minute Exams |
36% |
| Final Exam |
36% |
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Academic Behavior and Honesty
During quizzes and exams, exchange of information with others is
unacceptable. So is the use of notes or other materials, unless
explicitly authorized. You will not be allowed to use calculators
(they will not be needed). Anyone suspected of violating these guidelines
will be charged with academic dishonesty and subject to MIT’s
disciplinary procedures. However, you are strongly encouraged to
get together in groups to discuss the problem sets and the material
presented in the course.
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8.01 Website
At http://web.mit.edu/8.01/www/Fall03,
the 8.01 website includes quizzes and solutions from past years.
It will also be used to post all announcements, problem sets, problem
set solutions, and exam solutions as the term progresses. You are
invited to use the anonymous feedback
page to relay comments, complaints, or suggestions about the course,
or about the website. Messages that you write on the feedback page
concerning the course are forwarded anonymously to the lecturer,
Prof. Kowalski. Messages about the website are forwarded anonymously
to webmaster John Ventresca.
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