Classes

Lectures (attend all):

Lecture 1:Monday 9 am E7B.T1 (Mason)

Lecture 2:Wednesday 11 am E7B.T1 (Mason)

Lecture 3:Friday 12 pm E7B.T1 (Mason)

Tutorial (register for one and attend this only (compulsory)):

Monday 10 am E7B.163

Monday 10 am E7B.164

Tuesday 10 am E5A.150

Tuesday 10 am W5C.303

Tuesday 10 am W5C.335

Wednesday 1 pm E7B.263

Wednesday 2 pm E7B.263

Wednesday 5 pm E5A.130

Laboratory (register for one and attend this only (compulsory)):

Monday 10 am E7B.114

Monday 2 pm E7B.114

Wednesday 1 pm E7B.114

Friday 9 am E7B.114

Friday 2 pm E7B.114

NB One hour Laboratory introduction sessions will occur in week 1. Full laboratories and tutorials will commence in week 2 of the session.

Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials

Required Text

Fundamentals of Physics, by Halliday, Resnick, and Walker, extended 10th edition (with Wiley Plus). A used copy is fine, as is the 9th, 8th or 7th edition if you accept that number references to lecture, tutorial and assignment questions will require conversion. An electronic version of the textbook is available from the publisher- check their web site (www.wileydirect.com.au) if you are interested.

Required Resources

A copy of the PHYS143 Laboratory Manual should be purchased from the Coop notes bookshop before the laboratory sessions begin.

Technology Used and Required

Unit Web Page

PHYS143 has two web pages associated with it: The primary one is the iLearn page and all class anouncements will be made through this.  The textbook publisher provides a useful webpage, with an electronic copy of the text (for students that purchase the textbook) and many practice problems etc.

Please check the iLearn page regularly for material available for downloading.

Teaching and Learning Strategy

This unit is taught through lectures and tutorials and through undertaking laboratory experiments. We strongly encourage students to attend lectures because they provide a much more interactive and effective learning experience than studying a text book. The lecturer is able to interpret the physics that you will be learning, showing you the relationships between different components/concepts and emphasising the key physics principles involved. Questions during and outside lectures are strongly encouraged in this unit - please do not be afraid to ask, as it is likely that your classmates will also want to know the answer. You should aim to read the relevant sections of the textbook before and after lectures and discuss the content with classmates, lecturers and your tutor.

This unit includes a compulsory experimental component. The experiments are stand-alone investigations and may include topics not covered by the lecture content of this course; they are an important part of the learning for this unit and the skills learned are essential for a well-rounded physics graduate.

There are no assignments for PHYS143, instead the lecturer will provide a set of  3-6 assigned problems for you to work on each week.  Outside of the lecture times, you should aim to spend an average of 3 hours per week understanding the lecture material and working on these assigned problems.  At the start of each (compulsory) tutorial session you will complete a 10 min quiz based closely on one of the assigned questions from the previous week. This quiz will be marked by your tutor and this will contribute to your tutorial mark for the unit.  You are free to discuss the assigned problems with your classmates as this is a good way to learn and understand the concepts involved.  It is by applying knowledge learned from lectures and textbooks to solve problems that you are best able to test and develop your skills and understanding of the material.

There will be a mid-session exam in the first lecture time after the mid-session break.  The exam will be 50 minutes long and will cover a portion of the content from weeks 1-4.

Physics and Mathematics Assistance at the Numeracy Centre

The Numeracy Centre offers a number of services including a free drop-in service and weekly workshops to assist students in 100-level units.  The centre offers assistance with both mathematics (most days and times) and physics (limited days and times) problems, so be sure to check their timetable to see when the best time to access the centre is.  Information on on the centre and timetables is available at maths.mq.edu.au/numeracy/.

Schedule of Topics

The unit is divided into two halves. The first half, taught by Professor Mark Wardle covers the physics of waves and the second, taught by Dr James Downes, covers thermodynamics and modern physics.

The textbook sections covered are listed as follows. As a rough guide we will be progressing through the listed chapters at a rate of one every week. You should use this as a guide to plan your textbook reading.

Student Liaison Committee

The Physics and Astronomy Department values feedback from its students.  Once a semester a meeting of the Student Liaison Committee is called and representatives from each of the PHYS/PHTN/ASTR units have an opportunity to voice their opinions about the structure of the unit and how it is taught.  Further information and a call for representatives will be made in lectures closer to the meeting date.

Email Communication

The unit web page and your student email account are the primary ways that the unit lecturers can communicate with you outside of lectures.  Please check your students email accounts once a day for messages concerning the unit.

 Peter Mason Prize

Peter Mason was a foundation Professor of Physics at Macquarie University.  He was a prominent author, ABC science communicator, and respected commentator on science, technology and society.  He gave the first lecture at Macquarie University!

The Peter Mason Prize is awarded each year, in accordance with his family’s wishes, to the best performing student in PHYS143.

Laboratory Requirements

The laboratory component is considered an essential component of your studies and so counts for an appreciable fraction of your final assessment (20%).

The laboratory work is designed to introduce you to some of the basic skills and techniques that are used in experimental physical science.  Some of the activities in the laboratory may not relate directly to the material in the lecture course.  This is because the laboratory activities are intended not only to illustrate physical concepts but also to introduce you to some techniques of measurement.

This work is designed to be carried out independently of the lectures, although some of these topics will be discussed in lectures.  By providing you with instructional material in the form of the Laboratory Notes manual, together with help from the laboratory demonstrators, the laboratory work has been designed to be tackled independently of the lecture material.  Indeed there is some advantage in becoming familiar with a topic in an experimental situation before you meet it in lectures.  That is often the case in real life!  All the information you need for each experiment is contained in the Laboratory Manual.  There is no need to spend a long time outside the laboratory hours in preparation, however a quick read through the lab notes beforehand will allow you to make better use of your time in the laboratory

Location of the 100-level Physics Laboratory

The laboratory is located on the ground floor of building E7B, at the NE corner (room 114).  Entry is from the courtyard at the opposite end to the main staircase. 

What to Bring

You will need to bring a copy of the Physics IB Laboratory Notes, which are available from the Coop Bookshop. 

You are also required to buy and use a standard "science book" (with ruled and graph pages, not spiral bound).  ALL YOUR WORK MUST BE RECORDED DIRECTLY INTO YOUR LABORATORY NOTEBOOK.  Loose sheets of paper must not be used.  If you feel that your notes are incomprehensible or untidy you may rewrite a more legible report in the same book and simply cross out the original notes.

Both these items should be brought with you to the first lab session.

Laboratory Attendance Requirements

You are required to attend all rostered laboratory sessions.  If you miss more than one session without a written explanation then you will not be considered to have satisfactorily completed the laboratory component of the unit.  Each time you attend the laboratory you must sign in and out (legibly) in the attendance book.

If you miss a laboratory session and wish to lodge a "disruption to studies" request you can start this process at ask.mq.edu.au.  You will require a medical certificate or other form of evidence to complete this process - contact the unit convenor if you are unsure.

How to use your Laboratory Notebook

More details are on page ii of the Laboratory Notes manual. 

Your notebook should show your collected data and the calculations and graphs resulting from the data.  At the end of each section summarise your findings and answer any questions posed in the guiding notes. 

At the completion of each laboratory session you must show your book to the laboratory supervisor who will check it and collect for marking.  The marker (one of the laboratory demonstrators) will be checking your book to see whether you have kept a satisfactory record of what you have done and what you have concluded.  Your marked notebook will be available at the start of your next scheduled laboratory.  Be sure to check you book for comments from the marker as this will help you refine you laboratory technique (and increase your laboratory mark).  Your notebook will be kept in the laboratory, and must not be removed from the laboratory at any time; this includes any previously filled notebook.

Laboratory Assessment

Details of the laboratory assessment will be outlined in the first session.

Laboratory Safety

You are required to follow all safety guidelines given in the lab manual, and as outlined by your lab supervisor.  Food and drink cannot be taken into the laboratory and students without suitable covered footwear will be refused admission.

Laboratory Schedule

Introduction laboratories start in the first week of semester.  The schedule of labs is posted in the lab and on the PHYS143 iLearn page.  Please attend your nominated laboratory session.