This unit has hurdle requirements, specifying a minimum standard that must be attained in different aspects of the unit. To pass this unit you must obtain a mark of at least:

- 50% in the unit overall

as well as

- 40% in the final examination

- 40% in each of the laboratory activities

- 40% in at least 6 of 11 quizzes.

Classes

Lectures (attend all):

Lecture 1: Monday 10 am X5B T1 Theatre

Lecture 2: Monday 2 pm E7B.T1 (Mason)

Lecture 3: Wednesday 2 pm E7B.T1 (Mason)

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

Monday 11 am W6B.282

Monday 11 am E3A.166

Monday 11 am C5A.301

Tuesday 12 pm W6B.382

Tuesday 12 pm E5A.130

Tuesday 12 pm E4B.308

Tuesday 5 pm E5A.130

Tuesday 5 pm E3B.112

Tuesday 5 pm E5A.230

Thursday 1 pm C5A.229

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

Tuesday 9 am E7B.114

Tuesday 2 pm E7B.114

Wednesday 11 am E7B.114

Wednesday 3 pm E7B.114

Thursday 10 am E7B.114

NB: One hour Laboratory introduction sessions will occur in week 2 and are compulsory for all students that have not attended the Laboratory introduction session in S1. Full laboratories and tutorials will commence in week 3 of S2.

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

Laboratory notes will be available for download on iLearn.  There is no longer a requirement to purchase an additional lab manual.

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 A/Professor Andrei Zvyagin covers the physics of waves and the second, taught by Dr Alex Fuerbach, 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.

Laboratory Schedule

A full laboratory schedule will be posted on the unit's iLearn page, will be available on all lab computers, and will also be displayed next to the entrance to the laboratory. 

Below are the experiments that are available for this unit:

L11-Thin Lenses

L12-Spectrometer

L14-Laser Diffraction

W11-Standing Waves

W12-Ultrasonic Waves

W13-Microwaves

M11-Radioactivity

M13-Torsional Pend.

M14-Gamma of Air

In accordance with Macquarie University's revised assessment policy, hurdle requirements have been introduced.

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 Laboratory Notes, 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 Notes.  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. 

Laboratory Attendance Requirements

You are required to attend and to satisfactory complete all rostered laboratory sessions.  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.

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