"Physics was not the sterile, boring discipline that I had
assumed it to be. It was a rich, profound venture that became
inseparable from philosophy. Incredibly, no one but physicists
seemed to be aware of this remarkable development."
Gary Zukav.
The Dancing Wu Li Masters, 1980.
PHYSICAL SCIENCE   (PSC2121 #5007)    FALL 2001

Time/Location:    T-Th  3:30-4:50 pm   in GCS 118

Instructor:         Richard F. Voss,     SE Room 210,     (561) 297-3358,     email: psc2121@science.fau.edu
Office Hrs:        Tue. and Thur. 1-2:30 pm, and by appointment.

Tutor:                  Daryl Davis,  SE 429   email: ddav3346@fau.edu
Tutoring Hours:  M 2:00-3:00 pm, Tu 2:00-3:30 pm, Th 1:00-2:30pm  check SE 101 for other help
Grader:          Cyndee Finkel, email: cyndeefinkel@aol.com
Text:                     "PHYSICAL SCIENCE" by M. MERKEN (5th. edition)

Material:             The course will cover portions of the physics, chemistry and earth science chapters. Topics and Goals

Internet:               Updated information and an online discussion  are available on the internet using any standard browser.

Syllabus:          A copy of the course syllabus is available as a .pdf file that you can download and print. It contains a single page subset of the information available here at the start of the semester. You may  need a copy of Adobe Acrobat reader, which you can download for free from the Adobe web-site.

Course Notes: Most of the material presented using the computer projector in class will be available for download and printing as course notes . It is suggested that you check here before class and download and print the relevant chapters before class or  reading. This will save a great deal of writing during lecture and allow you to concentrate on the images and explanations being given. They are formatted as Adobe .pdf files. You may  need a copy of Adobe Acrobat reader, which you can download for free from the Adobe web-site. The complete set is available on a separate page. The current chapters follow:

Ch. 15: Chemical Formula  Formula Mass
Ch. 16: Rates and Equilibrium
Ch. 17: Solutions
Ch. 22: Earth    Plate Tectonics
Ch. 23: Oceans
Ch. 24: Atmosphere
Exam IV: Review
Class Attendance:  FAU's Academic Policy states that "students are expected to attend all of their scheduled University classes". Every effort will be made to make homework assignments, answers, and class notes available through this class web page. Daily attendance will not be taken. It is, however, the students responsibility to be aware of information given out in class. In particular, the professor can not answer questions or email about what was covered in a missed class. Is is strongly suggested that each student insure that they can access both the class web page and  fellow students.

Homework:  Homework assignments will be given out during most lectures and will be due at the start of the following week. In most cases, late homework will not be accepted after the answers are posted online. The homework and occasional short quizzes will count for a total of 15% of the final grade. Click homework and answers for the latest assignments. It may be necessary to hit shift+Reload with Netscape or Ctrl+Refresh with Internet Explorer to make sure you have the latest version. The page answers contains links to the solutions for all previous homework assignments.

Homework Groups:  Students are encouraged (but not required) to form small (no more than 4) groups to discuss and submit homework. Only one copy of the homework need be turned in for each group and all members of the group will receive the same grade. Group membership may change during the course. Each assignment must be clearly labeled with the date and the names of all group members. Each problem must be labeled with chapter and question number. Show your work leading up to the answer. Neatness and legibility count as part of scientific communication. Answers that cannot be easily deciphered will be marked incorrect.

Exams:  The remaining 85% of the final grade will be based on four exams. The tentative chapter coverage and dates are:

Exam I        Ch. 2-6                 Tuesday, September 18
Exam II       Ch. 7-10               Thursday, October 11
Exam III     Ch. 11-14              Tuesday, November 6
Exam IV     Ch. 15-17, 22-24   Thursday, December 13 at 1:15-3:45 pm
For the exams you should bring pencil or pen and a calculator. You are also allowed to use a single 8 1/2 by 11 page (both sides) of handwritten notes during the exam. Textbooks or other materials and cell phones will not be allowed during the exam. Exam problems will be based on the lectures, textbook, and assigned homework.

You must have a valid excuse, such as a note from a doctor, for missing an exam. IMPORTANT: you must inform Prof. Voss (phone, email, or personal contact) as soon as possible once you realize you will miss the scheduled exam, and make arrangements for an alternative exam. Waiting until the next class period is too late.

Grades.  If you click on this link, you will see a list of your current recorded grades.

Practice Exam IVA  provides a  sample exam with 15 multiple choice questions from a large bank of possibilities that cover chapters 13-17. Ignore the questions from chapters 13-14 for Exam IV. Practice Exam IVB  provides a  sample exam with 15 multiple choice questions from a large bank of possibilities that cover chapters 22-24. These practice exams were generated by Prof. Jordan for other offerings of PSC2121 with 5 rather than 4 exams.

 
You are allowed to bring a copy of the Periodic table for Exam IV. If you did not get one of the limited copies given out in class, you may bring a copy of page 316 in the textbook, or print Periodic Table on the Web


Practice Exam IIIA  provides a  sample exam with 15 multiple choice questions from a large bank of possibilities that cover chapters 10-12. Ignore the questions from chapter 10 for Exam III. Practice Exam IIIB  provides a  sample exam with 15 multiple choice questions from a large bank of possibilities that cover chapters 13-17. Ignore the questions from chapters 15-17 for Exam III. These practice exams were generated by Prof. Jordan for the other section of PSC2121 which has a different schedule with 5 rather than 4 exams.

Practice Exam IIA    If you click on this link, a  sample exam will be generated with 15 multiple choice questions from a large bank of possibilities that cover chapters 7-9. The exam will then be immediately graded so you can check your answers, but the results are not recorded. Practice Exam IIB  provides a  sample exam with 15 multiple choice questions from a large bank of possibilities that cover chapters 10-12. Ignore the questions from chapter 11 and 12 for Exam II. These practice exams were generated by Prof. Jordan for the other sections of PSC2121 with 5 rather than 4 exams.

Practice Exam I    If you click on this link, a  sample exam will be generated with 15 multiple choice questions from a large bank of possibilities that cover chapters 2-6. The exam will then be immediately graded so you can check your answers, but the results are not recorded. Use this as a help in studying for Exam I. The material for the exam was collected by Prof. Jordan and programmed by Mark Wood for previous sections of PSC2121.

Course Goals and Hints for Success.
Advice for Students.

Important Dates:

Aug 31:       last day to withdraw with full refund of fees.
Sep 21:        last day to drop without receiving a "W".
Oct 19:        last day to drop without receiving an "F".
Nov 22:       Thanksgiving holiday
Dec 4:         Last day of class.
Useful Notes and Supplementary Material - Chapter 2
Science: Goals, Laws, Theories, Models, Units
Conversion of Units
Scientific Notation
Short Biographies of Scientists