Description and Prerequisites

This course is intended for biology majors and pre-health care professionals. The physics topics are very similar to those used in the version of the course taught at College Park.  However, aspects will be added that tie these topics to the physics at the cellular and molecular level where thermal energy is dominant. Prerequisites for the course include:

• One year of college biology (BSCI 105 and 106 or the equivalent)
• One semester of college chemistry (CHEM 131 or the equivalent)
• One year of college mathematics (MATH 130 and 131 or the equivalent -- calculus and an introduction to probability)

Please talk to me if you have any concerns about prerequisites or anything else

This is not your parents' physics! This class will focus on the physics relevant to living things. We will focus on physics at the convergence with biology, where physical, chemical and biological principles all come into play. A primary theme for this first semester is the concept of motion.

What do I need to buy?

An online WikiBook was developed that you will be able to read for free.  However, the most important readings and problems are found in  the 6^th edition of the textbook: Physics by Giancoli.  Yes this is an older edition but it will do just fine and costs much less.  Lots of used copies are available for purchase on line.  The answers to most of the problems in this book are available on-line:

http://www.slader.com/textbook/9780130606204-giancoli-physics-principles-with-applications-6th-edition/

These are good learning tools.

There is no lab manual to buy. The lab instructions will be made available online.

What else do I need to get?

A lot of what we'll be doing this term will be on the computer. The readings are accessible through links on this site. You will also need access to a spreadsheet, and you will learn to download and use a video analysis program in labs. You need:

• Access to a computer -- if you have your own laptop or desktop you will be able to use that. If not, you will have to seek out campus computers that run the programs we will be using.  You will be invited to share a folder on BOX with the professor.  You will hand in assignments either as hard copies or as files in BOX.
• A Spreadsheet – Please use Excel to do calculations and graphs.  For submission please save the files as an Excel 2010 or earlier version. 
  For those of you who are unfamiliar with spreadsheets, there are a number of good tutorials on the web. These below look particularly appropriate. Many others are easily found by putting "Excel tutorial" into your favorite search engine. We will do our own training on Excel in the first lab.

• http://www.excel-easy.com
• http://www.baycongroup.com/excel.htm

• A Video Analysis Program -- You will learn how to quantitatively analyze images and videos. The tool we will use for this will be ImageJ. This program is freely available, developed for use in biology and medicine at NIH, and is the professional standard. If you have your own laptop, we will help you install this in the laboratory period during the second week of class.

What do I need to do to succeed in this class?

Here is a brief outline of what you will need to do throughout the class but please read carefully the course details page.

• Do the reading before each lecture and selected labs! – The on-line reading material is closely aligned with the topics and depth of knowledge expected of you in this course.  The readings from the Giancoli textbook are very helpful in clarifying the concepts and applying the knowledge to problem situations. You can find the lecture reading assignments on the Schedule Page, and the Lab pre-readings under Recitation/Labs.
• Attend and participate in all the lectures, recitations, and labs! -- This is a class very much about doing, not just about learning facts or equations. In lecture period there will only be a small amount of actual lecturing.  Most of the time will be spent on answering questions, doing group problem solving, and holding class discussions. By actively applying what you learned in the readings to problems during the lecture time and recitation and in labs you will gain true ownership of the science…you will be able to use it. A major part of what you will be learning is how to talk about and make sense of physics through problem solving with your classmates and by designing, doing, and analyzing experiments in lab.
• Do the weekly homework! -- While the lecture and recitation is where you will learn to talk about and make sense of physics through problem solving, the homework is where you will get to try it out with your classmates or on your own. You are encouraged to work with others. But be careful! If you work together, DO NOT create a common solution and have everyone copy it. Once you have worked out a solution together, each person must write it up separately in your own words. If two solutions are too nearly identical, neither will get credit! Homework assignments themselves are found on our Homework Assignment page.
• Keep up! -- We know that you're busy, and in many other classes you can let things slide and then catch up for the exam. In this class that will be very difficult. Each lecture builds on the last, and on the homework from previous weeks. If you miss too much you may find yourself lost. In addition, your grade in this class is based on the accumulation of points in many different categories throughout the term. For details see the course details page.

Times and Places

Event			Location
Lecture	TuTh 9:30-10:45		Bldg III Rm 2206
Recitation	Friday 1:00-5:00		Bldg I Rm 217
Laboratory	Friday 1:00-5:00		Bldg II Rm 4012

 

Professor Office Hours:  Friday 9:00-10AM and noon-1:00 PM in adjunct office

Instructors

Instructors	Name	Room	Email
Professor	Aaron Rappaport	Bldg II Adjunct office	arappapo@umd.edu
uTA	Joe Amrine		mailto:kamrine@terpmail.umd.edu
uTA	Abigail Salazar		asalaza1@terpmail.umd.edu
uTA	Cameron Wilcox		mailto:cjwilcox@terpmail.umd.edu

 

Know the policies of the University:  http://www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html

These include policies on academic integrity, missed assignments, accessibility, discrimination, absences etc. 

Academic Integrity