School of Physics

Traditional Introductory Physics I
Mechanics
PHYS 2211 A & B

Welcome to PHYS 2211 A & B!

Check this location regularly for important information.
You are responsible for everything posted here.

Dec 16
Final Exam Grades
Final Exam Grades have been uploaded to PostEm in T-Square. Contact Dr. Murray if you have concerns about your final exam grade.
Dec 13
Lab Grades
Final Lab Averages have been uploaded to PostEm in T-Square. Each student's poorest lab grade was dropped. If your lab grade seems surprisingly low, don't forget the penalty for excessive absences. Contact Dr. Murray if you think your posted Lab grade is in error.
Note: WebAssign is designed as a homework service, and does not handle lab grades well. Lab averages on WebAssign are completely bogus. If you want to check your posted average, you'll need to look at each individual lab report. Add the In-Lab and Discussion for each report to get a grade out of 10, drop the lowest, and average the rest.
Dec 09
Recitation Grades
Recitation Grades (out of 10) and Averages (percent) have been uploaded to PostEm in T-Square. "A" represents an unexcused absence, which counts as a zero. Blanks represent excused absences. Each student's poorest recitation grade, which may be an unexcused absence, was dropped. Contact Dr. Murray if you think your posted Recitation Average is in error.
Dec 08
Homework Grades
Final Regular and Practice Homework averages have been uploaded to PostEm in T-Square. Your Regular Homework average may exceed 100% if you did it on a daily, rather than a weekly, basis. Contact Dr. Murray if you think your posted Homework Grades are in error.
Also, Class Participation, Reading Question, and Public Lecture attendance records have been updated to PostEm in T-Square. If you notified Dr. Murray of a problem, it should be fixed, now. But if it isn't, please let him know.
Dec 06
Motion Assessments
Results of the Extra Credit Motion Assessments have been uploaded to PostEm in T-Square. "I" and "II" represent your percent correct on the beginning and end of semester assessments, respectively. "XC" represents the percent of one percentage point extra credit that will be added to your course grade. If you wish to calculate your extra credit yourself, you earned 25% for each assessment you took, plus half your average score. Contact Dr. Murray if you have any questions.
Dec 05
Class Participation & Reading Question Grades
Final TurningPoint (Class Participation & Reading Question) Grades have been uploaded to PostEm in T-Square. Days for which an absence was excused should show a blank score rather than a zero, and do not count for or against your average. Contact Dr. Murray if you think your posted Class Participation or Reading Question Grade is in error.
Also, Public Lecture attendance records have been updated to PostEm in T-Square. If you notified Dr. Murray of a problem, it should be fixed, now. But if it isn't, please let him know.
Dec 05
Final Exam Format
The Final Exam will have four Free-Response problems, together worth about half the points on the exam (so, 13% each). There will be 16 Multiple-Choice questions worth the rest (3% each). Some of the Multiple-Choice may require a bit more calculation than the Multiple-Choice did on the quizzes, but many will be strictly conceptual. We believe that topics in the course are covered roughly evenly — that is, there is no special emphasis on material after Quiz #4.
The same standardized formula sheet that was provided for the quizzes will also be provided for final exam. Additionally, Table 12-2 from your text, Moments of Inertia of Objects with Uniform Density, will be provided.
Remember that the Final Exam for PHYS 2211 will be held Exam Period Twenty, Wednesday, December 14, from 6:00 to 8:50pm. Students should go to the same as the rooms that were used for quizzes.
You may want to review the Quiz and Exam Rules. Don't forget your photo ID.
Remember that calculators that cannot store text may be used on the final exam. Note that if your calculator keypad includes a complete alphabet, that's a very good sign that it cannot be used. Do not expect to be provided with an appropriate calculator if you do not bring your own.
Remember our expectations for your work on the free response problems, which are the same good problem-solving practices you should be using on the homework, anyway.
  • Units should be shown with any value that has a unit
  • Algebraic manipulations should be performed with symbols, not values
  • Consider, but do not obsess over, significant figures
You may find an example helpful.
Dec 01
Reading Day Group Tutoring Location Update
The Center for Academic Success is hosting a two-hour Intro Physics group tutoring session at 10am on Reading Day, Wednesday, December 7, in CULC 144. Students are encouraged to bring their previous exams, quizzes and problem assignments to work on and any other problems with which they would like help. Coffee and snacks will be provided.
Dec 01
Public Lectures
The third Public Lecture, scheduled for December 6, has been canceled. As the full one "other" point is earned for attending all but one Public Lecture, that point has been earned by students attending at least one of the two lectures.
Attendance records for the two Public Lectures are available in PostEm in T-Square. A "1" indicates that your presence was recorded. Contact Dr. Murray with any questions you have.
Nov 28
Final Exam Time and Location
The final exam period has been set by the Registrar's Office. The Final Exam for PHYS 2211 will be held Exam Period Twenty, Wednesday, December 14, from 6:00 to 8:50pm. Students should go to the following rooms, which are the same as the rooms used for quizzes. If any student goes to the wrong room, it is likely that there will be insufficient seats and/or exam forms in that room! The format of the Final Exam will be announced once it has been determined.
You may want to review the Quiz and Exam Rules. Don't forget your photo ID.
Remember that calculators that cannot store text may be used on the final exam. Note that if your calculator keypad includes a complete alphabet, that's a very good sign that it cannot be used. Do not expect to be provided with an appropriate calculator if you do not bring your own.
Remember our expectations for your work on the free response problems, which are the same good problem-solving practices you should be using on the homework, anyway.
  • Units should be shown with any value that has a unit
  • Algebraic manipulations should be performed with symbols, not values
  • Consider, but do not obsess over, significant figures
You may find an example helpful.
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