CSUSB
PHYSICS
352
Fall 2010
Timothy D. Usher, Ph.D.
Office:
PS-113
Telephone: 537-5410
Physics Office: PS-119, Telephone: 537-5397, web page: http://physics.csusb.edu/
Office Hours: to be
announced
Required Book: Part 1 and 4 from Principles of
Electrical Engineering by Peyton Z. Peebles, Jr.
Recommended Books: The Art of Electronics by Paul
Horowitz and Winfield Hill; and Schaum's Outlines; Electric Circuits 3rd
ed.
Prerequisites: Physics 350 and Physics 373.
Corequisite: none
CLASS
This is a
small class therefore allowing for certain flexibility. If you have a
suggestion as to how this course can be more beneficial to you please let me
know.
ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments
will be in three parts: reading, questions, and problems. The assignments will
be written on the blackboard at the beginning of each class. The assigned
reading will include the material to be covered in the next lecture. Pop
quizzes may be given at the beginning of some classes as encouragement to
keep up with the reading. Each question on the quiz will carry the same weight
as a homework problem.
Physics requires certain skills as well as
knowledge. Solving problems will help you develop those skills just as playing
scales helps a pianist or tackling practice helps a football player. Thinking
carefully about the assigned questions should help you to demonstrate the deep
understanding necessary to do well on the tests.
Assignments will be made each day. All of
the questions and problems from the previous week are due on Monday, regardless
of the day they were assigned. There will be a folder at the front of the
classroom marked "Homework to be graded (first attempt)". Place your
homework in there before or after class, not during class! The homework
will be graded and returned to you Wednesday. You will receive one of the
following marks on each problem with the indicated meanings.
a check = satisfactory (1 credit)
"OK" = barely adequate, strongly recommend reviewing (1 credit)
"X" = not clear or unsatisfactory ( credit)
"XX" = no clear attempt was made (0 credit)
If you receive an X you should try again with
whatever aid (short of copying) you wish, including: seeing me, posted
solutions, solution manuals, fellow students, etc. I will make solutions
available. If I feel that you have simply copied your assignments,
points will be deducted from you. For example, the solutions in the
library may have slight errors. If there are obvious mistakes in the solutions,
and I see them again on your solutions, it could be bad news for you. After you
have reworked the assignment you may resubmit it Monday in the folder marked
"Homework to be graded (Second attempt)." If the second attempt is
satisfactory, you will receive the other credit.
NOTE: Doing the assignment on your own the first
time can't hurt you but it can help you on test day!
If you receive XX you may do the assignment and
turn it in to the (Second attempt) folder. If the assignment is satisfactory
you will receive credit. If the assignment is not satisfactory you receive no
credit and you have run out of chances to turn in the homework!
NOTE: This system automatically penalizes half
credit for late homework, no matter what the excuse. Turning in late homework
once or twice should not hurt your grade much, but habitually late or no
homework could hurt a lot!
The homework solutions must be:
1) Neat
a) Staple pages
b) Work on one side only
c) No pages torn out of notebooks
d) Problems and questions in order
e) Your name and chapter number and first or second attempt
2) Concise--The problem must be solved clearly in
an easy to read form. Show all key steps, basic relations used and explanations
where needed. In short the grader should be able to look at your solution and
be able to tell what you did within a few seconds. Questions should be clear,
concise, and direct. For example if the question can be answered with a yes or
a no, do so and then give a brief reasoning if you like. Do not just give your reasoning
without the yes or no!
If these criterion are not met, the problem may be
marked X or even XX.
This homework
schedule may seem complicated but it is not.
Monday: Turn in all first and second attempt homework from the previous
week.
Wednesday: Retrieve graded homework.
OPPORTUNITIES (Also known as tests)
You will have several opportunities to demonstrate your understanding. You will
have two "midterms," one midway through the quarter, and another at
the end. The final is
scheduled for Wednesday, December 8 at noon NOT at the regular
meeting time.
GRADING
Midterms: 37.5% (18.75% each)
Final 25%
Lab 25%
H.W. 12.5%
Grading scale: 100 -
95 A
94 - 90 -A
89 - 85 +B
84 - 80 B
79 - 75 -B
74 - 70 +C
69 - 65 C
64 - 60 -C
59 - 55 +D
54 - 50 D
49 - 45 -D
45 or less F
COURSE OUTLINE
The course can be logically split into two parts, network analysis and
communications. This corresponds to Chapters 1-5 and 14-16 in the text. The
order of topics will be slightly different than the order presented in the
text. We will cover the chapters in the following order 1,3,4,2,5 and then
14-16.
Basic Concepts and Circuits
Direct Current Circuits
Alternating Current Circuits
Electric Signals
Transients in Circuits
Wave Propagation, Antennas, and Noise
Analog Communications Systems
Digital Communications Systems
LABORATORY
SAFETY FIRST !! Always be very careful. If you are unsure ASK! If
you are taking any medications or your motor skills are impaired for any other
reason, do not perform the experiment and consult with me. Attendance at each
lab is essential! Three or more missing lab reports will result in an automatic
F. You must do the lab in order to obtain credit. The laboratory
directions in your lab manual are minimal. You should read them before coming
to lab. It is expected that you do your own background research for each lab.
Be sure to reference your sources. It is also important to be on time.
Important instructions are given at the beginning of each lab. It is
recommended that you maintain a laboratory notebook. Nobel prizes and millions
of dollars worth of patents have depended on laboratory notebooks. You will
have two lab periods to complete one lab. The lab reports are due the Monday
after the experiment is completed. A lab report which is late will receive a
progressively lower grade for each week it is late. Each lab will be assigned
on a 100-point scale. The lab grades will be averaged at the end.
IT HAS BEEN MY EXPERIENCE THAT THIS
IS THE GREATEST PITFALL FOR STUDENTS IN LABORATORY COURSES. I HAVE FOUND THAT
STUDENTS WHO DO NOT KEEP UP GET TOO FAR BEHIND AND HAVE TO DROP THE COURSE OR
FAIL IT. TURN YOUR LAB REPORTS IN ON TIME!!!!
TENTATIVE
LABORATORY SCHEDULE
Electronic design software (EDS)
Thévenin and Norton
Theorems
Transfer
Function
AM FM and
Superheterodyne
Transmission
Line
ANALOG TO
DIGITAL CONVERSION (ADC) AND DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERSION (DAC)
Serial
Communications
Chaos
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Keep this handout!
- Please excuse the following statement of official departmental policy.
Evidence of academic dishonesty will result in the immediate assignment of a
failing grade, at the discretion of the instructor of record.
- Be sure to ask questions. The only dumb question is the one left unanswered.
- Be sure to see me if you have any problems. We are all human and deserve to
be treated as such, so, if you have any problems please see me about them.
- If you have a concern about your grades be sure to
speak with me before taking any drastic measures.
- The mind of the investigator is an essential part of the experimental
equipment and should be fully operational at all times.