Goshen College > Physics & Engineering Physics

PHYS 105
Physics & Engineering, First year seminar

Syllabus, Fall 2024-2025

An introduction to the department and to physics and engineering as careers. Presentations by faculty and students of research, introduction to the scientific literature and scientific writing, individual research on a chosen topic. (2 credit hours)

We meet 3:00-3:50 pm, MW in Science 203.

On the web

You can find the syllabus and other materials related to this course on the web at:  
tiny.cc/phys105

Grades will be available on moodle.

Read your goshen.edu e-mail address daily, as I'll send announcements outside of class time that way.

Project areas

Students will do group projects related to engineering, design, and experimental physics. This will involve a presentation to the class of your results.

  • 3-D Printing: You will start to learn to use 3-d design software--Fusion 360--to design an object and then print it out on one of our Lulzbot printers. Together, come up with a small part or parts that meets some very simple need. Through iterations refine your design.
  • Vibration analysis: Use the electronic Laser Holography system to measure the frequencies and shapes of the vibration modes of a metal plate. Make changes to the object and measure them again. Compare your results to theoretical results based on finite element analysis, as calculated by Fusion 360.
  • Truss measurements: Build a bridge or truss structure and use strain gauges to meaure its response to loading. Change the structure and see how the stresses change. Compare the meaured stress to the expected stress with analysis mehods from statics.
  • Quantum 2-slit interference: We'll take measurements with a 2-slit laser interferometer, and confront and discuss a fundamental quantum result.

Vocational research

Each student will research and individually give a short oral report on a career in Physics or Engineering, and an example project within that career.

Other components of the class

Professor Paul Meyer Reimer
Sci 011   ·   +1.574.535.7318 (ofc)
paulmr@goshen.edu   ·   +1.574.533.3995 (cell)

I don't have fixed office hours. You are welcome to stop by my office (SC 011) any time!

Here's my teaching schedule this term,

If you are off campus and want to make sure I'm available before coming to campus You may e-mail or text me to make a time to get together.

Do not worry that you're "bothering me" when you stop by! Every time a student stops by it makes a good impression on me, and I think "Oh, they are taking charge of their own learning, and are taking the class seriously!".

Textbooks and Tools

There is no required textbook for our course. Readings will be supplied for you.

You will need a notebook (something that lays flat when open is best) for taking data, class notes, and research notes.

You will have your iPads, which you should bring to class every day. But they should generally be closed unless called upon. Please install these apps as soon as possible: Google Drive, *Notability, and *Wolfram Alpha. Have a calculator or two on your iPad. The 'Myscript Calculator' is surprisingly fun. [* These are paid apps, but they are available to you for free from the Goshen College App Store.]

Grading

Homework / Projects 30%
Presentations 20%
Experiments 10%
Group 3-d design project 30%
Exams 0%
Participation 10%

Total grade outcomes:

A- \ A $\geq$ 90 \ 93%
B- \ B \ B+80 \ 83 \ 87%
C- \ C \ C+70 \ 73 \ 77%
Ds60-69%

I may adjust this scheme down a bit (e.g. 89% might end up being good enough for an A), but I certainly won't adjust it up.

Participation component

There are a number of habits that I would like you to develop in the course of this class that will contribute to your success not only in this class, but in the rest of your time in college.

  1. Be prepared: Always bring a pen and your notebook and iPad to class.
  2. Ask questions. My rule of thumb is that, for every question that someone *does* ask, there are 4-5 other people in class that have the same question...
  3. Be ready to share your work with others and examine someone else's work and give feedback.
  4. Bring in the rest of the people in your group to the discussion at hand. Bring out the best in each other.
  5. Keep up. Schedule time outside of class on *most* days for working on our class content. The Dean's guidelines for work outside of class is 3 hours outside of class for every 1 hour in class, in order to receive a passing grade.
  6. Take deadlines seriously.
  7. Take deadlines seriously, however realize that in College, if you communicate special circumstances ahead of time to your professor, deadlines can sometimes be flexible.
  8. Come to class, "Seriously, unless you are half-dead!".

    You do not need to bring in an excuse for up to 2 absences during the semester. (However, if you know ahead of time that you will be missing a class, please let me know ahead of time too!)

    If you are absent more than 2 times, I will generally start asking you about how much you're working, what class load you have, what medical / psychological / romantic problems are occurring in your life, and will typically require a note from someone else (coach / doctor / therapist) justifying your absences.

  9. Do your best. But sometime you'll fall flat. Learn from what goes wrong. It's harder, but you can sometimes even learn something from what goes right!

* Dean's Office statement on plagiarism

Papers you submit in this course will be checked for plagiarized material copied from the web, other student papers, and selected on-line databases. Cases of plagiarism are reported to the Associate Dean. Penalties for plagiarism are listed in the college catalog and range from redoing the assignment to dismissal from the college.

I expect to see notes in any work that you hand in about resources you used--other than the textbook or asking me--in figuring out how to solve a problem: A nod to a classmate, a URL for a website you found useful, *even* (especially) if you found a solution to the exact problem or a similar problem online or in some other form.

Academic Success Center

The Academic Success Center offers tutoring and writing assistance for all students. For further information please see www.goshen.edu/studentlife/asc.

Disability Accommodations

Goshen College offers all students equal access to classes and programs. If you have a disability and wish to request accommodations, please contact Judy Weaver in the Academic Success Center (Good Library 113). You will be asked to provide documentation of your disability. All information will be held in the strictest confidence. Phone: 574-535-7560; Email: jweaver@goshen.edu. >> More information

Material support

Any student who has difficulty accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe and stable place to live, and believes this may affect their performance in the course, is urged to contact the Dean of Students Gilberto Pérez Jr. (gperez@goshen.edu) for support.

Schedule & Topics

  
26 August - 30 August

Monday 26
First day of our class: 3:00 pm @Science 203
Classes begin

2 September - 6 September

Monday 2
Labor Day, no class

Tuesday 3
Drop-Add deadline, 5 PM

9 September - 13 September
16 September - 20 September
23 September - 27 September
30 September - 4 October

Monday 30
Community Engagement Day (CA) - no class

Saturday 5
Homecoming

7 October - 11 October
14 October - 18 October

Monday 14
Midterm break through Wed Oct 16

21 October - 25 October

Monday 21
Academic advising begins

28 October - 1 November
4 November - 8 November
11 November - 15 November
18 November - 22 November
25 November - 29 November

Wednesday 27
Thanksgiving break through Fri Nov 29

2 December - 6 December

Thursday 5
Last day of classes

Please complete your course evaluations.

Friday 6
Reading day

9 December - 13 December

Monday 9
Final exams through Wed Dec 11

Image credits

Luc B.