General Course Information


Course Administrator    Address   Office Phone   E-Mail
George Koster           4-334     3-4870         phyjbm@mitvmc.mit.edu

Course Examiner
Alan Guth               6-209     3-6265         guth@ctp.mit.edu

Course Manager
Claudia LaBollita-James 4-352     3-4461         cljames@mit.edu

8.01 Study Guide:

Wit Busza, Susan Cartwright, and Alan H. Guth: Essentials of Introductory Classical Mechanics, 2nd Edition; available from the MIT Coop.

Text Book:

Hugh Young and Roger Freedman: University Physics, 9th edition, 2nd printing. [You can buy this book in two formats-an extended version for $86.50, or just Vol. I for $47.50. The extended version includes Vol. II, electricity and magnetism, which will be used as the text for 8.02 next spring. It also includes Vol. III, on "modern physics," which you may enjoy reading. You will not need Vol. III for your courses, but since Addison-Wesley was out of stock on the combined edition, consisting of Vols. I and II only, they are providing the extended edition at the price of the combined edition. If you would prefer paperback versions, the Coop expects to have both Vol. I and Vol. II available in paperback during the second week of class, each for a price of $47.50. Your best buy is the extended version, if you can tolerate the weight.]

Software:

Alan Van Heuvelen: ActivPhysics 1. Recommended but NOT required. This program uses simulations, video clips, and audio tracks to help students develop a conceptual understanding. It contains a large number of problems and solutions, many of which are illustrated by animated simulations. The simulations should prove especially useful for students who have difficulty visualizing physical situations. The package could also be attractive to those students who prefer computer screens to printed pages. [Unfortunately, this program does not run in the Athena environment, so you will have to have access to a PC or Macintosh computer to be able to use it. The package, which can be purchased at the MIT Coop for $33.50, includes a workbook and a CD-ROM that will run under Windows 95 or on a Macintosh. The program uses Netscape Navigator 3.0 (included on the CD-ROM), and a plug-in simulation program written for ActivPhysics.]

Classes:

You will be assigned to a class instructor and a class that meets three hours a week; two in groups of no more than 22 students, and one on Friday in a group about twice as large.

Weekly Demonstrations and Introductory Lecture:

Will be given by Alan Guth on Mondays at 10:05 a.m. and again at 11:05 a.m. in 26-100.

Homework Assignments:

Will be issued weekly, and will be discussed in your classes, and also at the tutorial sessions and TV help sessions described below. They will not be collected or graded, but we are sure that you will find them essential in preparing for the quizzes and the final exam.

Tutorials and Problem Solving Help:

Will be available from 7 - 9 p.m. every Thursday in rooms 2-139, 2-142, and 2-146. These sessions will be staffed by class instructors and graduate student teaching assistants.

TV Help Sessions and How to Solve Problems:

Will be given by Walter Lewin on MIT's cable TV (channel 10). The tapes will be broadcast on the cable system 24 hours a day, and will also be available in the Physics Reading Room and the "Reserve Room" of the main library. You will find all the necessary details about how to access these help sessions at the end of each assignment.

Examinations:

Weekly Quizzes: Almost every Friday there will be a 25 minute quiz on the week’s material. Approximately half of each quiz will consist of a problem that will be only a slight modification of one of the assigned homework problems. The 2 lowest of each student’s 9 weekly quiz scores will be dropped.

Review Quizzes: Three of the Fridays during the term—September 26, October 17, and November 14—will be used for 50 minute review quizzes, each of which will focus on all the material since the previous review quiz. These quizzes will not be given in the usual classrooms, but instead in rooms 50-340 (3^rd floor of Walker Memorial) and 26-100. Assignment to a specific room will be announced later.

Final Examination: There will be a three-hour final examination during the regular final exam period at the end of the term.

WWW Home Page:

At http://web.mit.edu/8.01/www, the web site (maintained by Alan Guth) includes quizzes and solutions from the past three years. It will also be used to post all announcements, homework assignments, and quiz solutions as the coming term progresses. (Announcements and assignments will also be handed out in lecture, but quiz solutions will be available only on the web.) You are invited to use the anonymous feedback page to relay comments, complaints, or suggestions about the web site or about any aspect of the course.

Comments by Course Examiner:

This is the 4th year that 8.01 has been taught in the small class format, and the first year that I am serving as course examiner. Wit Busza, Susan Cartwright, and I worked hard over the summer to improve the Study Guide, which we hope you will find a concise and convenient summary of the material, as well as an instructive collection of problems and solutions.

8.01 is the mid-level first-year physics course that is aimed at the majority of MIT students. It is paced faster than 8.01L, it is less rigorous than 8.012, and it does not have the emphasis on take-home experiments that characterizes 8.01X. Our goal is to convey the excitement of the physicist's quest to understand nature at its deepest level, and at the same time to provide the knowledge and tools that you will need to continue your studies in science or engineering.

                             — Alan Guth

Back to the 8.01 Home Page.

Last modified: Saturday, September 6, 1997 12:39 pm

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

8.01 Fall 1997