About Homework Assignments

All homework is from Tipler and Mosca's Physics for Scientists and Engineers, sixth edition. To do well in this course, plan to work on homework for a minimum of 3-5 hours a week in advance of the recitation period where homework will be reviewed and completed as necessary. There is time to resolve and understand 3-5 homework problems during recitation. There is not enough time to do an entire assignment and prepare for a challenging quiz on the same material (quite possibly drawn from a homework problem).

Homework is to be turned in for grading before 5 pm on the Friday following the recitation where it is reviewed. The actual dates for each assignment are given below. Homework will be graded according to the following scheme:

• (Usually) 5 points for having a complete assignment, where every problem is at least attempted on paper. Points will be subtracted if problems are missing (completely untried) or where the attempt isn't serious. At the very least hand in a summary of things you tried to solve any problem you cannot get. Remember, I or the TA will help you solve any problem you ask about in or after recitation, so there really isn't any good excuse for not solving them all.

• 5 points will be assigned on the basis of a detailed grading of one problem. Since all students should be able to get all the problems right by the end of recitation or at worst by Friday following, a significant part of this grade will be awarded on the basis of ``style'' - how well you work a problem, how effectively it is laid out, whether there is a good drawing accompanying, whether you worked neatly and spread out instead of in tiny print and all jammed together. You can easily lose a point or two to this, so present your solutions properly!

If you have difficulty completing any assignment on time, you should contact the recitation TA to ask for forbearance. I leave decisions to accept or not accept late homework (or to accept it with a penalty of some sort) up to them entirely, as they are the ones inconvenienced. Usually they are tolerant of a few screwups per student per semester, but if you make a habit of being late, count on being penalized eventually.