Concept guide with extra instructional blurb

Your week 8 learning module is now UP. It contains the primary item, the concept guide, plus an extra two-page blurb about rotation and angles. Make sure to read the blurb before you grapple the mini-quiz.

Learning module for this week is UP.

In all the excitement of giving exams last week for you all PLUS my lecture sections, I thought I had set up your week 6 learning module. Instead, you had an unplanned vacation from studies.

But NOW there are some concept guides up, along with mini-quizzes.

6. Momentum, the dynamic quantity that controls tackling and other interactions between two objects. The tackler with more momentum "wins" the interaction. Momentum is a vector.
7. Energy, the directionless quantity that measures capacity for doing work. A moving object can be described with a momentum and an energy.

The quantities energy and momentum go together, and they are concepts that we use all the way up to advanced research in the theory of relativity and quantum theory. For instance, a photon of light technically has zero mass, but it still interacts with the gravitational field of the sun and curves out of its normal straight line path -- because the photon carries momentum and energy!

To make up for the forced vacation, I will set up a bonus podcast for you and a bonus quiz with a few brain burners. The bonus points will go on top of your exam total. Nice.


Light cones near the event horizon of a black hole.

Learning Module 5 is ready now.

I suggest a day off from physical science brain work, but your next learning module is now ready: Universal Gravitation.

Too, I will probably set up our writing assignments this week, now that we have the basic tools, F = ma and so forth.

Average on exam 1

I just released your scores on Exam 1. They are visible in your My Grades page in Webcourses.

The exam 1 average was 25 points out of 40 points, for students who took the exam. If I gave letter grades on individual exams, that'd be a C. The highest score was 37 points, so nobody aced Exam 1, but 37 is still a fine score.

You can look at the general feedback for each of your question by clicking the View Submission link for Exam 1. I have also posted a PDF example of MY feedback page in the Week 5 learning module.

The general feedback will let you know the areas you need to review and get down before the final exam.

Exam 1 is running.

Exam 1 is running now, several students taking it, so jump in when ready. I have already taken it, so everything reads green.

You'll have 50 minutes, and it must be submitted and finished by 11:59 PM tonight, so do not shilly shally. You have one shot, so make it a good one.

Midterm Exam 1 today

Midterm Exam 1 is today. You will have 50 minutes to complete a 40 point test, mostly multiple choice, maybe a few matching questions, plus a few basic calculations. This is approximately equivalent to what my lecture students have.

Availability begins at lunchtime, 12:05 PM, and continues until 11:59 PM. So block out an hour of your schedule between 12:05 and 11:59 PM, and take the exam.