FAQs
#1. How can I be a physicist too?
That’s simple. Come and talk to one of the friendly members of the Physics department and we will be glad to help you fulfill your life dreams.
#2. Is it normal to be a closet Physicist?
This is perfectly normal. During the course of studying physics, people develop an uncontrollable urge to perform physics experiments late at night while their friends are out drinking. Most people try to keep it a secret because they do not want to share the pure joy and pleasure associated with doing physics.
#3. Are there any practice math quizzes?
Yes, I have placed the 1999 math quizzes here. The solutions are posted here.
#4. Am I allowed a cheat sheet for the exams?
Yes, you can bring an 8.5” X 11” sheet of paper into the exam. You can put anything from happy faces to formulas on the sheet of paper. (The formulas are probably more helpful.) In addition I will also provide a sheet of formulas at the time of the exam. The mid-term examination formula sheet can be viewed here. The final examination formula sheet can be viewed here.
#5. On the assignments and examinations, how many
significant digits should my answers have?
For the final examination, the mid-term examination and the assignments your answers should have three significant digits.
#6. Are there any practice questions for the
midterm?
Yes, I have placed some questions here. Good luck.
#7. Are there any extra tutorials?
Yes, here are some extra tutorials;
(i) How to calculate v(t) and a(t) from x(t): click here
(ii) Graphing tips: click here
(iii) Calculus is sexy: click here
(iv) Calculus rules: click here
(v) More Calculus help: click here
#8. How will my exams be graded?
A guide to how your exams will be marked can be found here.
#9. Is there an example lab report?
A guide to how your lab report should be written can be found here.
#10. How safe are the files on the
University computers?
They are as safe as we can make them. However, there is always the possibility of a virus being on a computer. The safest thing is not to download your school files onto your home computer. Keep the files, disks, and zips separate. Also, do not open strange attachments in email messages.
#11. How can I view some of the
strange files that people send me over the internet?
Here are a couple of the more common ones.
GhostView:
The freely available PostScript interpreter is GhostScript. Coupled with the viewer GhostView, it allows one to view PostScript on Unix/X-windows, PC/Windows, and Macintosh.
The home page for Ghostscript and Ghostview is at http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost. The ftp site is ftp://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/. I like this viewer; it allows you to view .ps, .eps, .pdf and other file types. I find this handy to have on the computer.
Adobe Acrobat Reader:
Fully functional PDF readers are freely available from Adobe at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html or starting at http://www.adobe.com/. Many platforms are supported, including many Unix variants, PC's running Windows, and Macintosh.
AUDIO and MOVIES:
For audio and visual files there are several alternatives. Most have a free version and a fully enabled version for a price. Here is a list of the four most common ones: real player basic (http://www.real.com), Shockwave (http://www.shockwave.com), Quicktime (http://www.apple.com), and MPlayer (http://www.microsoft.com).
FILE TYPES:
Here are the conventions you should use for your files: