Code: | EIC0010 | Acronym: | FISI1 |
Keywords | |
---|---|
Classification | Keyword |
OFICIAL | Physics |
Active? | Yes |
Web Page: | http://def.fe.up.pt/eic0010 |
Responsible unit: | Department of Engineering Physics |
Course/CS Responsible: | Master in Informatics and Computing Engineering |
Acronym | No. of Students | Study Plan | Curricular Years | Credits UCN | Credits ECTS | Contact hours | Total Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MIEIC | 206 | Syllabus since 2009/2010 | 1 | - | 6 | 56 | 162 |
Physics is the foundation of any Engineering field. With the advent of computers, the kind of physical problems that can be solved in an introductory course has expanded significantly. Computational physics and simulation techniques allow students to get a wider view of physical phenomena without requiring complicated analytical methods. The computational techniques developed to solve mechanics problems have been applied to other areas outside physics, giving rise to the general theory of dynamical systems.
This course aims to give the student basic background knowledge on dynamics and the computational techniques used to solve dynamical systems. A Computer Algebra System (CAS) is used, in order to allow the student to solve practical problems in mechanics and dynamical systems, rather than spending their time learning abstract analytical techniques. The knowledge on dynamics and computer modeling of physical systems acquired will be very important in other courses of their curriculum: computer graphics and visualization, games theory, simulation and scientific computing.
In order to pass this course students must prove to be able to:
High-school physics. Introductory College Calculus. Linear Algebra.
This is a practical course, with an active teaching methodology using computer tools for e-learning, computer algebra system (CAS) and simulations. The practical sessions are conducted in the Physics Studio of the Department of Engineering Physics (room B233). During those sessions students work in groups of two at one of the computers in the room, which has access to the support material including some practical activities or simulations, lecture notes, multiple-choice questions and proposed problems. Students should answer the multiple-choice questions among and solve some of the problems in the chapter for that week. The remaining problems in the chapter are left as homework.
The lectures are used to make experimental demonstrations and simulations, as well as giving further explanations for the >textbook material and the computer algebra system used. The support for this course, including lecture notes, teaching materials, quizzes results, and communication among students and teachers, is done using the e-learning server (http://def.fe.up.pt/eic0010) which has public access, except for the sections related to evaluation.
Description | Type | Time (hours) | Weight (%) | End date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Attendance (estimated) | Participação presencial | 68,00 | ||
Quizzes | Teste | 4,00 | 40,00 | 2013-06-05 |
Final exam | Exame | 4,00 | 60,00 | 2013-07-17 |
Total: | - | 100,00 |
Description | Type | Time (hours) | End date |
---|---|---|---|
Exam preparation | Estudo autónomo | 20 | |
Independent study | Estudo autónomo | 66 | |
Attendance (estimate) | Frequência das aulas | 48 | |
Participation in the activities of the e-learning site | Estudo autónomo | 28 | |
Total: | 162,00 |
To be evaluated, students must fulfill the minimum attendance requirement which consists of not exceeding the maximum 25% of unattended classes. This minimum attendance requirement is waive for students registered as working-students and students who have attended the course in one of the two previous years.
The distributed component of the evaluation (40% of the final grade) is the mean of the best 5 grades obtained in the 6 quizzes. A minimum of 6 is required in this component of the evaluation in order to be admitted to the exam. Working-students are not required to do the quizzes and their final grade will be the grade obtained in the exam. Students who have obtained a grade for the distributed component in previous years might decide to attend the course again and do the quizzes; in that case, their grade for the distributed component will be the highest between the one obtained this year and that previously obtained.
Six quizzes will be given during the practical sessions without any previous announcement. Most of the quizzes will have a time limit of 20 minutes and will consist of wither 8 multiple-choice questions or one problem, similar to the questions and problems solved in the previous session. One of the quizzes will consist on writing (in groups of two) the solution of a numerical problem proposed for the session. Different student groups might be evaluated during different weeks and using different kinds of quizzes (multiple-choice, problem or report); students should always be prepared to be evaluated at any time. Quiz grades and their mean will be calculated using one decimal place.
Unjustified absences to classes when a quiz is given will result on a grade of 0 for that quiz. Students will never be allowed to take quizzes in groups different from the one they are enrolled in. Since for the calculation of the quizzes mean only the best 5 of the 6 grades will be used, one single absence to a quiz will not cause any harm to the grade for the distributed component of the evaluation. Absences properly justified, within the specified time limit, give the student the right to do a missing quiz in a later class to be arranged with the group teacher.
If D denotes the grade for the distributed component and E the exam grade, the final grade is calculated with the following equation:
Maximum ( E; 0.4*D + 0.6*E )
Namely, if the grade of the distributed component is higher than the exam grade, the distributed component will have a weight of 40% and the exam 60%. But if the exam grade is higher, the distributed component will be ignored and the final grade will be the exam grade. There is no minimum grade required in the exam and the exam grade will have one decimal digit. The final grade will be rounded to an integer (9.5 is rounded to 10 but 9.4999 is rounded to 9).
None.
Students who are not required to attend classes and obtain a grade for the distributed component do not need to make any additional tests or assignments before the exam. The final grade will be equal to the exam grade rounded to an integer.
As stipulated in the 10th item of the evaluation rules, students may attempt to improve their exam grade, only once, during either the normal or makeup exam scheduled for the course immediately after the exam where they obtained the former grade. If that next exam is in the following year it will not be necessary to attend the course again. Students who have not passed the course but have obtained a grade for the distributed component in previous years, can attempt to improve that grade by attending the course again and taking the quizzes.
It is recommended a period of off-class independent work of at least 3 hours per week, in order to keep off with the subjects introduced every week. Independently of their attendance status, it is expected from all enrolled students to preview at home the chapter of the textbook which will be covered in the following practical session. It is also recommended to periodically check the announcements and forum messages posted in the e-learning server.