Homework

Homework for this course will be assigned and graded using the online CAPA system. This system provides individualized problems for each student. You will find a set of help links at the right. These are also available from the CAPA login page and from the CAPA main menu after you log in. A set of printable instructions (PDF) is also available. CAPA problems are always due at noon on the due date, according to the computer clock, unless otherwise noted. The cutoff is absolute. Late homework cannot be accepted for any reason, because the complete solutions are provided on the due date. However, the lowest homework score of the semester will be dropped, which will effectively provide an exception for one emergency per student.

•  About CAPA  •  System Requirements  •  Logging In  •  Answering Questions  •  Units in CAPA  •  Significant Digits

Homework Strategy

Most importantly, start early. The problem sets are much too long to be completed in one night. They are intended to be the primary means through which you learn the material, and must be done in parallel with the readings and lectures. Most of the problems are not simple exercises, but are designed to encourage the development of complex problem solving strategies. Such strategies will be far more valuable to you in the future than anything specific that you learn in the course. (If you want some simple exercises as a warm-up, try some odd-numbered level 1 problems in Giancoli. These are easy, and the answers are in the back.)

You should not think of homework as a task to be completed, but as a central part of the course which is essential to your learning. The process of solving the problems is more important than the answers. Your approach to the homework is probably the biggest factor which will influence your success in the course.

Homework begins with reading the textbook. You should always try to read the sections being discussed in class ahead of time, so that you will not be confronting new material in the lectures. The goal isn't to memorize new equations, but to understand the physical concepts mathematically. Most of the equations are easy to remember once you fully understand them. Physics should be read with a pencil and paper at hand, so that you can work through the examples and be sure you understand any difficult points. You can then come to the lectures prepared to ask questions about anything you couldn't understand on your own. If you get behind on the reading, the course can be much more difficult than it has to be. It often helps to read the material more than once. You should find that you understand much more of it after you have done the problems.

Grading

The CAPA graded homework will be graded according to correctness of the answer only. You can answer each free-format question up to 15 times, and each multiple-choice question up to twice. Do not guess, but try to understand the steps leading up to the answer. You can use the discussion pages in CAPA to try to get help if you are stuck, but do not give up on a problem just because your answer is not right. Studying the problem long enough to arrive at a correct answer is an important part of the learning process.

Your lowest score will be dropped when computing the final grade.

Collaboration

You may find it helpful to discuss problems with other students. Forming study groups can be very useful. Discussion links are provided in the online homework sets to facilitate interaction with other students. Collaboration can be useful if you help each other work through the difficult parts of each problem. However, you should be sure to understand how to work the problems on your own. Do not seek help until you have tried your best to solve the problems independently. It is easy to mislead yourself into thinking you understand a problem if you have not spent time struggling with it. Those frustrating times are when the most learning occurs. Letting someone else work your problems is a sure route to a disappointing final grade. Never just divide up the problems and only work a fraction yourself. You will not fully understand the rest of them, even if the solutions seem to make sense. Understanding how someone else worked a problem is not the same thing as understanding how to find the solution yourself. There may be shortcuts to doing homework, but there are none to learning physics.