You will be part of a team at many times during your life. At WPI, many IQPs and MQPs are done in teams, and in your later life, you will likely find yourself in a team at work. We will pay attention to group dynamics during class, and you will be able to transfer your team experience to your academic and professional future. The latter are problems that you might see in a real situation, not a situation from the textbook, and they demand more emphasis on the physics of a problem, i.e. the setup, rather than number crunching. Typically these problems are too hard for individuals to solve independently.
Exams There are three group exams and three individual exams.
That is, if you do not come to class, yet you come to the group exam, your grade remains zero. You will be given a formula sheet, but otherwise group exams are closed book, closed notes. The best way to study for group exams is to come to class every day and to participate actively with your group. The answers to the odd-numbered problems are listed in the back of the textbook, so these are good practice for individual exams. The individual exams are also closed book, closed notes, and you will be provided with the same formula sheet as for the group exams.