Class: Bracy 20 |
MWF 10:00 - 10:50 am* Taught by Bob Ekey |
MWF 11:15 am - 12:05 pm* Taught by Bob Ekey |
|
MasteringPhysics Course ID: |
EKEYF19UMUPHY101 | ||
Lab: Bracy
142 Sections 1-3 |
W, 6:30-9:20 pm Taught by Cynthia Smotzer |
Th, 8:10-11:00 am Taught by Colin Campbell |
Th, 12:30-3:20 pm Taught by Bob Ekey |
Office hours: See the assignments page for current
times.
You set the agenda for office hours. Come with questions about
the lecture, laboratory, reading, homework, exams, grading, or
anything else of concern or interest. Attend in groups or as
an individual. If you would like to discuss something in
private, please make a separate appointment. When multiple
people are present, people will alternate asking questions.
If I am not in my office during office hours, check my white board
for a note of where we are - typically we will meet in the
intro physics labs (Bracy 141 or 142).
Textbook/MasteringPhysics: Physics for Scientists
and Engineers with Modern Physics: A Strategic Approach, 4th
edition, by Randall D. Knight (2017, Pearson/Addison Wesley, ISBN
9780134083148). Please note that you are required to
purchase MasteringPhysics, and must have access to it by the first
day of classes. The site for MasteringPhysics
will provide access to a digital text, online content and online
problems. A physical copy of the text is not required, but
may be useful. MasteringPhysics and the accompanying online
text will be used for both Phy101 and Phy102; thus you will not
need to purchase this again when taking Phy102, assuming you take
it in the spring or following fall semester.
For Phy101, the MasteringPhysics course ID is EKEYF19UMUPHY101
Lecture Notes: The
lecture notes are a critical tool for your learning experience and
are required for class. They contain a summary of the
relevant theories and related problems which will be attempted in
class. They are available for download on the assignments page. The
lecture notes for the current week will be posted no later than 9
PM Sunday of the week in question.
You are required to bring the
lecture notes to class.
Content: We will study kinematics, force and motion, work and energy, momentum and collisions, gravity, thermodynamics, rotational motion and oscillations. The course will follow the tentative schedule shown on the assignments page. The assignments page will be updated regularly; you should check it often for reading and homework assignments as well as for adjustments to the schedule. Additional assignments and content will be posted on MasteringPhysics.
Please read each assigned
section before coming to lecture.
Phy101N is a Natural Sciences Foundation Course in the Integrated Core.
Goals: I hope to
expand your knowledge of physics and how it relates to the world,
further develop your analytical, conceptual and critical thinking
skills and enable you to apply physics to real life and
qualitative situations. I also hope you find at least one
concept or application that excites or intrigues you.
Expectations: I expect you to engage the material,
your peers and me both in and out of class and lab in physics
related conversations. I do not expect you to love math in
all of its intricacies but do expect you to have an understanding
of algebra, trigonometry and geometry. An understanding of
calculus will help, but is not required. When problems with
math arise I expect you to seek assistance. You may find
this course challenging and fast paced, but as long as you work
diligently, you will succeed.
I do expect you to abide by the honesty code as described in the Student Handbook. Failure to abide by these rules may cause you to receive an “F” in this course.
Any student with a documented disability needing academic
accommodations is requested to speak with Student Accessibility
Services (Room 88 Hoover-Price Campus Center) and the instructor,
as early in the semester as possible. All discussions will
remain confidential.
Attendance:
Students will be held responsible for all course materials missed
due to class absences. Laboratory attendance is mandatory
and unexcused absences are not acceptable and will result in
failure of the course. If an emergency or catastrophe will
prevent you from attending class or lab, or turning in an
assignment, please notify me of your situation PRIOR to the event in
question when possible. Reasonable and documented excuses
will enable missed work or labs to be completed post
deadline.
When multiple lecture sections of the course exist, you are asked
to attend the lecture that you are assigned but you must take the
exam in the lecture you are assigned.
Exams: There will be 3 in-class exams during the
semester as well as a comprehensive final exam. All exams
will be closed book. When there are two sections of lecture,
you are required to attend the lecture section you are assigned
for all exams (including the final). Failure to take an exam
at your assigned section will result in earning a "zero" on the
exam. Discussion of exams among those that have taken an
exam and those that have not is forbidden. These exam discussions
are considered cheating and will be treated appropriately.
Homework:
Usually there will be one multi-part homework assignment due each
week. A typical assignment will contain questions assigned
on MasteringPhysics,
from the end of the relevant chapter(s) and/or occasionally
related questions of my own design. Questions will be a
combination of multiple choice, short answer conceptual questions
and traditional physics problems. Homework questions and due
dates are posted on the Physics 101 assignments
webpage. Your completed online problems and
written solutions to the homework questions are due by 4 PM on the
due date (usually Tuesday).
You are required to complete each problem correctly on MasteringPhysics.
Each completed problem earns 1 point, regardless of how many
attempts you make or hints you explore. Please write out your
problems to the best of your ability, but you are not required to
turn in this work. It is suggested to complete this portion prior
to the written portion of the homework, as it is meant as a
preparation for the written problems.
The written portion of the assignment may be turned any time
prior to the deadline in the assignment during class or drop it at
my office, Bracy 149. If I am not there, please slide your
written assignment under my door. Assignments turned in
after the due date will not accepted, but can be turned in for
feedback.
Written Homework Guidelines (these are useful suggestions for
your work on the online portion of the homework as well)
- Justify your answer, show your work or provide discussion,
don't just write down the answer.
- Use 1 side of the paper
- Keep problems organized
- Write legibly
- Make sure it is clear what your answer is... box, highlight or
bold face your answer, it is up to you.
All Homework will be graded and returned in a timely manner.
To help achieve this goal it is not practical to grade all of the
problems for content. I do expect you to attempt all of the
assigned problems, as homework is an important source for learning
this material. Each written assignment will be graded for
completeness with 1 point given for each problem that has been
attempted. Four problems from each assignment will be chosen
to be graded for content, which will be each be graded on a 0-3
point scale.
Rough definitions of scores:
0 - You wrote something, but missed
the main point and/or didn't show your work.
(note that you still receive one point for completeness
for this effort)
1 - You sort-of understand what’s going on, but made a major
mistake.
(algebra error, multiple minor mistakes, right thought
wrong equation... etc.)
2 - You understand what’s going on, but made a minor mistake.
(units, calculation error, significant figures....
etc.)
3 - Perfect, Great, Nice Work.
Once the written homework is graded and returned, solutions will
be posted on the assignments
webpage.
For each assignment, the overall grade will be the sum of the
MasteringPhysics and written problems completed and the points for
problems graded for content.
Your lowest homework assignment grade will be dropped from your
final homework average.
Laboratory: The laboratory is a required part of this
course. Lab work will be a group effort. Lab
assignments must represent the reporting and analysis skills of
each student. Lab assignments are typically due following
each laboratory at the start of the next lab. These
assignments provide an opportunity to write and speak about the
laboratory experience and should increase your understanding of
the scientific method, conceptual understanding and problem
solving skills. A scientific calculator that has logarithms,
trigonometric and exponential functions should be brought to all
labs (and classes). Students are required to document their
laboratory experience and the assignments represent your
individual understanding of the concepts, experiments, results and
conclusions. Further details of the laboratory requirements
will be provided in lab.
Written and Oral Communication
(WOC): A significant component of a Foundational
Knowledge course is written and oral communication, and it is
important in physics to not just have the right answer but to be
able to explain it. You will be expected to provide written
descriptions of theory, experiments and results within your
homework and laboratory assignments and engage in peer discussion
in lecture, lab and elsewhere. To fulfill the Writing and
Oral Communication requirements, one written and one oral
assignment will be required based on your laboratory
experiences. Details for preparing these assignments will be
provided when the content related to the assignments is begun.
You are required to upload samples of writing and oral
communication from this Foundational Knowledge course to
Desire2Learn. While completing the oral assignment(s) in
class or lab, you will need to provide an SD card to save the
recording of your presentation(s). Your instructor will
assist you in the development and assessment of the assignments;
however the instructor is not responsible for uploading the files
nor providing an SD card to save the recording.
Your total homework grade will be the average grade (minus the
lowest grade) for all assignments.
Your total exam grade will be 10% for the first test, 15% for test
two and three and 20% for the final examination.
Your total lab grade will be the average grade of your lab
assignments (including WOC assignments).
Straight percentages will be given for all work, with the mid-semester and final grade based on overall class performance. Other considerations will influence your final grade including, class participation, class and laboratory attendance, and seeking timely guidance during office hours. Any student achieving at a level of 'C-' or below will be given an estimated grade on their mid-term deficiency grade report.
Collaboration & Cheating:
You are encouraged to collaborate with one another on the homework
and lab assignments, but you must write up your answers separately
and in your own words. Copying solutions (fellow classmates,
the books, previous versions of the course, those found on the
internet or otherwise) is considered cheating and unacceptable,
and will result in no credit for the assignment, a trip to the
academic dean and possible failure of the course. These
scores cannot be dropped nor replaced in your grade average.
For additional help and discussion on the homework or laboratory
assignments please see me or your lab instructor. Cheating
on a test results in immediate failure of the course and a trip to
the academic dean.