Syllabus for PHYS 1401
General Physics I
Section #37964
Summer 1st 5.5 week session, 2006
Class
Time:
MW 10: - 11:50
AM NRG 2213 LEC
TTh 10:00 –
11:50 AM NRG PB3 LEC
MTWTh 12:00
– 1:50 PM NRG 2228 LAB
Instructor: Paul
Williams, Ph.D.
Phone: 223-4824
E-mail:
Website: www2.austincc.edu/nrgpsc
Office
Hours: All office hours are held in NRG 2153
MTWTh 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM (These are subject to change)
By Appointment Only:
MTWTh 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM (These are subject to change)
If you cannot
make any of these office hours then we can make other arrangements.
Text: Physics, 6th Edition, by Cutnell and
Johnson (Wiley)
Course Overview:
From
the ACC Catalogue: Study of principles
and applications of concepts in mechanics, energy, heat, wave motion, and
sound. PHYS 1401/1402 is the standard algebra/trig-based physics sequence
and may, in addition, serve as a prerequisite for the calculus-based PHYS
2425/2426 sequence for students who have not taken high school physics.
Prerequisites: MATH 1314 or equivalent.
Instructional
Methodology:
A
substantial portion of the course will consist of lectures by the instructor to
convey the basic principles of physics.
Students will also explore the basic laws of physics in the laboratory,
using a combination of hands-on experiments and computer simulations. The course will also involve demonstrating to
students how the basic laws of physics can be used to solve problems, with an
emphasis on situations students will encounter in their everyday lives. Instructor will make use of collaborative
group activities.
Course Rationale:
This course is designed for students who are
pursuing degrees in scientific and technical majors other than physics and
engineering. It is intended to provide
an overview of basic physics to assist these students in their further studies
in science and technology. Because many
if not most students will be using this course for transfer credit, the course
will be taught at the University level.
Note
Regarding Short Summer Sessions
This course will cover the same material, have the
same lab activities, and the same amount of homework as if the course were
taught in a normal semester. That work
will be compressed into a time frame that is 1/3 as long. You should therefore expect to put in three
times as much work per week in this course than if you took it in a normal
long-session semester.
Expectations and Roles:
Instructor: It is the instructor’s role to create a
learning environment. This includes but
is not limited to presenting material in lecture and laboratory formats,
providing group activities, assigning homework, lab write-ups, and giving
tests. Also the instructor’s role is to
provide feedback on student work and tests.
Student: Learning is the student’s responsibility –
not the instructor’s. You are expected
to attend and actively participate in class regularly, complete your
assignments on time, actively participate in and complete your lab assignments
on time, be prepared for tests at the designated time, and seek and obtain any
help that you need. In general, what you
receive from any course and the grade you obtain will reflect the effort you
put into the course. If you are in a
situation where you need a high grade in this course, then it is up to you to
put in the effort to achieve that grade.
Course Objectives:
We realize that most of our
students will not be pursuing careers in physics. To that end, the following objectives apply
to this course:
·
Students will
understand the basic principles of physics.
·
Students will
be able to communicate these principles clearly.
·
Students will
be able to use algebra and the laws of physics to solve simple problems.
·
Students will
be able to work together in collaborative groups to perform experiments, gather
data, reach conclusions, and solve problems.
Grading System:
Your grade will be determined as follows:
Lecture Tests 53
1/3%
Final 26
2/3%
Homework 13
1/3%
Class Participation/Attendance
6 2/3%
Total 100%
Laboratory Report Average 100%
Combined Grade = 75% Lecture Grade + 25% Lab Grade
Based on the following scale:
A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
F 0-59
Subject to the following policy:
You must earn a grade
of “C” or better in the laboratory portion of the course as well as a grade of
“C” or better in the lecture portion of the course in order to earn a grade of
“C” or better in the course. If you do not earn a grade of “C” or better
in both the lecture and the laboratory sections of the course, then your grade
for the course will be a “D” unless due to your overall course average you have
earned an “F” for the course.
Tests
– Three 1:50 long tests will be given approximately every 6 class days as shown
in the course calendar. The tests will
be closed notes and books unless otherwise indicated. No make-up exams will be given. However, a student may replace their lowest
test grade with their grade on the final exam.
Final
– The final exam will cover the entire course
and will be given on the last day of the semester.
Homework
Grade – Your homework grade
will consist of two pieces. One piece is
a completion grade for each assignment that will range from 0 -5 depending on
the number of problems attempted.
Following the return of each assignment a two question take home
assignment will be given over that assignment which will be graded 0 -5 based
on correctness. The primary form of
feedback I give on homework assignments is answering questions in class or
during office hours.
Class
Participation - Your
participation grade will be determined by the percentage of class participation
activities completed. Class
participation activities will include but are not limited to clicker responses,
in-class worksheets and interactive lecture demonstrations. Class
participation cannot be made up.
Lab
Grade – Your lab grade will consist of the average of
your laboratory assignments.
Course Policies:
Attendance – Attendance is required and I expect you to attend
class regularly. It is my experience
that a typical student will drop a letter grade for each three to four
absences. Each student must complete
every lab.
Class
Response System – Attendance and
class participation will be recorded via a class response system. A classroom set of clickers will be utilized
and no additional purchase will be required on the part of the students.
Withdrawals and Incompletes – The instructor makes no commitment to withdraw a student
who stops attending. If you decide
to not complete the class at this time, you must withdraw yourself by the
drop deadline June 28, 2006. Failure
to do so will result in a failing grade which will not be changed. Incompletes are given only for exceptional circumstances
and only to students who have completed the preponderance of the course work.
Scholastic
Dishonesty – Standard ACC Policy: Acts
prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered, including
but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, unauthorized
collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be
the result of their thought, research, or self-expression. Academia is defined as, but not limited to
tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either
individual or group; classroom presentations and homework.
Adding your name to a group lab that you
did not complete in its entirety nor that you contributed to in a significant
way will be viewed as scholastic dishonesty and will result in a grade of 0 for
that lab activity. Also using a
classroom response clicker assigned to another student will viewed as
scholastic dishonesty and will result in grade of 0 for the class period.
Academic Freedom – Students are free to
disagree with instructors on matters of opinion or personal philosophy, and
will incur no penalty from doing so.
However, instructors will judge student work based upon its relation to
the current state of mainstream scientific fact and theory.
Student
Discipline – Matters of student disciple will be
adjudicated by the instructor on a case-by-case basis, in conjunction with the
Task Force Leader or Dean. Students will
want to consult with the Office of Student Services or the Associate Dean at
their campus on such matters.
Students
with Disabilities – Standard ACC Policy:
Each ACC campus offers support services for
students with documented physical or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request
reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on
the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three
weeks before the start of the semester.
Help – If you need help, get it. I hold office hours to help students and you
should view me as a primary as a primary source of aid. Also, free walk-in tutoring is provided by
the Learning Labs, and I highly recommend this service. You are encouraged to work on homework
assignments with classmates. However,
regardless of the source of help you receive you are responsible for your own
work. If you copy someone else’s
homework without doing it yourself, you will not understand the material and
despite having a good homework grade will not do well in the course.
Problems – If some problem arises causing you to miss an
assignment, please see me in advance if at all possible and I will try to make
accommodations. Incompletes are not
given except under extreme circumstances.
Time
– You should expect to spend 2 hours outside of class for each hour in
class. It is expected that you will keep
up with the reading
assignments and you should expect to read 5-10 pages per night in the
text. I believe whole-heartedly in
homework. Physics requires a different
type of thinking than other classes and this though process must be developed
through practice. Homework will be due
approximately every week as shown in the class schedule.
Assignment
Due Dates – Homework assignments
are due on my desk without my asking for them at the end of the class period
indicated in the course calendar or as directed in class. Lab assignments are due at the end of the
period the assignment is completed unless otherwise directed.
Organization – Please keep your assignments so that any possible
errors in my grading records can be rectified.
It is a good idea to keep your homework in a loose leaf binder for
reference.
Late
Homework – Homework is an
integral part of this course. You need
to work on assignments regularly and turn them in a timely fashion. Late homework will be given 5 points for
completeness but will not be graded. Also no assignments will be accepted after
Monday of the last week of class.
Laboratory – A major component of this course is the
laboratory. You will perform laboratory
exercises typically twice per week. Each
will require a brief write-up which will be due at the end of that class period
unless otherwise directed.
Laboratory
Make-up – You may make up a
total of three missed laboratory periods.
To make-up a laboratory obtain a copy of the missed activity from the
instructor and then schedule a time to make up the lab with the laboratory
coordinator. You must make up a missed
lab within two weeks or a grade of 0 will be assigned for that lab activity. Typically make-ups are held on Friday
mornings. There may be one or two times
during the semester that a lab can be made up during the normally scheduled lab
time.
Cell
Phone – As a courtesy to your
instructor and your classmates, please make sure that your cell phone is turned
completely off before class. If you are
expecting an urgent phone call, then please place the phone in a silent mode
Tentative
Course Outline / Calendar:
In the calendar below, for each day, the first row
gives approximately the sections of the text to be covered and second row gives
the lab activity for that day. The
instructor reserves the right to adjust the calendar to meet the needs of the
class and to deal with any unusual circumstances that might arise.
|
Date |
Lecture |
Lab |
Assignment Due |
|
5/30 T |
Introduction to the Course, Ch 1.1 -1.3, 2.1-2.2 |
Safety Orientation, Motion Diagrams |
|
|
5/31 W |
2.3-2.7 |
1 – D Kinematics and Free Fall |
|
|
6/1 Th |
1.5 – 1.7, 3.1 – 3.2 |
Vector Equilibrium |
|
|
6/5 M |
3.3-3.4, 4.1-4.3 |
Projectile Motion |
HW #1 Chs. 1,2 |
|
6/6 T |
4.4 – 4.12 |
|
|
|
6/7 W |
5.1 – 5.3, 5.5 – 5.6 |
Test #1 Review |
HW #2 Chs, 1,3,4 |
|
6/8 Th |
Test #1 Chs. 1-4 |
|
|
|
6/12 M |
6.1 -6.6 |
Work and Energy |
HW #3 |
|
6/13 T |
6.7 – 6.8, 7.1 – 7.3, 7.5 |
Conservation of Energy |
|
|
6/14 W |
8.1 – 8.6 |
Impulse and Momentum and 1D Collisions |
HW #4 Chs. 6,7,8 |
|
6/15 Th |
9.1 – 9.6 |
Introduction to Rotational Motion and Torque and
Angular Acceleration |
|
|
6/19 M |
10.1,10.3-10.4, 10.7 – 10.8 |
Test #2 Review |
HW #5 |
|
6/20 T |
Test #2 Chs. 5 - 9 |
Conservation of Angular Momentum and Rolling
without Slipping |
|
|
6/21 W |
11.1-11.6 |
Hydrostatic Pressure and Archimedes’ Principle |
HW #6 |
|
6/22 Th |
12.1 – 12.8 |
Heat and temperature and Heating Curves |
|
|
6/26 M |
13.1-13.3, 14.1-14.2 |
Heat Transport and Boyle’s Law |
Hw #7 |
|
6/27 T |
15.1 – 15.5 |
Introduction to Waves |
|
|
6/28 W |
16.1-16.3, 17.1-17.2 |
Test #3 Review |
HW #8 Chs. 13,14 |
|
6/29 Th |
Test #3 Ch. 10 -14 |
Wave Properties |
|
7/3 M |
Fourth of July |
|
|
|
7/4 T |
Fourth of July |
|
|
|
7/5 W |
Final Review |
Final Review |
HW #9 Chs. 15-17 |
|
7/6 Th |
Final Exam |
Final Exam |
|