Department of Physical Sciences

Master Syllabus for PHYS 1653

 [Instructors may add to this syllabus as desired.  Please do not delete from it, especially the parts that outline Official ACC Policy!]

 

Syllabus for PHY 1653

Elementary Physics Methods

[Section #        Time                Days]

Instructor:                             

Office Hours: [Place and time]

Phone:                        

E-mail:                       

Website:  [if applicable]

 

Text:   College Physics, Sixth Edition, by Wilson,Buffa, and Lou Hardcover edition, or, both Volumes I and II of the soft-cover editions.

 

1. Course Description:

 

Intended for engineering, computer science, chemistry, and physics majors with strong mathematics background. Coverage includes mechanics, thermodynamics, vibrations and waves, electricity and magnetism, and optics. This course serves as a prerequisite for the calculus-based PHYS 2425/2426 sequence.

[Instructor may add as desired]

 

2. Instructional Methodology:

 

            This class is taught in the “lecture” format, i.e., the majority of the class-time will consist of lectures and/or activities guided by the instructor.

[Instructor may add as desired]

 

3. Course Rationale:

 

            This course is designed to serve as a fast-track three credit-hour prerequisite for students who desire to take the calculus-based engineering physics sequence. It is intended for those pursuing degrees in scientific and technical majors but who have not taken high school physics or would like to “brush up” on their physics before taking the calculus-based engineering physics sequence. This class will introduce some of the main ideas and mathematical techniques of physics but without the encyclopedic coverage found in the main physics sequences and without calculus-level analysis.

 

[Instructor may add as desired]

 

 

4. Course Objectives:

            Students will

·        understand the basic principles of physics.

·        be able to communicate these principles clearly.

·        be able to use algebra and the laws of physics to solve problems.

 

[Instructor may add as desired]

 

5. Grading System:

 

            [Here the instructor must include an explanation of how the course grade will be determined.  Details must be given about each component of the grade.  Grading system must follow the department requirements, to wit:

 

                        Tests  (at least 2)                                              totaling at least 60%

                        Final Exam                                                       at least 20%

                        Instructor’s Discretion                           remainder

 

Suggestions include Homework, Quizzes, Group or Individual Projects, and Attendance.  Bonus points and attendance may total no more than 5% of the grade (departmental policy).  Grading scale is left up to instructor’s discretion, but must be articulated here.]

 

6. Course Policies:

 

            Attendance – [Instructor must elaborate on the attendance policy for the course.  This policy is left to the instructor’s discretion, with the departmental policy restriction that no more than 10% of the total grade may be tied to attendance.]

 

            Withdrawals and Incompletes – [The recommendation of the Physical Sciences Task Force is that instructors should not withdraw students or grant incompletes except in the most extreme circumstances.  Instructors should remind students of the withdrawal date here and emphasize that they are responsible for withdrawing themselves.]

 

            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.  [Instructor may add as desired.]

 

            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 discipline 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.

 

            Testing Center – Physics tests may not be given in the testing center except for make-up tests.

 

[Instructors may insert other policies as desired]

 

Course Outline / Calendar: 

 

[Here the instructor must include an outline of the following:

 

·        Topics to be covered in the course.

·        Relevant chapters from the text

·        Dates of major exams

·        Plan for lab activities

 

The instructor does not have to include specific days or page/section numbers, but must provide at least a week-by-week summary of how the course will proceed.]