Department of Physical Sciences

 

Master Syllabus for PHYS 1401

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

 

Syllabus for PHYS 1401

General Physics I

[Section #            Time                Days]

Instructor:                             

Office Hours:            [Place and time]

Phone:                        

E-mail:                       

Website:  [if applicable]

 

Text:            College Physics, 6th Edition, by Wilson, Buffa, and Lou

 

Course Description:

 

            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-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. [Instructor may add the following statement - Prerequisites will be checked by the instructor and students without the course prerequisites are subject to withdrawal.]

[Instructor may add as desired]

 

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 discover 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 may add as desired]

 

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.

[Instructor may add as desired]

 

 

Course Objectives:

 

[Instructor may add as desired]

 

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)                                 at least 30%

                        Final Exam                                           at least 20%

                        Laboratories                                        exactly 25%

                        Instructor’s Discretion                          remainder

 

Suggestions include Homework, Quizzes, Group or Individual Projects, and Attendance.  Bonus points and attendance may total no more than 10% of the grade.  Grading scale is left up to instructor’s discretion, but must be articulated here. It is recommended that you couch the final grade in terms of .75 *Lecture + .25 * Lab where both the lecture and lab grade are out of 100. Syllabi need to include the following statement.]

[The following statement must be included verbatim]

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.

 

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.  Academic work 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 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.

Safety Statement

[This should be stated verbatim as follows]

Health and safety are paramount values in science classrooms, laboratories and field activities. You are expected to learn, understand and comply with ACC environmental, health and safety procedures and agree to follow the ACC science safety policy. You are expected to conduct yourself professionally with respect and courtesy to all. Anyone who thoughtlessly or intentionally jeopardizes the health or safety of another individual will be immediately dismissed from the day’s activity, may be withdrawn from the class, and/or barred from attending future activities. Specific safety training will take place before most activities. If you are late and miss this training, you will not be able to participate in the activity. You can read the complete ACC science safety policy at: http://www2.austincc.edu/sci_safe/ .

 

            Testing Center – [If instructors will be using the Testing Center on a regular basis, they must explain their policies and procedures here. However physics courses may not administer exams to the entire class in the testing center]

 

[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.]

 

[Instructors should also include with the syllabus copies of the Student Services Handout and the Instructional Services Handout provided by ACC to all instructors before the semester.]