Syllabus for PHYS 1401

General Physics I

Section #29029

Summer 1st 5.5 week session, 2011

Class Time:

MTWTh 8:00 - 9:50 AM NRG 2213 LEC

MTWTh 10:00 – 11:50 AM NRG 2228 LAB

Instructor: Paul Williams, Ph.D.

Phone: 223-4824

E-mail: pwill@austincc.edu

Website: www.austincc.edu/nrgpsc (not currently maintained for technical reasons, but I expect to update it soon)

Office Hours: All office hours are held in NRG 2216

MTWTh 7:30 AM – 7:50 AM

MTWTh 12:05 PM – 1:00 PM

By Appointment Only:

Please arrange appointments during these times at least 24 hours in advance.

MTWTh 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM

If you cannot make any of these office hours then we can make other arrangements.

Required Materials:

Text - Physics, 2nd Edition, by Giambattista, Richardson, and Richardson (McGraw Hill)

Scientific Calculator - You may not use a cell phone as a calculator during a test.

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.

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. There is insufficient time between lecture and lab to get food from the snack bar. You should plan to bring food if you need it to keep your energy level up.

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:

· Students will understand the basic principles of physics.

· Students will be able to communicate these principles clearly.

· Students will be able to use algebra, trigonometry, and the laws of physics to solve 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 will be spot checked and given a grade between 0 and 10 based on accuracy and completeness. The primary form of feedback I give on homework assignments is answering questions in class or during office hours. I also will post solutions to some problems after the due date of the homework.

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.

Work Counted Towards final Grade - All assignments are counted in the determination of your final grade. Any assignments not completed are counted as a 0. There is no extra credit in this course.

Lab Grade – Your lab grade will consist of the average of your laboratory assignments.

Course Policies:

Safety - Health and safety are paramount values in Austin Community College (ACC) science courses. In this course you are expected to: (1) understand and comply with environmental, health and safety regulations and procedures, and (2) conduct yourself professionally. Anyone who thoughtlessly or intentionally jeopardizes the health or safety of another individual will be dismissed from the activity and may be withdrawn from this class or subject to disciplinary proceedings. You will receive specific safety training 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://www.austincc.edu/sci_safe/.

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 22, 2011. 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 or that you did not contribute 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. Generally assignments on which scholastic dishonesty occur receive a 0, but the instructor reserves the right to adjust the penalty as appropriate, and to refer students to the Dean of Student Services for further disciplinary measures.

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 2 to 3 class days 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 ½ credit points for completeness but will not be graded. Also no assignments will be accepted after Tuesday 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.

Participation in Lab – It is expected that you will participate fully in lab. You may not do homework, study for another class, or conduct other non-lab activities while your group is conducting the lab. If you do not participate fully in the lab or are excessively tardy for the lab, instructor reserves the right to require that you make up the lab activity in its entirety.

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 technician. 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.

Lab Groups - Students are free to choose their own lab groups. If a space is available a student may change a lab group. However, lab groups may not exceed four students without permission from the instructor.

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. Your cell phone needs to remain off during lab as well.

Privacy - To protect student privacy I will not give information about grades via email or phone.

Texting - You may not text during class or lab. It is a distraction to yourself and others. Texting during a test will result in a grade of 0 on the test.

Business Hours - I conduct college business during normal business hours, typically Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. If you email me during non-business hours, I will reply as soon as possible during the next business hours.

Tentative Course Outline / Calendar:

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
5/23 M	Introduction to the Course, Nature of Science, Measurement Ch 1.1 -1.9	Safety Orientation, Diagnostic Test, Motion Diagrams
5/24 T	Uniform Motion, Kinematic Graphs 2.1-2.3	Kinesthetic Kinematics
5/25 W	Accelerated Motion, Kinematic Problem Solving 2.4-2.5, 3.1 – 3.2	Free Fall
5/26 Th	Vectors, Projectile Motion, Galilean Relativity 3.3-3.6, 4.1-4.2	Vector Addition Projectile Motion	HW #1 Chs. 1,2
5/30 M	Memorial Day Holiday
5/31 T	Free Body Diagrams, Newton’s Laws, Problem Solving with forces 4.3 – 4.10,4.12	Newton’s 2^nd Law and ILD Newton’s 3^rd Law
6/1 W	Circular Motion, Centripetal Force 5.1 – 5.4,5.6-5.7	Test #1 Review	HW #2 Chs, 3,4
6/2 Th	Test #1 Chs. 1-4	Centripetal Force
6/6 M	Energy 6.1-6.8	Conservation of Energy and Energy Transformations	HW #3 Ch. 5
6/7 T	States of Matter, Fluid Pressure, Pascal’s Principle, Applications, Temperature 9.1-9.6, 13.1-13.3	Pressure in Fluids
6/8 W	Heat and Temperature 13.6-13.8, 14.1-14.2	Heating Curves	HW #4 Chs. 6,9
6/9 Th	Energy Transfer 14.3-14.8	Heat Transfer
6/13 M	1^st and 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics 15.1-15.2,15.5	Test #2 Review	HW #5 Ch. 13,14
6/14 T	Test #2 Chs. 5,6,9,13,14	Heat Engines
6/15 W	Momentum and Collisions 7.1-7.8	Impulse and Momentum and Conservation of Momentum	HW #6 Ch. 15
6/16 Th	Rotational Kinematics 8.1-8.4	Rotational Kinematics
6/20 M	Torque and Conservation of Angular Momentum 8.5-8.9	Rotational Dynamics and ILD Conservation of Angular Momentum	Hw #7 Ch. 7
6/21 T	Simple Harmonic Motion 10.1-10.8	Simple Harmonic Motion
6/22 W	Introduction to Waves 11.1-11.6	Test #3 Review	HW #8 Chs. 8,10
6/23 Th	Test #3 Ch. 7,8,10,15	Introduction to Waves

6/27 M	Properties of Waves 11.7-11.10,12.1,12.8	Wave Properties
6/28 T	Finish up Waves Final Review	Final Review	HW #9 Chs. 11,12
6/29 W	Final Exam	Final Exam