Syllabus for PHYS 1401
General Physics I
Section #30776
Class Time:
MW 12:00 – 1:15 PM
NRG 2213
MW 1:25 – 2:40 PM NRG
2228
Instructor: Paul
Williams, Ph.D.
Office Hours: All
office hours are held in NRG 2153
MW 10:55 AM – 11:55 AM
TTh 8:20 PM – 8:50 PM
TH 1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
By Appointment Only:
MW 2:40 PM – 3:55 PM
TTh 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
If you cannot make any of these office hours then we can make an
appointment.
Phone:
223-4824
E-mail: pwill@austincc.edu
Website: www2.austincc.edu/nrgpsc
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-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.
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.
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:
You
grade will be determined as follows:
Tests 40%
Final 20%
Homework 10%
Class Participation 5%
Laboratory 25%
Based on the following
scale: A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
F 0-59
Tests – Four
one-hour tests will be given approximately every 3-4 weeks 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.
Effective the Spring, 2005 semester it is ACC Physics Department policy
that a student must receive a passing grade in both the lecture and the lab
portion of the course to receive a passing grade for the entire course.
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 November 28, 2005. 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.
Homework Grading – Homework will be spot checked
with each assignment earning a grade from 0 – 10 depending on effort,
correctness, and completeness.
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 thee
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 the
date is the Monday of that week. For
each week, 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.
Week Date of Monday |
Monday |
Assignment Due |
Wednesday |
Assignment Due |
1 8/29 |
Introduction to Course
1.1 -1.3 |
|
2.1 -2.4 |
|
|
Safety Orientation, Motion
Diagrams |
|
1 – D Kinematics |
|
2 9/5 |
MLK |
HW #1 |
2.5 – 2.7 |
|
|
|
|
Free Fall |
|
3 9/12 |
1.5 – 1.7 |
HW #2 |
3.1 – 3.3 |
|
|
Vector Addition with
Force Table |
|
Projectile Motion |
|
4 9/19 |
4.1 – 4.7 |
HW #3 |
Test #1 Chs. 1-3 |
|
|
Test #1 Review |
|
|
|
5 9/26 |
4.8 – 4.12 |
|
5.1 – 5.3, 5.5 – 5.6 |
HW #4 |
|
|
|
Centripetal Force |
|
6 10/3 |
6.1 -6.4 |
|
6.5 – 6.8 |
HW #5 |
|
Conservation of Energy |
|
Impulse and Momentum |
|
7 10/10 |
7.1 – 7.2 |
|
7.3,7.5 |
HW #6 |
|
1-D collisions |
|
Introduction to
Rotational Motion |
|
8 10/17 |
8.1 – 8.6 |
HW #7 |
Test #2 Chs. 4 – 7 |
|
|
Test #2 Review |
|
Rotational Motion |
|
9 10/24 |
9.1-9.3 |
|
9.4 –
9.6,10.1,10.3-10.4 |
HW #8 |
|
Rotational Dynamics |
|
Conservation of Angular
Momentum |
|
10 10/31 |
10.7 – 10.8, 11.1 -11.2 |
|
11.3 – 11.6 |
HW #9 |
|
Simple Harmonic Motion |
|
Archimedes’ Principle |
|
11 11/7 |
12.1 -12.5 |
HW #10 |
Test #3 |
|
|
Test #3 Review |
|
Introduction to Heat |
|
12 11/14 |
12.6 – 12.8 |
|
13.1 – 13.3 |
HW #11 |
|
Calorimetry |
|
Thermal Conductivity |
|
13 11/21 |
14.1 – 14.2 |
|
15.1 – 15.3 |
HW #12 |
|
Gas Laws |
|
Gas Laws |
|
14 11/28 |
15.4 – 15.5 |
HW #13 |
Test #4 Chs. 12 -14 |
|
|
Test #4 Review |
|
Introduction to Waves |
|
15 12/5 |
16.1 -16.3 |
|
17.1 -17.2 |
|
|
Wave properties |
|
Standing Waves |
|
16 12/12 |
Final Review |
HW #14 |
Final Exam |
|