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PHYS 1401 Syllabus |
Syllabus for PHYS 1401
General Physics I
Section #23088
Class Time:
MW 7:45 9:00 AM
NRG 2228
MW 9:10 - 10:35 AM
NRG 2228
Instructor: Paul
Williams, Ph.D.
Office Hours: All office
hours are held in NRG 2153
MW 10:40 11:40 AM
TTh 8:35 9:05 AM
TTh 2:40 3:40 PM
TTh 5:05 5:35 PM
By Appointment Only:
MW 11:40 AM 1:10 PM
TTh 4:05 5:05 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 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
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 instructors 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 instructors role is to provide feedback on student work and
tests.
Student: Learning is the students responsibility not
the instructors. 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
45%
Final
20%
Homework
10%
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.
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 April 18, 2004. Failure to do so will result in a failing grade
which will not be changed. Incompletes
are given only 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 will be viewed
as scholastic dishonesty and will result in a grade of 0 for that lab activity.
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 elses 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. 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.
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.
Week Date of Monday |
Monday |
Assignment Due |
Wednesday |
Assignment Due |
1 1/10 |
Introduction to Course
1.1 -1.3 |
|
2.1 -2.4 |
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|
Safety Orientation, Motion
Diagrams |
|
1 D Kinematics |
|
2 1/17 |
MLK |
|
2.5 2.7 |
HW #1 |
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|
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Free Fall |
|
3 1/24 |
1.5 1.7 |
|
3.1 3.3 |
HW #2 |
|
Vector Addition with Force
Table |
|
Projectile Motion |
|
4 1/31 |
4.1 4.7 |
HW #3 |
Test #1 Chs. 1-3 |
|
|
Test #1 Review |
|
|
|
5 2/7 |
4.8 4.12 |
|
5.1 5.3, 5.5 5.6 |
HW #4 |
|
|
|
Centripetal Force |
|
6 2/14 |
6.1 -6.4 |
|
6.5 6.8 |
HW #5 |
|
Conservation of Energy |
|
Impulse and Momentum |
|
7 2/21 |
7.1 7.2 |
|
7.3,7.5 |
HW #6 |
|
1-D collisions |
|
Introduction to Rotational
Motion |
|
8 2/28 |
8.1 8.6 |
HW #7 |
Test #2 Chs. 4 7 |
|
|
Test #2 Review |
|
Rotational Motion |
|
9 3/7 |
9.1-9.3 |
|
9.4 9.6,10.1,10.3-10.4 |
HW #8 |
|
Rotational Dynamics |
|
Conservation of Angular
Momentum |
|
3/14 |
Spring Break |
|
Spring Break |
|
10 3/21 |
10.7 10.8, 11.1 -11.2 |
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11.3 11.6 |
HW #9 |
|
Density |
|
Archimedes Principle |
|
11 3/28 |
12.1 -12.5 |
HW #10 |
Test #3 |
|
|
Test #3 Review |
|
Introduction to Heat |
|
12 4/4 |
12.6 12.8 |
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13.1 13.3 |
HW #11 |
|
Calorimetry |
|
Thermal Conductivity |
|
13 4/11 |
14.1 14.2 |
|
15.1 15.3 |
HW #12 |
|
Gas Laws |
|
Gas Laws |
|
14 4/18 |
15.4 15.5 |
HW #13 |
Test #4 Chs. 12 -14 |
|
|
Test #4 Review |
|
Laboratory Make-up |
|
15 4/25 |
16.1 -16.3 |
|
17.1 -17.2 |
|
|
Introduction to Waves |
|
Wave Properties |
|
16 5/1 |
Final Review |
HW #14 |
Final Exam |
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Home | Course Information | Class Schedule and Office Hours |
Contact Paul Williams: pwill@austincc.edu
Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005 - 2009 by Paul Williams
Last Updated: August 21, 2009