Objectives: The purpose of this class is to provide an overview and in-depth understanding of waves (matter, sound, and light), electricity and magnetism, physical and geometric optics, and modern physics. Additionally, you will be expected to exercise and improve your critical thinking and problem solving skills by solving quantitative problems, participating in lecture discussions and demonstrations, and completing laboratory activities.
Lecture: Lecture time will be spent involved in discussions, questions-and-answer sessions, group activities, demonstrations, and some traditional lectures. You are expected to come to each lecture on time and well prepared: read the appropriate material from the text and have questions ready, bring the necessary supplies (paper, writing utensils, calculator, clicker, textbook), and be ready to participate in whatever activity is scheduled. Check the on-line calendars for reading assignments and announcements about in-class activities. There are chapter outlines posted for you as well, which follow the format of the presentations.
Laboratory: Plan to attend your scheduled lab section. Details pertaining to the lab can be found here.
Quizzes: Quizzes will be given at the beginning of each lab session. Each quiz will cover the course material immediately preceding it. Quizzes are designed to be completed in about 15 minutes, and you will be permitted to use only your notebook as a reference. The lab quizzes will begin promptly, so be on time. If you wander in 10 minutes late, you are cutting into your own time, and you will not get extra time to finish up the quiz. Always remember to bring your clicker: no clicker, no quiz (and no make up quiz later). Quiz solutions will be posted online. There will also be quizzes administered during lab sessions when exam reviews are scheduled. Only the highest ten quiz scores will be counted towards your grade.
Exams: Four midterm exams are scheduled over the semester. You should expect exams that are approximately 50% conceptual or qualitative problems, and 50% quantitative. You will need a clicker to take each exam: no clicker, no test. Exam dates are tentatively scheduled on the calendar, and any changes will be reflected there. The final exam will be comprehensive.
An exam archive has been posted online, consisting of actual exam questions. Solutions are also posted for each of the sample exams.
Homework: Homework assignments are posted on the course calendars. No homework will be collected for grading, but assigned problems are likely to show up on the exams.
Grades: The point distribution and grading scale for the semester are shown on the right. You should not expect extra credit points. There may end up being some, but you should not base your grade expectations on the anticipation of a truckload of free points.
You are expected to keep all graded material and keep track of your own point progress over the course of the semester. You will be given your point total and grade average after each exam. If you need to know your grade at any time, e−mail me, and I will send you your point total. I will be happy to correct any bookkeeping errors, but you must be able to document the error with the original graded work.
Attendance: Attendance of both lecture and laboratory is required. Attendance is your responsibility, and you are responsible for any material missed through non-attendance. Make-up work is not available. If you must miss class for any reason, you must notify me within 24 hours of the missed class. Failure to notify the instructor will result in a score of zero for any assignments, labs, or exams which are due or which occur during the missed class period. You will be required to provide documentation (i.e., doctor's note, accident report, traffic citation) before any make-up exams will be scheduled or late work will be accepted for credit. Attendance wil be taken in lab, and an accumulation of three lab absences will result in a grade of F for the semester. Any abuse of this policy (i.e., providing false information) will result in, at the minimum, a course grade of F, and referral to the Dean of Students for further disciplinary action.
Personal Electronic Devices: Cell phone use is strictly prohibited during lecture and lab time. You are not permitted to use either a cell phone or a PDA as a calculator during labs or during exams. You must turn your phone, pager, and PDA off for the duration of class time. This does not mean switch silent ring; it means off. If your cell phone rings during an exam, you will be required to turn in your exam and leave the room immediately. In the event that cell usage becomes problematic, I reserve the right to implement point penalties for repeat offenders. The number of points per penalty is left to my discretion. No exceptions to this policy will be made for any reason whatsoever.
Academic Integrity: Collaboration is encouraged on homework and labs. However, the work you submit must be your own. Any collaboration on exams is strictly prohibited, and will result in, at the minimum, a course grade of F, and referral to the Dean of Students for further disciplinary action.