Grading System:

I.    Exams (30% Regular + 20% Final)

There will be three exams in this class.  Exams will take up the lecture and lab period for that day.  Each one will be worth 10% of the grade, for 30% total.  The exams will test and help you develop your communication abilities and problem-solving skills.  Most of the questions will be essay in nature, testing your ability to explain physics theories and use them to describe real situations.  A few questions may involve making predictions, interpreting graphs, and using and interpreting equations.  The final exam (20%) will take up the last two class periods, and will involve ideas from the entire semester.

II.    Homework Assignments (9%)

Homework assignments will be found on the Website, and will consist of questions and problems taken from the book.  Homework assignments will be submitted in a  notebook you will be using over and over.  They will be graded for completeness, not correctness.  No time will be allotted in class for working homework problems.  You must work on homework outside of class!  I encourage you to start assignments early, so that you can come in to my office hours and talk if need be.  I also encourage you to work together on homework problems and studying for tests.  However, copying of work, whether from other students, outside sources, or even the book, will be regarded as plagiarism!  The homeworks will be reviewed on the day they are due.  Therefore, no late homeworks will be accepted.

III.    Laboratories (25%)

Physics theories are more than just… well, theoretical.  They describe things that are happening in the real world all around us.  Therefore, you will be given opportunities to discover some of the basic laws of physics for yourself.  Some of these labs will involve working with mechanical and electronic devices, others will involve thinking about and discussing real-world situations.

You will be assigned laboratory partners.  With projects involving apparatus, I would like for the work to be divided as follows:

·         Equipment operator(s)

·         Data recorder

·         Supervisor (responsible for final report)

These duties will rotate from lab to lab.  The plan is to have a total of 11 lab reports, all of which will be used to determine your grade.  Also, part of your grade will be determined by an evaluation by your lab partners, and an evaluation by me of how involved you have been in discussion activities.

IV.    Term Project (10%)

This is a special project designed to sum up your learning for the semester.  It can take one of two forms:

1.      You can write a paper detailing a specific physics concept that you have learned this semester that you will be able to use in your future career.  You will be required to present a brief talk on this concept in class.

2.      You can create a mini-lesson on one of the ideas in the course, suitable for teaching at the pre-college grade level of your choice.  The report should include lecture notes / powerpoints / handouts, and details of any activity that is part of the lesson.  You will present one of these activities briefly in class.

         Your in-class presentation will be evaluated by the instructor and your peers.

V.    Reading Quizzes (6%)

To encourage students to read the book, the final 6% of your grade will be determined by a series of “Reading Quizzes” taken online using the Mastering Physics system.  They are simple questions, due an hour before class, that should be answerable by anyone who read the assignment for that day.  More details for accessing the system will be given in class.

Bonus Points – You can earn up to 5 “bonus points” by keeping a “learning journal” through the semester.  You will use the same notebook for this that you use to turn in your homeworks.  The purpose of the journal is to write down your thoughts on what we have discussed during the previous week.  You may write anything you wish in the journal, but I would like these questions answered at least:

1.      What was the most interesting thing you learned this week?  Why was it interesting?

2.      What confused you the most this week?  How could it be made more clear?

3.      What could you have done this week to improve your learning?

4.      What could the instructor have done this week to improve your learning?

Also in the journal, I would like you to suggest an essay-style question for the upcoming exam.  Alternately, you could come up with a test question suitable for

the grade level of your choice.

            An Important Note about Earning a Passing Grade in this Class! 

This is Official ACC Department of Physical Sciences Policy!

      You must earn a grade of “C” or better in the laboratory portion of this 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 for the course.  The grade in each portion, either lecture or laboratory, of the course will be determined by using the weights, as stated in the syllabus, for each individual component.  In this course, the “laboratory component” is defined as the lab reports and term projects only.  The “lecture component” is the rest of the course.

Summary of Grading System:

                        Tests  (3 @ 10% apiece)                                 30%

                        Final Exam                                                      20%

                        Homeworks                                                       9%

                        Laboratories                                                    25%

                        Term Project                                                    10%

Reading Quizzes                                               6%

Learning Journal                                               5%  Bonus

Grading Scale:           A = 90% to 100%

B = 80% to 89%

C = 70% to 79%

D = 55% to 69%

F = Less that 55%

Text:   Conceptual Physics, Eleventh Edition, by Paul G. Hewitt (Addison Wesley)

Course Syllabus

Student Learning Outcomes

Course-Level Student Learning Outcomes – Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to

• Demonstrate understanding of the nature of science and how science differs from other ways of observing and understanding the world.
 

• Demonstrate understanding of the Scientific Method and how it promotes critical thinking

• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic concepts and language of Physics.
 

• Demonstrate knowledge of how Physics relates to everyday life.
 

• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic laws of Physics that pertain to the study of motion, forces and energy.
 

• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic laws of Physics that pertain to the study of fluids, waves, and sound.
 

• Develop the ability to work together in collaborative groups to perform experiments, gather

data, and reach conclusions.
 

General Education Student Learning Outcomes -- Upon completion of this course, students will demonstrate competence in

• Critical Thinking – Gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and applying information.

• Interpersonal Skills – Interacting collaboratively to achieve common goals.

• Quantitative and Empirical Reasoning – Applying mathematical, logical and scientific principles and methods.

• Technology Skills -- Using appropriate technology to retrieve, manage, analyze, and present information.