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General Physics Fall 2007 August 21,2007 Instructor: Gary Hunt, Multipurpose Bldg., Room 416, 426-3755, GaryHunt@boisestate.edu Office Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 10:30 – 11:15 AM Textbook: Physics , Cutnell and Johnson, Seventh edition Prerequisite: Math 144 or 147 with a score of C or better, or satisfactory score on math placement exam. Grading: A single grade is assigned for the entire course. Contributions to the grade will be as follows:
Extra credit opportunities will include but not be limited to: the 14th lab, at-home labs, and extra homework. Lecture: Lectures will be given on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Students are responsible for all material covered in the lecture. Students are responsible for covering missed lecture materials by reading the text and borrowing lecture notes. Reading quizzes, clicker activities, and participation activities will be conducted and collected during the lecture. There are no provisions for making up missed class activity points. Homework: Homework will be assigned regularly and typically due weekly. The exact day of the week that they are due is available on the WebAssign site. The homework problems will be drawn from the text. Late WebAssign homework will be penalized. Real World Problems: One problem will be assigned per week. The problem will be graded according to the problem layout rubric. The emphasis here is on the problem format and approach, not the correct answer. The preferred mode for turning in these problems will be handed in as groups. Each student will hand write their own version of the solution. Each group will staple their papers together with the group consensus solution of the top. More discussion of this format will follow in class. While you can hand in problems as an individual, studies have shown that collaboration greatly increases learning and retention. The instructor will assign the grades at the end of the semester using the following scale:
Exams: Five exams will be given, four during the semester and one during finals week. The four during the semester will be focused on the material covered during that module. A study guide will be available stating the topics covered in the exam. The exams are closely focused on materials presented during the lectures and labs, and are similar to the homework problems, labs, and lecture conceptual exercises. Students may bring a single 5 x 8 card as a hand-written cheat sheet to each exam. Missed Exams: Makeup exams will only be given under extraordinarily compelling circumstances at the discretion of the instructor. If you are going to be out of town during the test dates, make arrangements with your instructor prior to the test. Extra Credit homework: There will be several extra credit homework assignments during the semester. These will cover topics not addressed during lecture time. Labs: Students must register for a laboratory section. Lab exercises are available on the course website. There will be 14 lab classes available. No makeup labs are given, but students can attend a different lab section at the discretion of the lab instructor. The Secrets of Success: 1. Read ahead and come to the lectures. 2. Form a study group. Student Conduct: The actual Conduct Code document is at: http://www2.boisestate.edu/studentconduct/Student%20Code%20of%20Conduct.htm In particular note article 3, sections 6-11, which establish student conduct norms for the lab setting. The home page for this issue which contains some other material on how misconduct is handled can be found at: http://www2.boisestate.edu/studentconduct/ Goals: The following goals are based on criteria set by the Boise State Core Curriculum Committee. Critical Thinking / Problem Solving Skills: Identify and analyze problems in the physical sciences by learning what the physical laws are and then applying reasoning to a physical situation and determine what will be the results of certain actions. This will be practiced both in thought situations (such as the exercises at the end of the chapter) and in practical lab exercises. Communication Skills: Communication skills will be strengthened by reading, writing lab reports, team interactions during the lab exercises, and verbal communication in asking and answering questions during class. Written communication skills will be checked in the written paper portion of the labs. Oral presentation skills will be improved by the lab poster presentations. Cultural Perspective: There will not be much development in this area; however, some references will be made to the times the scientists lived and to some extent the influence the society of the time had upon the development of the ideas being put forth. There will be some reference to the effects of technology on society and also that of society on technology. Breadth of Knowledge and Intellectual Perspective: This course will add to the student’s general knowledge by introducing them to the basics of physics. Students should become more aware of the physical world and how it works. There will also be an appreciation of how scientific discoveries are made. |