Summer 2022 Syllabus

course info

Objectives

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview and in-depth understanding of electricity and magnetism, waves (matter, sound, and light), physical and geometric optics, and selected topics in modern physics. You will also exercise and improve your critical thinking and problem solving skills by participating in discussions and laboratory activities.

Lecture

Lectures will be asynchronous. Videos are located on BBoard, in the Media Library or the Online Classroom. You can also access the video library via YouTube. It’s an unlisted playlist, and it is not visible to searches, so you must use this link. You should manage your time to view the appropriate videos each week, before you are required to complete a lab or take an exam over the material. I have also compiled a selection of supplemental videos that will be helpful (but which do not replace the actual course lectures). Check the on-line calendar for reading, homework assignments, and announcements about in class activities.

Recitation

Recitations are scheduled for each Tuesday and Thursday. I have scheduled a recurring Zoom Meeting, and will be live during these hours each week. Recitation time will be spent in active problem solving to prepare for each week’s exam.

A Mastering Physics assignment which correlates with each recitation is posted on Blackboard. You should attend recitation with the intention of asking specific questions about homework problems and getting help in real time.

There are twelve assignments, one per chapter. Ten assignments will be counted toward your grade. You must have the Mastering Physics access code to access the assignments. There is no paper handout alternative assignment.

Laboratory

There are ten experiments scheduled for the semester. We are using Pivot Interactives, and you will be given a seat assignment (basically, your login to the system) on the first day of the course. This is not something you need to purchase! The labs are all online simulations, but they will require you to make realistic measurements. These are best worked on a computer or tablet. A phone screen is nowhere near large enough for you to be able to see what you need to measure, or to read the instruments.

You may choose when to complete the lab sims, as long as you submit your work prior to the due dates. All ten sims will count toward your grade, and there is no make-up.

All of the information for each lab is fully contained within each sim. I have posted PDF documents for review, but these are not in a format which can be submitted for credit. To get credit, you must submit your lab work via the Pivot form (no exceptions).

Textbook

The course text is College Physics, (4th edition), by Knight. The ISBN-13 is 978-0136781189, and this includes an eBook with access code for Mastering Physics. You are required to have an access code for Mastering Physics.

Exams

Five unit exams are scheduled over the semester. Each exam will cover the chapters listed on the course calendar for the week. There is no comprehensive final exam. You should expect exams that are approximately 40% conceptual or qualitative problems, and 60% quantitative. Exams will go live every Friday at 12:00PM (noon). You should plan to spend about 60–75 minutes completing each test, but you will have until Sunday at 12:00PM (noon) to submit your work.

This extended deadline is intended only to provide a buffer against technical difficulties. Extensions will not be forthcoming without clear and unambiguous documentation of the technical issue which prevented the submission of the exam, along with evidence that you made a good faith effort to contact me and solve the problem in advance of the due date. Please do not wait until 11:58 on Sunday morning to sit down and take a crack at the test.

Points

You are expected to keep all graded material and keep track of your own point progress over the course of the semester. I will be happy to correct any bookkeeping errors, but you must be able to document the error with the original graded work. You should also be patient; assignments which automatically post grades to Blackboard may not always update as instantaneously as one would hope. Please wait before panicking if you do not instantly see a homework score in your grade book.

Points for the semester break down as shown on the table below.

Lab Sims:

10 sims @ 30 points each = 300 points

Homework:

10 problem sets @ 25 points each = 250 points

Exams:

5 exams @ 90 points each = 450 points

Total:

= 1000 points

Grades

Grades will be assigned according to the scale shown below. Grades are not curved. Points are points regardless of how you earn them! Because there are (a generous number of) extra credit points built into the Lab Sims, these point thresholds are fixed and firm.

Letter Grade

A B C D F

Minimum Points

885 795 695 599 0

Maximum Points

1000 884 794 694 598

Attendance and Time Management

Live attendance of recitation and/or office hours is not required. However, you are no doubt aware that the more engaged you are, the better your outcomes will be. Office hours are scheduled daily from 8:00−9:00 AM. Use this link to join the Zoom meeting.

It’s also for my benefit; these are the only times I will have to get acquainted with you and observe how you are processing the material. The more I know about your (as a group) progress, the better I can fine-tune your tests. I don’t want to prepare a test thinking, “Oh, everybody’s gonna do great on this one!”—and then we both get a nasty surprise. I’d really like to minimize the disconnect and maximize your return on the investment of your time.

Time management is your responsibility, and you must be responsible for meeting all deadlines. Make-up work is not available. But if circumstances conspire and you miss a deadline, what then?

  • Did you miss a homework assignment? Don’t panic. There are 12, and only ten count for your grade. No harm/no foul. Take a deep breath and just keep moving forward.
  • Did you miss a lab deadline? If this is the first time, you get a free pass, no questions asked. Everyone gets one (and only one) freebie. You must notify me within 12 hours of the missed due date to be granted a 24-hour extension.
  • Did you miss a lab due date again?? Unless you can document your compelling circumstances, there will be no extension. If you notify me within 12 hours of the missed due date and can document your predicament, I will extend a 24-hour grace period.
  • Did you forget to submit an exam? Because you already have a 48-hour window in which to complete all exams, you will be required to meet a steep burden of proof before receiving any extension. Please know that I really do understand that $^*# inevitably happens at the most inconvenient time—but when it does, it invariably leaves some sort of corroborating evidence in its wake. Please expect to provide it.

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.

Academic Integrity

The University of Central Arkansas affirms its commitment to academic integrity and expects all members of the university community to accept shared responsibility for maintaining academic integrity. Students in this course are subject to the provisions of the university's Academic Integrity Policy, approved by the Board of Trustees as Board Policy No. 709 on February 10, 2010, and published in the Student Handbook. Penalties for academic misconduct in this course may include a failing grade on an assignment, a failing grade in the course, or any other course-related sanction the instructor determines to be appropriate. Continued enrollment in this course affirms a student's acceptance of this university policy.

Collaboration on exams is strictly prohibited. Collaboration is actively encouraged in recitation and in lab (seriously, help each other out). 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.

It is also a matter of academic and personal integrity to take responsibility for withdrawing yourself from this course, if the situation requires it. The last day for unrestricted withdrawal with a W is Thursday, 04 August, 2022. Only W grades may be assigned through the 12th week of the Fall/Spring semester, with equivalent dates in terms of other lengths. After this date, only grades of A, B, C, D, or F will be allowed.

Americans With Disabilities Act

The University of Central Arkansas adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need an accommodation under this act due to a disability, please contact the UCA Disability Resource Center at 501.450.3613.

Student Evaluations

Student evaluations of a course and its professor are a crucial element in helping faculty achieve excellence in the classroom and the institution in demonstrating that students are gaining knowledge. Students may evaluate courses they are taking starting on the Monday of the last week of instruction through the end of finals week by logging in to myUCA and clicking on the Evals button on the top right.

Building Emergency Plan

An Emergency Procedures Summary (EPS) for the building in which this class is held will be discussed during the first week of this course. EPS documents for most buildings on campus are available online. Every student should be familiar with emergency procedures for any campus building in which s/he spends time for classes or other purposes.

Title IX Disclosure

If a student discloses an act of sexual harassment, discrimination, assault, or other sexual misconduct to a faculty member (as it relates to "student-on-student" or "employee-on-student"), the faculty member cannot maintain complete confidentiality and is required to report the act and may be required to reveal the names of the parties involved. Any allegations made by a student may or may not trigger an investigation. Each situation differs and the obligation to conduct an investigation will depend on those specific set of circumstances The determination to conduct an investigation will be made by the Title IX Coordinator. For further information, please visit this link.

*Disclosure of sexual misconduct by a third party who is not a student and/or employee is also required if the misconduct occurs when the third party is a participant in a university-sponsored program, event, or activity.

Disclaimer

Assignments, point distributions, grading scales, and course policies should be regarded as flexible and subject to substitution or change at the discretion of the instructor. Students should refer to the 2021-2022 Student Handbook and familiarize themselves with all policies, particularly the Sexual Misconduct Policy and Academic Policies.

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Office: LSC 014
Phone: 501.450.5910
 E-mail: njgetson@uca.edu