This introductory survey course will introduce science and math majors at UCA to the methods and ideas of classical physics. Students will focus during this first semester course on the study of classical mechanics. Major topics of study will be: Linear and Rotational Kinematics & Dynamics, Conservation of Energy and Momentum and Oscillations. We will make extensive use of laboratory methods to develop the basic concepts of Physics used in modeling the world. This course will attempt to broaden your understanding of the topics mentioned above, using active instructional methods. Classes are organized into 2 1.25-hour lectures and 1 3-hour laboratory per week.
We will use computers to acquire and analyze data. However, a computer cannot interpret or explain the physics behind the data. You must perform this pivotal activity. Always remember that a computer can be used to remove some of the tedium from tasks like graphing and performing fits to data but, your brain must be used to decide how to fit a particular data set and what the equation used to fit the data means physically when your done. The computer will do whatever you tell it to do whether or not it has any physical meaning.
This course will make extensive use of the course management capabilities of Blackboard. You can reach all of your courses' Blackboard sites through the MyUCA portal. I will maintain the course calendar and send announcements on Blackboard. The course calendar will contain reading and homework assignments that may change as the semester evolves. You should check regularly for updates. Lecture notes and Grades will be made available there also.
There will be regular reading assignments. The textbook contains more information than we can cover in lectures. You are responsible for that information. The textbook chapter that we will be focusing on in lecture will be posted on the class calendar in Blackboard. I will expect you to read through each chapter at least once before we start studying it in class. An excellent study technique is to create a detailed outline of a chapter as you read it. This helps you form your own understanding of the concepts as you read them. It also helps you to draw links between the topics in a chapter. It has been my experience that outlines are more useful than highlighting. To make an outline, you must process the information in the chapter. Highlighting does not require as much mental processing since you are not translating the information into your own words. Each chapter contains a number of example problems that include complete solutions. You should try to work these problems along with the book.
There will be daily homework assignments. You will be responsible for completing these assignments. I am using MasteringPhysics™, an on-line homework system, for these assignments. Assignments will involve working problems and answering conceptual questions. The system provides end-of-chapter problems as well as other conceptual problems. Since the system is used by a number of universities, there are very good statistics on the time it takes to complete a problem as well as the difficulty students have completing the problem. I will build assignments based on the reported completion time and difficulty of the individual problems. You will have ample time for each assignment. Do not wait until the last minute to complete an assignment. If you do and there are problems you may not be able to finish. You will be able to turn assignments in late with a penalty of -10% for each hour (or portion of an hour) the assignment is late. Keep in mind that the computer server that houses the system, not your kitchen clock, produces the time stamp for your assignments. If you put the assignment off until the last minute, you may end up late.
There is an extra cost associated with using MasteringPhysics™ for the homework. There are also advantages. This system provides on-line tutoring with each assignment. When you reach an impasse in a problem you have the option of opening "Hints" for a price (-1% on a problem for each hint used). You will be allowed 3 attempts on each problem. I would recommend attempting each problem once before using hints. With MasteringPhysics™ you will receive immediate feedback on your submissions. Were I to collect paper homework assignments, it would take up to a week to get them back you. I can note problem areas on the homework sets and address them in the next lecture. There is research that shows students using a system like MasteringPhysics™ improve their retention of the material (which is the primary goal of any class).
The MasteringPhysics™ site also contains an e-book version of the textbook. If you chose, you may use this instead of purchasing a hard bound copy. I recommend that you purchase a hardcopy of the text along with the access to MasteringPhysics™. All of you will most likely be taking UP2 in the Fall and the MasteringPhysics™ access should last through that course (you should confirm this on your own). If you are going to complete UP3, however, your access to MasteringPhysics™ will have expired. You would then need to purchase another access code to be able to access the text book. It is my experience that this text book will be usefull to you as a reference after you have completed this course. If you only purchase the e-text, you will not have access to it as a reference in later course work. In my opinion, purchasing a permanent copy of the text book is beneficial.
There is a laboratory component to this course. I will expect you to bring the following supplies to lab each week: textbook, quadrille-ruled hard cover lab notebook, scientific calculator, writing utensils, ruler, and protractor. A two to three page typed report of the lab, including any graphs, is to be turned in during the following lab period for credit. A lab report is a concise description of the theory, experimental setup, and experimental results for each lab. It must be well-written and free of grammatical errors.
NOTEBOOKS: Write neatly in your notebook so you, I, or anybody else, can read it. Number and date every page. Record EVERYTHING in your notebook: the time, date, experimental data, units, etc. Write out descriptions and make neat drawings of experimental setups or calculations. It is okay to tape additional graphs or diagrams into your notebook. It is okay to make mistakes − just note the error and reference the page where the correction appears. Graphs must have sensible axes labels (with units) and titles and convey the information well. I will collect some of the notebooks each week during the semester to be graded. Your notebook grade will depend mostly on completeness but still some on correctness. Keep in mind that the notebook is your record of an experiment, not your report on it.
ATTENDANCE: A quick note on attendance here. You will be working in groups during lab. If you are not here, your group suffers from the loss of one member. By their very nature, laboratory requirements depend on participation. If you are not here, you cannot participate. If you are not here, you are not completing the laboratory portion of the course. If you miss three labs with unexcused absences, I will drop you from the course with a WF. I determine what is excused or unexcused, the annual family ski trip the first week in March is not an excused absence.
There will be 4 in-class exams during the semester and 1 comprehensive final exam at the end. The dates for the exams are noted on the course calendar. You should plan to be here on those days. The final exam will be a two-hour cumulative exam that counts the same as one in-class exam. I will drop the lowest of the 4 in-class exams. There will not be any makeup exams. If you miss an in-class exam for any reason, that will be the in-class exam that you drop. I will make accommodations if you are going to miss an exam due to a scheduled university activity. If you are going to miss an exam due to a university activity you must discuss options well in advance of the exam. You have your activity schedule and the exam schedule. You need to check for conflicts at the beginning of the semester. I will not drop the final exam. Your exam score will be the average of the three highest in-class exams and the final.
There will be class room participation points given for in-class activities during lectures. These will make-up 5% of your grade. If you are not in lecture you will not get the points. There is no make-up for lecture participation. I will not take "roll" during lecture and no points are awarded purely for attendance at lectures. However, you will miss out on participation points if you miss a lecture.
| Grade Scale | 90 | - | 100 | A | Grade Makeup | Laboratory | 20% | |||||
| 80 | - | 89 | B | Homework | 20% | |||||||
| 65 | - | 79 | C | Exams | 55% | |||||||
| 50 | - | 64 | D | Lecture Participation | 5% | |||||||
| 49 | - | 0 | F |
I will expect you to be in class every day. There may be times when you are unable to attend. If you know this ahead of time, let me know. If you miss an exam, that will be the exam that you drop. Any lab activities that you miss must be made up. This may require that you ask other students to help you complete an activity. If you miss three labs with unexcused absences I will drop you from the course with a WF. I will not take attendance during lectures, however, there will be participation points given during each lecture. If you are not in class, you will not be able to participate. If you show up to class late, you may have already missed some of that days participation points. I will keep records for class participation. If you are not participating you will not receive credit. The lectures for this course begin at 8am on Tuesday and Thursday. There is no reason to be late. There is plenty of parking and the cafeteria is opened early enough for a good breakfast so there is no reason to be late.
The policies and procedures detailed in the UCA 2010-2011 Student handbook (www.uca.edu/student/dean/documents/Student_Handbook_2010-2011_FINAL.pdf) are also part of this syllabus. Particularly, but not limited to, those pertaining to Academic Policies (pages 35-41 of the handbook) and the Sexual Harassment Policy (pages 102-105 of the handbook).
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.
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 Office of Disability Services, 450-3613.