Syllabus: Fall 2024

Textbook

The course text is Physical Science (13^th edition), by Bill Tillery. The ISBN-13: 978-1-2644-5073-2, and you do not need to buy an access code for any of the publisher's online resources.

Course Materials

All course materials are available via multiple channels. All course information and materials are posted on Blackboard as well as this course web. You can also access course materials via this shared Google drive.

This course web is still valuable because it does not require a log-in; it can be accessed from anywhere, and unlike Blackboard, it does not go down for maintenance right when you need it the most. It contains links to the course materials, as well as much more detailed instructions.

There is triple-redundancy for storing and accessing course materials. You should never be unable to find what you need. However, not all of the course materials are available yet. You will always be notified when new documents go live. If at any point, you find a broken link on the course web or suspect that I have not uploaded to Blackboard something I told you I have, please contact me. Please always let me know if you cannot access something.

Attendance

There is no mandatory attendance policy. You are very much encouraged to participate by attending live office hours, jumping into the discussion threads, and scheduling one-on-one meetings with me when you need them. I’m always happy to help.

Lecture

Lectures will be asynchronous, meaning that the pre-recorded lectures are available for you to access whenever you choose. You must be responsible for viewing the material. Lecture videos are available on Blackboard, and they are mirrored in this YouTube playlist. The YouTube videos are unlisted, which means that cannot find them by searching, but they are available through the link.

Lab Sims

All of our labs are virtual. I have prepared a set of Sims to complement the topics we will be covering. They utilize Physics Interactives at the website. The interactive simulations run in a browser window, and work on your phone.

Each Sim has a corresponding assessment quiz. You will complete and submit your work using the provided secure google for each Sim. Typically, there will be one Sim per week.

A total of eleven Sims are available, and ten will count toward your grade. If something happens and you miss one week’s Sim, you can still make a full set of ten scores. At the end of the semester, if I have more than ten scores recorded, I will drop your lowest score and retain only the ten highest scores.

Case Studies

In lieu of weekly homework, you will be participating in four Case Study group exercises. You will be permitted to self- select your team partners, and each team partner will receive the same score for the exercise. If you don’t choose your own group, I will assign you to a group. You are not required to work with the same people on each case; these are short-term teams, and you can work with different people on each case if you choose to. However, once teams are formed for a specific case, those teams will remain in place for the duration of the assignment.

Each Case Study is a deeper dive into to specific topics from the chapters we are covering, framed in a relevant (and hopefully interesting) context. Each case is self-contained, and can be completed using the online resources and references provided within the case. You will have a combination of conceptual ideas to think about and some quantitative problems to work through.

You should expect completing each exercise to take about the same time as a lab, maybe a little longer. Your group should budget about two hours to work through a case (more if you’re working with friends, because you know you’ll end up off-topic at some point!).

Detailed instructions for preparing and submitting the case studies are located on the course web and in Blackboard. Please read those instructions carefully; do not lose points because you didn’t follow the directions!

Unit Exams

Four unit exams are scheduled during the semester. Exams will be predominantly conceptual, with approximately 10–15% quantitative problem solving.

Exams will be made at available 8:00AM on the dates listed on the course calendar. The completed exam must be submitted no later than 6:00PM on that same day.

Exams must be submitted using the secure google form provided. No exceptions will be made to this policy. You will be permitted one re-submit within this time frame. This is intended to prevent the panic that occurs if something glitches and the form does not submit properly, or if you notice after you submit that you were logged in as someone else. No late exams will be accepted.

Points and Grades

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 will be given your point total and grade average after each exam. If you need to know your grade at any time, please e−mail me, and I will promptly send you your current point total.

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

Grades will be assigned according to the scale shown below:

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.

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 11/13/24. Effective Fall 2017, the WP/WF grade option will no longer be used. 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.

Office of Accessibility Resources and Services

The University of Central Arkansas adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need accommodation under this act due to a disability, please contact the UCA Office of Accessibility Resources and Services 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 by logging in to myUCA and clicking on the Feedback Hub.

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 2022-2023 Student Handbook and familiarize themselves with all policies, particularly the Sexual Misconduct Policy and Academic Policies.

Need a new hard copy of this syllabus? Click here for a printer-friendly .pdf!