PHYS 101 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Course Components:
Detailed description and policies

Overview

All students are required to participate in all course components. 

Credit is granted in each course component. 

All course components are subject to the Academic Integrity Policy.

 

Learning Strategy

Our learning philosophy is based on the idea that learning takes time. The course structure is tailored to help students take in, practice, and master physics ideas and their application.

In introductory physics, the learning philosophy of the Department of Physics can be summarized as follows:

1. Think About It (pre-lectures and checkpoints)
2. Untangle It (lectures)
3. Practice (homework)
4. Apply and Explore It (labs)
5. Challenge and Check Progress (discussion)
6. Close the Loop (exams)

 

Component Description

Think About It: Pre-lectures and Checkpoints

Due before each lecture, these web-based assessments are designed to introduce the key ideas/concepts of the lecture. 

Assignments are due as presented in the course schedule.

Pre-lecture

Technology used: smartPhysics
Other materials: Note-taking materials of student choice

• Each question may be attempted several times.
• Each question must be answered correctly to complete the activity.
• No late credit.

Checkpoint

Technology used: smartPhysics
Other materials: Note-taking materials of student choice

• Available after prelecture is complete.
• Answer all questions for full credit. You do not need to answer correctly to get credit.
• No late credit.

Untangle It:  Lecture

Technology used: iClicker remote or iClicker app
Other materials: Note-taking materials of student choice, notes handout from schedule page

Participation is required.  You must have a functional iclicker or access to the iclicker cloud service at each lecture.

A handout version of the lecture slides will be posted on the Schedule page at least 24 hours before the respective lecture. The annotated slides from each lecture will be posted on the course website within 24 hours of the end of the respective lecture. Recorded lectures will be posted on Mediaspace in a similar timeframe after the lecture concludes.

Participation will occur as follows:

• Attend the lecture in person.
• Answer questions during lecture using the iclicker response system.
• Credit will be granted:
  • Participation in each lecture.
  • Bonus credit for correct iClicker questions answered.

Each lecture will focus on a topic of the day as described in the course schedule. 

The notes from each lecture will be posted on the course website, see the links in the course schedule.

Practice: Homework

Technology used: smartPhysics
Other materials: Scratchwork materials of student choice, calculator

Homework is assigned and distributed through smartPhysics.  The homework is due according to the course schedule (typically on Thursdays at 8am).

You must work on the problems before, and complete them by the deadline in smartPhysics to receive full credit for the homework. Credit is given on a question-by-question basis. All questions completed by the deadline will earn credit; questions completed by reduced credit deadlines will receive reduced questions.

Homework problems are designed to:

• Practice conceptual understanding.
• Develop problem-solving skills.

Background for the homework is provided by:

• working through the pre-lectures and checkpoints
• attending or viewing the lectures.

The web-based homework covering each week's material is due the following week.

To start work on a homework assignment:

• Go to smartPhysics.
• Select the assignment for the week.
• Each problem, or part thereof, may be worked 100 times.
• Full credit for each correct problem will be awarded when an assignment is completed before the deadline.
• Up to 90% credit will be awarded for finishing a problem up to the last day of the exam on which the homework is covered.
• Up to 70% credit will be awarded for finishing a problem later than the day of the respective hour exam.
• No homework credit will be available after the final exam.

Apply and Explore It: Laboratory

Technology used: smartPhysics, IOLab (requires USB A port), my.physics upload tool
Other materials: Laptop or tablet for IOLab connection and collaborative document writing

The lab cycle (see course schedule) is designed to provide the opportunity to explore the applications and implications of the concepts developed in lecture.

The laboratory portion of this course will consist of eight (8) 3-hour laboratories.

1. A prelab exercise due the morning of each laboratory period.
2. The laboratory exercise in which students will:
   1. plan and set up simple experiments to investigate topics studied in class
   2. perform measurements of different phenomena studied in lecture
   3. analyze experimental results
   4. make conclusions based on their results and their understanding of the experimental system.
3. A laboratory write-up which will be completed during the session and turned in online at the end of the lab session.

Challenge and Check Progress: Discussion

Technology used: Schedule page (to distribute materials), Gradescope (to turn in work)
Other materials: Laptop or tablet for collaborative document writing, scratchwork materials of student choice, calculator

Students must be on time for discussion. Students arriving more than 10 minutes late for discussion will receive a grade of 0% on their group assignment for the day.

Each discussion session will consist of the following:

• The instructor of the section will introduce the task for the day
• Students will work in small groups to answer prompts and generate a single group document draft of their responses.
• At certain times during the session, the instructor will facilitate whole-group discussion for groups to share their ideas.
• Group documents may be revised based on the whole-group discussion.
• Each group will submit one document with their work to GradeScope for the TA to evaluate. This document will count as your discussion grade.
• Students will take turns submitting the document each week. Only students in the group who attended the session and participated in creating the document should have their names added to what is turned in.

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If you have questions about this page, please e-mail the Undergraduate Office (undergrad@physics.illinois.edu).