Back to main Physics 101
pageFAQ for Physics 101 / Spring 2011
Contacts for questions not answered here
?? about physics: any of the course staff
?? about the lecture, homework, preflights: Prof. Taekjip Ha (TaekjipHa@physics.illinois.edu)
?? about the discussion: Prof. Yoshi Oono (yoono@illinois.edu)
?? about the labs or the exams: Prof. Paul Selvin (selvin@illinois.edu)
Try searching for a keyword for the topic you have a question about. Example: clicker.
General
Q. Is the 2nd edition of the textbook
OK?
A. Yes. You will use the textbook for reading and for extra practice problems. The sections are almost identical in the 2nd and 3rd editions of the textbook, and both have excellent practice problems (we recommend the blue-numbered problems in the relevant sections of the textbook).
Q. I added the course late. What do I do?
A. Go to the Physics Department Undergraduate Office in 231/233 Loomis. Have them verify your add date. They will communicate with your lab and discussion leaders, and you will be excused from labs and discussions prior to your add date.
Q. How is the course graded?
A. See the “course description” page on the class website.
Q. I was sick/away/at religious services..., and missed a lab/discussion/exam/homework. What do I do?
A. Contact the Dean of Students and provide them documentation for your absence.
Office of the Dean of Students
300 Turner Student Services Building
610 E. John Street, Champaign
You must have appropriate documentation (in writing) in order to have a valid excuse from a class. If you are too sick to get out of bed you should call Dial-a-Nurse. Please complete the ABSENCE FORM and take it along with the appropriate documentation relating to your absence to Room 231/233 Loomis as soon as you return to class. The deadline for submitting an excuse is within TWO weeks of the absence. (Excuses from the emergency dean must be turned in within ONE week of the date on the letter.) Obviously if you are absent the last week of the semester or have not received your excuse from the emergency dean, you should bring your excuse to Room 231/233 as soon as you receive it. Excuses need to be taken to Loomis room 231/233 in person. (An EX means that the absence will not count against your grade, but an AB becomes a zero.) Please be sure to indicate your section(s) and TA name(s) of the classes you missed on the ABSENCE FORM.
Q. I was sick/away/at religious services..., and missed a preflight/lecture (iclicker). What do I do?
A. Nothing. You are permitted to miss three preflights and three lectures per semester. It's a good idea to reserve these three misses for actual illnesses or other excusable absences!
Q. How is an excused absence treated when the final grade is calculated?
A. It is replaced by the average of your other scores on the same assignment. For example, if you are excused from quiz #3, this grade will be replaced with the average of all your other quiz scores.
Q. Can I make an appointment to speak with you (Prof. Ha )?
A. Yes. BUT… Because this is a large course with many students, please reserve this for unusual situations --- for ordinary questions about the material, please come to my office hour or one of the other office hours.
Q. Do I have to go to my discussion TA's office hours?
A. No. You can go to any of the office hours and any of the TAs or course staff will help you. You can even go to Physics 102 office hours, but they will have to give priority to Physics 102 students.
Q. How can I get tutoring in Physics 101 course material?
A. The Physics Department Undergraduate Office in 231/233 Loomis has a list of tutors who can work with you, for a fee.
Q. I went to office hours but no one was there. What should I do?
A. After waiting five minutes, go to the Physics Department Undergraduate Office in 231/233 Loomis. They will contact the missing TA and will quickly produce someone who can help you.
Exams
Q. What's the best way to prepare for the hour exam?
A. Review the lectures and homeworks, then work through the practice exams that are available on the course web site (and as notes in the bookstore). Do the practice exams under exam-like conditions: no notes, no book, and a time limit. Use the practice exams to diagnose your weaknesses in understanding, and then attack those weaknesses by doing practice problems from the book. If you are still having trouble go to office hours and ask the TAs.
Q. Is there a formula sheet for exams?
A. Yes. To see what's on it, just look at the practice exams (see the course website or the booklet of old exams available at the bookstore).
Q. Do I need a reason to sign up for the conflict exam?
A. No. Just click on the appropriate button in gradebook. We always offer a conflict exam at 5:15pm on the same day (Monday) as the hour exam, which runs 7:00pm – 8:30pm.
Q. I have a conflict for both the regular exam and the conflict exam. What do I do?
A. Contact the exam master (Prof. Paul Selvin, selvin@illinois.edu) at least four days prior to the exam.
Q. Where can I find the practice problems from the book?
A. Look in the sections of the book that correspond to the lectures, and do the blue numbered problems. These have answers in the student solution manual.
Q. There are questions about ___ on the practice exam, but we haven't covered that material in class yet. Will that material be on the exam?
A. No. The material covered in each Hour Exam varies from semester to semester, so the practice exams may not cover precisely the same material as this semester's exams.
Q. I missed the exam, what should I do?
A. Contact the Dean of Students and provide them documentation for your absence.
Office of the Dean of Students
300 Turner Student Services Building
610 E. John Street, Champaign
They will forward documentation to the Phys 101 course staff. We do not offer a makeup exam.
Q. Something terrible just happened (death in the family, major health issue, etc.) and I do not feel that I can take the exam. What should I do?
A. Contact course staff immediately. If you can document the problem and it falls under the heading of an excusable absence then you should NOT take the exam. Contact the Dean of Students and provide them documentation for your absence.
Office of the Dean of Students
300 Turner Student Services Building
610 E. John Street, Champaign
They will forward documentation to the Phys 101 course staff. We CANNOT excuse an exam after you have taken it!Make sure that your absence is excusable before deciding not to take the exam, because your grade will suffer less if you take the exam and do poorly than if you don't show up and get a 0.
Q. There may be a problem with my bubble (scantron) sheet for the exam because my score is lower than expected. What do I do?
A. Email Kate Shunk, shunk@illinois.edu, and she will check your sheet by hand. You can find out what your answers were by looking in gradebook, which will tell you what your answer was, what the correct answer is, and how many points you got.
Q. Why do the exams seem harder this semester than the practice exams from previous semesters?
A. Because it’s harder to take an exam under exam conditions than it is to work through the practice exams. The difficulty of the exams varies a little bit from semester to semester, but the exam scores are curved and the curved average varies very little from semester to semester.
Homework
Q. My AD/bluestem password expired and I couldn't complete the homework on time. Can I get an extension?
A. Sorry; you are responsible for keeping your password up to date. You are notified long before your password expires. Please do not ignore this notice!
Q. I can't get problem ___, can you help me?
A. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of office hours to get help with course concepts and homework.
The most common homework errors are:
§ signs (either in the final answer or one of the terms in your equation),
§ units (was that liters or cubic meters?),
§ factor of ten error (usually dropped while doing algebra), and
§ failure to carry enough significant figures through (your answer will be accepted only if it is within 1% of the true answer).
We will not answer homework questions by email. Please attend office hours or make an appointment to visit a professor or teaching assistant to get help with homework. We reserve the right to reduce your homework score if you send physics questions by email to any member of the course staff.
Q. I have an answer for the homework that I am sure is correct. Is there an error in the homework problem?
A. No! The homework problems have been thoroughly tested. Check the common error list, above.
Q. How can I do this problem without knowing, e.g., the mass of the car?
A. Solve the problem symbolically first! You may find that the quantity you thought you needed to know cancels out.
Q. I missed the deadline for the homework. Can I complete it late?
A. Yes, any portion of the homework that you did not complete by the first deadline can be completed up to about one week later for 90% credit. See the homework page for precise deadlines, which are sometimes a day later or earlier than you might otherwise expect.
Labs
Q. Can you switch my lab/discussion section? It doesn't fit into my schedule.
A. No. Labs and discussion sections are designed to accommodate a limited number of students and cannot be overloaded.
Q. I missed my section, can I go to another section?
A. No, we don't permit this. Labs and discussion sections are designed to accommodate a limited number of students and cannot be overloaded.
Preflights
Q. Are points deducted for incorrect answers on preflights?
A. No.
Q. I was sick/away/at religious services..., can I get my preflight excused?
A. You are allowed to miss three preflights during the semester and still receive full credit. It's a good idea to reserve these missed preflights for real illness or emergencies.
Q. I did the preflight, but it doesn't show up in the gradebook. What's wrong?
A. Your score on each Preflight is posted only after the deadline for that Preflight has passed.
Q. I've tried all the answers on the preflight and none work. Please fix this!
A. Is it possible that more than one answer is required?
Iclickers
Q. I've used an iclicker before. Do I need to register it for Physics 101?
A. YES! Go to the class web page and click through to register your iclicker.
Q. My iclicker points aren't showing up. What do I do?
A. Register your iclicker again. You may also have missed points if you do not answer 50% of the iclicker/ACT questions that have been asked. Also, Iclicker scores are only imported every few lectures, so they may not be up to date in gradebook.
Q. The serial number has rubbed off the back of my iclicker. How can I register it?
A. You can read off your clicker number at a special station in the foyer of the Illini Union Bookstore.
Or, you can take it to the Course Director after lecture, and the serial number can be read using the iclicker base station.
Lectures and Discussions
Q. I'm signed up for the 2 PM lecture, but I'd like to go to the 1 PM lecture (or vice versa); can I do that, and will my iclicker points still be recorded?
A. Yes. You are permitted to go to either lecture, and we will still capture your iclicker answers.
Q. Is the lowest quiz grade dropped?
A. Yes! We drop the lowest quiz score before computing your grade at the end of the semester.
Honors Credit
Q. I want to take the course for honors credit. What do I do?
A. See the course web page for a full description. Shorter version: read popular article, write brief paper connecting it to Physics 101 concepts, give presentation to other honors students at end of semester.
Q. What is involved in the honors presentation?
A. You will prepare a powerpoint presentation and come to an evening meeting with the other honors students where you will summarize your paper for 5-10 minutes and answer questions from me and from the other honors students.
Grades
Q. Are the exams curved?
A. Yes!
Q. Are the quiz scores curved?
A. Yes! Not all TAs grade with precisely the same degree of difficulty, and the quizzes vary from section to section. At the end of the semester we apply a (usually very small) statistical correction for this.
Q. The total number of lab points is 180, but the course description says they're worth 150/1000 points. How does this work?
A. You'll receive (your # lab points/180) x 150 points.
Q. How are midterm grades calculated (for those who receive midterm grades)?
A. They're based on hour exam 1.
Q. I am disappointed in my grade. Can you do something for me?
A. This is heartbreaking for us too, but there is nothing we can do. To be fair to all students we set out clear rules for grading the course in the course description web page, and we follow these rules consistently.
Q. Why is the range of points for a B so narrow? Why don't you just set the cutoff for a B- at 800 points?
A. The grading scale reflects the experience and judgment of course staff in how point totals relate to understanding of the material. Because there are a lot of check off assignments in the course, such as preflights, you need to go the extra mile to rise above a B.
Q. Is there extra credit in Physics 101?
A. Sorry, we don't offer extra credit.
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