PHYS 101 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
James Scholar Credit
Eligibility
In order to obtain James Scholars credit in Physics 101, you must:
- Be admitted to the James Scholar program in your college.
- Complete an Honors Credit Learning Agreement and submit it to your college by your college's deadline.
- Complete the James Scholars homework assignment explained below.
Please note that the grades on these assignments DO NOT affect your overall 101 grade IN ANY WAY.
James Scholar Assignment
This semester we are offering two tracks for the James Scholar Assignment: (1) Physics History and (2) Current Physics.
Your honors credit will be based on an assignment that involves:
- Choosing one of the two tracks and identifying your topic and/or article that is relevant to Physics 101 material.
- writing a <1000 word summary of the topic or article with your interpretation that is relevant to Physics 101 material.
Track 1: Physics History
In this first option, you will choose a concept related to Physics 101 and do some research related to the history of that concept. By the end of the semester, you will turn in a >1000 word paper summarizing the history of the concept at the level a high school student can understand, explaining the ideas involved, how they changed over time and why, and who was involved in these ideas. Wikipedia can be a great resource to get started with these topics, but your research should utilize other reputable and citable resources such as the Center for History of Physics, journals like History of Science, Science in Context, and Perspectives on Science, or books like Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
Some options you may wish to investigate include:
- Development of ideas about force and motion in Ancient Greece and/or the Islamic Golden Age and how they are similar and/or different from the ideas we hold today.
- Development of physics concepts or physics-related inventions from non-Western cultures, including China and India, Africa, and Indigenous peoples in North and South America. This list provides some ideas of where to get started.
- The evolution of specific concepts over time. Some ideas include:
- Free fall occurring with constant acceleration
- Establishment and refinement of the concept of inertia
- Determining that gravitational mass is the same as inertial mass
- Measuring g (acceleration due to gravity, near the Earth's surface) and the engineering that went into developing new measurement methods
- Measuring G (Universal Gravitational Constant)
- Theories about momentum and collisions
- Theories about angular momentum
- Definition and quantification of heat
The proposal must identify the topic you wish to cover, summarize how it is of historical interest, and provide at least three resources you plan to use for that topic.
Track 2: Current Physics
In this second option, you will find a recent journal article that contains material related to the concepts covered in Physics 101. By the end of the semester, you will turn in a >1000 word paper summarizing the article at the level a high school student can understand, explaining the ideas involved and identifying how the work in the article connects to Physics 101.
The article must:
- come from a science-focused source such as Scientific American, the American Journal of Physics, European Journal of Physics, Science Magazine, Nature, or other peer-reviewed journals.
- be more than 500 words long
- be less than 5 years old
- be approved by your instructor.
The proposal must include a link to or pdf copy of the article and at least one paragraph explaining how it is relevant to Physics 101.
Deadlines
|
Deadline |
Where to turn in | Project component |
|---|---|---|
| College dependent | Your College | Honors Credit Learning Agreement |
| 5:00pm on March 10, 2023 | Gradescope | Proposal (web form) |
| 5:00pm on May 3, 2023 | Gradescope | Final Paper (document upload) |
All three components must be completed at a satisfactory level to receive James Scholar credit. You will receive feedback on your proposal within two weeks of the deadline; if your instructor has concerns about your proposal you must resolve them before submitting your final paper in order to get credit.
You will need to add yourself to the Physics 101 James Scholar Gradescope course using Entry Code 57238W.
Evaluation
Rubric information coming soon.
Paperwork
If you are already a James Scholar, you should complete an Honors Credit Learning Agreement form, get it signed, and submit it to your college office.
- College of LAS: https://my.atlas.illinois.edu/james-scholar/
- College of AHS: http://ahs.illinois.edu/james-scholar
- College of ACES: https://academics.aces.illinois.edu/honors/james-scholars/guide
- College of Engineering: https://my.engr.illinois.edu/james-scholar/
- Division of General Studies: https://dgs.illinois.edu/james-scholar-honors
How do I get the form signed?
- College of LAS: Your instructor will be notified through the portfolio tool.
- College of AHS: http://ahs.illinois.edu/james-scholar
- College of ACES: https://academics.aces.illinois.edu/honors/james-scholars/guide
- College of Engineering: Your instructor will be notified through the portfolio tool.