Physics 101 Course Description

Physics 101 Course Description - Summer 2012

Introduction

The goal of this course is to make you familiar, at the conceptual and basic problem-solving level, with the physics of mechanics, heat, and waves.

The basic philosophy of Physics 101 can be summarized as follows:

1. Introduction and first chance to think about it (Prelectures and Checkpoints)
2. Untangle it (lectures)
3. Play with it (labs)
4. Challenge yourself (homework)
5. Close the loop (discussion)

The order of the above items is very important.

The first exposure you will have to any material will be when you, on your own and prior to lecture, do the pre lecture (1). This first step is one that all of the following items rest on, and should be taken very seriously.

The lecture (2) will not simply regurgitate what you have read, instead I will focus on asking conceptual questions (using clickers) and solving example problems, usually with the aid of demonstrations.

This is not a traditional approach. Your participation is required both prior to and during each lecture! Before every lecture you will be required to work through a Pre-Lecture on the Web and answer some checkpoint questions.

The lectures themselves will be very interactive, and your participation is strongly recommended. Student questions and comments in class are highly encouraged.

Labs (3) are designed to give you the opportunity to explore the concepts you have read about in the textbook and discussed in lecture.

The Web-based homework (4) covering each weeks material is due at 7am. Homework problems are designed to test your understanding of the concepts as well as simple problem-solving skills.

To cap things off, a 2-hour Discussion section (5) will go over the concepts you have learned about in the previous weeks text reading, lectures, lab and homework.

To help you keep track of "what is due when" we have put together a handy Web based daily planner.

Required Background

The only "official" pre-requisite for this class is trigonometry. We will assume you are sufficiently adept with math to solve simple simultaneous equations and manipulate vectors. Although not required, most people enrolled in Physics 101 have taken a high school physics class and many have had a semester of calculus.

Note for Pre-Med's

For many of you Physics 101 and 102 will be an important part of your preparation for the MCAT exam. Rest assured that this has been one of the brightest beacons guiding the re-design of these classes.

Course Component Details

Textbook:
The required text for this class is College Physics, Vol. 1, 3rd by Giambattista, Richardson, Richardson. If you are taking Physics 102 next semester, you will use the same book. Optional study guides and solution manuals for this text will be available at the book store, but are not required. The textbook publisher has also made available a very nice Web site containing additional questions, solutions, animations etc. You can find this at: http://www.mhhe.com/grr/

Lectures:
Lectures are held in 141 Loomis on Monday through Thursday mornings at 8 AM, and you are strongly encouraged to attend and participate. You are required to complete a Web-based Pre Lecture before 7:30am on the day of each lecture (you are encouraged to read the textbook and do the Pre-Lecture the day before the lecture, not to leave them to the last moment).

Lab Session:
Lab sessions are held in 64 Loomis. The laboratory portion of Physics 101 will consist of nine 3-hour laboratories, each involving a series of activities, including (i) setting up simple experiments to investigate topics you've studied in class, (ii) making predictions about the outcome of your experiments, (iii) performing measurements of different phenomena you've studied in lecture, (iv) analyzing your experimental results, and (v) answering questions concerning your results and predictions.

Computer Homework:
Each week you will be responsible for completing computer-based homework assignments. These assignments are graded and are an integral part of the course.

Each homework set must be completed by the time indicated. For each homework, there are two due dates to keep in mind. To receive full credit, the homework must be completed by the assigned due date. Homework completed after the assigned due date but prior to the next assignment due date will be penalized by 20%. No credit is given for homework completed after this second due date.

You may work a problem as many times as you like and only the highest grade is recorded in the gradebook. You can never lower your score by reworking a problem.

Discussion Sessions:
Discussion sections are held in 143 and 147 Loomis. These sessions will emphasize collaborative learning of topics which have already been covered in lecture and homework. Students will work in teams of four on advanced physics problems to help them master the concepts and problem solving techniques required for the exams. The final 20 minutes of each period will be devoted to an individual quiz on the material from section. The quizzes will be graded for credit, and provide both the student and the instructors with feedback regarding each individuals mastery of the weeks topics.

Exams:
Three 60-minute multiple-choice "hour" exams will be given (See the Course Schedule). Exams will be on Wednesdays in 141 Loomis. Bring a calculator and writing utensils to all exams. In addition, bring your official university identification card to show upon request.

The final exam will be two hours in length and will cover material from the whole semester. You will be told when and where to take your final exam as soon as that information becomes available to the Physics 101 staff.

Exam Corrections:

You will be required to "correct" any problems you get incorrect on each of the hour exams. This will help you in your understanding of previous concepts so that you do not get behind in the course.

Grading:

Your final grade for Physics 101 will be based upon your total score on all the components of the course. The total possible score is 1000 points, broken down as follows:

Final Exam	300
Hour exams (100 each)	300
Labs	100
Discussion Quizzes (Drop Lowest 3)	100
Web-based Homework	100
Attendance/Checkpoints	100

The breakdown of total points versus course letter grade will be approximately:
A+(950), A(930), A-(910), B+(890), B(870), B-(850), C+(830), C(810), C-(790), D+(770), D(750), D-(730), andF(<730).

For some parts of the course the average score is typically very high. For example, there is no reason you should not be able to score 100% on your web based homework and Pre-Lecture assignments. You should also be able to do very well on Labs and Quizzes. This means that you cannot compensate for low examination grades by getting high homework/attendance/lab/quiz grades. On the other hand, you can seriously lower your grade by doing poorly on these. The real payoff for doing well on the homework, pre-flights, quizzes and labs is a better understanding of the physics and consequently higher examination scores.

Since the grade "cutoffs" are tentatively set at the beginning of the semester, you are not competing with your fellow students for a high position on a "final curve". It is in principle possible for everyone to get an "A" grade in this class.

Gradebook:
The web-based gradebook will show, for all aspects of the class, exactly how you are progressing. At the end of the course, quiz, homework and lab components will be put together to obtain the final grade. During the term, you should regularly check that the exam, homework, lab, and quiz grades are correctly entered in the gradebook. It is your responsibility to bring any problems with your assigned grades to the attention of your section instructor immediately.

Absences and Excused Grades:
There is no way to make up missed hour exams, quizzes or labs. Unexcused absences from any hour exam, quiz or lab will be assigned a zero grade; excused absences will receive an EX grade. At the end of the semester, EX grades on hour exams will be replaced by the average of your grades on the exams that you did take. A similar procedure will be applied to excused labs and quizzes.

If you miss a discussion quiz (lab) for a valid reason, take your excuse to 231/233 Loomis. The secretary will make copies of it to distribute to the course personnel. If appropriate, you will receive an EX grade.

Excused grades for lab reports, quizzes and hour exams will be given only in one of the following circumstances: (a) illness; (b) personal crisis (e.g. automobile accident, required court appearance, death of a close relative, weather conditions which make it impossible to get to the university); and (c) required attendance at an official UIUC activity (e.g. varsity athletics, band concert).

In case of (a), go to the McKinley Health Center. If upon examination the staff decides you are sick, you will receive a slip from the Center with a telephone number that you should provide to 231/233 Loomis. The course secretary may call the Center to verify that you were seen there (the Center does not provide written excuses per se), OR go to your private physician and obtain a written excuse. The excuse should contain your doctor's name and telephone number so that the secretary can call to verify the information.

In case (b) contact the Dean of Students' Office 333-0050. (At night this number is known as the Emergency Dean). Inform your lab or quiz TA. that you have done so. The Dean of Students' Office will send a letter to 233 Loomis. This letter will be distributed to your instructors.

In case (c) inform the course secretary (231/233 Loomis) in addition to any relevant TA in advance about any hour exams, quiz or lab that you will miss.

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