Class schedule: MW 5:45pm-7:05pm
Location: SETB 2.520
Tutorial/recitation schedule:Tuesday 1-3pm
Tutorial location: SETB 2.208
Text: Principles of Physics, 4th ed., by Serway & Jewett
Instructor: Richard Price
E-mail:
rprice@phys.utb.edu
Office: SETB 1.354
Phone: (956) 882-6648
Office Hours MW 4:30pm-5:45pm
or
by appointment, or by
email at any time. Office hours may be changed after
students' schedules are known.
Grader: Jose McKinnon
Pedagogical Approach
You will be expected to learn the principles from the book. If you have
any questions about the book's presentation you should ask them in
class (or during office hours, or by email, or ...), and I will try to answer them.
In class there will rarely be lectures that repeat principles. Rather, in
class we
will do examples and solve problems. These may be examples/problems directly from the book, or that
I find elsewhere, or
that I make up. Most in-class problems will be similar to
homework and exam problems.
Communications
Electronic mail communication will be important.
Announcements, changes in assignment, hints, etc. will often be
sent by email.
My email address is at the top of this page.
You are responsible for being certain that the UTB system has
your correct email address.
You will be responsible for checking your email frequently
and for checking the course website for assignments and announcements.
Electronic mail makes it possible for you to get rapid answers to your questions. I am rarely away from email, and I will give high priority to answering student questions. But you must make the question clear. If I am not sure of what you are asking I won't give an answer. An answer to a misunderstood question can create complete confusion. Therefore, if I do not understand your question I will tell you that I don't understand it, or I am not sufficiently sure of what you are asking.
I will also communicate to you through the course website. The website will contain homework assigments. Notification (e.g., an error in an assignment) will be done through email and, where appropriate, through the course website.
Curriculum Coverage
The initial plan is to cover Chaps. 1 through 14.
Not every section will be covered equally, so pay careful attention
to the reading assignment at the course website.
Tutorial
Weekly tutorial sessions are planned (after the first week of
classes).
If you
feel unsure of your grasp of some or all of the material, or if you
simply want to learn the material more deeply, you should consider
going to the tutorial sessions. The schedule for the
tutorials will be announced in class.
Homework
Homework is the most important element in this course (and in
many other courses). If you put little effort in the homework
it is very unlikely that you will do well in the course. If you
diligently do the homework, it is likely you will do well. If
you do additional problem solving beyond the homework, the probability
that you will do well increases.
You will do homework using WebAssign. Instructions for registering for WebAssign are given below, and will be discussed in class.
You will solve the WebAssign problems online, and will be graded automatically. You will not hand these problems in on paper; you must do them online. Each problem is worth a different number of points, depending on its length and difficulty. You will have three chances to type in solutions to each part of each problem. You get full credit if you get it right on the first try. You get 85% if you get it on the second try. You get 65% if you get it on the third try. To encourage you not to delay homework till the last moment, there is a 10% bonus for handing in WebAssign assignments more then 24 hours early. Although the WebAssign Student guide (and the Introduction to WebAssign assigment) will tell you that the acceptable tolerance in your answer will be 1%, in our class heartbreak will be minimized by using a 5% tolerance in most problems.
There is homework due every week starting with Assignment 1 on Wednesday, August 26 and ending with Assignment 13 on November 23. The Assignment due dates are indicated on the course calendar that is linked to this page.
No late homework will be accepted.
It is worth noting that the exams will be like the homework. Many of the exam problems, in fact, will be minor modifications of the homework problems.
You are not prohibited from working with other students on homework. Quite the contrary, students are encouraged to work together. But the work you hand in must be your own work, not a solution given to you by someone else. In other words, it is acceptable for you to get the ideas for the solution from another, but not the words and symbols. The following criterion can help you distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable collaboration on the homework: in an oral exam, could you explain and defend your solution? In fact, students may occasionally be called to the board to explain and defend the homework that they have handed in.
WebAssign
The first homework assignment, due Wednesday, August 26,
is relatively easy, since part of that assignment will be to
familiarize yourself with WebAssign. To register
with WebAssign
you can click
here,
or direct your browser to https://www.webassign.net/login.html.
Your username is lastname.firstname, your last name and first name
separated by a period. Thus if your name is Albert W. X. Einstein
Jr. III, your username would be einstein.albert, without the middle
initials, or "Jr.", or "III".
On the website, ignore the lines "Username," "Institution," and "Password." In the lower half of the page, there is a red framed box with the picture of a key, and a red banner that reads "I have a class key." Click on this red banner. This will take you to a page in which you are to enter your "Class Key" in the three boxes; the Class Key will be provided on Monday, August 24. The website will then check that you are registering for the correct course, and will take you to a page on which you fill out your user name (according to the instructions above), and on which you choose your password. You can then log in and start the assignment.
It costs $35 to register with WebAssign. You can consider this to be part of the textbook purchase. (WebAssign could have been bundled with your textbook at the same cost; the way we are doing it allows you to purchase used textbooks.) You will need to use a credit card to register with WebAssign. You may defer paying by using the WebAssign "grace period" of approximately 2 weeks. During this time you will be allowed to use WebAssign without paying for it. But at the end of that time, if you have not paid, all your work will be deleted. Do not wait till the last moment to pay; you may discover that you have waited past the last moment. You will not receive any readjustment of your homework grade if this happens; it will be considered to be your fault.
After you have registered you should read (or at least skim through) the student guide. After that you should get some experience with the WebAssign conventions by going through the assignment "Assignment 0" that is in the assignment space for the course on WebAssign (though there is no credit for this assignment). After that, you should do homework Assignment 1.
In addition to the problems from the textbook, there will be essay questions on the homework, and similar essay questions on the exams. These questions will be graded by the intructor or TA, not by a computer program. Your answer will be graded both for technical correctness and for clarity. These questions are to be answered with complete, coherent sentences.
I will be assigning some problems with symbolic answers. This means that you will need to understand how to use the Math Palette in WebAssign. This will be discussed in class.
PhysicsNow
If you purchased your textbook new, you will
have access to PhysicsNow, an on-line system of ancillary
material. Because not all students purchased their textbooks new, we
will not be using PhysicsNow directly. If you do have access
to PhysicsNow, and you like computer aids, you might consider
looking at the Active Figures. (Click on the icon of the textbook,
then click on a chapter. At this point you'll be in "Study Tools." On
the left side of the browser window, under "WHAT DO I NEED TO STUDY?"
you will find the Active Figures.) If you find that that the Active
Figures or other elements of
PhysicsNow are useful, or if you think they are a waste of time, please let me know.
Quizzes
There will be
short quizzes
at the start of most classes. These quizzes will always be based on
the reading assigned for the class on the day of the quiz, or on recent
reading assigments. The quizzes are designed to coerce you to do the
assigned reading.
Exams
There will be no make up exams.
There will be three preliminary exams and a final exam; all are indicated on the course calendar linked to this page. The preliminary exams will be during class time on Wednesday, September 23; on Wednesday, October 28; and on Monday, November 30. The final exam, a comprehensive exam, will be at the time, and in the place announced in the UTB final exam schedule: Monday, December 7, 5pm-7:30pm in the regular classroom.
Most of the exam problems will be of the same type as those on the homework, and those solved in class. Some exam problems will be minor modifications of homework problems. There will be no make up exams, but your lowest exam score (relative to the class) will be dropped. If you miss an exam for any reason, that will be your lowest exam. Other rules and procedures for the exams will be decided and discussed later. But one rule is already firm: there will be no make up exams.
Basis for Grade
The basis for your grade will be a weighted average of the following
elements: Homework -30 points; Midterm exams - 20 points for each of
two; Final exam -30 points; Quizzes 15 points.
Each student's grade in the course will be computed according to the
following scheme: (i) For each gradiing element (HW, each exam,
quizzes) your grade will be divided by the class average. (ii) Those
numbers will then be added together with the weightings stated above.
The result will then be a number -- a grade index
-- for each student. That grade index, and only that grade index,
will be used to determine which students get A, which get B, and so
forth. The number of A's, of B's, etc. will be based partially on the
traditional grade distribution in this course, and partially on
how well the class does compared to absolute standards.
You are responsible for understanding the basis for grading and the rules of the course. There will be no sympathy for claims, for example, that you did not know the rules covering late homework. If you have any questions about grading, ask them at the start of the course.
Learning Outcomes:
A student who is successful in this course will have mastered the
princples of classical mechanics, including Newton's laws,
conservation laws (momentum, angular momentum, energy). The student
will understand vector methods in kinematics and dynamics, and will
be able to solve introductory mechanics problems including those
involving calculus.
Scholastic Dishonesty:
Students who engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to
disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the
course and expulsion from the University. Scholastic dishonesty
includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion,
submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable
in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for
another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a
student, or the attempt to commit such acts. Since scholastic
dishonesty harms the individual, all students and the integrity of the
University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly
enforced. (Board of Regents Rules and Regulations)
All scholastic dishonesty incidents will be reported to the Dean of
Students. Do not allow your peers to pressure you to cheat. Your
grade, academic standing and personal reputation are at stake.
All scholastic dishonesty incidents will be reported to the Dean of Students. Do not allow your peers to pressure you to cheat. Your grade, academic standing and personal reputation are at stake.
Students' Academic Responsibilities:
Students are expected to be
diligent in their studies and attend class regularly and on
time. Students are responsible for all class work and assignments. On
recommendation of the instructor concerned and with the approval of
the Dean, students may, at any time, be dropped from courses. This may
result in a "W" or "F" on the student's permanent record.
Emergency Policy Statement:
In compliance with the Emergency UTB/TSC Academic Continuity Program,
academic courses, partially or entirely, will be made available on the
MyUTBTSC Blackboard course management system. This allows faculty
members and students to continue their teaching and learning via
MyUTBTSC Blackboard http://myutbtsc.blackboard.com, in case the
university shuts down as a result of a hurricane or any other natural
disaster.
The university will use MyUTBTSC Blackboard to post announcements
notifying faculty members and students of their responsibilities as a
hurricane approaches our region. If the university is forced to shut
down, faculty will notify their course(s). To receive credit for a
course, it is the student’s responsibility to complete all the
requirements for that course. Failure to access course materials once
reasonably possible can result in a reduction of your overall grade in
the class.
To facilitate the completion of class, most or all of the
communication between students and the institution, the instructor,
and fellow classmates will take place using the features in your
MyUTBTSC Blackboard and UTB email system. Therefore, all students
must use Scorpion Online to provide a current email address. Students
may update their email address by following the link titled "Validate
your e-Mail Account" in MyUTBTSC Blackboard Portal. In the event of a
disaster, that disrupts normal operations, all students and faculty
must make every effort to access an internet-enabled computer as often
as possible to continue the learning process.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
Students with disabilities, including learning disabilities, who wish
to request accommodations in this class should notify the Disability
Services Office early in the semester so that the appropriate
arrangements may be made. In accordance with federal law, a student
requesting accommodations must provide documentation of his/her
disability to the Disability Services counselor. For more
information, visit Disability Services in the Lightner Center, call
956-882-7374 or e-mail steve.wilder@utb.edu.