PH 126 Section 001: Honors Gen Ph W/Calculus
Fall 2011
4 Credit Hours
Primary Instructor: Dr. Patrick LeClair
Core Designation: University Honors, Natural Science
Syllabus subject to change.
Additionally, students must be members of the university honors program, majoring in physics, or request permission of the department.
A calculus-based introductory course including electricity, magnetism, and optics. Lectures and laboratory. Students will be introduced to the essential conceptual and mathematical structure of electricity, magnetism, and optics. Inquiry-based laboratory experiments will augment lecture- and discussion-based learning, and introduce students to key experimental techniques and analysis. The course will stress a conceptual and mathematical understanding of everyday phenomena and recent technologies in terms of their basic underlying physical principles.
2. Knowing the scientific method and the process of critically evaluating scientific information.[knowledge, comprehension, evaluation]
Anticipated Learning Outcomes for this Course
1. Identifying the known and unknown variables in a physics problem. [comprehension]
2. Describing a physical situation with a diagram. [knowledge, analysis]
3. Recognizing the formulae needed to solve a physics problem. [comprehension, knowledge]
4. Formulating the solution of a physics problem. [analysis, synthesis]
5. Analyzing the accuracy of a result. [evaluation]
6. Estimating the order of magnitude of a result. [evaluation]
• Electric forces and fields
• Electrical energy and capacitance
• Current and resistance
• dc circuits
• Magnetism
• Electromagnetic induction and ac circuits
• Electromagnetic waves & the nature of light
• Reflection and Refraction
• Mirrors and Lenses
• Wave optics
Tentative schedule:
There will be three “hour” exams, each covering several thematically consistent chapters, and one compre- hensive final exam. The “hour” exams will be administered during lecture periods, while the final exam will be administered during the usual period at the end of the session. For all exams, you are allowed only the following items:
• Writing implement(s)
• Calculator (no cell phones or PDAs)
• one or two prepared 8.5 × 11 inch formula sheet(s)
The hour exams may both have slightly different formats, but each one is worth an equal amount. On both hour exams and the final, you will usually be given a choice of problems (e.g., solve 4 out of the 8 problems listed).
Labs & Exercises
In-class exercises (simulations or calculations) and laboratory procedures will be a major part of each class period. There will be either a laboratory write-up or exercise due after every single lab period, and they will count as 15% of the course grade. Both labs and exercises will be done in groups of 2-4 students. You are free to form your own groups, and even vary them from week to week if you choose, so long as you are productive and share the work load. Should your self-assembled groups be deemed dysfunctional, new groups will be assigned. Occasionally, there will be a simple take-home experiment assigned.
The single lowest lab/exercise will be dropped at the end of the semester. This policy is meant to allow you the flexibility to miss a limited number of class periods when the situation calls for it. Don’t miss too many, make them count. Whenever possible, contact Dr. LeClair in advance about absences – certain circumstances merit unquestioned and fully excused absences.
Quizzes
Occassionally, short quizzes may be given based on material covered during the week and/or the most recently submitted homework assignment. Quizzes will generally be 5 questions long, in multiple choice format, and will be designed to take you ∼ 15 minutes or less. You will be allowed about 25 minutes just in case. Additional short quizzes will be given at random over the course of the semester. These quizzes will often unannounced, frequently spontaneous, and always short. The lowest single quiz grade will be dropped.
Homework
Homework problems typically are due every second lecture period, and must be turned in by the end of the day (though they can be turned in earlier). Problem sets may be turned in by hard copy or electronically. Hard copies may be left in Dr. LeClair’s mailbox (Gallalee 206) or offices (Gallalee 323 and Bevill 2050). Electronic copies may be submitted by email to leclair.homework@gmail.com.
These problem sets will be posted on the course blog as a linked PDF file, and available in hard copy upon request. Both new problem sets and solutions to past problem sets will be stored here:
http://faculty.mint.ua.edu/~pleclair/ph126/Homework/
Any readable format, electronic or physical, is accepted for homework solutions. You must show your work for every problem to receive credit. Answers alone – even correct ones – will not receive credit without work shown. However, you may collaborate on problem sets, and are encouraged to, but each student must turn in their own work. The lowest single homework grade will be dropped.
Broadly, the in-class course work will consist of lab experiments, in-class exercises, and quizzes. There will also be two in-class exams as well as a comprehensive final exam during the end-of-term exam period. Outside work will include weekly written homework problems and occasional take-home experiments. Each of these components is described in more detail above, their relative weights in determining your overall grade are shown below.
Labs & Exercises 15%
Homework and quizzes 25%
Exam I 15%
Exam II 15%
Exam III 15%
Final Exam 15%
Grading scale
A+ 4.33 >=97.5
A 4.00 92.5
A- 3.67 90
B+ 3.33 87.5
B 3.00 82.5
B- 2.67 80
C+ 2.33 77.5
C 2.00 72.5
C- 1.67 70
D+ 1.33 67.5
D 1.00 62.5
D- 0.67 60
F 0.000 <60
No makeup of in-class exercises or laboratory procedures will generally be given. If you have a legitimate and acceptable reason for missing a class(with documentation), then the missed in-class work will not be counted for or against you. In short, if the absence is properly documented, you get a “bye.”
Missed quizzes with an acceptable, documented reason should be made up before the absence if at all pos- sible, either directly after the preceding class, or by appointment. Depending on the reason, a make-up quiz may be scheduled during the following week.
If you have a legitimate reason for missing a major exam, then you must inform the instructor as soon as possible before the exam occurs. If the reason is acceptable, either the exam will be dropped for you, and the final exam will count proportionately more, or you may make up the exam at a slightly earlier or later date. We reserve the right to administer a modified make-up exam slightly differing from the exam the rest of the class has taken. There is no makeup possible for missing the final exam.
Acceptable reasons must be documented, if possible in advance, and may include but are not limited to: prior athletic commitments, medical issues, off-campus academic commitments, prior commitments to on-campus academic events, band travel, standardized testing, graduate school interviews, and certain personal/family issues. Unacceptable reasons are fairly numerous. Among the least likely to be accepted are oversleeping, leaving early for academic breaks, and fan travel to ‘away’ athletic events.
As described above, the lowest grades on labs, in-class exercises, and recitation work will be dropped. This will allow a limited number of missed classes (regardless of the reason).
None.
See the course web site at http://ph126.blogspot.com/ for notes, detailed schedules, etc.
Probably not.
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The Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Policy will be followed in the event of academic misconduct.
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