Subject to Change
Physics 1111 Course Syllabus, Schedule, & Outline
FALL 2011
Course Meeting Times and Information
Class: Room SC 213, M-W 3:30 – 4:45
Labs:
· Section 01: Room 224 M, 12:00 – 2:45
· Section 02: Room 224, W, 12:00 – 2:45
Text: Physics – Giancoli, 6th Edition
Instructor Information
Instructor: Sandra Rhoades
Email:
Website: science.kenesaw.edu/~jhendrix, classes
Office Hours: By appointment
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Physics 1111 is the first in a two-semester sequence for students in non-technical curricula. This course will provide you with a basic understanding of classical mechanics, work and energy, harmonic motion, wave behavior and sound. These concepts will be presented to give you a better understanding of the physical world around you. The course requires basic prerequisite math skills including algebra, geometry and trigonometry. Chapters 1 through 8 and 11 through 14 of the assigned text will be covered.
GRADING: Course evaluation is based on the following:
Homework…………………… 10 %
Lab …… …. ………………….20 %
Exams (2) ……………………. 20 % each
Final Exam ……………………30 %
90-100 (A); 80-89 (B); 70-79 (C); 60-69 (D); < 60 (F)
LECTURES. Attendance at all lectures is strongly encouraged. A large amount of material will be presented in a short amount of time. Successful completion of this course will require a sustained effort on your part to keep up with the material and understand the concepts and related problems. If you miss a lecture, you are responsible for the material presented, including any additional assignments or announcements. For example, if changes in homework assignments or in lab or exam dates are announced, you are expected to comply. During lectures, pertinent information from the text will be presented and explained. Therefore, you are encouraged to read the indicated portion of the text prior to the lecture.
LABORATORY: Laboratory participation in this course is mandatory. Make-up labs will only be allowed for University approved excused absences. One lowest lab grade in the course will be dropped. There are no exemptions from lab in this course. Instructions for the labs, unless otherwise noted on the syllabus, are available at the following website:
http://science.kennesaw.edu/physics
EXAMS: Participation in all exams is mandatory. Absences from a scheduled exam will result in a grade of zero for that exam. Make up exams will only be considered for University approved excused absences. The exams will be given “closed book”. You will be allowed to use any notes of your choice written on one 4”x6” note card. Calculators are allowed for calculations only. Stored data about this course is not permitted in calculator memory.
FINAL EXAMINATION: The final exam in this course will cover assigned material in Chapters 8 – 14 of the text. It is not cumulative. Participation in the final exam is mandatory. Absence from the final exam will result in a grade of zero. A make-up final exam or a grade of incomplete will only be considered for University approved excused absences . The final exam will be “closed book”. You will be allowed to use notes of your choice written on four 4”x6” cards or one 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of paper.
HOMEWORK: The graded homework for this course will be assigned as three problems sets. These problems sets will require written solutions that will be submitted and hand graded. Group study is permitted and encouraged to assist you in learning how to solve the problems; but it is required that the actual solution submissions be completed individually. Problem sets must be handed in on or before the required due date to be graded for credit. For additional practice, you may also use the problem sets on MASTERING PHYSICS. These are not required and serve as tutorials only. They are self-graded. The account numer for this course is MPRhoades . The importance of being able to solve the required problems is that they represent the types of problems that will appear on the exams for this course.
COMMUNICATIONS: The primary means of communication between me and the students in this course will be by e-mail. During the first week of class, each student will send me an email message stating your full name and the name you would like to be called in this class. This message should be from an email account that you expect to be valid for the entire semester. I will use these email addresses to form a collective address for the class. This collective address will be used to announce any changes in the course and any administrative information.
COURSE DROP DATE: The last day to withdraw from the course without penalty is October 12, 2011. The results of the first exam will be available as a guide for making this decision. Withdrawal must be done online under Owl Express Student Services. You should be aware that the withdrawal policy of the University limits the number of withdrawals allowed to each student.
ACADEMIC HONESTY: The policy on academic honesty as stated in the KSU Undergraduate Catalog will be fully enforced throughout this course.
COURSE OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this course is that you achieve the best understanding of elementary physics concepts possible in the allotted period of time. Successfully meeting this objective requires that we communicate effectively. In class, your questions and discussion are essential to my ability to make classroom presentations interesting and serve as important feedback for me to understand your level of comprehension of the material. I am available to provide assistance either during or outside of class hours. Please feel free to contact me by email any time you have questions about this course.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
· Some documentation for this course (including this syllabus) will be available online.
· There are many online resources and demos for physics. Please use these! Examples –
o Lectures: www.hippocampus.com
o Lectures: MIT OpenCourseWare Lectures in Physics
o Tutorials: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/
o Problems: http://www.solvephysics.com/
o Problems: http://iweb.tntech.edu/murdock/books.html
o Simulations: http://phet.colorado.edu/index.php
o Demos: http://www.wfu.edu/physics/demolabs/demos/avimov/videointro.htm
o Text: www.lightandmatter.com
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