112 Policies
A. General
The course during this Semester commences on Tue., Aug. 24 and
concludes on Tue., Dec. 7. A schedule of lectures and examinations
is distributed with this syllabus. A schedule of reading and
homework assignments will be posted on the class web site.
LECTURES are on TTH from 12:15-1:30 in
PSF-101. Students are responsible for any information imparted to
the class during lectures. Minimal preparation for lecture is to do
the suggested reading for that day, which can be found on the
HOMEWORK SCHEDULE page.
To more fully prepare for lecture, you should also take an advance
look at the homework problems which will be assigned for that
lecture. A small number of Multiple Choice questions will be
asked during each lecture. These may cover the reading assignment,
or may check your comprehension of some topic that has just been
covered in lecture. You are expected to record your response to
these questions using your PRS (Personal Response System)
transmitter. You must register your PRS transmitter in order for
your responses to be graded. A guide to PRS, including instructions for
registering your transmitter, can be found at the course web site.
YOU MUST USE ONLY THE TRANSMITTER THAT YOU REGISTER AND NO OTHER.
Use of another student's transmitter is a case of academic dishonesty,
just exactly like cheating on a test. Any and all students involved in
any such incidents will automatically receive an E for the course, and may
be referred to the Dean for further sanctions.
RECITATION
sections occur weekly as scheduled, beginning Thur., Aug. 26. The
last recitation meeting will be on Mon., Dec. 6. The purpose of the
recitation section is to give the student an opportunity in a small
class environment to learn essential concepts and problem-solving
strategies. Each recitation period (including the first) will open
with a short quiz.
HELP-STUDY sessions are for the students' benefit, but participation
is optional. Beginning Mon., Aug. 30, the Help-Study Hall (PSH-352)
will be staffed by volunteer faculty and Teaching Assistants several
hours each day between 8:40 and 3:30. Teaching Assistants associated
with this course, and your instructor, will keep some of their office
hours in the Help-Study Hall.
An E-MAIL account is available for every student enrolled at ASU.
Instructions for obtaining an e-mail account can be obtained at the
ASU Computer Commons. Important class information will be disseminated
regularly through e-mail. The student will be responsible for
receiving it. Exam and term grades will be published by e-mail or web
page as soon as they are available. IF YOU CURRENTLY HAVE AN ASU
E-MAIL ACCOUNT, THEN YOU NEED DO NOTHING. If you DO NOT currently
have an e-mail account at ASU, or if you do not receive an e-mail
from the instructor by Sept. 7, then you should send the instructor
a message at the address gary.adams@asu.edu
The subject of the message should be "PHY 112 e-mail" and the body
of the message should include your name and your RECITATION SECTION
by TIME and by LINE NUMBER. Your e-mail address will be copied from
your message and added to the class list.
B. PRS (Personal Response System)
You will use your PRS transmitter to answer Multiple Choice questions
during the lecture period. Your answers will be graded, and your
PRS grade will count 5% of your overall class grade. For the first
two weeks, PRS questions will be considered practice questions, as
you learn to use your PRS transmitters. Beginning Tue. Sept. 7,
PRS questions will be graded. You are always encouraged to discuss
PRS questions with your neighbors in lecture, but when answering,
always think for yourself. A correct answer will be counted as 3
points, an incorrect answer will be counted as 2 points, and no
answer will be counted as zero points; so the penalty for an incorrect
answer is very small. There are expected to be about 60 PRS
questions over the course of the semester, so the maximum possible
PRS score will be about 180 points. The final PRS grade will be
determined as a percentage out of 150 points (or ~85% of all possible
points should the number of possible PRS points change.) Your
maximum PRS grade is 100%, i.e. more than 150 points will not be
counted as extra credit. Since only 85% of all possible PRS points
are required for a perfect PRS score, no opportunity is provided to
make up missed PRS questions. USING SOMEOME ELSE'S TRANSMITTER, OR
ALLOWING SOMEONE TO USE YOUR TRANSMITTER, WILL RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC
FAILING GRADE FOR THE COURSE.
C. Homework
A list of assigned HOMEWORK problems is provided on the course
web site. There will be one assignment for each lecture.
All Homework assignments are to be completed and turned in
using EGrade Plus. (EXCEPTION: There may be four or five problems during
the semester which have to be written up and handed in at recitation.)
A guide to using EGrade Plus can be found on the course web site.
Due dates are available on the Assignment List at the EGrade Plus web site.
In general, assignments made on Tue. are due by 11 PM Fri., and assignments
made on Thur. are due by 11 PM the following Tue., but the official due
dates are always the ones found at the EGrade site (you have about a
week to do each of the first two assignments -- this allows you to get
accustomed to using EGrade). Assignments submitted after the due date
has passed will receive no credit.
YOU SHOULD ALWAYS DO THE TEXTBOOK PROBLEMS ON PAPER BEFORE ATTEMPTING THE
ONLINE VERSIONS, as the actual numerical values in the online versions
will be randomized, and so will always be different from the numerical
values in the textbook problems. While doing the textbook problems on
paper, STUDY GROUPS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED. For most people, talking
about physics is an essential part of understanding physics and
developing an accurate and useful physical intuition. However, you
should always work alone when submitting your HW online. Remember,
HW problems are practice for the tests; you are only hurting yourself
by collaborating during the online submission process.
A total of approximately 480 homework points will be possible. The final
homework grade will be determined as a percentage out of 400 points
(or ~85% of all possible points should the number of total HW points
change.) Your maximum homework grade is 100%, i.e. more than 400 points
will not be counted as extra credit. 140 HOMEWORK POINTS ARE REQUIRED FOR
A PASSING GRADE IN THE COURSE.
D. Quizzes
Quizzes will be given during the first 10-15 minutes of each
recitation beginning Thur. 8/26. This results in 13 quizzes for
each recitation section. The highest 10 quiz scores will be counted.
Quizzes will be similar to simpler problems, and will be on material
already covered in the lectures and/or homework assignments. Mon.
and Tue. quizzes will most likely come from material covered during
the previous Tue. or Thur., and Thur. quizzes will most likely come
from material covered during the previous Thur. or Tue.
E. Examinations
The four tests will cover material indicated in the schedule by
lecture numbers. Each test will consist of 2-3 problems and 14-15
multiple choice questions. The problems may be similar to homework, but
they may also represent applications of principles in entirely different
circumstances. The multiple choice questions may cover conceptual
questions as well as simpler problems. The final examination will
consist of 40 multiple choice questions. The final will be
comprehensive. For the test dates, see the
lecture schedule which accompanies this
syllabus. Practice Multiple Choice Questions can be found
at the websites listed in OTHER TEXTBOOK SITES.
Examinations are governed by the following policies:
THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP TESTS FOR ANY REASON. The lowest
score of all four tests will be deleted in the final course grade
calculation. If you miss a test FOR ANY REASON, that test must
be your drop.
Academic dishonesty on an examination will result
automatically in a failing grade for the course and referral to
the Dean for further sanctions. Cheating in any form will not be
tolerated!
The use of hand calculators is permitted. However, YOUR
CALCULATOR MAY NOT CONTAIN STORED PHYSICS EQUATIONS.
Test paper (including scratch paper) will be provided. Bring
only your pencils and calculators.
A short equation sheet will be provided for each test.
It will NOT include any definitions, or fundamental physical
principles (like Newton's Second Law). You will always find
the current version of the equation sheet
on the class web page.
No partial credit is given for multiple choice. For the
problems, partial credit is given. Arithmetical errors will be
treated charitably, but for answers that do not make physical sense
(wrong dimensions, deviation by several orders of magnitude, etc.)
no credit will be awarded. In general, you must get the PHYSICS right
to receive any partial credit. Wrong physics = no credit.
Failure to give units is always at least 1 point off for each
occurrence.
In the event of a fire alarm occurring during an examination,
students will be asked to close their examination booklets, gather
their belongings and leave the room as expeditiously as possible,
leaving their examination booklets on the tables where they were
working. The booklets will be gathered and graded as they are.
Unless the alarm proves to represent a bona fide emergency, there
will be no make-up examination.
If a student believes there to have been an error in grading
his or her examination, the complaint should be PUT IN WRITING and
handed, together with the examination, to the course instructor. The
problem will be regraded by the individual who graded it originally.
If the student is not satisfied with the grader's response to the
complaint, he or she may appeal to the course instructor. In this
event, the instructor reserves the prerogative to regrade the entire
examination. (Simple errors, such as point addition, can be corrected
by contacting the student's recitation section instructor.)
F. Final Grades.
The final course grades will be determined with the following weights:
PRS (total points out of 150): 5%
Homework (total points out of 400-425): 8%
Quizzes (best 10 of 13): 7%
Tests (best 3 of 4): 60%
Final Examination: 20%
A MINIMUM OF 140 HOMEWORK POINTS IS REQUIRED FOR A PASSING
GRADE IN THE COURSE. The scale for final letter grades will ultimately
be determined by overall class performance. However, any student
who earns 90% of all possible points can expect to receive an A. Don't
depend on your instructors to figure your grade correctly. For a more
detailed explanation see
HOW TO FIGURE YOUR FINAL GRADE.
G. Withdrawal
Withdrawal policies are established by the University (see the
ASU Calendar.) The deadline for unrestricted course
withdrawal (guaranteed W) is
Sept. 17. The deadline for restricted
withdrawal (instructor-approved W) is Oct. 29. Other deadlines are
also given in the Bulletin. The important point to remember is that
after Sept. 17 (and before any other withdrawal deadline) one will
receive either a W or an E depending respectively upon whether or not
one is "passing" the course at that time as certified by the instructor.
In particular, a cumulative homework score of less than 20% at the
time of withdrawal will be interpreted as failing.
Homework Schedule
Lecture Schedule