121 Policies

A. General

     The course during this Semester commences on Mon., Aug. 23 and concludes on Mon., Dec. 6. 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 MWF from 7:40 until 8:30 (Recitation Sections 10432, 13241, 42853, 61356, and 17521) or 8:40 until 9:30 (Recitation Sections 14693, 31434, 33234, 34109, 56001, and 70395) in PSF-173. Students are responsible for any information imparted to the class during lectures. Minimal preparation for lecture is to do the reading assignment for that day, which can be found with the HOMEWORK SCHEDULE on the course web site. To more fully prepare for lecture, 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 I have just 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 Tue., Aug. 24. The last recitation meeting will be on Fri., Dec. 3. 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 (except Tue. 8/24 and Wed. 8/25) 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. 8, then you should send the instructor a message at the address gary.adams@asu.edu. The subject of the message should be "PHY 121 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 Wed. Sept. 8, 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 50 PRS questions over the course of the semester, so the maximum possible PRS score will be about 150 points. The final PRS grade will be determined as a percentage out of 135 points (or ∼90% of all possible points should the number of possible PRS points change.) Your maximum PRS grade is 100%, i.e. more than 135 points will not be counted as extra credit. Since only 90% 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 will be made available on the class web site as the semester proceeds. There will be one assignment for each lecture. Almost all homework assignments are to be completed and turned in using Mastering Physics; however, there will be five or ten problems during the semester which have to be written up and handed in at recitation. A guide to using Mastering Physics can be found on the course web site. Due dates for Mastering Physics HW are available on the Assignment List at the Mastering Physics web site. In general, assignments made on Mon. are due by 11 PM Fri., assignments made on Wed. are due by 11 PM the following Mon., and assignments made on Fri. are due by 11 PM the following Wed., but the official due dates are always the ones found at your Mastering Physics site (you have at least a week to do each of the first two assignments -- this allows you to get accustomed to using Mastering Physics). Assignments submitted after the due date has passed will receive no credit. Due dates for problems that must be written up and turned in will be found at the HOMEWORK SCHEDULE page on the course web site.

     For working on homework, STUDY GROUPS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED. This will be especially applicable for those HW problems that have to be written up, but you may also want to print out some of the Mastering Physics problems and work on them in your study groups. However, you should realize that for most Mastering Physics problems, the numerical values in the online versions will be randomized, and so will be different for each student; so in your study group, you will be finding the right method rather than the actual answers.

     A total of approximately 1800 homework points will be possible. The final homework grade will be determined as a percentage out of 1600 points (or ∼90% of all possible points should the number of total HW points change.) Your maximum homework grade is 100%, i.e. more than 1600 points will not be counted as extra credit.

600 HOMEWORK POINTS ARE REQUIRED FOR A PASSING GRADE IN THE COURSE.


     The following policies govern written homework:

Written assignments will be accepted only at the beginning of the recitation period on the days they are due. LATE HOMEWORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

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, written homework solutions should be one's own. Homework that has obviously been copied will not receive credit and the students involved will be subject to charges of academic dishonesty.

D. Quizzes

     Quizzes will be given during the first 10-15 minutes of each recitation beginning Fri. 8/27. This results in 14 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. Tue. and Wed. quizzes will most likely come from material covered during the previous Fri. or Mon., and Fri. quizzes will most likely come from material covered during the previous Mon. or Wed.

E. Examinations

     The five tests will cover material indicated in the schedule by lecture numbers. Each test will consist of 2-3 problems and 10-12 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 "quicky" 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. Last year's tests, (from Spring 2003) with solutions, will be available at the Noble Library Copy Center beginning Wed., 9/08.

Examinations are governed by the following policies:

THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP TESTS. The lowest score of all five tests will be deleted in the final course grade calculation.

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.

Formula sheets will not be used in tests. Understanding a concept of physics is tantamount to knowing its mathematical expression and how to apply it to a given physical situation. Non-trivial derivatives and integrals, numerical values of physical constants, and some case-specific formulas will be provided when their use is required.

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.

In the event of a fire alarm occuring 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 135): 5%
Homework (total points out of 1600): 8%
Quizzes (best 10 of 14): 7%
Tests (best 4 of 5): 60%
Final Examination: 20%

A MINIMUM OF 600 HOMEWORK POINTS IS REQUIRED FOR A PASSING GRADE IN THE COURSE. The scale for final letter grades will ultimately be determined by the 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.

F. 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. Performance on examinations will also be taken into consideration.


Homework Schedule
Lecture Schedule