121 Policies
A. General
The course during this Semester commences on THUR Aug 23 and
concludes on TUE Dec 11.
LECTURES are on TTH from 1:30 until
2:45 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. 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 Turning Point
transmitter or software. You must register your Turning Point
transmitter in order for your responses to be graded. 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 with the 4:30 PM recitation on
TUE Aug 28. EXCEPTION: Recitations do not meet the WED of Thanksgiving
week (NOV 21).The last recitation meeting will be the 12:00 PM recitation
on TUE Dec 11. This results in 14 recitation meetings
for each section. 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 will open
with either a graded group exercise or a quiz.
HELP-STUDY Sessions are for the students' benefit, but participation
is optional. Beginning TUE Sep 4, the Help-Study Hall (PSH-352) will
be staffed by volunteer faculty and Teaching Assistants several hours each
day between 9:00 and 4:50. 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 may be disseminated
through e-mail. The student will be responsible for receiving it. If you
currently have an ASU e-mail account, then you need do nothing. If you
have not recently used your ASU email account, then you should double-check
to make sure that your email is properly being redirected to your favorite
email address.
B. Turning Point
You will use your Turning Point transmitter or software to answer Multiple
Choice questions during the lecture period. Your answers will be graded,
and your Turning Point grade will count 5% of your overall class grade.
For the first three lectures, Turning Point questions will be considered practice
questions, as you learn to use your Turning Point transmitters. Beginning
TUE Sep. 4, Turning Point questions will be graded. You are always
encouraged to discuss Turning Point 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 70 Turning Point
questions over the course of the semester, so the maximum possible Turning
Point score will be about 210 points. The final Turning Point grade will
be determined as a percentage out of 189 points (or ∼90% of all possible
points should the number of possible Turning Point points change.) Your
maximum Turning Point grade is 100%, i.e. more than 189 points will not be
counted as extra credit. Since only 90% of all possible Turning Point points
are required for a perfect Turning Point score, no opportunity is provided
to make up missed Turning Point questions. USING SOMEOME ELSE'S TRANSMITTER,
OR ALLOWING SOMEONE TO USE YOUR TRANSMITTER, WILL RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC
FAILING GRADE FOR THE COURSE. It is your responsibility to make sure that
your Turning Point transmitter is in working order, and that your response
is recorded. See our Turning Point information page
for tips.
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. All homework assignments are to be completed and
turned in using WebAssign; a guide to using WebAssign
can be found on the course web site. Due dates for WebAssign HW are
available on the Assignment List at the WebAssign web site. In general,
assignments made on TUE are due by 11:59 PM the following MON and assignments
made on THUR are due by 11:59 PM the following WED, but the official due dates
are always the ones found at your WebAssign site. Assignments submitted
after the due hour has passed will receive no credit; assignments submitted
more than 48 hours before the due date will receive 10% extra credit.
For working on homework, STUDY GROUPS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED. The PHY121
WebAssign problems are designed to be done in study groups of 2-3 serious
students. For most WebAssign problems, the numerical values will be
randomized; so as a group you will be determining the right strategy rather
than the actual answers.
A total of approximately 3500 homework points will be possible. The final
homework grade will be determined as a percentage out of 3150 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 3150 points
will not be counted as extra credit.
1200 HOMEWORK POINTS ARE REQUIRED FOR
A PASSING GRADE IN THE COURSE.
D. Quizzes and Graded Group Exercises
Every recitation will begin either with a graded group exercise or a quiz.
There will be 14 recitations over the course of the semester; there will
be eight to ten graded group exercises worth 10 points each and four to six
quizzes worth 25 points each. Your lowest graded group exercise score will
be dropped, and your lowest quiz score will be dropped. Since one of each
score will be dropped THERE ARE NO MAKE-UP QUIZZES OR GROUP EXERCISES FOR
ANY REASON. Exception: once (AND ONLY ONCE) during the semester, you may
arrange with your TA to attend an alternate 121 recitation; a list of 121
recitations for our class can be found here. Group exercises will be
distributed at the beginning of recitation. Your TA will assign groups of
three or four students, and groups will be rearranged once or twice as the
semester proceeds. Exercises will be the same for all groups in a given
recitation. Exercises will be solved as a group, but each student will
write up his or her own solution; solutions will be graded individually.
Quizzes will be similar to WebAssign problems or examples done in lecture,
and will be on material already covered in the lectures and/or homework
assignments. Quizzes will be announced on Blackboard a minimum of five days
before the quizzes begin.
E. Examinations
The four tests will cover material indicated in the schedule by
lecture numbers. Each of the first three tests will consist of about
15 multiple choice questions, and will be given online on computers
provided by the physics department in the Physics Testing Center (PSH-563),
under the supervision of recitation TA's. The online tests have a 75
minute time limit and the testing center will be open from
7:30 AM - 6 PM on the test days; the test days are as
indicated on our lecture schedule, plus either the preceding
or following day (to be announced). For each of the three online tests, you
will be required to sign up for a 90 minute period in which to take the online
test on one of those two test days; the sign-up form will be online. The
fourth test, on TUE Dec 11, will consist of about 15 multiple choice questions
and will be given in PSF-173 with assigned seating. The final exam, on
THU Dec 13 from 12:10- 2:00 PM, will be 40 MC questions; it will be
comprehensive, and it will be given in PSF-173 with assigned seating.
Examinations are governed by the following policies:
In figuring your test average, the lowest of the four MC test scores will
automatically be dropped.
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! You will be required to sign a statement of academic
integrity for each test.
A full set of test rules is
available at the course web site.
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.
Your scratch paper will include any necessary constants and
a few equations; before the test, a copy of the scratch sheet
will be available on the class website.
In the event of a fire alarm occuring during an examination,
students will be asked to gather their belongings and leave the
testing room as expeditiously as possible. Those students whose
testing was interrupted by the alarm will then be given the
appropriate amount of extra time to finish their tests, or else
given an entirely new test, once the exam is able to resume.
F. Final Grades.
The final course grades will be determined with the following weights:
Turning Point(total points out of 189): 5%
Homework (total points out of 3150): 14%
Quizzes and Group Exercises (drop 1 of each): 11%
Tests (best 3 of 4): 50%
Final Examination: 20%
A MINIMUM OF 1200 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 80% of all possible points can expect to receive an A of some
type (A-, A, or A+); students who earn 65-80% of all possible points
can expect to receive some type of B, and students who earn 50-65% of
all possible points can expect to receive a C or C+. Don't
depend solely on your instructors to figure your grade correctly.
For a more detailed explanation see
HOW TO FIGURE YOUR FINAL GRADE (usually posted later in the
semester).
F. Withdrawal
Withdrawal policies are established by the University (see the
ASU Calendar.)
The deadline for course
withdrawal is Nov 7.
Homework Schedule
Lecture Schedule