121 Policies
A. General
The course during this Semester commences on Wed., Jan. 17 and
concludes on Mon., April 30. A schedule of lectures, examinations and
homework assignments is distributed with this syllabus.
LECTURES are on MWF from 1:40 until 2:30 in PSF-173. Role is not
taken, but attendance is strongly advised. Students are responsible for
any information imparted to the class during lectures.
RECITATION sections occur weekly as scheduled, beginning Wed.,
Jan. 24. The last recitation meetings will be on Fri., April 27.
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 a short
quiz.
HELP-STUDY Sessions are for the students' benefit, but participation
is optional. Beginning Mon., Jan. 22, the Help-Study Hall (PSH-563) 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 Feb. 9, 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. Homework
A list of assigned HOMEWORK problems is distributed with this
syllabus. There is one assignment for each lecture. Homework will be handed
in at the beginning of each recitation meeting beginning Wed., Jan 24.
HERE ARE THE RULES GOVERNING WHICH
HOMEWORKS ARE DUE AT EACH RECITATION.
Wednesday Recitations: All Homework assigned (but not yet turned in)
through (and including) the previous Monday.
Thursday Recitations: All Homework assigned (but not yet turned in)
through (and including) the previous Monday.
Friday Recitations: All Homework assigned (but not yet turned in)
through (and including) the previous Wednesday. (Exceptions: on
Fri 2/23 and 4/13 only the HW through the previous Monday is due.)
Homeworks which would be due after the final recitation meeting can be
turned in at the beginning of the Test #5 on Mon. Apr. 30.
LATE HOMEWORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Your recitation section TA, or a grader, will grade one or two problems from
each week's homework set for 10 points each. The problems to be graded will
be selected at random but will be the same for all recitation sections. The
remaining problems will be counted for 1 point each if there has been a good
faith attempt to solve them. There are currently 214 assigned problems of
which approximately 20 will be graded for 10 points each. Thus a total
of 394 homework points are possible. The final homework grade will be
determined as a percentage out of 350 points (or 90% of all possible
points should the number of graded problems change.) Your maximum
homework grade is 100%, i.e. more than 350 points will not be counted
as extra credit. 100 HOMEWORK POINTS ARE REQUIRED FOR A PASSING GRADE
IN THE COURSE.
The following policies govern homework:
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.
C. Quizzes
Quizzes will be given during the first 10-15 minutes of each recitation
beginning Wed. 1/24. 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 homework assignments. Wed. quizzes will most likely come from material
covered during the previous Fri. or Mon., while Thu. and Fri. quizzes will most
likely come from material covered during the previous Mon. or Wed.
D. 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,
with solutions, will be available at the Noble Library Copy Center
beginning Mon., Jan 22.
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.
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.)
E. Final Grades.
The final course grades will be determined with the following weights:
Homework: 10%
Quizzes (best 10 of 13): 10%
Tests (best 4 of 5): 60%
Final Examination: 20%
A MINIMUM OF 100 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 FEB. 9. The deadline for restricted
withdrawal (instructor-approved W) is MAR. 30. Other deadlines are
also given in the Bulletin. The important point to remember is that
after Feb. 9 (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