131 Policies
A. General
The course during this Semester commences on Wed., Jan. 17 and
concludes on Mon., Apr. 30.
Lecture Schedule
Homework Schedule
LECTURES are on MWF from 1:40 until 2:30 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. 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 Mon.,
Jan. 22 at 7:40, and ending Mon. Apr. 30 at Noon. 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. Beginning with the 5:40
recitation on Mon., Jan. 22, 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-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 a working ASU
email 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 quota has not been exceeded and that your email is
properly being redirected to your favorite email address.
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. Jan. 31, 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. It is your responsibility to
make sure that your PRS transmitter is in working order, and
that your response is recorded. See the PRS page on our class web site
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. 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 the following
Mon., assignments made on Wed. are due by 11 PM the following
Tue., and assignments made on Fri. are due by 11 PM the following
Thur., but the official due dates are always the ones found at
your Mastering Physics site. Assignments submitted after the
due hour has passed will receive 10% credit (credit goes from
100% to 10% gradually during the first hour after the due date).
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
many 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 1900 homework points will be possible.
The final homework grade will be determined as a percentage out
of 1700 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 1700 points will not be counted as extra
credit.
650 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 with the 5:40 recitation on Mon. 1/22 and
ending with the 10:40 recitation of Mon. 4/23. This results in 12
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. morning quizzes will most likely come from
material covered during the previous Mon. or Wed. Mon.
afternoon and Tue. quizzes will most likely come from material
covered during the previous Wed. or Fri.
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 (MC) 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 schedulewhich accompanies
this syllabus. This instructor's tests from a previous semester,
with solutions, will be available at the Noble Library Copy Center
beginning Wed., Jan. 31.
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!
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.
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 test, the complaint should be PUT IN WRITING, stapled to
the relevant page of the test, and handed 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 1700): 8%
Quizzes (best 10 of 12): 7%
Tests (best 4 of 5): 60%
Final Examination: 20%
A MINIMUM OF 650 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.
G. Withdrawal
Withdrawal policies are established by the University (see the
ASU Calendar and page 84 of the ASU General Catalog).
The deadline for course withdrawal is Mar. 30. Other deadlines
are also given in the Calendar or the Catalog (page 22).
Homework Schedule
Lecture Schedule