121 Policies
A. General
The course during this Semester commences on MON Jan 11 and
concludes on THU Apr 28.
Class meetings are on
MW from 3:00 until 4:15 in PSH-356.
THERE IS NO LECTURING at these class meetings. Instead, class time
is spent on collaborative activities in small, assigned groups. You
will, at times, be required to report your group's findings to the
entire class (see Active Learning).
Minimal preparation for each class meeting is to do the
reading assignment for that
day, and to answer the Reading Quiz questions (at Mastering Physics)
for that reading assignment. To more fully prepare for each class
meeting, also take an advance look at the homework problems which
will be assigned for that day (at Mastering Physics). A small
number of multiple choice questions will be asked during each class
meeting. These may cover the reading assignment, or may check your
comprehension of some topic that has been covered in the small-group
activities. You are expected to record your response to these
questions by logging in to your Turning Point account or by using
your Turning Point transmitter. 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 will
meet weekly on THU from 1:30 to 2:20 PM in PSH-356. Most recitations
will consist of small-group exercises which will be completed in teams
of two or three students; the teams will be assigned by your instructor.
These exercises will usually provide an introduction to the concepts and
problem-solving strategies which will then be explored in detail in the
following week's readings, classroom exercises, and homeworks; however,
in some cases, the concepts will have already been introduced in the
reading and the exercises will provide additional practice. While the
exercises will be a group activity, each student must write up his or
her own solutions, which will be collected at the end of recitation
by your TA; these graded exercises will count as 4% of your overall
grade for the course. There will be 10 graded exercises over the course
of the semester, and your lowest score of the 10 will be dropped; there
are no make-up exercises for any reason. Quiz 1 will be given at the
beginning of the fourth recitation meeting, on THU Feb 4. All four tests
will be given during recitation meetings; see the Schedule
for these test dates.
HELP-STUDY Sessions are for the students' benefit, but participation
is optional. Beginning TUE Jan 19, the Help-Study Hall (PSF-186) will
be staffed by volunteer faculty and Teaching Assistants several hours each
day between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Teaching and Learning 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 and Classwork
You will use your Turning Point transmitter or software to answer Multiple
Choice questions during the class meetings. For the first two class meetings,
Turning Point questions will be considered practice questions, as you learn
to use your Turning Point transmitters. Beginning WED Jan 20, at least
some Turning Point questions will be graded. You are always encouraged to
discuss Turning Point questions with your team and with others at your table,
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 95 graded TP questions
over the course of the semester, so about 285 TP points will be possible.
However, about 255 TP points (or about 90% of all possible TP points should
there be more or less than 95 questions) are all that are required to receive
an overall TP grade of 100%. Your TP percentage will count a significant
fraction (67% - 83%) of your overall Classwork grade for our class. 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 more details.
Classwork will consist of small-group exercises which are usually related
directly to the assigned homeworks. Your group will complete each exercise
on a portable whiteboard at your table location. Several times during the
semester, someone from your group will be selected to report your group's
results to the entire class; all members of the group who are present
on that day will receive a satisfactory or unsatisfactory grade based on
the quality of that report. The small groups will be rearranged three times
during the course of the semester. Your Classwork grade will include your
TP grade plus your Group Work grade as assigned by your Learning Assistants,
and will count 6% of your overall grade for our class.
C. Reading Quizzes and Homework
There is one Reading Quiz (RQ) for each of the 25 topics listed in our
Topic and Reading Schedule;
all Reading Quizzes can be found only at Mastering Physics (MP). Each RQ
is due at 3:00 PM on the day before the topic for that RQ is covered in
our classroom. The final question on every RQ
is an opportunity for you to ask for an in-class discussion of topics
which you may have found confusing in the reading, or in the previous
class. The Reading Quizzes will count 3% of your overall class grade.
There is one assigned Homework (HW) for each of the 25 topics listed
in our Topic and Reading Schedule;
all Homeworks can be found only at MP. Due dates for each HW are available
on the MP Assignment list. In general, assignments for topics discussed in
class on MON are due by 11:59 PM the following MON and assignments for
topics discussed on WED are due by 11:59 PM the following WED, but the
official due dates are always the ones found at MP. Please take a look at the Tips for Using MP.
A total of approximately 1875 HW points will be possible. The final
homework grade will be determined as a percentage out of 1685 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 1685 points
will not be counted as extra credit. There may be HW extra credit
opportunities throughout the semester to help you obtain the necessary
1685 points. Your HW percentage will count 10% of your overall class
grade.
850 HOMEWORK POINTS ARE REQUIRED FOR
A PASSING GRADE IN THE COURSE.
D. Graded Group Exercises
Ten of the 15 recitation meetings will consist of a graded group
exercise which will be distributed at the beginning of recitation and
completed within your assigned small group. 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 and returned the following week. Your
lowest graded group exercise score will be dropped. THERE ARE NO
MAKE-UP GROUP EXERCISES FOR ANY REASON, with the following possible
EXCEPTION: once (AND ONLY ONCE), you may arrange with your TA to attend
the 121 recitation which meets FRI at 3:00 PM in PSH 356; to use
this possible exception, contact your recitation instructor.
E. Quizzes
As posted in the schedule,
the four quizzes will occur on THU Feb 4 (at recitation),
WED Mar 2 (in class before the review session for Test 2),
WED Apr 6 (in class before the review session for Test 3),
and WED Apr 27 (in class before the review session for Test 4).
Each quiz will consist of a multi-part HW-style problem for
which you will be required to show your work in detail.
Quizzes may cover any topics introduced or explored during
recitations or classes which have met before the quiz is
given. TA's will grade the quizzes out of 25 points; partial
credit will be given. The lowest of your four quiz scores
will automatically be dropped when averaged; therefore,
there are no make-up quizzes for any reason.
Your quiz average will count as 15% of your overall class
grade.
F. Examinations
The four tests will cover material indicated in the schedule by
topic numbers. Each of the four tests will consist of about
12 multiple choice questions, and will be given at recitation
on the scheduled test days
with assigned seating and a 50-minute time limit.
The final exam, on WED May 4 from
12:10- 2:00 PM, will be 40 MC questions; it will be
comprehensive, and it will be given in PSH-356 with assigned seating.
Examinations are governed by the following policies:
THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP TESTS for any reason. If you miss
one of the four tests FOR ANY REASON, that test automatically becomes
your dropped test. If you take all four tests, then the lowest of
your four 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 equation sheet will include any necessary constants and
a few equations; before the test, a copy of the equation sheet
will be available on the class website.
In the event of a fire alarm occuring during an examination,
students will be asked to close their examination packets, gather
their belongings and leave the room as expeditiously as possible,
leaving their examination packets on the tables where they were
working. The packets will be gathered and graded as they are.
Unless the alarm proves to represent a bona fide emergency, there
will likely be no make-up examination.
G. Final Grades.
The final course grades will be determined with the following weights:
Turning Point and other Classwork: 6%
Reading Quizzes: 3%
Homework (total points out of 1685): 10%
Recitation Exercises (drop 1): 4%
Quizzes (drop 1): 15%
MC Tests (drop 1): 45%
Final Examination: 17%
A MINIMUM OF 850 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).
H. Withdrawal
Withdrawal policies are established by the University (see the
ASU Calendar.)
The deadline for course
withdrawal is Apr 3.
Topic and Reading Schedule