131 Policies

A. General

     The course during this Summer Session commences on Wednesday, July 1 and concludes on Tuesday, Aug 11. A schedule of lectures and examinations can be found at 131 Lecture Schedule.

     Lectures occur daily from 8:35 until 9:55 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 is distributed with this syllabus. To more fully prepare for lecture, also take an advance look at that lecture's homework problems. 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. You must register your Turning Point transmitter in order for your responses to be graded. A guide to Turning Point, 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 receive an E for the course, and may be referred to the Dean for further sanctions.

     Recitation sections occur daily from 10:10 - 10:50, in either PSH-552 (line number 40409) or PSF-366 (line number 40993), or from 11:50-12:30 in PSA-306 (line number 40595). The recitations are conducted by graduate Teaching Assistants. During the recitations, the TA's will review material from prerequisite math or physics classes, outline homework strategies, demonstrate problem-solving techniques, go over test problems from previous semesters, etc. Recitations will not meet on PHY131 test days, which are July 13, 22, and 31, and Aug. 11.

     Most recitations will begin with a short QUIZ similar to one of the HW problems which is due on that day. Quiz days are indicated with a "Q" alongside the date on the 131 Lecture Schedule which accompanies this syllabus.

     The Help-Study Hall (PSF-186) will be staffed by faculty and Teaching Assistants from 10:40 to 2:40 PM each day except examination days. Help-Study sessions are for the students' benefit, and taking advantage of these sessions has made a significant difference in the success of many students, but participation is completely optional. Teaching Assistants associated with this course will inform their respective recitation sections of the hours during which they will be present in the Help-Study Hall, and they will not otherwise keep office hours. When visiting the Help-Study Hall you may of course ask questions of any member of the course staff on duty.

     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. Use of this resource is optional to Summer Session students in PHY-131, but highly recommended. Useful class information will be disseminated through e-mail. 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 July 15, then you should send the instructor a message at the address gary.adams@asu.edu. Please sign your name to the message. Your e-mail address will be copied from your message and added to the class list. Here are the e-mail addresses for the Summer Session 131 TA's:

             Andrew White           Andrew.P.White@asu.edu
             Edward Schroeder       Edward.Schroeder@asu.edu
             Bryce Davis            Bryce.F.Davis@asu.edu


B. Turning Point

You will use your Turning Point transmitter 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, all Turning Point questions will be considered practice questions, as you learn to use your Turning Point transmitters. Beginning TUE July 7, at least some 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. Correct answers will receive 3 points and incorrect answers will receive 2 points; so there is a very small penalty for an incorrect answer. You will need a small hand calculator to answer some TP questions; please bring one to each lecture. There are expected to be about 60 Turning Point questions over the course of the session, so the maximum possible Turning Point score will be about 180 points. The final Turning Point grade will be determined as a percentage out of 162 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 162 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 the Turning Point page on our class web site for tips.

C. Homework

     The assigned homework problems can be found only at Mastering Physics. There is one problem set for each lecture. Due to the time constraints of a six-week session about half as much homework is assigned as during a normal fifteen-week session; however, in general the summer assignments consist of only the more challenging problems on each topic. In addition, between one and three ungraded HW problems will be assigned for each lecture; these problems are available only in lecture and the answer will always be given when the problem is assigned. The next day's recitation quiz will often be related to one of these ungraded HW problems. You may wish to do some of the simpler problems from your selected text in preparation for the assigned problems.

     There are 25 homework assignments at an average of about six questions each. EACH ONLINE ASSIGNMENT IS DUE AT 10 PM ON THE SCHOOL DAY ON WHICH IT IS ASSIGNED with the exception of those problems assigned on FRI, which are due at 10 PM SUN night. The ungraded HW will not be collected or graded in any way; however, it will often be the subject of the recitation quiz on the following school day.

Working with others is ENCOURAGED as a means of improving one's understanding through questioning and explaining, but homework is designed for learning and those students who shortcut the HW can expect to do poorly on quizzing and testing. Forty percent of the available HW points are REQUIRED in order to qualify for a passing grade in the class.

LESS THAN 40% OF AVAILABLE HOMEWORK POINTS IS AN AUTOMATIC E.


D. Quizzes

     There will be 21 quizzes. Each quiz will be given at the beginning of a recitation period; the quiz days are indicated by a "Q" alongside the date on the 131 Lecture Schedule distributed with this syllabus. Quizzes will be similar to one of the HW problems assigned with the previous day's lecture. The different recitations will have a slightly different version of the quiz for each day. There are six drops; i.e. the final quiz average will include your 15 best quizzes. THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP QUIZZES.

E. Examinations

     The four tests will cover material as indicated in the 131 Lecture Schedule which accompanies this syllabus. There is no comprehensive final examination; however, physics is a cumulative subject and material which is offered late in the session usually requires mastery of earlier material. As a result, TEST 4, GIVEN ON TUESDAY, AUG 11, SERVES THE PURPOSE OF A FINAL EXAM; YOU MUST BE PRESENT ON THIS DAY. Each test will consist of a multiple choice section with about 12 questions, which will be given online, using WebAssign, in the Physics Testing Center (PSH-563), and a written section, which will be given during the lecture period. The online section will be taken on computers provided by the physics department in PSH-563, under the supervision of recitation TA's; the online test has a one-hour time limit and the testing center will be open from 10 AM - 2 PM on the test days (if you are taking PHY132 this summer, note that 132 will not meet on the PHY131 test days). The written section of the tests, which is known as the lecture quiz, will be roughly equivalent to two recitation quizzes, and will be taken at the beginning of the lecture hour in PSF-173; seating for these lecture quizzes will be assigned. The written 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 simpler problems. For the four summer test dates, see the 131 Lecture Schedule.

     Examinations are governed by the following policies:

THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP TESTS. If you miss one of the first three tests then that test must be your drop. You must be present for the fourth test.

Drop policy. Each student has the option of dropping any one MC and any one lecture quiz section, except that YOU CANNOT DROP BOTH SECTIONS OF TEST 4. If you miss any of the first three test days, those two missed sections are automatically your two drops. You must be present for the test on Aug 11, which serves the purpose of an exam.

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.

On the lecture quizzes, 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 lecture quiz, the complaint should be put in writing and handed, together with the lecture quiz, 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:

Turning Point: 5%
Homework: 8%
Recitation Quizzes: 7%
Lecture Quizzes: 44%
MC Tests: 36%

A MINIMUM OF 40% OF AVAILABLE 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. The plus-minus grading system will be used. Grade scales used during previous summers can be found at the websites below:

Summer 2014 grade scale
Summer 2013 grade scale
Summer 2012 grade scale
Summer 2011 grade scale
Summer 2010 grade scale
Summer 2009 grade scale
Summer 2008 grade scale
Summer 2007 grade scale
Summer 2006 grade scale
Summer 2005 grade scale
Summer 2004 grade scale
Summer 2003 grade scale
Summer 2002 grade scale


G. Withdrawal

     Withdrawal policies are established by the University (see the 2015 Summer Session Bulletin and the 2015 ASU Calendar.) The deadline for course withdrawal is July 21. Other deadlines are also given in the Calendar.

     Incompletes are an alternative offered by the University for students who are succeeding in a course, but who, because of unavoidable circumstances, are unable to complete the coursework in the allotted time. Students who are granted an incomplete must, in general, repeat the course from the beginning and complete all work within one calendar year. You MUST have a passing grade at the time that you request an incomplete, otherwise your request cannot be considered.


131 Lecture Schedule
Course Updates