Ph203    General Physics

Course Description

Physics is the study of nature, how the universe around us behaves. This course provides an introduction to the basic physical principles of wave and ray optics, and classical electricity and magnetism. Critically important, physics is not a collection of facts that you memorize and regurgitate on an exam. Examples and concepts presented in lecture are a small part of what you will learn through your own observations, critical thinking, model building, perservence, and loads of practice. The outcome is you will learn a few fundamental principles and be able to apply them to a wide variety of problems, some of which you have never encountered before. A fun, interesting, and almost amazing proposition!

This five-credit course is part of the OSU Baccalaureate Core and fulfills the requirement for study related to Physical Science.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• understand how to represent and analyze motion for objects that can be modeled as a point particle.
• apply appropriate laws and relationships to analyze the behavior of physical situations under certain conditionsn in optics and electricy and magnetism, and to understand when and how to apply these laws.
• make observations of physical behavior and find explanations that are consistent with the observations, apply these explanations and the established laws to make predictions about outcomes of experiments, and test the explanations and laws through experimentation.
• apply scientific methodology and demostrate the ability to draw conclusions based on observation, analysis, and synthesis.
• demonstrate connections to other subject areas.
• represent information in multiple ways (diagrams, graphs, words, equations…), and move from one representation to another, use these representations to set up problem solutions, predict the behaviors of systems, and to check the solutions to problems.
• use critical thinking skills within physics problem-solving as described below

Critical thinking is a fundamental part of science and at the heart of physics. In many ways, Physics is the discipline of modeling and problem solving. In this course, you will be taught to look at new situations and make assumptions about the situations that allow you to make appropriate simplifications to apply physical models. Critical thinking in this class means being able to:

• analyze an open-ended, new physical situation.
• consider what assumptions and simplifications can be made to this situation.
• break down the situation into manageable pieces.
• apply the concepts learned to solve these pieces and put them together for a solution.
• evaluate if that solution makes sense.

Prerequisites

MTH 111, MTH 112, PH201 and PH202. Mastery of geometry, algebra, and trigonometry is an expected prerequisite for this course. The most important mathematical skills that you will need for this course are solving simultaneous equations and vector analysis - finding components of vectors and adding (or subtracting) them to find resultant vectors. You are advised to review the material from MTH 111, MTH 112, PH201 and PH202 as soon as possible.

Lecture Expectations

Lecture meets for 110 minutes, five times per week. The intent of lecture time is for you to develop your conceptual understanding, practice problem solving, work on representing physical situations, improve your observation and thinking skills. The lecture will be interactive - you are expected, at appropriate times, to work with your neighbor, express your thoughts, ask and answer questions, discuss ideas, patiently listen to and respect other's ideas. The research is clear, students perform significantly better when they are actively involved in the classroom rather than a passive participant. That can be uncomfortable at times as it means you may have to recognize and admit that you do not fully understand something or that you need to change your ideas about how you thought this world works.

Course Materials

Generally, the textbook is considered to be required for the course. However, be aware that there are many sources of great physics material, especially in today's world. There are online textbooks and other resources, including, for example, the free MIT online textbooks and videos available at http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-01Physics-IFall1999/VideoLectures/. There is no way to present, in lecture, all possible relevant material. You must study, read, and learn much of the required course material on your own.

In-class Participation

In-class interaction will be augmented via the the Turning Technologies ResponseCard NXT system. These are available new and used from the OSU bookstore. Students are responsible to obtain, register, and bring a unit to every class. Participation will include answering questions or problems, making predictions, giving an opinion, or choosing courses of action.

These "clickers" are not required. However, you can receive up to 5% extra credit depending on how many questions you answer and whether you answer correctly. Correct answers are worth 2 points, incorrect 1 point and no answer 0 points. Not registering your unit properly will result in no recorded points.

Homework

Solving physics problems is at the core of this course. And very few people can do this successfully without a lot of practice. Homework will be assigned through MasteringPhysics. Solutions are available after the due date. There will also be assigned homework problems which will be collected. These will be graded and returned.

You are welcome to discuss homework problems with your peers, the TA's, your instructor. But note that what you submit must be your own work, fully understood by you, and that you can defend all your work. You should use homework as an opportunity to practice how to write up problems in physics: set it up clearly, provide appropriate diagrams, explain what is needed, show appropriate mathematics, show answers clearly and with correct units, all as you would on an exam. Turn in homework the day it is due, at the time it is due. Affix multiple pages correctly (staple them), make sure your name is clearly PRINTED at the top right-hand corner of the page, identify which assignment it is, and include your LAB SECTION DAY AND TIME so that homework can be efficiently processed, recorded, and returned.

Laboratory

Laboratory experiences give students yet another opportunity to make observations and measurements and build on their own knowledge of the physics principles at hand. Participation and completion of the lab section is required in order to pass the course (no matter what other scores the student may have.) Students are expected to attend all of their scheduled lab classes. If you miss a lab, it is best to make it up that same day by making arrangements with the lab TA's. There will be no make-up labs offered this term. One lab will be dropped instead (so you only need to do 7 of the 8 labs). Any student not fulfilling the lab requirement will receive an "F" in the course.

Your lab grade will constitute 5% of your final grade. This score will be determined by your pre-lab scores and any take-home lab scores. Pre-labs are due at the beginning of each (appropriate) lab. Pre-labs are not to be done during labs. Any take-home lab is due at the start of your next lab period. Late pre-labs and labs will receive a maximum of 50% of the points.

Recitation

Recitations are a time to work on problem solving in a small-class setting, taught by experienced TA's who can address individual problems and provide guidance in a small group session. This is an ideal place to bring questions about problems you are having difficulty with.

Recitation homework is to be turned into your recitation TA's box, located outside WNGR 234 by the due date. The recitation homework (total) is worth 5% of your final grade. Late work will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Problems will be graded on a 10-point scale.

Physics and Math Help Rooms and Tutors

TA's will hold office hours in WNGR 145 (the Wormhole). See the schedule posted on the room door for times.

Some students have had great luck with private tutors. The physics office (WNGR 301) keeps a list of willing, available tutors among the physics students. (These tutors charge a fee.) Students that are TA's for PH203 (lab or recitation) may not be a paid tutor for a PH203 student. (Summer availability of tutors is likely not as good as during the "normal" school year.)

Calculators

You will want and need a calculator to complete lots of physics problems. You should have at minimum a "scientific" calculator that has trigonometric, logarithmic and exponential functions. (You can get these for around $10.)

Graphing calculators or any calculator with "solve" capabilities are not allowed for exams. (So make sure you're familiar with your "simpler" calculator before the day of the exam if you're normally using a graphing calculator.)

Exams

There will be three exams, one each week. All exams are closed book and comprehensive and may include material from the lecture, labs, readings, and homework. Exam questions will not be exact repeats of questions/problems that have already been assigned. The exams will consist of conceptual and show-work problems. To receive full credit on a problem, you're expected to show all aspects of problem-solving as outlined in the homework handout; this includes discussing the assumptions and concepts that apply, and evaluating your results. Students may create their own "equation sheet", including notes that they feel may be helpful in solving problems on the exam. These notes can be up to ten 8 1/2 x 11", double-sided sheets of notes that are stapled or bound in a ring binder.

The Physics Department requires that your student ID be checked and your exams be signed. BRING YOUR STUDENT ID TO THE EXAM. Any official exam time conflicts must be discussed and arrangements made with the instructor before the exam. Unexcused absences will result in a zero for any exam.

The exams are held during the lecture time, in the same location as the lectures. This term's final exam is on Friday, September 6, 2013, 9:00. Your vacation plans do NOT mean that an earlier exam is possible. You have three weeks to change vacation dates and airline tickets to a date following the final exam time.

Exam Grading Issues, Regrading

DO NOT MAKE ANY ALTERATIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE EXAM ITSELF. An exam appeal consists of the following items, stapled together, in this order: A specific written description of the issue; the entire original scored exam (with no subsequent marks made by you); and a photocopy of the exam, with any marks or annotations you wish to make. Your written description should identify the problem/item, and specifically why the scoring is incorrect, etc. It is NOT sufficient to say “I think I deserved more points for this.” You have to say why. The best approach for this is to use the photocopy of your exam and basically “re-score” the problem in question — as if you were the grader — showing how your version of the scoring is more aligned with the posted solution.

Leave your appeal with the instructor or for the instructor in Wngr 301 (the Physics Department office). All appeals filed by the 7-day deadline will be reviewed. The instructor’s decision on appeals is final; there are no re-appeals.

If you do not pick up your appealed exam after it's been regraded, you will not receive any points that you may have received in the appeal.

Grading

Final grades are based on individual student's points and are not curved. You are not in competition with your fellow classmates. The course components described above combine for the final grade as follows: Masteringphysics Homework 10%, Challenge Homework 10%, Recitation Homework 5%, Labs 5% (but you must also complete 7 of 8 labs), Exam One 20%, Exam Two 20%, Final 30%. Extra credit: In lecture, clicker questions, up to 5%.

The instructor reserve the right to make changes to the grading scheme if the need arises. (Grade cutoffs may go down but they will not go up.)

The grade scale for summer term 2013 PH203 is:

85-100% = A	80-84% = A-	(No A+)
77-79% = B+	68-76% = B	65-67% = B-
62-64% = C+	53-61% = C	50-62% = C-
45-50% = D	below 45% = F

Please note    It is the responsibility of the student to withdraw from the course if they do not wish to receive a letter grade. The last day to withdraw is listed in the current schedule of classes. An incomplete grade will not be assigned unless a student has discussed it with me in advance and a signed agreement between the student and instructor has been created. The incomplete grade requires the student has a good reason for making the request, has a passing (C) grade on submitted work, and there is only a small amount of coursework that remains to be completed. An incomplete grade will not be given just because a student is not satisfied with their performance in the course.

Students with Special Needs

Students who have any emergency medical information of which I should be aware, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, or who have documented disabilities which may need particular accommodation, should speak with me as early as possible, certainly no later than the second week of the term.

Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Disability Access Services (DAS). Students with accommodations approved through DAS are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through DAS should contact DAS immediately at 541-737-4098.

Academic Integrity

All students are expected to uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity in their academic work. All graded work is to be done on an individual basis. Academic dishonesty such as plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty is defined as an intentional act of deception including any of the following:
* cheating: use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information, or study aids,
* fabrication: falsification or invention of any information,
* assisting: helping another commit an act of academic dishonesty,
* tampering: altering or interfering with evaluation instruments and documents,
* plagiarism: representing the words or ideas of another person as one's own, or
* using multiple clicker units during a single lecture period.

For more information about academic integrity and the University's policies and procedures in this area, please refer to the Student Conduct web site at: http://www.orst.edu/admin/stucon/achon.htm and the section on Academic Regulations in the OSU Schedule of Classes. Any incidence of academic dishonesty will be dealt with in accordance with OSU policies.