| Credit Hours: | 5 cr hrs | |
| Instructor: | Dr. Nelson Kilmer | |
| Spring Term: | 2005-2006 | |
| Text: | Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics Serway/Jewett (6th Edition) |
Overview:
The course includes an introduction to Physics including the areas of Electricity & Magnetism, Optics, and Modern Physics. This is a 2nd semester of a two-semester sequence in College Physics. Students who have adequate background in physics and appropriate math skills can meet the prerequisites for this course. This 5 credit hour course is designed to meet the requirements for pre-engineering or other fields of science.
Objectives:
- To develop an understanding of the basic concepts and principles in Physics.
- To develop critical thinking and a scientific approach to problem solving.
- To develop and use mathematical formulations of physical principles.
- To become familiar with recent research developments using the WWW, journals and publications.
Requirements of the Course:
- To read selected chapters and work assigned homework problems.
- To attend class and participate in classroom discussions and learning activities.
- To perform lab experiments and write lab reports summarizing findings.
- To present a written and oral reports on the class on research work done in physics.(5hr students)
- To complete tests and exams as schedule in the course calendar.
Evaluation of Student Learning will be based on:
| points | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Homework Assignments on WebAssign | 22 @ 15 |
330 |
|
| Classroom Learning Activities (CLA) | 9 @ 10 |
90 |
|
| Lab Reports | 12 @ 15 |
180 |
|
| Research Project & Publishing on Internet (5hr) | 2 @ 75 |
150 |
|
| Tests | 3 @ 100 |
300 |
|
| Final Exam | 1 @ 200 |
200 |
|
Total Possible Points |
1,250 |
Grading Scale:
- 90.0% - 100% A
- 80.0% - 89.9% B
- 70.0% - 79.9% C
- 60.0% - 69.9% D
- 0.0% - 59.9% NC
Educational Outcome Goals of the Course
This course is in support of the college educational mission as stated in the catalog. The student outcome goal of critical thinking is included in the class through problem solving and scientific evaluation of data and information. Social responsibility issues are considered when related to the physical principles being discussed. The overall broader knowledge of the world and worldviews is also part of the goal for an educational outcome.
Chapters Included from Text for Lecture and Homework Assignments
- Electricity and Magnetism
- Static Electricity - Ch 23-26
- Current Electricity - Ch 27-33
- Electromagnetic Waves - Ch 34
- Light and Optics
- Light and Geometric Optics – Ch 35-36
- Physical Optics (waves) – Ch 37-38
- Modern Physics
- Relativity – Ch 39
- Quantum Mechanics – Ch 40-41
- Atomic and Molecular Physics – Ch 42-43
- Nuclear and Particle Physics – Ch 44-46
WebAssign Homework:
Homework is completed and graded using WebAssign, an Internet based homework system. Students will be provided an ID and a password to access the system. Homework assignments can be downloaded and printed. Answers to the question are to be submitted on line and will immediately be graded when you submit your assignment answers for grading. A total of 5 submissions is possible and then the grade will be recorded after your last submission.
WebAssign System
Students are encouraged to start as soon as possible on the assignments so you can get help if you are having difficulty with the assignment and also in case the Internet goes down for any reason before the assignment is due. The instructor can modify the due date in situations where either the system fails or problems with questions cause the student to not be able to complete and assignment with answers to the questions. Brief outages of the Internet system occur at times and these will not be considered reason for delay of the due time of the assignment.
Due Dates
After the assignment is past the due date the answers will be shown and you will not be able to do any more work on that assignment. Student homework papers showing the work done will be collected after assignments are due on the web and checked for student completion of the assignment.
Excused Absences
If for some reason a student anticipates an excused absence contact the instructor prior to the due date and ask for a time extension on the assignment. If you do not contact the instructor prior to the due date the assignment, WebAssign will show the answers for your assignment and the grade of zero will be recorded for the assignment.
Classroom Learning Activities
Through out the semester classroom learning activities will be done during the scheduled class periods. Class attendance and participation are an expectation for the course. If an excused absence occurs see the instructor to make arrangements for completing the CLA. If a student misses a CLA due to an unexcused absence the points for that CLA will be lost.
Laboratory Reports:
The lab reports are to be written up and placed in a manila file folder with the student’s name, lab partner, date and title of the experiment on the outside. The contents of the report should include:
- Written report summarizing the experiment and results including:
- Purpose of the experiment
- Theory behind experiment
- Procedure actually followed in doing experiment
- Results of the experiment
- Discussion and results
- Questions: Answers to questions
- Data sheets and any raw data collected during the laboratory period.
- Experiment hand out sheet.
Length of Report
The total report is expected to be approximately 2-4 pages, and is due at the beginning of the next lab period. Lab reports not turned in when due will lose 7 points for being late. Lab reports more than 1 week late will not be accepted and no credit will be given. If you will be gone for a lab period you must make arrangements before the absence to make up the lab.
Expectations in Regards to the Work
Students will work together as partners in the lab and the raw data will be the same. The written report, including the 6 items above is required to be done on an individual basis with each student writing their own individual lab report. This includes calculating the results of the experimental data, summarizing it in tables and graphs, discussing the results, and answering the questions.
Research Paper and Publishing on the Internet for 5 cr hr Students
Research Paper
The 5 hr. students will write a 5 to 6 page research paper for the Research Project due at midterm as scheduled. Select a topic of physics in which you have interest and appropriately is connected to one of the areas on the Hesston College Physics Research Projects Web Pages. Students will present their research paper to the other students as the first Reading Report Day. The written report is to including the information you have found, published references used, and Internet web sites referenced. The Research Paper must be written in your own words. Incorporating pictures & comments into your paper is appropriate. Standard research paper formats should be followed documenting in the text the sources from which you got the information. The topic to be chosen is the student’s choice but should relate to physics and should be checked with the instructor prior to writing the paper.
Publishing the Research Paper on the Internet through the Hesston College Web Site
The web research papers will be published on the Internet including the research paper and links to related sites for the second Reading Report. Specific guidelines will be provided for the publishing of the paper on the Internet on the Hesston College web site. The policies of the college must be followed in publishing on the college web site in regards to appropriate content. The instructor reserves the right to suggest changes to the student and edit if deemed necessary the final web pages when they are published on the Hesston College web site.
Evaluation of the Research Paper Project and Publication on Internet
The research paper will be evaluated on the basis of 75 points including 60 points for the research paper and 15 points for the class presentation. The publishing of the project on the Internet will also be evaluated on the basis of 75 points, including 60 points for the web pages and 15 points for the class presentation