Physics 211 Course Description, Spring 2008

Goals

• The goals of this course are to teach you to understand basic classical mechanics at the conceptual level, and to make you adept in solving relevant problems. The approaches used to achieve these goals involve 1) lectures to interactively discuss and demonstrate the principles, 2) laboratory experiments allowing you to actively explore these principles, 3) computerized homework on the World Wide Web to engage you in problem solving, and 4) interaction with instructors in discussion sections to provide one-on-one help with concepts and problem solving.

Background Needed

• We expect students to have a good grasp of trigonometry and to be able to differentiate and integrate simple functions such as polynomials, sines and cosines. This requires a knowledge of calculus (credit or concurrent registration in Math 231 is a prerequisite of Physics 211).
• High school physics is not a prerequisite, but most students enrolled in Physics 211 will have had high school physics. As a result, the pace of the course is such that students without previous physics experience will have to allot more time each week for study. This is especially true at the beginning of the term, when less-well-prepared students will have to learn the problem solving skills which physics demands.

Lectures

• Students should attend two 75-minute lectures per week, one on Monday and one on Wednesday. Each lecture will be given four times on those days.
• Each lecture will involve several interactive learning sessions where you will be asked to participate. During these "ACT's" students will work in groups on a specific assigned problem and will discuss the results with other students and with the instructors. This will allow the instructor to pinpoint problems in understanding and deal with them before moving on. The purpose is to help you understand, and your participation is strongly recommended.
• Come to the lecture! You should read the lecture notes and the appropriate sections of the text prior to each lecture, and use the lecture session to clarify and reinforce the ideas encountered.
• Do not get behind. This will be especially important during the first few weeks of the course when the pace is very fast.
• Copies of the lecture notes are available at the bookstore and on the web site.

WWW Assignments

• Each week you will be responsible for completing a computer-based homework assignment. These assignments are graded and are an integral part of the course.
• To start work on a homework assignment, click once on "Homework" on the Physics 211 homepage. Then click on the assignment you wish to do. The current assignment can also be reached directly from the "Course Syllabus at a Glance" section of the Physics 211 homepage.
• The homework assignments consist of two parts: Homework A (problems where you are given help and feedback), and Homework B (an "online quiz" type problem for which you are not given feedback until after the deadline).
• For each homework set, the full-credit deadline is 8:00 am on Tuesday following the week in which the material is covered in lecture. There is no late credit for Homework B. For the regular Homework problems, work done after -- but within one week of --- the deadline for a set receives a  10% penalty. (Note that this is a relatively small penalty and that it is well worth doing the homework even if the full-credit deadline has passed.) No credit is given for homework completed after this second due date.
  Consult the Course Syllabus for homework due-dates.
• You may work a problem as many times as you like before the deadline and only the highest grade is recorded in the gradebook. You can never lower your score by reworking a problem.

Discussion Sessions

• Discussion sessions are held in 137, 143 and 147 Loomis and 151 Allen Residence Hall. Each week you will attend a two-hour discussion section conducted by a TA. These sections will be active learning sessions in which you will work in small groups on conceptual tutorials and problem solving, guided by your TA. These sessions are designed to aid you and test you in the understanding of the course material, and you should find them beneficial in preparation for the hour exams. We will usually begin each discussion session with one of the exercises in Tutorials in Introductory Physics. It is very important that you bring this book to each discussion section.
• At the end of each discussion session, your TA will administer a short quiz (usually about 20 minutes in length) based on the current material. This quiz will be graded and recorded in the gradebook. It is important to bring your calculators to each discussion session.

Lab Sessions

• Lab sessions are held in 232 and 264 Loomis.
• The laboratory portion of Physics 211 will consist of nine 2-hour laboratories, each involving a series of activities, including (i) setting up simple experiments to investigate topics you've studied in class, (ii) making predictions about the outcome of your experiments, (iii) performing measurements of different phenomena you've studied in lecture, (iv) analyzing your experimental results, and (v) answering questions concerning your results and predictions. You will complete the lab write-ups during the lab section and hand them in at the end of the lab section. Additionally, all labs (except the Laboratory Orientation) will require completion of pre-labs which are to be handed in at the beginning of the relevant lab section. Your total laboratory score will be worth 20% of your grade. Of the 20 points allotted for each laboratory, 15 points will be awarded for participating in and completing the laboratory, and answering questions in the lab write-up and up to 5 points will be awarded based on the answers to questions in the prelab.

Exams

• Three 90 minute multiple-choice exams will be given. (See the Course Schedule for the dates.) You will be assigned a room for each exam based on your discussion section, and attendance will be taken by your discussion TA. Bring a calculator and a #2 pencil to all exams. In addition, bring your official university identification card to show upon request.
• Conflict exams will be scheduled for those with a legitimate (documented) schedule conflict. These are usually on the same evening but earlier than the regular exam. Actual times will be announced in lecture.

Grading

• Your final grade for Physics 211 will be based upon your total score on all the components of the course.
• The total score out of 1000 points is the sum of your scores on the following:
          - Final exam (300 points )
          - Mid-term exams (3 x 100 points each),
          - Labs (200 points),
          - Homework & quizzes (200 points)
• Based on our experience from previous semesters, rough guidelines for letter grades (minimum score) this semester will be: A+(950), A(920), A-(900), B+(880), B(860), B-(835), C+(810), C(780), C-(750), D+(720), D(690), D-(610), and F(<610). Notice that we do NOT use the common 90/80/70/60 breakdown for letter grades. The reason for this is that for some parts of the course the average score is typically very high. For example, there is no reason you should not be able to score 100% on your web based Homework A assignments. Students also tend to do very well on labs and quizzes. This means that you cannot compensate for low examination grades by getting high homework/quiz/lab grades. On the other hand, you can seriously lower your final grade with low homework/quiz/lab grades.  The real payoff for doing well on the homework, quizzes and labs is a better understanding of the physics and consequently higher examination scores. To give you an indication of your standing during the semester, you will be given scaled scores for each hour exam. The web-based gradebook will show, for all aspects of the class, exactly how you are progressing. At the end of the course, quiz, homework and lab components will be put together to obtain the final grade.
• During the term, you should regularly check that the exam, homework, lab, and quiz grades are correctly entered in the gradebook.  It is your responsibility to bring any problems with your assigned grades to the attention of your section instructor immediately.

Final Exam

• The final exam will be three hours in length and will cover material from the whole semester.
• All questions about grading policy or any of your grades should be directed to your lecturer.

Absences and Excused Grades

• There will be no make-ups for missed exams, quizzes or laboratory work in Physics 211. Unexcused absences from hour exams or quizzes will receive a score of AB, which is numerically equivalent to zero. Similarly, prelabs or lab reports that are not turned in at the time they are due and in the lab section for which you are registered will be scored AB, unless an excused absence is granted.
• An excused absence from an hour exam will receive the score EX. At the end of the semester, hour-exam EX scores will be replaced by a weighted average of all of your non-EX scores on exams (hour exams and final exam). Similarly, an excused absence from a quiz will receive an EX and such scores will be replaced by the semester average of all non-EX quiz scores. EX scores for prelabs and lab reports will be treated in a similar manner.
• If you miss a discussion quiz or lab for a valid reason, take your excuse to 231/233 Loomis. The secretary will make copies of it to distribute to the course personnel.   If appropriate, you will receive an EX grade.
• Excused grades for lab reports, quizzes and hour exams will be given only in one of the following circumstances: (a) illness; (b) personal crisis (e.g. automobile accident, required court appearance, death of a close relative, weather conditions which make it impossible to get to the university); and (c) required attendance at an official UIUC activity (e.g. varsity athletics, band concert).
• In case of (a), go to the McKinley Health Center. If upon examination the staff decides you are sick, you will receive a slip from the Center with a telephone number that you should provide to 231/233 Loomis. The course secretary may call the Center to verify that you were seen there (the Center does not provide written excuses per se), OR go to your private physician and obtain a written excuse. The excuse should contain your doctor's name and telephone number so that the secretary can call to verify the information.
• In case (b) contact the Dean of Students' Office 333-0050. (At night this number is known as the Emergency Dean). Inform your lab or quiz TA. that you have done so. The Dean of Students' Office will send a letter to 231/233 Loomis. This letter will be distributed to your instructors.

• In case (c) inform the course secretary (231/233 Loomis) in addition to any relevant TA  in advance about any hour exams, quiz or lab that you will miss.

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