COURSE INFORMATION SHEET

Advanced Physics I (AP-C) --PH405

Trimester I - II, 2010 - 2011

Instructor: John Kolena

Office: Bryan 443

Tutorial: alternating Monday. (6 - 8 pm)

COURSE WEBSITES

• Advanced Physics at NCSSM (http://courses.ncssm.edu/aphys) for daily assignments and course resources
• Moodle (http://moodle.ncssm.edu/login/index.php) for electronic submission of assignments

COURSEWORK

Your work is evaluated in the following areas, according to the given percentage weights:

Pre-Final Exam
Daily work, & presentations     Class Participation	20%
Lab work	20%
Weekly AP Homework	30%
Tests	30%
Final Exam	15 or 20%

Daily work: You are expected to participate constructively in class each day. This requires preparing your homework.
In particular,
1) study the relevant readings,
2) answer the related questions and E-type problems at the end of the chapter,
3) prepare written and electronic assignments as requested.

Participation means contributing productively to class discussion and problem solving, volunteering to present problem solutions to the class, taking notes when appropriate during class.

Written solutions to assigned problems are due at the beginning of class unless stated otherwise. Be prepared to present and explain your solutions at the board.

You will submit some assignments electronically from the Moodle website. These are generally done in preparation for a class and are due shortly before that class so that the instructor can read them and address any difficulties during the class period. Your class participation grade is jeopardized whenever you neglect to submit one of these assignments.

Unannounced quizzes relating to the homework (which includes the reading) may occasionally be given.

Lab work: The requirements for lab work are somewhat different from those in Physics with Advanced Topics. You will be given some goals for each lab, but the experimental design and procedures will often be left up to you to devise. Also, there will be much more emphasis on analysis of experimental uncertainties. You will keep  a complete record of your experiments in a lab journal. Guidelines for writing lab reports are posted online.

You will submit some prelab and postlab assignments electronically from the Moodle or APhys website.  These are like electronic homework assignments in that they may not be submitted late unless stated otherwise.

Lab groups will occasionally be called on -- sometimes with short notice -- to report orally on their work. In such situations, it is expected that each partner be able to present and answer questions about any part or aspect of the laboratory.

Tests: Tests cover text material, supplementary material presented in class, homework, and lab experiences. In line with current AP testing procedures:

• You may use calculators on free response questions
• Equations will be provided for free response questions.
• You may not use calculators and equations will not be provided for the multiple choice questions (as for the real AP C test)

Class Commitment

you will be tested every day in class in a variety of ways; examples of such are in the following (non-exhaustive) list:

• coming to class and turning in your work on time
• showing enthusiasm in your learning!
• working problems beyond the ones required for turn-in
• taking useful notes
• asking questions of your own and answering mine in class
• challenging explanations or examples that leave you confused
• convincing me that you did the assigned daily reading
• being prepared for and taking leadership in labs
• following verbal and written instructions, especially in lab
• helping your classmates where appropriate
• re-doing returned assignments or labs that do not earn at least a grade of C+
• taking initiative in getting missed notes & assignments from a classmate (or the web) after an absence so that you are prepared for class
• taking initiative in completing and turning in assignments (homework and lab) before a planned absence or ASAP after an unplanned one (including assignments due in class)
• getting extra help from me outside of class when appropriate
• posting problem solutions when the option arises

Your class commitment grade is the sum of my daily assessment of how committed you are to making this class a successful learning experience not only for yourself, but also for the rest of the class. You are encouraged to talk with me periodically during the year about your class commitment grade.

Miscellaneous

• Bring to each class: textbook, calculator, notebook (also lab book and pen on lab days)
  
• Classes will begin on time, and you are expected to be on time.  "Tardy" means not being in your seat at the time when class is scheduled to begin.  For classes that start at 8am or immediately after lunch, if you are not in your seat at the beginning of the class period, you will be marked tardy. For classes that start at other times, I will allow a minute or so after class has started before counting you tardy.
  
  School policies require that you be marked severely tardy, if you are 15 - 25 minutes late, or absent if you arrive 25 minutes or more late.  If you are late to class and feel that you have a valid excuse for being late, you need to talk with me immediately after class to settle the issue.  
  Unexcused tardies will be dealt with according to the Physics Tardy Policy. Grade penalties may also result for work that is missed due to being late.
  
• Students are expected to follow the Physics Academic Safety, Tardy, Classroom Computer Use, Cell Phone Use, and all Academic Policies.  You will receive a copy to read and sign.
  
• Written assignments that are due at times other than class time are turned in to the appropriate envelope in the PH405 box outside my office. Staple multiple pages of an assignment, as unstapled papers will not be graded.  Late submission of homework means that the assignments is received at any time after the due time.  Late homework assignments (labs, problems, etc.) are assigned a maximum penalty of 25% for the first day late. Credit may not be assigned for homework turned in more than 24 hours late.  If you miss 2 of any combination of major assignments, you will report to Saturday Morning Restricted Study. Any additional miss after the first 2 missed assignments will result in additional Saturday referrals.
  
• Assignments that are submitted electronically from the APhys or Moodle websites may not be submitted late. There is no credit for late electronic work.
  
• Summaries of homework assignments, hints for doing homework problems, and supplementary information are posted on the APhys website. Check the site regularly. Updates are sometimes sent by email.
  
• You are expected to have printing privileges, as you will need to print during some labs.
  
• If you miss class due to an approved absence, you are responsible for letting me know well in advance (at least 2 days for a regular class, at least a week for a lab class) so that we can make arrangements for making up any work you miss (you must still turn in all work by the regular due time, though). If you miss class due to an unexcused absence, you will not receive credit for any work that you missed (though you should still find out what was missed and prepare the assignments for the next class meeting).  If you miss a number of classes for medical or other reasons, you should arrange with me a plan for making up any work you missed.  
  

GRADES

The following scale is applied to grades. The number given is the lowest for the corresponding grade. Grades are not adjusted to a curve.

A+	94	B+	77.5	C+	67.5
A	84	B	72.5	C	62.5
A-	80	B-	70	C-	60