Physics 106 Course Outline
Fall 2011

Email: Lawrence_Rees@byu.edu
Office: N-357 ESC
Office Hours: Please come TTh 2:00-4:00 p.m. and by appointment.

Expected Learning Outcomes

The official learning outcomes for this course are as follows:
• Solve problems and answer conceptual questions about electric charges, fields, electric potentials, and circuits.
• Solve problems and answer conceptual questions about magnetic fields, magnetic forces, Faraday’s Law, and electromagnetic waves.
• Solve problems and answer conceptual questions about geometric and wave optics.
• Solve problems and answer conceptual questions about special relativity, quantum physics, atomic physics, and nuclear physics.

That's essentially a list of the topics we will cover. Although less quantifiable, I have a number of other expectations. By the end of the semester, you should:
• gain a greater appreciation of the beauty and symmetry of physical law
• understand that physics is the process of creating abstract models that behave the way the natural world behaves
• use models in the forms of ideas, geometrical constructs, or equations to explain the physical world and predict outcomes
• recognize applications of what you learn in the world around you
• apply physics problem-solving skills to problems you have not seen before and to non-physics applications
• be able to work MCAT-type problems associated with the course material.

1) Text

The text for this course is College Physics by Serway and Vuille, Volume 2, 8^th Edition. You may also use the  6^th or 7^th Edition. The BYU Bookstore primarily carries used copies of the 6^th and 7^th editions. You can even get by with the 5^th edition, but please avoid it. Note that Faughn was the co-author on some earlier editions.

Be very careful to buy Volume 2. Volume 1 is located next to it in the Bookstore, and some copies migrate to the wrong stack!

A note on the different editions: The basic contents of the different editions are very much the same; however, the "optional" topics vary a great deal. We generally don't cover the optional topics, so it makes little difference which version of the text you read. The main difficulty lies in the fact that the sections are not numbered the same way and sometimes the sections are divided a bit differently. You’ll need to refer to the Edition Comparison Table to see which sections you need to read if you are using an older edition.

The 9th Edition is now on the market, but the Bookstore doesn't stock it, so I haven't included it in my comparison tables.

2) CID Numbers and Password

You will identify yourself on most of your assignments and tests with a 3-digit course identification number (cid). You will also need to have a password to access homework assignments, course information, grades, etc., on the course website. If you are on the course rolls, we will email you a CID and a temporary password a few days before class starts.

3) Clicker

We will use clickers (radio transmitters) to administer in-class quizzes. Clickers may be obtained from the bookstore. We will start counting clicker grades at the beginning of the second week of class.

4) Website

The course website is http://www.physics.byu.edu/faculty/rees/106. Most of the course information is available on the website. Please go there and browse a bit, so you know what is available there.

5) Schedule

In particular, please note the class schedule on the course website. The schedule consists of a calendar that lists each class by number. At the end of the calendar is a table that indicates the topics and text sections to be covered each day.

Reading the Text

The text is your primary source of knowledge. Do not expect to do well in the course if you do not read the textbook. Please read the assigned material at the time I indicate on the course website. It is best not to read ahead!

Lectures and Clicker Questions

Each class day, we will follow the following outline:

a) Prayer
b) Learn details about material introduced in the previous lecture
c) Discuss problem-solving issues: common misconceptions, paradigms
d) Introduce new material through demonstrations and inquiry

At the beginning of every class and at other times during the class period, we will have clicker questions. Most of the credit will be given for participation, so don't be too concerned about getting the answers right.

If you are ill, send me an email and I'll give you credit the clicker quizzes. However, if you forget your transmitter, I will not give you credit. If you lose your transmitter, let me know immediately and I’ll excuse you from two days’ clicker questions while you get a new transmitter.


Homework

Homework problems are found on the course website. You will submit answers online and they will be graded immediately. You will have three opportunities to get each answer correct. For numerical problems, correct values will be given so you can check your answer. You will get full credit on a numerical or algebraic problem if any of the three answers are correct. There is a penalty for wrong answers on multiple choice problems; however, you will still have three opportunities to submit your answer. I have provided some background information and hints for some of the problems. For each numerical problem, I give you a range in which the correct answer falls. These ranges can also be helpful in determining if you have done the problem correctly.

You will submit your answers to the homework problems online. Homework is due each Thursday prior to class (12:00 noon for Section 1 and 5:00 p.m. for Section 2) except for the first week of class.

If you want to do well on the tests, you will need to be able to work homework problems. It may be helpful for you to work on homework with other students in the class. You may also obtain help from the Tutorial Lab. It’s fine to use any available help to do your homework; just be sure that you understand how to do the problems yourself. In particular, I realize that various websites have worked solutions to homework problems. Since our homework questions originated with the publisher of the text, you may find very similar problems already worked. While I have no objection to your using these solutions for homework, I would recommend using them only as a last resort. Googling for solutions is a useless skill when it comes to exams - and real life.

Homework grades are incentive grades. You will naturally get some problems wrong because of trivial errors. You are likely to turn in some homework late during busy times of the semester. You may not finish an assignment on time because you are not feeling well. Because of these reasons, I give you full credit for homework if you get 85% of the possible points.

Homework answers should be accurate to three significant digits. If you include more significant digits, you will not be penalized; however, if you round your answer to fewer significant digits, the grading program may not consider your answer to be correct. You may enter your answer either in normal notation or scientific notation. For example, you may enter 3.25789 μA as either 0.00000326 or 3.26e-6. You may enter 3,257,893 MHz as either 3260000 or 3.26e6. Note that you should not enter units or commas. You may also enter your answer as an algebraic expression like ke*q1*q2/r^2. Details about answer submission are found under the Homework tab ot the course website.

TA-Graded Problems

Each week you will also need to do one problem for the TAs to assess. This will give us a chance to see how you’re setting up your problems and perhaps help you with your problem-solving skills. Links to these problems are found on the homework pages of the course website, the same location as the online problems. The TA-graded problems will be one of three types:


1) Context problem: Solve a problem that is more realistic than a typical “plug-and-chug” problem. You may be given too much information, too little information (so you’ll have to look up information or estimate), or combine concepts. You will be asked to write down physics principles and equations that apply and to briefly explain your logic. These problems are handwritten and will be turned in to the boxes near N-357 ESC.
2) Inverse questions. You will be given partial answers to two problems and it will up to you to write the questions. You will need to be sure that all necessary information is given and you will have to make a complete written solution explaining your logic.
3) Physics in the real world: Observe some application of physics in your everyday life. Describe the phenomenon and explain how physics helps you understand it. The phenomenon need not relate to the current course topics or even to Physics 106. Don't expect to receive credit for, "I dropped a ball and it fell because of gravity." I expect to see some real insights.

You only need to do one of these for each homework assignment. Each TA-graded problem will count for three regular homework problems. These problems will be due at noon on Saturday following the Thursday you submit the online homework. Turn in to the slots labeled "Physics 106" across the hall from my office (N-357 ESC). Put your assignment in the slot number that corresponds to the first digit of your CID. TA-Graded Problems are not usually accpeted late, but if you have extenuating circumstances, check with Dr. Rees.

Quizzes

After each homework assignment has been completed, you will take an online quiz. Quizzes are due each Friday at 11:55 p.m. The quizzes will be given on Blackboard. Their purpose is to help you solidify the concepts you have learned and to help me to assess how well you have learned the lesson material. Each quiz consists of a combination of multiple-choice questions and problems. Therefore, to do well on the quizzes, you will need to understand concepts as well as work problems. A practice quiz, not given for credit, is also available weekly. Please carefully note the following rules for the quiz:

• You may use any written materials from this course (notes, books, web pages, etc.) while you are taking the quiz.
• You may not use any web pages, books, notes, etc., that are not from this course!
• You may not discuss quiz questions with anyone else (particularly TAs in the Tutorial Lab) except Dr. Rees before or after you have taken the quiz.
Exams

There will be two midterm exams and a final exam. The tests will all be administered in the testing center. The questions will all be multiple choice questions and will closely resemble the quiz questions. The dates for these exams are listed on the course schedule.

The following rules apply to the exams:

• No books (except foreign language dictionaries) notes, or equation sheets will be allowed. Calculators are permitted, but you are not permitted to use information stored in your calculator.
• There are no time limits.
• The midterm exams end at 4:00 p.m.! Please note this carefully!
• The final exam will consist of two parts, one section that covers the last unit (Chapters 26 – 30) and one part that covers the first two units. The second section will consist completely of questions from the practice quizzes, quizzes, and exams from the first two units.

Evaluating Your Work

In educational terminology, there are two types of evaluations: formative and summative. Formative evaluations are those that help produce desired outcomes while summative evaluations are those which assess how well the outcomes have been realized. In simpler terms, formative evaluations help you improve and summative evaluations show how well you’ve done. In this class, our formative evaluations are clicker questions, homework, and practice quizzes. Our summative evaluations are quizzes, midterm exams, and the final exam.

In an ideal world, your grade would be determined solely by the summative evaluations. After all, if you already know the material, you may not learn a lot from reading or clicker quizzes. However, human nature is such that if I don’t give any points for homework, you probably won’t do homework assignments.

Item	Full Credit at	Weight
Clicker Questions	75%	5%
Homework and TA-Graded Problems	85%	10%
Quizzes		20%
Midterm Tests		40%
Final Exam		25%


The "Full Credit at" column indicates the percentage required to receive full points for that item. Thus, if a student gets 87% of her homework correct, she receives full credit for homework. If she gets 42.5% of her homework correct, she receives half of the total possible points.

Letter Grades

I will update your grades periodically through the semester and post them online. If you see any errors, please let me know promptly.

Letter grades are based on your performance. The breakpoints are based on the department policy that the average GPA of passing grades in Physics 106 should be near 3.20. Your letter grade is based on you class ranking as shown in the table below:


Percentile (not %)	Letter Grade
85 – 100	A
70 – 85	A–
55 – 70	B+
40 – 55	B
25 – 40	B–
18 – 25	C+
11 – 18	C


I will individually review and assign all grades of C− or lower.

Score adjustments

At the end of the semester, your grades will be adjusted to help compensate for anomalously low test scores and low incentive grades. This will be done in three steps:

1) Straight percentages. Your class rank will be determined by the straight, unadjusted method described above.

2) Adjusting test weights, I will lower the weight on you lowest exam (midterm or final) by 10% and increase the weight on the other two exams by 5% each. For example: the basic weights for midterm exams are 20% each, with 25% for the final exam. (That is, the first midterm counts for 20% of your final grade, etc.) If your score is lower on the first exam than the other two, your weight on the first midterm will be 10%, your weight on the second midterm will be 25%, and your weight on the final exam will be 30%. Your class ranking will then be calculated using these modified scores. Because of this, if you do poorly on one exam, it will affect your final grade less.

3) Your class ranking will be calculated based on a) tests only, b) tests and quizzes only, c) tests, quizzes, and homework only. Your final class rank will then be the highest of the five ranks calculated above.

You are encouraged to use the Tutorial Lab in Room N-361 ESC to obtain individual help and to work with other students. Teaching Assistants should be available M 8-6, T-F 8-9, and S 10-1. For further information, go to http://www.physics.byu.edu/courses/tutorial.

If you would like to hire a private tutor, the Physics Department keeps a listing of people who need tutors and people who would like to be tutors. This is located at  http://groups.google.com/group/byu_physics_tutors.

If you have emergencies, university excused absences, or other extenuating circumstances, I will happy to give you extra time to complete your work. Please talk to me at your earliest opportunity so we can make special arrangements for you to turn in your work without penalty.

You should not plan extended discretionary absences (for a family vacation, a friend’s wedding, etc.) during the semester. In such cases I will expect you to keep up on your work during your absence, and you should particularly avoid being away during exams.

I know that it is sometimes difficult to meet every course deadline. I do accept some late work with for non-emergency situations. Note the penalties for late work:

• Late homework problems will be penalized two points per day late. A minimum of one point will be given for late homework done correctly, however. TA-graded problems will not be accepted late.
• Quizzes may be submitted up until noon on the Monday following their due date, but incur a 10% late penalty.
• If for some reason you miss an exam, contact me immediately. A missing exam grade would be devastating to your grade, so I am usually willing to allow you to take the test late. There will be a point penalty for non-emergency situtations, but the amount of the penalty will vary according to your circumstances.

Because of the way the course is organized, you will be given ample opportunity to be dishonest. Needless to say, I expect each of you to subscribe to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.

It is usually best to communicate with us about scores, problems, etc., via email. Please recognize that at times, particularly near deadlines, I receive large volumes of messages and it can take a while to handle them. Many of your questions are answered in this Course Outline. Please check it before sending me an email.

The College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences suggests that the following statements be included in all course outlines. Please note that I fully endorse these policies.

Harassment
            Harassment of any kind is inappropriate at BYU. Specifically, BYU's policy against sexual harassment extends not only to employees of the university but to students as well. If you encounter sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination, or other inappropriate behavior, please talk to your professor, contact the Equal Employment Office at 422-5895 or 367-5689, or contact the Honor Code Office at 422-2847.

Disabilities
            BYU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability that may adversely affect your success in this course, please contact the University Accessibility Center at 422-2767. Services deemed appropriate will be coordinated with the student and instructor by that office.

Children in the Classroom
            The serious study of the physical and mathematical sciences requires uninterrupted concentration and focus in the classroom. Having small children in class is often a distraction that degrades the educational experience for the entire class. Please make other arrangements for child care rather than bringing children to class with you. If there are extenuating circumstances, please talk with your instructor in advance.