This course is designed for students who are pursuing degrees in scientific and technical majors other than physics and engineering.  It is intended to provide an overview of basic physics to assist these students in their further studies in science and technology.

GRADING:

There will be separate grades for the lecture section and the lab section of this course.  A grade of “C” or better in the laboratory portion of the course as well as a grade of “C” or better in the lecture portion of the course must be earned in order to satisfactorily complete the course with an earned grade of “C” or better.

The final grade is composed of both the lecture grade and the lab grade.

The letter grade assigned with respect to the final grade earned is as follows:

A → 90 – 100; B → 80 – 89; C → 70 – 79; D → 60 – 69; F → < 60

COURSE POLICIES:

Help:If you need course-related help, please get it. I hold office hours as noted or you can send an email to me. Please keep in mind that I will not respond the same day to emails sent after 9p.m. of the day.

Free walk-in tutoring is provided by the Learning Labs at each campus, and I highly recommend this service. (Round Rock Learning Lab: http://www.austincc.edu/rrctutor/rrcschedule.pdf)

You are encouraged to work on homework assignments with classmates or get help from tutors at the Learning Labs. However, regardless of the source of help you receive, you are responsible for your own work. If you copy someone else’s homework without doing it yourself, you will not understand the material and despite having a good homework grade will not do well in the course.

Homework:  Homework is an integral part of this course. You should expect to spend about 3 hours outside of class for each hour in class. It is expected that you will keep up with the reading assignments. You are also expected to work on your homework assignments regularly and turn them in a timely fashion.The homework will involve answering conceptual questions and word problems.

Homework due dates will be announced to the class every first class day of the week.

Late homework will not be accepted.

Laboratory:A major component of this course is the laboratory. During the lab periods, experiments will be conducted to strengthen and further study the concepts and ideas introduced in class. The labs also serve to introduce you to experimental techniques and to help develop critical thinking skills. Reviews for tests will also be conducted during lab sessions.

Most labs will require a brief write up which will be described in the laboratory assignment. The brief write-ups will be due at the beginning of the following lab unless otherwise directed. If you are absent, you may arrange to make up TWO missed labs.  No more than two make-up labs may be performed by a single student.  Make-up lab reports are not accepted after two weeks have passed from the date the lab was performed or after the final exam. It is the student’s responsibility to get a copy of the missed lab.

Organization:Please print out your assignments so that any possible errors in my grading records can be rectified. It will also be helpful to have them when reviewing for tests.

Exams:YOU MUST TAKE exams DURING the SCHEDULED TIME UNLESS YOU HAVE A DOCUMENTED EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCE OR HAVE MADE ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME BEFORE THE SCHEDULED exam TIME.

There are 2 exams which will cover about six chapters each and one final exam which will be comprehensive. The 2 exams will occur on July 18^th and August 1^st  (Tentative dates) and the comprehensive final will occur on  August 08^th.  There will rarely be make-up exams or quizzes.  Contact me before an exam (email or phone, if you can’t find me in person) to avoid receiving a zero if there is an unavoidable emergency.  FAILURE TO DO THIS MAY MEAN A “ZERO” GRADE FOR THAT EXAM .

During an exam I may attempt to clarify what is being asked in a question or provide the numeric value of a physical constant.  You are responsible for assessing whether or not this information is beneficial or useful.

Since the final is comprehensive, the final will not only count in the grade, but it will also replace the lowest previous test grade that is 50 or above.  You must have taken all previous exams in order to do this.  The final will not replace a zero from a skipped test or a test grade lower than 50. 

Attendance, Withdrawals, Incompletes:  Attendance is important and expected.

If a student misses all or part of a class/lab section, the student is still responsible for the material covered during that session.  Please notify me of your absence ahead of time, if possible. Find out outside of class if I have made any changes on assignments, due dates etc.  Do not disrupt the class by requesting missing material or assignments due to your tardiness or absence.  Ask outside of class.

The instructor reserves the right to withdraw students who have more than four unexcused absences.  The instructor may also withdraw students for failure to meet course objectives, but makes no commitment to do so.  After the withdrawal date each semester, neither the student nor the instructor may initiate a withdrawal. That last day to withdraw for the second 5.5 weeks of the 2011 Summer session is August 01. Students are responsible for initiating withdrawals by this date if they so choose. 

The grade of  “I” (for Incomplete) may be given by an instructor for a course in which a student was unable to complete all of the objectives for the passing grade. Incomplete grades will rarely be given, and only if the student has taken all exams, is passing, and has a personal tragedy occur after the last date to withdraw that prevents course completion.  If the grade of “I” is given, the remaining course work must be done by the date set by the student and professor.  This date may not be later than two weeks prior to the end of the next semester.  See the ACC catalog for more information on Incompletes.  http://www.austincc.edu/cataloghtml/policies.php

Scholastic Dishonesty:  Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work.  Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research or self-expression.  Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework.

Student Discipline:  Classroom behavior should support and enhance learning. Behavior that disrupts the learning process will be dealt with appropriately, which may include having the student leave class for the rest of that day. In serious cases, disruptive behavior may lead to a student being withdrawn from the class. Matters of student disciple will be adjudicated by the instructor on a case-by-case basis, in conjunction with the Department Chair or Dean.  Students may consult with the Office of Student Services or the Associate Dean at their campus on these matters.  ACC's policy on student discipline can be found in the student handbook: http://www.austincc.edu/handbook/

Academic Freedom: Institutions of higher education are conducted for the common good.  The common good depends upon a search for truth and upon free expression.  In this course the professor and students shall strive to protect free inquiry and the open exchange of facts, ideas, and opinions.  Students are free to take exception to views offered in this course and to reserve judgment about debatable issues. With this freedom comes the responsibility of civility and a respect for a diversity of ideas and opinions.  This means that students must take turns speaking, listen to others speak without interruption, and refrain from name-calling or other personal attacks. Grades will not be affected by personal views. However, instructors will judge student work based upon its relation to the current state of mainstream scientific fact and theory.  

Safety:  Health and safety are paramount values in science classrooms, laboratories and field activities. You are expected to learn, understand and comply with ACC environmental, health and safety procedures and agree to follow the ACC science safety policy. You are expected to conduct yourself professionally with respect and courtesy to all. Anyone who thoughtlessly or intentionally jeopardizes the health or safety of another individual will be immediately dismissed from the day's activity, may be withdrawn from the class, and/or barred from attending future activities. You can read the complete ACC science safety policy at: http://www2.austincc.edu/sci_safe/.

Students with Disabilities: Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities.  Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes.  Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester.

Students who are requesting accommodation must provide the instructor with a letter of accommodation from the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD) at the beginning of the semester.   Accommodations can only be made after the instructor receives the letter of accommodation from OSD.

Student Handbook, Student Services, Instructional Services, Learning Labs and Testing Center websites:

The ACC student handbook can be found at:  http://www.austincc.edu/handbook/

The web address for Student Support & Success Systemsis:  http://www.austincc.edu/support/

The Learning Labs have free tutoring.  The website is http://www.austincc.edu/tutor/

ACC Testing Center policies can be found at: http://www.austincc.edu/testctr/     

TEXTBOOK:  Giambattista, et. al., Physics, 2^nd ed. (ISBN: 978-0-07-733866-4)

OTHER:  Calculator (Graphing or Scientific)

PHYS 1402 Lecture and Lab Schedule

Summer 2011

(Tentative Schedule)

Understand and apply knowledge of the principles of electric charges and the electric fields and electric forces associated with charges (non-relativistic).

Understand and apply knowledge of the principles of electric potential energy and electric potentials

Understand and apply knowledge of the principles of basic AC and DC circuit theory

Understand and apply knowledge of the principles of eletromagnetic waves and the properties of light such as reflection, refraction, and interference

Understand, at an introductory level, and apply principles of relativity

Understand and apply basic principles of Modern Physics, Nuclear Physics, and Particle Physics

Enjoy learning about the Physics of Electricity and Magnetism and of the Atom

Improve the ability to state well-developed questions about subject-related material