Physics 1402-A3

College Physics II

Blinn College – Bryan Campus

Summer II, 2009

 

Course Information Sheet

 

 Instructor:  Dr. Eric Mayes                                                          Email: eric.mayes@blinn.edu

Office: G234                                                                                Phone:  (979) 209-7495 (O)

Office Hours:  MTWRF 15 min before and after class                               

                        (also other times by appointment)

 

Course Web site:  http://www.blinn.edu/brazos/natscience/emayes/

 

Classroom Locations and Meeting Times:

 

Lecture

Lab

Room G213

M-F 9:35 am – 11:30 am

Room G215

M-F 11:40 am – 1:35 pm

 

Course Description:

A continuation of Physics 1401.  Topics covered include fundamentals of electricity, magnetism, light and some modern physics.

 

Prerequisites:  Physics 1401.

 

Core Curriculum Course:

This is a course in the 42-hour Core Curriculum of Blinn College.  Students will develop proficiency in appropriate intellectual competencies, exemplary educational objectives and general perspectives. The URL of the Blinn College core curriculum web site is:  www.blinn.edu/corecurriculum.htm.

 

Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing this course, students should have a grasp of the concepts listed below and be able to solve problems using algebra, basic trigonometry and these concepts.  Lecture and laboratory work will focus on the following learning outcomes:

 

 

Overall objectives for the course include the following:

 

 

Laboratory work will be chosen to reinforce the above lecture topics. The student will demonstrate in the laboratory an understanding of the experiment through writing a report that analyzes the data and interprets the results.

 

Textbooks and other materials:

This course ID is  BLINN1402A3SU209

 

ADA Statement:

Students with physical or learning disabilities must contact the Office of Disability Services (Room 165, Science Bldg.) to receive accommodation on exams and assignments.  The Office of Disability Services will provide the student with an accommodation letter specifying the accommodations that are to be provided to the student.  The student must present this letter to the instructor in order to receive accommodation.  Accommodation is not retroactive.

 

Class Policies 

Attendance

The College District believes that class attendance is essential for student success; therefore, students are required to promptly and regularly attend all their classes.  Each class meeting builds the foundation for subsequent class meetings.  Without full participation and regular class attendance, students shall find themselves at a severe disadvantage for achieving success in college.  Class participation shall constitute at least ten percent of the final course grade.  Faculty will require students to attend class regularly and will keep a record of attendance from the first day of class or the first day the student’s name appears on the roster through final examinations.  If a student accumulates one week’s worth of unexcused absences during the semester, he or she will be sent an e-mail by the College, using their official Blinn email address, requiring the student to contact his or her instructor and schedule a conference immediately to discuss his or her attendance issues.  Should the student accumulate two weeks’ worth of unexcused absences he or she will be administratively withdrawn from class.

 

There are three forms of excused absence officially designated by Blinn College:  (1) observance of religious holy days:  The student should notify his or her instructor not later than the 15th day of the semester concerning the specific date(s) that the student will be absent for any religious holy day(s); (2) representing Blinn College at an official institutional function and (3) official involvement in a high school activity for “dual credit” students.  Other excuses will be considered and may be considered excused at the instructor’s discretion, with documentation.  Missing lecture or lab counts as one absence.  If a student misses both lecture and lab periods for a given day, this counts as only one absence.

 

Dropping

If a student chooses to drop the course, it is that student’s responsibility to complete a drop order at the Office of Enrollment Services.  Failure to do so could result in a grade of F in the course.   

 

Blinn Email

Students are assigned an E-mail address that must be checked regularly for official Blinn communications and course information.  For information go to www.blinn.edu/acadtech/studentemail/ .

The address is of the form:  Firstname.LastnameLast2digitsBlinnID@buc.blinn.edu . 

 

Make-up work

Students will not be permitted to make up missed labs except in extremely rare circumstances.  Before any make-ups are permitted, students must provide the instructor with appropriate documentation.  Permission to make up work will be granted solely at the discretion of the instructor.

 

Laboratory Work

Except for a few circumstances, you will have only one lab period in which to work on the laboratory experiments.  Additional class time for working on these experiments will be given solely at the discretion of the instructor.  This means that when you are working through the experiments, you should focus on making sure you have made all the required measurements and have recorded all the required data.  Only after this is completed should you spend class time working through calculations called for in the experiment.  If you do not complete the calculations in class, I expect you complete them outside of class.

You may hand in labs at any time up until the due date; afterwards a penalty will be assessed.

 

Eating and Drinking

Eating and drinking are not allowed in classrooms or laboratories.

 

Classroom Civility

Members of the Blinn College community, which includes faculty, staff and students, are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all aspects of campus life. Blinn College holds all members accountable for their actions and words. Therefore, all members should commit themselves to behave in a manner that recognizes personal respect and demonstrates concern for the personal dignity, rights, and freedoms of every member of the College community, including respect for College property and physical and intellectual property of others.  If a student is asked to leave the classroom because of uncivil behavior, the student may not return to that class until the issue is resolved.  A written resolution report is sent to the Dean for Academic Affairs.

 

Electronic Devices

Cell phones and electronic devices should be off in the class/lab except in an emergency situation.

 

Calculators 

Calculator memories must be cleared before every exam.  Violations will be considered to be an academic dishonesty matter.

 

Dress Code

Faculty and students are expected to dress appropriately in the classroom and lab following generally accepted standards of neatness, cleanliness, modesty and good taste.

 

 

Scholastic Dishonesty

Blinn College does not tolerate cheating, plagiarism, or other acts of dishonesty.  Definitions of these acts and procedures for dealing with them are described in “Scholastic Dishonesty” in the Blinn College Student Handbook, copies of which are available at the information desk in the Administration Building.  On group quizzes, consultation with the members of your lab group is expected and, in fact, encouraged.  You may also wish to consult with your lab partners in preparing your laboratory report.  However, each student is expected to hand in his or her own lab report.  Also, in your lab reports, you are expected to be absolutely honest when presenting your data and answering questions about your results.  This means that you do not ever falsify, erase, white out, or otherwise alter your experimental results, nor do you ignore or exclude some data points when drawing conclusions about your experimental results without presenting a convincing argument stating why those data points should be ignored or excluded.  Furthermore, cheating on exams will not be tolerated.  Any violation of these rules may result, at the very least, in your receiving a zero for any work affected by the violation.

 

 Description of Course Content and Tentative Class Schedule:

The course will cover Chapters 19-32 in the text.  The material covered on the exams and tentative dates for the exams are as follows:

 

Exam

Material Covered

Date (tentative)

1

Chapters 19-21

Wed, July 15

2

Chapters 22-24

Wed, July 22

3

Chapters 25-28

Wed, July 29

Final Exam

Chapters 19-32

Wed, August 6, 9:35 am – 11:35 am

 

Criteria for Grading:  Grades will be based on labs, quizzes and exams.

 

Quizzes:   Numerous quizzes will be given.  Many will be group quizzes completed during class while working with other members of your class.  On group quizzes you may also use your class notes and the textbook.  Each person will turn in their own copy of each group quiz.  There will be quizzes that you work on individually and many will not be announced in advance.  Students’ lowest quiz grade will be dropped.

Exams:  All exams will be closed-book and closed-note exams.

Labs:  There will be at least eight lab exercises during the semester. 

Online Homework:  We will use the textbook publisher’s online homework system, MasteringPhysics.  Each assignment will have a due date.

Grading summary:  Exams 1-3 (15% each), Final (20%), Labs (10%), Online homework (15%), Quizzes (10%).

 

Important dates to remember:

Monday, June 6

Classes begin

Tuesday, June 7

Last day to register

Monday, July 28

Last day to drop course with a grade of “W”

Thursday, August 6, 11:55 am – 3:55 pm

Final Exam

 

Blinn College grading system [Board Policy Manual EGA(LOCAL), issued 05/24/2004)]:

  A = 90 – 100 Superior; B = 80             – 89 Above Average;  C = 70 – 79 Average;

  D = 60 –   69 Passing;  F = < 60 Failing

 

I reserve the right to adjust these levels in a direction to benefit the studentsif in my judgment grading is not an accurate assessment of ability. Any adjustments will be for all students at the same performance level. I do not give extra credit assignments.