Course Syllabus

PHY 2053  Physics 1

 Course Description

PHY2053 - Physics 1.  First semester of introductory physics de-emphasizing calculus. Structure and properties of matter; kinematics, dynamics and statics; momentum and energy; rotation, elasticity; vibration; fluids; temperature and expansion, heat transfer, thermal behavior of gases; wave motion and sound.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills: High school algebra and trigonometry, or the equivalent.

 Course Objectives

By the end of this course, students will have improved their existing foundation in the concepts, principles, terminology, and methodologies used to describe motion (translational, rotational and combined) of simple objects, the basic properties of matter, harmonic oscillations, and wave motion.  Specifically, students will be able to:

1. Analyze particular physical situations, and thus identify the fundamental principles pertinent to those situations to make successful predictions of system behavior.
   
2. Apply fundamental principles to formulate symbolic mathematical equations describing the relation between physical quantities in these particular situations.
3. Solve mathematical equations to find the values of physical quantities from given initial conditions, and
4. Communicate unambiguously both the principles that apply to a situation and the results of specific calculations resulting in claims supported by the steps above.
   

These course objectives align with the UF General Education student learning outcomes and physical science area learning outcomes.

 Contact Info And Office Hours

Visit your instructors for free help! We're the ones writing your exams and quizzes and have a good idea about how to help you succeed in this course. You may visit any of the TAs, not just the one teaching your discussion section. Please find someone you can go to for help. Here's our Weekly Schedule (subject to changes):

Contact Information for Instructional Team

 Course Policies

ATTENDANCE POLICY:  Attendance is required. Each week you will attend two lecture meetings (in NPB1001, Period 3) and two discussion section meetings (see registration). Missing a required course meeting does not require notification, unless the absence causes you to miss a weekly quiz (contact TA) or assembly exam (contact instructors using email above). See the makeup policy below.

ASSIGNMENT POLICY: Homework, quiz, and exam schedules are announced in the course calendar and appear at the bottom of this page

HOMEWORK POLICY:Homework sets are completed online through Mastering Physics at any time between the opening of the assignment and the deadline announced in the course calendar. Google Chrome is the recommended browser. These assignments are not timed or proctored, but they are subject to the UF Policy on Academic Misconduct (see below).

It is permissible to seek assistance or collaborate on homework. This assistance may include help with interpreting the problem, identifying relevant information in the textbook or course videos, or identifying one’s errors.  No credit is available for late assignments as the assignments are available over 10 days. The assignments are due on Mondays at noon. (See “Getting Help” below for what to do in the event of technical problems with the Canvas e-Learning system.)

EXAM POLICY:  There will be three assembly exams held during periods E1 and E2.  Students will be provided with reference material for each exam consisting of select formula and constants. The reference material will be available prior to the exam on the exam information page in Canvas.

MAKE-UP POLICY:Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work are consistent with university policies that can be found here (Links to an external site.). For a foreseeable absence, it is your responsibility to identify yourself as requiring an accommodation prior to the absence and provide supporting documentation. Documentation for illness is required. The documentation must be provided by a medical practitioner and includes contact information and the dates excused from attending class. Documentation notifying a visit to a healthcare provider is therefore not sufficient to meet this standard.

For missed quizzes: Contact your TA to request a makeup quiz. Students have one week from the date of the missed quiz to submit a makeup quiz request. The request must contain supporting documentation. Students who are approved for a makeup quiz by the TA will have up to two weeks from the original date of the missed quiz to complete the associated makeup quiz, at a time mutually agreeable with their TA, or August 8th, whichever comes first.

For missed exams: Contact the instructors at the email address listed above.

Missed iclicker or hw: We provide a number of assignment drops listed in the grading section of this syllabus to account for excused or unexcused absences from the course and for any issues you experience with your technology. Therefore you do not need to contact the instructors regarding missing these assignments as this is handled automatically in Canvas for you.

EXTRA CREDIT POLICY: The iClicker system will be used for up to 2.5 points extra credit based on question performance.

GRADING SCHEME Students are evaluated based on individual performance on formative and summative assessments according to the following scheme:

After release of exam 1 scores, we will enable the canvas grading tool to calculate intermediate grades based on scores earned to date, since this calculation is only meaningful if at least one score appears in each of the grading categories. The What If tool can project how hypothetical scores on future assignments affect the overall grade calculation according to the scheme used in calculating your final score.

Using the What If tool to place hypothetical grades in all grading categories will incorporate extra credit into an accurate grade calculation that matches the table below.

Quizzes

A quiz will occur in your discussion section to give you feedback on your ability to utilize your understanding of the previous week's physics content to answer qualitative and quantitative questions. Partial credit is given based on the quality of the response. The questions can be based on (though not identical to) a homework problem from the homework turned in Monday of that week or the previous week's lectures and reading. Quiz numbering corresponds to HW numbering. Quizzes are given only on Tuesday or Wednesday. Quizzes will not be assigned during exam weeks, and the Quiz time will be used by your TA to help you review for the exam.

Approved make-ups for missed quizzes will take place at the first opportunity determined by your TA according to the absence and makeup policy stated above. The documentation must be provided to your TA within 1 week of the missed quiz or a rational reason that it will be delayed must be e-mailed along with the projected receipt date of the documentation to your TA within that period. All quizzes must be made up within one week of the missed quiz. The last date for an eligible makeup will be the Tuesday before the last day of class (August 8th).

Homework

Homework  is based on the MasteringPhysics online homework system and assignments are due Mondays at 12PM (noon) EDT. Each student gets a unique set of numbers for each problem. Because of the length of time each homework set is available, there are no extensions  on the homework. You are strongly encouraged to start entering your answers well ahead of the deadline to avoid possible technical problems that might occur on the day the homework is due. If an unforeseen technical difficulty like a down internet connection or computer virus causes you to miss the deadline, you will not receive credit for the unfinished work. The homework solutions will be released at 12:05PM EDT on Mondays to give you meaningful feedback on your problem solving work.

Please note: Scores do not sync immediately with Canvas. Weekly homework scores are synced to Canvas a few days after the homework deadline has passed.

Homework and academic honesty: While we encourage students to discuss homework problems with one another, we regard it as a breach of academic honesty to get homework solutions or algorithms external sources, including websites or companies that give away or sell such solutions or algorithms (this is stated explicitly in our course Academic Honesty policy found below).

Discussion Section Participation Bonus

Discussion sections are designed to promote collaborative group problem solving while practicing the skills necessary to become successful in solving physics problems on your own. To reward your efforts, your discussion section TA will award weekly participation bonus points for your collaborative work in solving problems assigned to your group. On non-quiz days, students will work through collaborative group problem solving exercises. These problems require productive and focused application of what you have learned from reading the textbook and reviewing the lectures. You will be assigned to a small group, with each group receiving a problem to solve together. TAs will monitor attendance, evaluate your level of participation in the group and answer questions, as well as facilitate your discussion by asking specific students in the group to explain or justify decisions made by the group in arriving at a solution. 

As a participant you must have thoughtful discussion and engagement to be eligible for the participation bonus. The points are individual and the entire group does not necessarily get the same participation points.

Each week, you may earn points based on your participation and group's success. These points will sum over the course of the semester and will determine your individual participation bonus. This bonus will be added to your overall course grade. Your discussion section instructor will have details for showing evidence of participation.

You can't makeup missed participation bonus points with a group, nor complete alternate assignments to replace missed bonus points. You must be able to join the session at the meeting time arranged. Remember, this is not a course requirement, but an encouragement to participate in these meaningful exercises to gain both feedback and confidence in your problem solving ability.

Ungraded "Additional Practice" Assignments

You will find assignments offering additional practice for students called "Additional Practice X". These are not counted in your course grade and exist to encourage you to practice physics prior to exams, or as an opportunity for remediation. There is a deadline for the assignments at the end of the semester after the exam is completed, but they are not required to be completed.

Dropped Assignments

Dropped Assignments : A combination of planned and unforeseen factors may cause you to miss some classes or discussion sections, additionally, it is likely for most of us to have a bad day or week (for any number of reasons) during the semester.  To accommodate this reality, we drop the lowest scoring assignments as a "makeup" policy for excused and unexcused absences to accommodate circumstances that may arise throughout the semester that may hinder your performance in the online HW and the discussion section quizzes. Homework, discussion participation bonus, and iClicker bonus assignment categories include dropped assignments as stated above, and discussion quiz will permit one dropped assignment. No exam will be dropped.

Note: The calculation of which assignments to drop in each category is performed so that the dropped assignments yield the highest possible student grade. As you might imagine, this means it will not necessarily be the assignments with the lowest percentage score. This will be true in the Homework and iClicker categories since these categories are include assignments with non-uniform total point values. For more details of examples and the calculations performed to determine the dropped assignments, see the paper Kane, D. and Kane, J (2006). Dropping Lowest Grades.

GRADING SCALE No rounding will be applied when evaluating grades.

 Course Requirements

Required Textbook

The required text is College Physics, a strategic approach, by Knight, Jones, and Field, 4th Edition published by Pearson.  The course is set up for an All-Access opt-in to purchase the text online for students who have registered for the course.  The opt-in procedure begins with this link: https://www.bsd.ufl.edu/allaccess, which is also listed on the course Canvas website with further instructions.

The required online homework system is Mastering Physics, access to which is included in the purchase of the online textbook describe above.  Accessing Mastering Physics using the link provided in the Canvas website.

Acceptable Calculator Policy

Only handheld calculators are permitted for performing calculations during exams or quizzes. Only non-graphing, non-programmable scientific calculators are acceptable. Mobile devices with calculator software are not permissible for use during exams or quizzes.

iClicker

Students will use free access to iClicker Cloud to submit responses to formative feedback questions during the lecture listed on their class registration. Each question provides students the opportunity to earn maximum of two points based on submitting a response (one point) and submitting a correct response (a second point).

Four iclicker session scores are dropped to allow for absences, broken devices, late answers, technology issues, etc. However, to receive credit for your responses, your iClicker account must be linked to your Canvas course. Instructions for completing this linking is detailed in a later section of this syllabus. The deadline for completing a successful iClicker sync is the last day of class (prior to reading day). Students not completing an iClicker sync before this deadline forfeit their extra credit points. If you do not see iClicker session scores in Canvas Grades, then you have not completed the sync successfully and must try again. Please see the iClicker page regarding syncing your account with this course and contacts for iClicker customer service support.

You are responsible for maintaining the functioning of your device, including its connection to the internet. No credit will be given for questions if you forget your mobile device or your mobile device battery is dead or you do not respond to the question in the allotted time.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites are high school algebra and trigonometry, or the equivalent.

 UF Policies

University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities who experience learning barriers and would like to request academic accommodations should connect with the Disability Resource Center by visiting our Get Started page. Links to an external sIt is important for students to share their accommodation letter with their instructor and discuss their access needs, as early as possible in the semester.

Requesting an accommodation letter to be sent to instructors via the course email address (phy2053@phys.ufl.edu) is sufficient for receiving accommodations, as long as the letter is received at least four working days prior to the deadline for assessments. Letters received less than four working days before the assignment deadline will have the accommodations applied for the next and subsequent assessments.

Exams: Students requesting accommodations on exams must complete the testing center ATR prior to the four-business day deadline, as described on the DRC website. Students not meeting this deadline elect to complete the exam without accommodations during the nominal exam time at the location advertised on the exam information page. Therefore it is imperative to submit the ATR timely to enable use of your accommodations.

Submit the ATR so that the start time matches your extended time accommodation:

1.5x students:  Start time of 6pm or later.
2.0x students:  Start time of 5pm or later.
2.5x students:  Start time of 4pm or later.

Academic Honesty Policy and Honor Code

Background

We go to great lengths to ensure that our physics course is administered fairly, by setting clear goals (what is needed to attain each grade) at the outset, by providing materials (lectures, homework, office hours, reviews) to help you reach those goals, and by assessing progress towards those goals using easily understood procedures (exams, quizzes, iClicker, online homework). We pledge to do the best job we can to make the material understandable and to bring out the best in every student.

Course Policy

Maintaining the integrity of the grading process demands fairness and compassion on our part and honor on your part. Accordingly, we take a very hard line on cheating in any form, including

1. Providing or copying answers on exams or quizzes
2. Taking an exam or quiz for another student
3. Entering online homework answers for another student
4. Distributing or copying exam or quiz questions
5. Obtaining course homework solutions or software algorithms from external sources, including websites or companies that give away or sell such solutions or algorithms.

Any person caught cheating in any form will fail the entire course automatically and will be subject to Honor Court penalties.  Furthermore, we expect students to not tolerate cheating of any kind and to report incidents to your instructors.

Honor Code

The Dean of Students Office  website  has a detailed discussion about academic honesty and the University of Florida Honor Code, which was adopted by the Student Council. The Honor Code says

We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied:

"On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."

 Getting Help

Technical Difficulties

For help with technical issues or difficulties with Canvas, please contact the UF Computing Help Desk at:

• http://helpdesk.ufl.edu
• 352-392-HELP (4357)
• Walk-in: HUB 132

Any requests for make-ups (assignments, exams, etc.) due to technical issues should be accompanied by the ticket number received from the UF Computing Help Desk when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You should email your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.

Health and Wellness

• U Matter, We Care: If you or someone you know is in distress, please email umatter@ufl.edu, call 352-392-1575, or visit U Matter We Care to refer or report a concern, and a team member will reach out to the student in distress.
• Counseling and Wellness Center: Visit the UF Counseling & Wellness Center website or call 352-392-1575 for information on crisis services and non-crisis services.
• Student Health Care Center: Call 352-392-1161 for 24/7 information to help you find the care you need, or visit the UF Student Health Care Center website.
• University Police Department: Visit the UF Police Department website or call 352-392-1111 (or 9-1-1 for emergencies).
• UF Health Shands Emergency Room/Trauma Center: For immediate medical care in Gainesville, call 352-733-0111, or go to the emergency room at 1515 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32608; Visit the UF Health Shands Emergency Room/Trauma Center website.