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SIENA COLLEGE

Department of Physics and Astronomy


SYLLABUS
PHYS 110 General Physics IA

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Course

General Physics IA PHYS 110

Semester

Fall 2015 (September 8, 2015 through December 19, 2015)

Place

Department of Physics & Astronomy, Roger Bacon, Room 144

Time

Lectures on Tues. & Thurs. 2:35 pm to 4:00 pm, Labs separately assigned

Instructor

Dr. George Hassel

Office

Department of Physics & Astronomy, Roger Bacon, Room 140

Office hours

Monday and Wednesday 10:30am-11:30pm; or by appointment.

Contact information

Email: ghassel@siena.edu
Office telephone: (518) 786-5087

Course description

An introductory course in physics for students of the life sciences


emphasizing kinematics, Newtonian dynamics and energy. Also includes
rotational motion, fluids, heat and thermodynamics. Includes applications to
biological systems.

Prerequisites

None

Credit

4 credits (Lecture and Lab).

Course-level learning
goals

By completing this course students will:


Understand the fundamental concepts and theories of physics along with
the historical and experimental development of physics.
Develop reasoning and problem solving skills including applications of
the scientific method, comparing experimental and philosophical
viewpoints, and performing and interpreting mathematical analysis.
Fulfill natural science core requirement

Related learning goals

Required Material

Clearly express scientific ideas using oral, visual and written


communication including composing and revising written lab reports
Apply the scientific method and critical thinking skills to raise questions
and define and solve problems.
Application of the laws of physics relevant to atomic and nuclear
physics
Perform demonstrative experiments, and analyze the data.
Giancoli, Physics: Principles with Applications, 6
Required.
Sapling access. We will be using Sapling for homework assignments
and tutorials. See Sapling Access Instructions for more information.
Paper, writing utensils, and a hand calculator are recommended.

Grading scheme

Exams (2 or 3 + Final)
Homework, Class Activities, & Quizzes
Lab Grade
Total

70%
15%
15%
100%

* The Lab and associated written reports are course requirements based
on the guidelines of the Core Curriculum. Although these components
represent a smaller fraction of the overall grade, you must receive a passing
grade on all lab activities in order to receive a passing grade for the course.
Grading

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Although there is some flexibility, recognizing the relative level of difficulty


of exams, grading is done on an absolute scale. You can determine your grade
on any homework assignment, lab, or exam by dividing what you earned
(with bonus points) by what you could have earned (not counting bonus
points), multiplying the result by 100, rounding to the nearest integer.
Generally, 93% is needed for an A, 90% for an A-, 87% for a B+, 83% for a
B, 80% for a B-, 77% for a C+, 73% for a C, 70% for a C-, 67% for a D+,
63% for a D, and 60% for a D-.
An overall grade below 60% is equivalent to failing the exam, assignment or
lab. Grades may be adjusted to be higher when the average class performance
for any item is particularly low (indicating that the item was unusually
difficult). Grades are never adjusted to a lower value.

Blackboard will be used and regularly updated to tabulate grades.


Class Activities

Science education research shows that the best way to learn is to actively do
science, and to confront discontinuities between your understanding and
observed phenomena. For this reason, demonstrations and hands-on activities
are regularly provided to explore relevant concepts. Also, these are included
as a major part of the course grade, so careful and thorough completion of
class activities may help to offset poor exam grades.

Homework

Homework assignments will be announced periodically, and usually


administered through Sapling. These problems will help you to actively
engage with the material more so than simply reading the chapter. These
questions may also form the content of quizzes and exams. A reasonable due
date will be announced with the assignment, and no late work will be
accepted. Past experience has shown that students who do not keep up with
their homework assignments get LOWER grades. You might be required to
discuss your homework solutions during class. Homework grades will be
factored into the class activity grade.

Quizzes

Periodically, short quizzes will be given based on the reading assignments.


While these will usually be announced, this may not always be the case. The
content of these quizzes usually emphasize major learning objectives and so
will likely appear again on exams. The grades will also be included in the inclass activity / homework grades. Reading quizzes cannot be made up.

Physics Lab

The General Physics Lab is intended to provide additional, hands-on


activities to illustrate physical principles and extra practice problems.
Another objective is the development of scientific writing through the
submission of lab reports. The lab section meets at a separate time with a
different instructor, but the compiled grades are included with the other
lecture components as described above. The Physics Lab is a course
requirement based on the guidelines of the Core Curriculum. You must
receive a passing grade on each weekly lab activity in order to receive a
passing grade for the course. Missed labs must be made up by arrangement
with the lab instructor or during the final week of the course.
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Formal Lab Write-up

One of the lab reports will be selected as a formal write-up based on a


provided format. This exercise includes the submission of a draft, which will
be given a preliminary grade with suggestions for revision. The timeline for
revision will be announced by the lab instructor. This process has a twofold
purpose, to satisfy the writing requirement of the Core Curriculum, but also
to provide some practice with the revision process that is prevalent in
scientific writing.

Class participation

This course emphasizes active learning through a variety of methods.


Students will be expected to participate in class discussions in a constructive
manner. One can participate by asking questions, by actively participating in
class activities and labs, by helping classmates when the opportunity rises, by
volunteering to present ones solution to a problem at the board, and by
validating ones understanding of the material through discussions and
problem solving with others. One can also participate by tactfully challenging
the assumptions or logic used by others to reach their conclusions. You are
not expected to have mastered the required reading for a session, but you are
expected to have done the reading and to have given some thought to the
material covered and to the assigned homework.

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Attendance

Attendance is required. While some absences are certainly legitimate, you


should inform your instructor prior to missing any classes. Missing excessive
classes may affect your grades as follows: Missing more than 3 classes may
decrease your overall grade by a letter grade. You may be advised to
withdraw from the course if you miss more than 5 classes. Excessive
absences may also result in issuing a U grade for the term. Please be aware
that repeated absences cannot be compensated for by exuberant participation
in the relatively few classes that one does attend. Students are responsible for
all material covered in class, even when absent or adding the class late.
Students should understand that some material discussed in class is not
covered in the textbook. In-class problems and activities cannot be made up
for inexcused absences.

Attendance is mandatory at exams and final.


Class preparation

Reading assignments are to prepare for the lecture by having you read the
material before coming to class. The chapter/sections assignments will be
announced in class. Studies show that students who come to class having read
the material learn more.

Teaching approach

The focus is on student-centered learning. Techniques include: in-class


writing, example problems, discussions, and working together on short
experiments.

Class period

Class time is eighty five minutes, and will typically be organized by


announcements / returning & reviewing graded work, briefly reviewing
previous material, lecture on new material, and performing group activities
when applicable. You are welcome to take breaks throughout the time period,
but please be courteous of your classmates and instructor.

Academic integrity

Class activities and homeworks can be discussed together, but solutions must
be written up independently. Quizzes and Exams are done independently
without assistance from notes. Each student is expected to do his or her own
work. Violations of academic integrity, when discovered, will be handled in
accordance with Siena College's policy regarding academic dishonesty. For
more information please follow this link on Academic Integrity.

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Accommodations policy Please refer to this link: Policies and Forms


Emergency
preparedness

Please refer to: Emergency Info

Cell phone use

As a courtesy to your fellow students and to your instructor, make sure that
your cell phone is off at the beginning of class (for more information follow
this link on Cell Phone Policy).
Use of laptops in the classroom is
acceptable, but web surfing is not allowed during class.

Late assignments

Sapling assignments: no late work is accepted.


Other homework (if any): 50% off for late work.
A waiver may be given for emergency reasons only, subject to the instructor's
approval.

Blackboard

Blackboard will be used to keep in touch with the students registered in this
class. Assignments and grades are posted on Blackboard. Occasionally, I
will elaborate on topics that may not have been covered adequately in class.
To have access to the Course Management System, a student must activate
his or her computer account. It is your responsibility to make sure that you
have done so as soon as possible, since I will not send assignments to
students individually. Blackboard also enables you to contact your fellow
students, since there is an email capacity built within Blackboard.

Course Topics:

Measurement, Uncertainty, Units (Ch 1)


One-dimensional motion (Ch 2)
Vectors, Two-dimensional motion, projectile motion (Ch 3)
Forces: Newtons Laws, free-body diagrams, inclined planes (Ch 4)
Gravitation, Circular motion (Ch 5)
Work, friction, energy (Ch 6)
Linear momentum (Ch 7)
Rotational motion (Ch 8)
Statics (Ch 9)
Fluids (Ch 10)
Temperature & Heat (Ch 13, 14)
Thermodynamics, Entropy (Ch 15)

Extra Credit

Opportunities for extra credit are announced throughout the semester and
generally available following exams: they are typically in the form of small
projects, but may include brown bag lunches, seminar attendance, etc.

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Important Dates:
Sept. 8: Classes Begin
Oct. 16: Presidents Holiday No Classes
Oct. 30: Mid-Semester Grades
Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving Break No Classes
Dec 14: Last Day of Classes
Dec 15: Reading Day
Dec 16-19: Final Exams

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