Syllabus
Info
| Title | General Physics I |
| Term | Fall 2016 |
| Credits | 4 |
| Time | Monday&Wednesday&Friday 11.30-12.50 |
| Place | Brown Science/Sci 117A |
| Level | Introductory |
| Faculty | Salimbeni |
| Office Hours: | by appointment in my office (M, W, Th, F)
|
| Tutor | Forest Pride npride@marlboro.edu, Monday 6:30-8:30 Sci 117A |
An introductory physics class involving some laboratory work; suitable for students considering a plan in physics, science students, or non-science students who want a physics foundation. Topics include vector algebra, kinematics, dynamics of single and many-particle systems, gravitation, energy, momentum, conservation laws, circular and rigid body motion.
Prerequisite: Mathematical proficiency up through, but not necessarily including, calculus
Textbook
Physics for Scientists and Engineers a Strategic Approach, vol I by Randall D. Knight
Other Useful Books
- Copy in the library, on the reserve shelf: Understanding Physics by Karen Cummings, Priscilla W. Laws, Edward F. Redish, Patrick J. Cooney
- Online Book: College Physics By OpenStax
Student Accessibility
This course will honor all reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. If you have a disability that requires specific accommodation, please contact Catherine O’Callaghan, Assistant Dean of Academic Advising & Support (cocallag@marlboro.edu). Catherine will convene the ADA committee to review documentation and determine what accommodations are warranted. Catherine will then provide a letter to faculty outlining reasonable accommodations. It is your responsibility to engage in this process; i.e., disclose your disability, provide documentation, request accommodations, and deliver the accommodations letter to your faculty.
Course Policies & Grading
Attendance and Participation
Attending the lessons and actively participating in class are essential to successfully pass this course. I understand that emergencies happen in life (illness, family emergencies, religious observance, homework overload etc.), for this reason you are allowed to miss 3 classes without the need of reporting to me. However, your final grade will drop by 2.5 points for each absence beyond the first three. You will not receive any credit for this course if you missed more than a total of 10 classes. Arriving late in class is a disruptive behavior and affects yours and other students' learning experience. Please, come on time to class. Three late arrivals will be considered an absence.
Readings, Participation and Pre-class assignments
I hope you will participate and collaborate with other students during class discussions, group work and experiments, this is the best way of learning the material in this course. You are encouraged to come to class prepared to discuss the material and ask questions. Reading the material is critical for having a productive class time, failing to prepare will affect the learning of you and your classmates. To help you with the reading I will assign pre-class questions that will be discussed during class time. Readings, quality of participation and pre-class assignments are part of your grade (15% of your final grade).
Homework
Homework will be assigned weekly (35% of your final grade). Homework is an essential tool to learn and to receive feedback. For this reason it is important that you hand in your assignments on time. Students are encouraged to work together on the homework assignments. However, your final write-up of the assignment must represent your own understanding; copying another person's work is plagiarism and will result in no credit for that assignment.
You are allowed to review your assignments after my correction for a higher grade. Reviewing an assignment means to redo an exercise you had trouble with from scratch, it does not mean copying the solutions given during the class discussion or the feedback you received on your assignment. This review will help us both to verify your understanding and if further help is needed.
Take-Home tests and Final
In addition to the weekly assignments, there will be two take-home tests (30% of your grade) and a in class final (20% of your final grade). You are not allowed to collaborate while you are working on the take-home tests or on the final (unless I assign group work).
Late Police for Assignments, Take-Home tests and Final
You have one bonus late assignment to use during the semester in case of emergency, use it wisely. Special arrangements for further late work can be obtained under very special circumstances agreed through prior discussion with me.
No late work will be accepted for the Take-Home tests and Final assignments.
If you are late in more than one assignment and we did not agree on any special arrangement this is how I will value your late work:
Plagiarism
Academic Honesty is expected of all scientists, and also of all students. Cheating on homework or the final exam will result in no credit.
If you are not sure on how to use a source, please check this
link on the library webpage.
Grading
Grade Letters
The green represents the range of numerical grades that corresponds to the letter grade
Tentative schedule
Month Chapter
-------------- -----------------------------------
Sep 2-5 Concept of Motion (Chap 1)
Sep 7-9-12 Kinematics in One Dimension (Chap 2)
Sep 14-16 Vector and Coordinate Systems (Chap 3)
Sep 19-21-23 Kinematics in Two dimensions (Chap 4)
Sep 26-28 Force and Motion (Chap 5)
Sep 30 Review
Oct 3-5-7 Dynamics I: Motion along the line (Chap 6) - First take home due on the 3th
Oct 10-12-14 Newton's Third Law (Chap 7)
Oct 19-21-24 Dynamics II: Motion in a Plane (Chap 8)
Oct 26-28 Impulse and Momentum (Chap 9)
Oct 31 Nov 2-4 Energy (Chap 10)
Nov 7-9-11 Work (Chap 11)
Nov 14-16-18-21 Rotation of a Rigid Body (Chap 12)
Nov 28-30 Dec 2 Newton's Theory of Gravity (Chap 13) - Second take home due on the 30th
Dec 5-7 Review
Dec 10or12or13 In class exam (the date is TBD)