PHYSICS 2211 A - INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS I

Course Policies

Textbook

The textbook is Physics for scientists and engineers:  a strategic approach, Volume 1, by Randall D. Knight (Pearson Addison Wesley 2004), and is available new or used at the bookstore. We will cover chapters 1 through 14 in this course. 

Textbooks purchased at the bookstore are bundled with an access code to the MasteringPhysics online homework system that will be used in this class.  Register with the MasteringPhysics website at your earliest convenience.  There will be homework due every class meeting.

Using the textbook

The course schedule lists the reading assignment associated with each class meeting.  Keep up with the reading. For maximum benefit, you should read the book actively, not just passively. This means you should:

Read the assigned textbook sections before class and focus on definitions, notation and new terminology.

Do the "Stop to think" activities in the text.

Read the "Tactics box" highlights to provide better focus for your reading. 

Work the "Examples" in the text to test your understanding of the reading.

Identify the most important concept in this section of the textbook.

Identify concepts or reasoning that were not clear to you in the reading.

After studying the textbook sections, work through the MasteringPhysics homework questions to check your understanding.

Important: It may take you much longer to complete the MasteringPhysics work if you do not first read the textbook sections and do the exercises in the textbook.  The assigned problems are designed to reinforce what has been covered in the previous class meeting, but following discussion in class does not translate directly into problem-solving skills:  practice is required!  

Class meetings

Classes meet Mon., Wed., and Fri., 9:05- 9:55 AM, in Howey Lecture Room 2. The class meetings will be your best opportunity to ask questions, and clear up confusions. Furthermore, you will be able to gauge your understanding of new material in class through a series of short, polling type questions. Responses to these questions will be collected through an infrared Personal Response System (PRS). In order to participate in this response system, each student will be required to purchase a PRS transmitter from the bookstore. Each transmitter is hard-wired with a unique ID code, which will be used by the system to identify each student's input.

Because research and experience has shown that students' performance in intro physics courses is strongly correlated to their class attendance, class participation, measured through responses to questions asked in class using the PRS will count towards a small percentage of your final grade.

To find out how to register your PRS transmitter, see "PRS Registration."

Bring your textbook and a scientific calculator to class everyday.

Laboratory

Labs meet once per week for 2 hours in Howey S206, starting the week of 28 August.  You are responsible for reading all the lab policy and administrative pages at www.physlab.gatech.edu, before your first lab.  Read the "Lab Policies"  page before your first lab meeting.

Attendance in lab is a course requirement.  To pass this course, you must pass the laboratory portion with an average of 60% or more.  Three unexcused absences from lab will result in automatic failure of the lab, and therefore, of the course.  
No student is automatically exempt from lab. However, students who have already passed PHYS 2211 with a grade of "D" or better (and are repeating the course) may request a lab exemption before the close of business on Wednesday, August 23. 

Homework

This class will use the MasteringPhysics online homework system.  This homework system is specifically designed to work hand-in-hand with the textbook. When you purchase your text, you will, at the same time, be purchasing a two-year registration for MasteringPhysics. After purchasing the text, you will need to register with MP in order to activate your homework account.

There will be a short assignment due before every class (starting on Wednesday, 23 August). These assignments will be selected "skill building" exercises, "stop to think" exercises from the textbook, and problems from the end of the textbook chapter. You are allowed a limited number of submissions.  It is recommended that you keep a logbook of your problem solutions and that you work each assignment on paper in detail before submitting your answers to MasteringPhysics.

It is expected that each student's submitted homework be based on an individual understanding of the relevant material. Note that this does not rule out working on homework with other students (or tutors, or the use of the Physics/OMED Help Lab), but any "collaboration" should involve the sharing of understanding, not answers. (Further guidelines regarding collaborative work can be found via the link at left to Honor code Policies.) Copying answers from peer or solution manuals will not provide the level of understanding necessary to succeed on the quizzes, and is strongly discouraged. Keep in mind that 70% of your grade will be based upon your test-taking ability; don't short-change yourself by cutting corners on homework assignments.

Quizzes and final exam

There will be five in-class tests and a comprehensive final exam.  Each student's poorest regular quiz grade will be dropped. The regular quizzes will be held in class on the Mondays indicated in the course schedule. 

Tests and exams are to be done without help from others. Cheating will be heavily penalized as a violation of the Georgia Tech Honor Code. All tests are closed book; relevant formulas and constants will provided when needed.  Test days are indicated on the course schedule.

Students who will be absent on test days due to participation in approved Institute activities (section IV.B.3 of the Student Rules and Regulations ) must make alternative test-taking arrangements at least a week in advance. Students whose presence elsewhere is required by a court of law, or for whom accommodation for an absence is requested by the Office of the Dean of Students, must substitute their final exam grade for the grade of the missed quiz. Note that the Office of the Dean of Students will not make such a request for routine matters such as short-term illness, doctor appointments, wedding attendance … job interviews, and the like."

Grading policy

Final grades will be calculated according to the following:

	Weight
Quizzes, best 4 of 5	50%
Laboratory	15%
Homework	10%
Class Participation	5%
Final Exam	20%
Total	100%

Test and exam grades are not expected to be curved.

Numerical ranges for final grades:

A	90%-100%
B	80%-89%
C	70%-79%
D	60%-69%
F	0-59%

Progress Reports (midterm grades) will be issued on a Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory basis.

Getting help

Instructor and TA office hours are posted on the Instructors page. Feel free to contact your instructor or TA by email to schedule an appointment if you cannot attend office hours.

The class has an online Discussion Board. You are encouraged to use this forum to discuss with your fellow classmates any problems you might have with homework assignments. Please restrict the use of the forum to homework or course related topics only (i.e. don't use it for chatting).

Also, see the suggestions in on the Extra Help page.

Academic Honesty

The policy on academic honesty as stated in the GIT Honor Code will be fully enforced during this course. In particular:

Collaboration on homework assignments and in-class activities is permitted and encouraged (unless your instructor explicitly indicates otherwise). However, students are NOT permitted to use a second MasteringPhysics account (either their own or that of another student).

Collaboration is NOT permitted tests, quizzes, or the final exam.

Students are NOT permitted to use another student’s PRS transmitter in lecture.

Violations of these “Rules of Engagement” will be prosecuted as violations of the GIT Honor