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Physics 1401 – crn 32333
Northwest College
Spring 2013
Instructor:
Professor Barry
Telephone:
713-974-5749 Home
Email
john.barry@hccs.edu
Course: non-calculus-based. Topics - force, motion, work, energy, momentum, thermal
properties of matter. For pre-medical, pre-dental, architecture, construction
management, pre-vet etc. Contact your school regarding transferability of this course.
Prerequisites – College algebra and trigonometry.
Course Text: Physics; James S. Walker; Volume 1 4th Ed.
Students should purchase a scientific calculator.
Online homework – www.masteringphysics.com – MPBarry21138 1401 Physics 2012
Exam Schedule – subject to change without notice.
Exam One
Exam Two
Exam Three
Final Exam
Ch.
Ch.
Ch.
Ch.
1,2,3,4,5
6,7,8,9
10,11,12,13,14
15,16,17,18
Wed. Feb. 6, 2013
Wed. Mar. 6, 2013
Mon. Apr. 8, 2013
Mon. May 6, 2013
Grade Calculation
Four exams – evenly divided
Homework
Laboratory Average
In-class responses
78% - (Lab Average – 9.5%)
9.5%
0% to 12%+
3%
Grading Scale – 100-90 =A, 89-80 = B, 79-70 = C, 69-60 = D, <60 = F
At the discretion of the instructor, either the grading scale may be adjusted or the
exam scores may be “curved” to reflect the corresponding degree of difficulty.
Exams
During exams, all purses, satchels, cellphones, laptops etc. will be placed in the back of
the room. Visits to the bathroom will be limited. Some exams may be open book or
open notes. (Online textbooks are not permitted during exams). Exams will include
problems similar to both homework, and examples/concepts as discussed in class. A
formula sheet will be issued for each exam. Make-up exams are not
administered. If you do not appear for an exam, for any
reason, it will be graded as a zero.
The final exam is
mandatory. No exams are “dropped”.
This textbook contains MasteringPhysics - an online homework program
developed through the National Science Foundation. The MasteringPhysics
program includes all problems at the end of each chapter. It also contains “extra”
problems with a “tutoring” feature that assists students in finding solutions.
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Homework problems may be worked online or manually, at student’s discretion.
Problems should be clearly numbered and answers should be “boxed” or circled
to receive credit. All answers must be written in a student’s own handwriting.
Photocopies of answers will not be credited. Some solutions are available at
www.chegg.com.
Laboratory Text: None – Lab Reports are due 1 week following completion of the lab.
Make-up labs are not administered. Laboratory concepts will be discussed prior to the
beginning of the lab. Students need to print lab procedures before class. Lab
procedures are found at HCC NW homepage/learning web/barry/johnbarry/See
Additional resources) / PASCO physics labs. A limited number of lab procedures may
be a handed out by the instructor prior to the lab exercise.
Do not submit either Homework problems or Lab reports in a binder. Submit as
stapled sheets.
Attendance – Students are expected to attend all classes. Texas state guidelines and
HCCS policies require that student with more than 12% absences be withdrawn from
the class. Effectively, students are subject to withdrawal when 3 classes are missed in
the summer sessions and 4 classes in the regular semester. Three late arrivals or three
early leavings will count as one absence. Attending class and paying attention is the
key to a good grade. Stay current in your studies – be prepared for lectures. Please do
not hesitate to contact me if you are struggling with the class. The college has
instituted an automated class attendance record system. Students are subject to
being automatically dropped from the course upon missing the 4th class.
Academic Responsibility
Please refer to the Student Handbook concerning grievances, complaints, discipline
(including student conduct), scholastic dishonesty and student rights. Please contact
me if you require any reasonable accommodation to achieve your academic
responsibilities.
Note: The state of Texas has begun to limit the money it will contribute to a student’s
education. The state contributes only to the first 2 times a student registers for a course.
For the 3rd registration, the cost will be almost doubled.
Dropped classes – The HCCS administration has instituted a strict policy regarding
withdrawal from a course. If a student decides to withdraw from this class, the deadline
is Apr. 1, 2013 to receive a “W” on your transcript. After this date, a grade will be
issued including a “D” or “F”.
Texting, laptops, computers and cell phones – Students may not use electronic
devices of any type in the classroom during class time. These devices are a detriment
to learning in that they break the concentration of students during lecture and lab. In
particular, texting is not allowed during class time. Students needing to respond to
a text or cell phone call must leave the classroom. (Do not speak on the phone until
outside the classroom.) Students using a cell phone in the classroom will be asked
to leave for the day.
Students using cell phones during labs will be penalized 20% on the lab grade.
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Lab Schedule There will be 2 or 3 labs per “quarter”
of the semester (total 8 to 12) depending on the progress of the
class. Lab investigations or class demonstrations will be selected
by the instructor from the following list :
Test 1
Measurement lab
Vectors
Position, Velocity, Acceleration
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Projectile Motion
Test 2
Atwoods Machine
Friction
Free-Fall
Work – Kinetic Energy
Momentum Conservation
Energy Conservation
Test 3
Rotational Motion
Angular Velocity, Acceleration
Angular Momentum Conservation
Simple Harmonic Motion
Hooke’s Law
Wave Motion
Speed of Sound
Test 4
Buoyant Force
Calorimetry Specific Heat
Boyle’s Law
Thermodynamics
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Homework Instructions
1. Homework problems can be worked on Mastering Physics or submitted
manually.
2 Students submitting problems online will submit a list of those completed in each
chapter.
Students submitting problems manually will ensure that assignments are clear,
legible and in order by chapter. Also,
1 List the problems completed in each chapter. Indicate the number of problems
completed in each chapter at the top of a submitted assignment.
2 Include your name on the problems assignment.
3 Clearly indicate the number of a problem with a surrounding “box” or by
highlighting the problem number.
4 Put a box around or highlight the answers.
5 Keep all homework for each assignment in order, stapled.
Lab Reports – Do not use a coversheet.
Data – From the lab handout, include only the data sheets and the questions. Do
not turn in the lab instructions. Tables are usually the clearest way to record and
present data. Be sure to include units. Include and title any relevant graphs. Include a
sample calculation. If an Excel spreadsheet is included, it may not be necessary to
submit a sample calculation.
Summary of Lab – Discuss your results. You should focus on relevant content.
Discuss the shape of any curves. Discuss your numbers from the chart, observations
from the data collection. What do the calculations and graphs mean? Write a
conclusion that summarizes the lab. What was explored/proven? You may wish to
mention problems with the equipment, the data collection or suggest improvements.
Answer questions using complete sentences. You may wish to expand upon the
questions.
Comments: Never use the words “Human error”. What does human error mean?
Reports should be neat and legible, else points will be deducted. Some students may
need to type their report.