PNC Concurrent Enrollment Program Physics Course Initial Evaluation
(draft – 7/21/2015)
Information to be considered during the evaluation process.
School Name
Teacher Name
Course(s) (Content
for each is listed on
the next page)
Prerequisites (or
co-requisites)
□ PHYS 220
□ PHYS 220 and PHYS 221
□ PHYS 220 and PHYS 221 in
as a combined course in
two years. One year per
one academic year
semester of college credit
High School Information
PNC requirements
____ Algebra I
MA 153: Algebra and Trigonometry I
MA 154: Algebra and Trigonometry II
____ Algebra II/ College Algebra
____ Pre-Calculus/ Trigonometry
____ Calculus
Class Meeting
Schedule
Is additional class
time available?
(e.g. before/after
school, study hall,
summer)
Approximate
average amount of
time spent on lab
□ One semester, traditional
(approximately 90 days, 45 min. per day)
□ Full year, traditional (approximately
180 days, 45 min per day)
□ One semester, block (approximately 90
days, 80 – 100 min. per day)
□ Two semesters, block (approximately
180 days, 80 – 100 min. per day)
□ Other (describe):
□ Yes, required for all students
□ Yes, optional or as needed
□ No
If yes, describe in supporting materials
□ _______ class periods per week
Or
□ _______ % of class time
Lecture:
 110 min/ lecture, 2 lectures a
week
 220 min/ week of lecture
Lab:
 110 min/week
 One day a week for 1 hour and
50 min
330 minutes total class time/ week
(equivalent to 7 school days/ week for
one week at PNC- 45 min/ day)
Additional time available via office
hours if student deems necessary
Lab:


110 min/week
One day a week for 1 hour and
50 min
 Equivalent to 2 days/ week of
traditional high school schedule
 33% of class time devoted to lab
330 minutes total class time/ week
Textbook used by
students: indicate
one of the
commonly used
books or write in a
different one, if
necessary. (Since
some authors write
different textbooks
for different levels,
please check ISBNs)
□ Bauer, Wolfgang & Wesfall, Gary.
University Physics with Modern Physics,
McGraw Hill
□ Chabay, Ruth W., and Bruce A.
Sherwood. Electric and Magnetic
Interactions. New York: John Wiley &
Sons.
□ Chabay, Ruth W., and Bruce A.
Sherwood. Matter and Interactions I:
Modern Mechanics. New York: John
Wiley & Sons.
□ Chabay, Ruth W., and Bruce A.
Sherwood. Matter and Interactions II:
Electricity and Magnetic Interactions.
New York: John Wiley & Sons.
□ Giancoli, Douglas C., Physics for
Scientists and Engineers. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
□ Halliday, David, Robert Resnick, and
Kenneth Krane. Physics. Vols. 1 & 2. New
York: John Wiley
& Sons.
□ Halliday, David, Robert Resnick, and
Jearl Walker. Fundamentals of Physics.
New York: John Wiley & Sons. (or any
variation on the Hallday text)
□ Hecht, Eugene. Physics: Calculus. New
York: Brooks/Cole.
□ Knight, Randall D. Physics for Scientists
and Engineers: A Strategic Approach with
Modern Physics. Boston, MA: AddisonWesley.
□ Serway, Raymond A. Principles of
Physics. Fort Worth, TX: Saunder

College Physics (1st Ed.) by
Etkina, Gentile, Van Heuvelen
(published by Pearson) with
Modified Mastering Access.
□ Serway, Raymond A., Robert J.
Beichner and John W. Jewett, Jr. Physics
for Scientists and Engineer. Vols. 1 & 2.
Fort Worth, TX: Saunders.
□ Tipler, Paul A. Physics for Scientists and
Engineers. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman.
□ Young, Hugh D., and Roger A.
Freedman. University Physics. Reading,
MA: Addison Wesley Longman.
□ Young, Hugh D., Roger A. Freedman,
T.R. Sandin, and A. Lewis Ford. Sears and
Semansky's University Physics. Reading,
MA: Addison-Wesley.
□ Other:
_______________________________
____
__
____
__
*Students should be using a college-level
book. If a college-level book is not
available until the next round of
adoptions, the teacher should provide
supplementary information to the
students. If this is the case, please
describe in the attached materials.
Grading Scheme:
Indicate the
percentage of the
overall grade from
each of the
following
components
(unused categories
can be left blank)
HIGH SCHOOL WILL BE
REQUIRED TO ADOPT PNC
GRADING CRITERIA





20%: 3 exams
20% Final Exam
20%: Lab
30% homework10% in-class activities
Grading Scale:
HIGH SCHOOL WILL BE
REQUIRED TO ADOPT PNC
GRADING SCALE
Grading Policies:
(Check all that
apply)
□ Students must pass the laboratory
portion of the course to pass the overall
course
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
≤ 59% F

During the last week of classes,
you may make an appointment
with me to retake any test on
which you scored LESS THAN
70%. Your retake can boost
your grade on the test to a
maximum score of 70%. This is
to give you a chance to improve
your grade on a test that you
failed, and get it up to a
minimally passing grade. You
may only retake ONE test.

If you have to miss a test for an
emergency, email me
beforehand or ASAP so that we
can make arrangements for
you. Only valid, documented
excuses will be accepted.

A scientific or graphing calculator
will be needed to take the exams.
Cell phones, however, must be
turned off and put in your bag
during a test.
□ Students cannot receive an overall
grade higher than the grade on their best
exam
□ Students may retake exams (describe
the policy in the attached materials)
□ An exam or lab is dropped (describe
the policy in the attached materials)
□ Other: (State briefly and describe in
attached materials)

Expectations and standards for
academic integrity are online at:
http://www.pnc.edu/cd/Policy/conduct.ht
ml
Lab Experiments:
□ Labs come from one source. List title,
author, ISBN or other information
necessary to identify the source. Provide
a list of experiments performed (can be a
photocopy of the table of contents with
the chosen labs marked)
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
______________________
PNC labs are created by the PNC faculty.
Each school will have variations due to
differences in available materials. The
actual experiment design is not as
important at this level, it is the concepts
that are reinforced that are important.
The students need to write lab reports
with certain elements included.
Templates for these labs are available.
Lab Assignments:
Indicate all that
apply.
□ Labs come from multiple sources.
Attach a list of experiments performed,
citing the source when possible. Provide
copies of at least two experiments that
are representative of the rigor of the
experiments.
□ Prelab assignments

During the labs, you will work in
groups of three.

Lab grades are determined
based on a combination of your
attendance, participation and
effort, and the quality of your
written lab work.

Each lab is worth 10 points.
□ Lab notebooks
□ Formal reports for some experiments
□ Formal reports for all experiments
□ Oral and/or poster presentation
□ Students almost always work
individually
□ Students sometimes work individually
□ Students always work in pairs or small
groups
*Provide a description of lab assignments
(notebook entries and/or reports) or a
copy of student work with identifying
information removed.
Exams
Number of exams:
 PHYS 220: _________
 PHYS 221 (if applicable): _______
Format of exams:
□ Multiple choice and/or matching
□ Short answer
□ Open-ended
□ Lab/practical
□ Final exam is cumulative
□ Other: ____________________
*For each course, submit a final exam
(preferred) or two regular exams.
______ Cumulative Final
PHYS 220:
 3 exams
 Cumulative Final
 Exams are short-answer, show
work. Partial credit given based
on how well student
demonstrates mastery of
declarative, conceptual,
strategic, and epistemic factors.
PHYS 221:
 3 exams
 Cumulative Final
 Exams are short-answer, show
work. Partial credit given based
on how well student
demonstrates mastery of
declarative, conceptual,
strategic, and epistemic factors
Content Covered
PHYS 220
□ Kinematics: Motion in One Dimension
□ Newtonian Mechanics
□ Applying Newton’s Laws
□ Circular Motion
□ Impulse and Linear Momentum
□ Work and Energy
□ Extended Bodies at Rest
□ Rotational Motion
□ Gases
□ Static Fluids
□ Fluids in Motion
□ First Law of Thermodynamics
□ Vibrational Motion
□ Mechanical Waves
PHYS 221
□ Electric Charge, Force, and Energy
□ Insulators
□ Conductors
□Coulombs’ Law
□The Electric Field
□ field lines
□ flux
□ electric potential
□ equipotentials
□ capacitance/ capacitors
□ electric current
□ resistance
□ resistivity
□ DC Circuits
□ Ohm’s Law
□ emf
□ combinations of resistors
□ RC Circuits
□ Magnetism
 magnets
 magnetic fields
 magnetic force
 motion in magnetic fields
 Ampere’s Law
 Magnetic fields and forces for
wires, lops, and solenoids
□ Electromagnetic Induction
 Induced emf
 Faraday’s Law
 Motional emf
 Lenz’s Law
□ Generators
□ RL Circuits
□ AC Circuits
 Resistors
 Capacitors
 Inductors
 Power in an AC circuit
 Dispersion
 Total internal reflection
□ Reflection and Refraction
 Reflection
 Refraction
 Dispersion
 Total internal reflection
□ Mirrors and Lenses
 Flat Mirrors
 Spherical mirrors
 Thin lenses
□ Wave Optics
□ Electromagnetic Waves
 Light as a wave: Interference
 Light as a wave: diffraction
 Optical instruments: Cameras,
eyes, glasses/ contacts
□ Special Relativity
□ Quantum Optics
□Atomic Physics
 Quantum physics: photons,
atoms, atomic processes
□ Nuclear Physics
 Radiation, radioactivity, medical
applications
 Atoms and molecules