PH125 General Physics Syllabus, Fall 2013
Instructor: Mrs. Lucy Kulbago
Office Hours: M, W, F, 9am – 11am, DE146 or by appointment, lkulbago@jcu.edu
Course Goals:




Introduce students to fundamental physics concepts
Develop problem solving skills used to solve problems involving physics
Apply physics concepts and problem solving skills to biology and health related problems
Prepare students for the physical science portion of the MCAT exam
Text: College Physics, 2nd ed. Technology Update. Knight, Jones, Field. Pearson.
Lecture presentations:
This course has been designed as a “flipped classroom”. The lecture that is typically presented
in class has been video recorded and saved in an MP4 format, and will be available on
Blackboard. The video should be viewed at home prior to the scheduled class lesson. It is
recommended that you print a copy of the power point slides, available on Blackboard, prior to
viewing the lecture video and use the print out to take notes as you would normally do during a
class lecture, and to bring these lecture slides with notes to class.
In-class Work:
During class, you will work in small groups using concepts that were presented during the
lecture video using the in-class packets provided by the instructor. You will work on problem
solving skills and applying concepts to new situations. You should bring your lecture video
notes, in-class packet, pencil, calculator, text book, answers to reading questions, and equation
sheet to every class. Small groups will be assigned for every quiz, and you will work with this
small group during class prior to the quiz.
Online Homework: Mastering Physics, www.masteringphysics.com




Course ID MPKULBAGO2013FALL
If you did not purchase the Mastering Physics access code as part of the text bundle from the
JCU bookstore, you will need to purchase an access code from the Mastering Physics web site.
The schedule and due dates for online homework and reading assignments will be available
through the Mastering Physics web site.
Reading assignments are typically due on the date listed in the tentative class schedule. These
questions will assess your understanding of the lecture video material. You should bring your
answers to these questions to class.

Homework assignments are typically due a few days after the date listed in the tentative class
schedule. These problems will assess your understanding of the concepts after working with the
concepts in class.
Quizzes:
Each quiz will assess your mastery of the concepts covered. Each quiz will have one mulit-part
problem involving mathematical calculations and concept application that will take 15 – 20 min
to solve, and about 5 additional shorter questions that may involve calculations or concept
application. It is important to show your work for all problems and to explain your reasoning.
While most quiz problems will be similar to homework and in-class problems, there will be at
least one unfamiliar problem that will test concept application and problem solving skills. To
facilitate excused absences on quiz days, the lowest total quiz score will be dropped. Quizzes
may NOT be made up for any reason. If you miss a quiz, you should inform the instructor.
Attendance:
Class attendance is critical to your success in this course. Education research shows that oral
and written expression of your conceptual understanding with peer review is highly beneficial to
long term retention of learned material. In order to give credit to those students that attend
class and constructively participate in small group conversations and problem solving, students
will grade their small group peers based on the following rubric at the end of each quiz. Peer
grading reports will be scored out of 20 pts.
Who are you grading:
Always 4 pts
Attended class for this
section of the course that
applies to this quiz
Asked reasonable questions
to facilitate concept
understanding
Stayed on task and
completed a reasonable
amount of work in class
Provided support when
trying to answer other group
members questions
Came to class prepared,
brought answers to Reading
Questions
Your Name:
Frequently 3
pts
Sometimes 2 pts
Never 1 pt
Final Exam:
The final exam will be cumulative and based on problems from the quizzes, homework, and inclass packets. Students will work individually on the final exam. The format will be similar to
the quizzes with at least one multi-step problem, several shorter problems, and at least one
unfamiliar problem. It will be important to show your work and to explain your reasoning.
Tutoring:
Tutors will be available. Times will be posted on Blackboard.
Grading Scale and Weighting:




Quizzes
Mastering Physics
Attendance
Final Exam
86% - 89.9% = B+
76% - 79.9% = C+
65% - 69.9% = D+
25%
25%
10%
40%
(Reading Assignments 12.5%, Homework Assignments 12.5%)
93% - 100% = A
83% - 85.9% = B
73% - 75.9% = C
60% - 64.9% = D
90% - 92.9% = A80% - 82.9% = B70% - 72.9% = C0% - 59.9% = F
Tentative Class Schedule
Monday
9/9 Ch 2 Motion in One
Dimension
9/16 Ch 3 – projectile motion
9/23 Ch 4
9/30 Ch 5
10/7 Ch 6 Orbits and Gravity
10/14 Ch 8 Elasticity
10/21 Ch 9 Momentum
10/28 Ch 11 Using Energy
11/4 QUIZ 4 Ch 9 - 11
11/11 Ch 12
11/18 Ch 13
11/25 Ch 14
12/2 Ch 15 Traveling Waves
12/9 Ch 16
12/16 FINAL EXAM 8AM CLASS
AT 8AM, 11 AM CLASS AT 10
AM
Wednesday
9/4 Introduction
9/11 Ch 2
9/18 QUIZ 1 Ch 1 – 3
9/25 Ch 5 Applying Newton’s
Laws
10/2 QUIZ 2 Ch 4 – 5
10/9 Ch 7 Rotational Motion
10/16 QUIZ 3 Ch 6 – 8
10/23 Ch 10 Energy
10/30 Ch 11 Using Energy
11/6 Ch 12 Thermal Properties
of Matter
11/13 Ch 13 Fluids
11/20 QUIZ 5 Ch 12 – 13
TUESDAY 11/26
12/4 Ch 15
12/11 QUIZ 6 Ch 14 - 16
Friday
9/6 Ch 1 Representing Motion
9/13 Ch 3 Motion in Two
Dimensions - vectors
9/20 Ch 4 Newton’s Laws
9/27 Ch 5
10/4 Ch 6 Circular Motion
10/11 Ch 8 Equilibrium
10/18 FALL BREAK, NO CLASS
10/25 Ch 10 Work
11/1
11/8 Ch 12
11/15 Ch 13
11/22 Ch 14 Oscillations
11/29 NO CLASS
12/6 Ch 16
12/13 Review for Final Exam