Physics 2435: Introduction

Spring 2006

Physics 2435, Section 4

Welcome to General Physics II, Physics 2435! The prerequisites for this class are PHY1425 or 1408 and Math 1322 (Calculus II) or concurrent enrollment. You and I will be using a number of new teaching technologies in this class includingMasteringPhysics for online homework, ActivePhysics for online demonstrations, PowerPoint lectures which will be posted online (thanks to Frank Lee and the whole GWU Physics faculty for producing some beautiful Powerpoint lectures!), and CAPA (Computer Assisted Personalized Approach) for exams. This class is homework based, and we will be using laboratory computers during class to access my lectures and the MasteringPhysics site. I think MasteringPhysics is a better homework system than any currently available. It has hints, Skill Builder (SB) and Self Tutoring Problems (STP) and other nice feaures which we will explore as the semester goes on. The book is “University Physics” (11/e) (ISBN 0-8053-8684-X) by Young and Freedman. We will be covering Chapters 21-38. Make sure you buy the version which comes with the MasteringPhysics Access Kit, as buying it separately will be much more expensive. You should have recieved an email from me with instructions for logging onto the MasteringPhysics website (http://www.masteringphysics.com/). The instructions are also given below.

To register, you need to click on the University Physics book image at the MasteringPhysics website. You can then enter the information on the “First Time User?” “Register” area. You will need the class ID: PHY24350406 and the access code which comes with the Access Kit. You will need to register before our first meeting (Tues., Jan. 10) for this homework-based class; you will not be able to do any of the homework problems until you do so. If you have any difficulties registering for the class, please let me know as soon as possible. The class homepage can be reached from http://www3.baylor.edu/~Walter_Wilcox/current_courses.htm. There you will find the present introduction, a course calendar, the class lectures in PDF format, and links to the CAPA login page used for exams (more on that later).

The homeworks are the above mentioned SB, STP and selected end of chapter (EOC) problems from the book by Freedman and Young, often with randomized inputs so that everyone’s problem sets are different. (Note that there is a Study Guide and a Student Solutions Manual covering some of the odd-numbered problems available from the publisher; these are completely optional. The answers to the odd problems at the back of the book.) I have set this up so that there is NO extension of the homework deadlines.

I will use the ActivePhysics site (www.aw.com/young11) during class for demonstrations. There will be daily quizzes based upon the “ConcepTest” problems during the lectures. You will have to read the chapter material before class in order to do the quizzes. In order to help you with this, there is a handy calendar posted on my website which should keep you informed on which chapters are being covered on a given date. I will take daily attendance because this is Baylor’s policy. (For a TTh class, missing 8 or more classes automatically results in an “F”.) It will be important to arrive in class on-time, or else you will not be recorded as being present.

I will give two in-class midterm exams and a two-hour long final, which will have two parts; the first, covering chapters 21-31 (the Exam 1 and 2 material), and the second, covering everything since Exam 2 – chapters 32-38. There will be review classes before the exams and the final. The final grade will be a weighted sum of percentages for Lab, Homework, Exam and Final grades; see below.

Category               Percent of Total Grade

Lab Grade                15%
Quizzes                   10%
Homework               25%
Exams (2)                30%
Final                    20%

The grading scale used in last year’s 1425 class (not guaranteed to be used this semester) was:

Grade          Final Total Percentage

A                 100       –    85
B+                85        –    80
B                  80        –    75
C+                75        –    70
C                  70        –    65
D                  65        –    55

You must have a passing Lab grade to pass the course. Passing means above a 55%.

There will be no make-ups for missed exams. If you miss an exam without a valid excuse (which usually means having a note from a Doctor) you get a zero. I will reweight the final if you are excused. If you both midterm exams without an excuse, you automatically fail the class. If you miss both with a valid excuse, you get an incomplete. Missing the final with an excuse gives you an incomplete also; without an excuse you fail.

I do not give exams early or late in this class for any reason other than student athletic events. I do not allow students to leave the class during exams – be sure to make a strategic visit the Men’s or Lady’s rooms before the exams. If you MUST leave during an exam, I will treat this appropriately, depending on whether or not it is an unexpected medical emergency.

I will enable a “Recovery Exam” after each in-class exam using the online CAPA system (CAPA means Computer Assisted Personalized Approach). This set will consist of the problems on the exams which you can re-do to get extra points. This means that after each exam (except the final) I will open up the same exam online for you to take using a special exam CAPAID (which will be on your in-class exam). The formula for the recovery points is:

Extra points = (Recovery exam score – Initial score)*.30

The CAPA website address is (this is the “old interface”, which is the ONLY site we will need):

http://capa.baylor.edu/capa-bin/class.html

Taking the recovery exam is a way of earning extra points on the exam – you can not loose points by taking it. However, you must score higher on the recovery exam than the initial exam to recover any points. This exam will open the next day at noon after the in-class exam is taken. You are responsible for budgeting your time to do the exam. Just like the homework sets, I have set this up so that there is no possibility of extending the deadline.

That bears repeating  there are no time extensions for homework or recovery exams, except possibly exams for student athletes.

Unfortunately, the subject of cheating comes up in all university classes. Baylor has an honor code written by students and faculty which I expect you to respect and follow. I will not hesitate to bring suspected cheating situations up before the Baylor Honor Council.
Office hours:  M, W, F 9am-noon (becomes flexible near exams)
Office: Rm. E.325
Office phone: 710-2510
Dept. phone: 710-2511
Baylor website: http://www3.baylor.edu/~Walter_Wilcox/