PH 212 (General Physics) Course Syllabus Contents Instructor Contact info Office hours and schedule How to request a letter of recommendation Required materials and resources Prerequisite courses Required skills Required textbook/materials Required technology Course format Grading Scored work Grading scale Academic integrity General description Course level Bacc. Core certification Focus and approach Wider applications The scientific method Critical thinking Specific course content Week 1: Rotational Motion and Kinematics; Centripetal Motion Week 2: Moment of Inertia; Center of Mass; Angular Momentum; Torque Week 3: Newton’s 2nd Law for Rotational Motion; Rotational Kinetic Energy Week 4: Incompressible Fluids: Static Pressure; Hydraulics; Buoyancy; Bernoulli’s Equation Week 5: Ray Optics and Imaging: Reflection/Refraction; Mirror/Thin-Lens Equations; Absolute Magnification Week 6: Optical Systems: Vision/Correction; Simple/Compound Magnifiers; Angular Magnification Week 7: Simple Harmonic Oscillators; 1-D Traveling Wave Math/Mechanics Week 8: Simple Wave Interference; Beats; Diffraction; Thin-Film Interference Week 9: Standing Sound Waves (strings and air); Wave Intensities, Doppler Effects Week 10: Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation; Satellite Orbits and Energies Lecture (and clicker) policies Lab policies HW policies Exam policies Grading policies How to do well: notes from the instructor Comments on the topic and the course How to study and use the course How to monitor your progress Personal integrity Last comments
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PH 212 (General Physics)Course Syllabus
Contents
Instructor Contact info Officehoursandschedule Howtorequestaletterofrecommendation
Required materials and resources Prerequisitecourses Requiredskills Requiredtextbook/materials Requiredtechnology
Course format
Grading Scoredwork Gradingscale Academicintegrity
General description Courselevel Bacc.Corecertification Focusandapproach Widerapplications Thescientificmethod Criticalthinking
How to do well: notes from the instructor Commentsonthetopicandthecourse Howtostudyandusethecourse Howtomonitoryourprogress Personalintegrity Lastcomments
Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2018 Course Syllabus 2
Course web site: http://www.physics.oregonstate.edu/~coffinc/COURSES/ph212/
Other online resources: Mastering Physicspracticematerials(click here).
Course format
OSU credit: PH212isa4-creditcourse,includingrequiredlectureandlab.The 1-credit recitation portion is a separate course (PH 222), optional for some majors but required for others.
Religious Holidays: OSUstrivestorespectallreligiouspractices.Ifyouhavereligiousholidaysthatareincon-flictwithanyoftheschedulesorrequirementsofthisclass,pleasecontacttheinstructorasearlyaspossibletomakealternativearrangements.
Alternative accommodations: Accommodationsforstudentswithdocumenteddisabilitiesarecollaborationsbetweenstu-dents,facultyandDisabilityAccessServices(DAS).StudentswithdocumenteddisabilitiesandaccommodationsapprovedbyDASareresponsibleforcontactingthefacultymemberinchargeofthecoursepriortoorduringthefirstweekofthetermtodiscussaccommodations.Studentswhobelievetheyareeligibleforaccommodationsbutwhohavenotyetobtainedap-provalthroughDASshouldcontactDASimmediatelyat541-737-4098.
Focus and approach: PH212continuesthestoryofmechanicswiththeirapplicationstothecircularmotionofparticles,thentherotationofrigidbodies.Majorareasofemphasisincludetheequationsconstant-accelerationkinematics,Newton’sLaws,theImpulse-Momentumtheorem,andthekineticenergyofrotation.Next,thecoursemakesthetransitionfromdirectobservations/measurementsofoneortwolarge,visibleobjectstomacroscopicmeasurementsoftheaggre-gatebehaviorsoflargecollectionsofmicroscopicobjects,specificallyidealfluids(liquids).Asbefore,studentsareaskedtowatchforthesameConservationprinciplestheyencounteredinPH211(classicalmass,momentumandenergy)astheystillmanifestthemselvesinmicro-scopicbehaviors.
Atalltimes,thestudentsmustmakesenseoftheconnections—notmerelyswallowformulasforlaterregurgitation;andtoassesstheirsuccess,theyarerequiredonexamstorecognizeandapplythebasicprinciplestosituationstheyhaveneverbeforeencountered—and to justify, in their own words,theirreasoning.
Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2018 Course Syllabus 5
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The scientific method: PH212examinesscienceandthescientificmethodinthreedistinctways.First(fromtheopeninglecture),scienceispresentedasacontinuing,unfoldingprocess,notacollectionoffacts.Onenewobservation(properlyvettedandrepeated)canstillunhingeourcurrenttheo-ries.Wecontinuallyseektoexamineourreasoningandtotesttheconsistenciesweobserve.Weseektogeneralize,simplify,unify.ThestoryoftheConservationLawsdrivesthishome.
*Note: For all application, modeling and calculation objectives and outcomes, an accompanying outcome is also required of (and explicitly stated to) the student: That he/she be able to summarize/restate the physical situation in words (including the recognition of when there is insufficientinformationoridentifyingrelevantinformationamidstanexcess),constructamathematicalrepresentationfromwhichhis/her numericalmodelisthenderived;stateanyassumptionsorsimplificationsinherentinthemodel,recognizethelimitationsand/orshortcomings of the model, and defend his/her overall reasoning, approach and conclusions.
See the Course Calendar for complete details on all topics, assigned work, due dates and exams.
Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2018 Course Syllabus 7
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Lecture (and clicker) policies
Seeing and hearing: Thelecturehallislarge(andthecenterboardareaissmall).Theviewingscreensaregood,buttheoverheadlightscansometimeswashoutdetails.Ifyouhavetroubleseeingorhearing,pleasetrytofindoptimalseatingforyourneeds.Also,pleaseadvisetheinstructorifthere’sanythinghecando(e.g.speaklouder,writelarger,moveoutofyourviewoftheboard,etc.).
Courtesy and etiquette: Atalltimes,youareexpectedtoshowmaturecourtesytowardeachotherandtheinstructor.Justlikeyou,everystudentaroundyouhaspaidrealmoney($15-25)foreachclasssession.Ofcourse,you’refreetouseyourowntuitionpurchasehoweveryouwish,butyouareNOTfreetopreventothersfromgettingthemostfortheirmoney.Inparticular:
Class format: Theclasssessionsareamixofconventionallecture,small-groupdiscussionamongclass-mates,andinteractiveresponse(usingaclicker—anelectronicremoteresponderownedandoperatedbyeachstudent).Atypicalsessionwillinclude2-5clickerquestions,oftenwithonesuchquestionatthestartofthehour.
“If I miss my regular lecture time, can I drop in on the other section?”Yes(solongastherearespareseats),butyouwon’tgetanyclickerpointsthatday.Yourclickerisactivatedonlyforyourregisteredlecturetime(either1100,1400or1500).
“What if my clicker fails or runs low on batteries during class?”Duetothesizeoftheclass,it’snotfeasibletonoteindividualcircumstancesforthis—sorry,youwon’tgetclickerpointsthatday.Butjustaswithunforeseenabsences,thisiswhyanextrapointisofferedforeveryrightanswer:it’suptoyouto“bank”thoseextrapointsasinsuranceagainstsuchcontingencies.(Andofcourse,besuretogetyourclickerrepaired/rechargedpromptlyfornexttime.)
“Can I use my cell phone or other P.E.D. instead of the Turning Technologies handset?”Yes,solongasyouhavepaidthelicens-ingfee(i.e.thepriceofthehandset)andregisteredthehandsetanditsaccompanyingapp,thatoptionshouldbeopentoyou.
“How can I get the answers to the clicker questions we do in class?”You’llhavetobetheretonotethemyourself(orgetthemfromaclassmateifyoumisslecture).Withsomeexceptions,theyareusuallynotposted.
Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2018 Course Syllabus 8
Yourlabsessionisthreehours(170minutes,actually).Somelabsrequireallthistime,soifyoudon’treadthelabactivityaheadoftime,you’llrunoutoftimeandhavetoscheduleamake-uptime.Beready!ThelabTAwillfillyouinondetailsaboutequipment,etc.,butyoushouldwalkinalreadyknowingthebasicactivityitself.Thelabsoffer(demand)ahighdegreeofautonomyfromyouandyourlabgroup.Neither the TA nor the written lab material will offer you a “cookbook” guide as to what to do; you will be, to a large degree, designing your own experiments.
Take-home portions of lab: Many(butnotall)labswillincludeatake-homeexercisetobedonelater—individually—andturnedin(toyourLabTA’sbox).DuedatesareshownontheCourseCalendarandoneachexercise.Do not confuse these take-home lab portions with Homework (HW) assignments! Anyassignmentwiththeword“lab”attachedtoitispartoflabandshouldbesubmittedtoyourLabTA,nottotheHWsubmissionbox.
Lab Zeroes: Ifforanyreasonyouearnzeropointsforeitherthelabreportorthetake-homeportionofanylab,thatwillresultina“LabZero”forthatweek.You do not want any Lab Zeroes.Why?BecauseforeachLabZeroyouhaveattheendoftheterm,yourtotalcoursescoreisreducedby5%.Example: Suppose, after the entire term is done, you have earned 540 points out of 1000. Normally this would be a C grade for the course, but if, in accumulating those 540 points, you had one Lab Zero (say you were absent one week and didn’t make that up in Week 10—or say that you failed to turn in a take-home portion), you would lose 27 points. That’s 5% of 540. This would then give you 513 points, a C– for the term. Bottomline:Don’t miss labs (andofcourse,thenprepare/participatefully), and don’t skip the take-home portions. You have to do both parts each week!
Making up lab reports: Week10(Tuesday-Friday)isdesignatedaslabreportmake-upweek.LabTAswillbeinthelabduringallnormallabtimes,andtherewillbevariousapparatusfromtheterm’spreviouslabsarrangedandavailableforyoutodothelabsandpreparethereports.You are allowed to make up no more than 2 (two) lab reports during any make-up week.(Note,youdonotneedtorestrictyourselftothelabhoursofyourownlabTAduringmake-upweeks.)
Making up take-home lab work: Theduedatesforthetake-homeportionsoflabarefirm.Ifyouarelatewithanysuchassign-ment,youcanstillgetsomecreditbyturningitinno later than March 16 at 5:00 p.m.,butthecreditwillbejust1/4ofwhatitwouldhavebeenotherwise.Beyondthatpoint,you’veearnedaLabZeroforthatlab.
Frequently asked questions:
“If my group gets a really low score on a lab report, may we re-do it?”Yes.Butthat,too,isamake-uplab(oneoftwomaxi-mum)thatyoucoulddoonlyduringthemake-upweekwherethatlabissetup.
“Are lab activities/procedures covered on exams?”Notthelabreports.Allevaluationsofyourworkinthelabcomefromthelabreports.However,thetake-homelabportionscoverbasiccourseconceptsandmethods—thosearefairgameontheexams.
“Why do we have both Prep problem sets and Homework (HW) sets?”ThePrepproblemsareforyourpractice—youdon’tturnthoseinforcredit,andyoushouldbedoingtheseafewatatime,pacingasindicatedontheCourseCalendar(andtheirsolutionswillbepostedonthatsamepace,about1-2daysaftertherecommended“do”datefortheproblems). You will NOT have good success with the HW sets—or the exams—if you haven’t worked Prep problems! (They’reallfromexamsinpastyears—asaretheproblemswewillbeworkingtogetherinclass.)
“How will I know my HW scores?”TheHWTAgraderwillscoreyourworkandthenreturnittome—pickthatupinmyoffice.Butthatmaynotbeforuptoaweekafteryouturnitin,andtherewillbetheexaminthemeantime.SoyoushouldalwayskeepacopyofyourcompletedHW,becauserightaftertheHWduedeadline,allofthoseHWsolutionswillbeposted.
“So, what’s the best way to study using the Prep problems?”Firstandforemost:Workafeweachday—do NOT put off all your Prep practice until a few days before the midterm.Thatisarecipeforfailure.This is why the Course Calendar shows a few recommended Prep problems each day—that’s the pace you should try to follow—and you won’t be able to do well on the HW or the exams without this work! Definitelytryeachproblemforyourselffirst—withoutlookingatthesolution(ifthatsolutionisindeedalreadyposted).Reallyworkituntilyou’vedoneitorgoneasfaraspossible—andthatmeansseekout“partial”help,withclassmates/studypartnersorofficehoursvisits.(Notehere,too:Often,issuesrelatedtoPrepproblemswillbepartofthelecturehour—bringyourclickerandbepreparedtotearintothetoughpartsinagroupsetting.)
“DoIneedtofinishallofeachPrepsets?”“Need”istherightwordtousehere.YoushoulddoPrepproblemsuntilthetopicsaremakingsense—untilyou’re“conversant”ifnot“fluent”withthephysicstoolsyou’repracticing.Thatmaybetrueafterafewitems;itmaynot.You’llneedmorepracticeonsometopicsthanothers(andeachpersonisdifferent).Soyou work them until you don’t need any more practice—only then should you try last year’s exam and the HW set.
Exam policies
Overview: Therearetwogroupmidtermexams,each80minutesinduration.Thereisonegroupfinalexam,110minutesinduration.(Checkthecoursecalendarforallexamdatesandtimes.)Midterm1isworth250points.Midterm2isworth200points.Thefinalexamisworth250points.Eachexamemphasizesthemostrecentmaterial,butall exams are cumulative;useofmaterialthatwasbasictopreviousexamsisfairgame.
Allexamsareclosed-book,butyou’reallowedone8.5”x11”sheetofpaper,withanynotesyouwantonit(bothsides),so long as they’re in your own handwriting.You’realsoallowedacalculatorofanytype,providedthatitdoesn’tsendorreceivewirelesscommunications(nolaptops,palmtops,PDAs,cellphones,etc.).Always bring pencil(s), eraser, and your OSU ID.
Reviewing your exam: Ittakesaweektoscoreandrecordexams.Thenthey’reavailableforpick-up(inWngr309).YoumustpresentyourOSUIDtopickupscoredwork.Whenyougetyourexamback,besuretocheckthescoringagainstthesolutions(whicharepostedshortlyaftertheexam).Ifyoufinddiscrepancies,do not make any marks on your exam.Instead,fileanexamappeal.
“What are the exams like?”About4-5daysbeforeeachexam,fulldetailsarepostedaboutit:examroomlocations,whattoex-pect,what’s“fairgame,”whatinformationwillbeprovided(andwhatwon’t).Lastyear’sexamisalsoposted.The best guides as to the scope and depth of the exams are the Prep problems and the HW. EachexamisalotlikeaHWproblemset,actually(butagain,withall-newproblems).Labactivitiesaregenerallynotcoveredonexams;take-homelabconceptsare,however.
“Theexamsdon’treflectwhatIknow.Istudyhard,andIthinkIreallygetthisstuff,butthenIgettotheexamsandIjustfreezeup or make mistakes I wouldn’t normally make. How can I improve my exam performance?”Alotofdifficultiescomefromsim-plylosingconfidenceandpoiseintheexams—yourushandmisreadthingsyouwouldn’twhennotundertimepressure.SousetheHWsettopractice!Putyourselfundertimedconditions—seehowyoudo,correctyourmistakes,scoretheresults,identifythemissingconcepts.Themoreyoudothis,thebetteryou’llget.Andthentheotherquestionis:AreyougettingfromthePrepandclassproblemswhatyoushouldbe?They’renotjustbusywork—they’reintendedforyoutostudyandgeneralizefrom,sothatwhenyouencountertestquestionswithnewsituations,youcanrecognizethesamephysicsprinciplesoperatingthere,too.
“Whyaretheexamssodifficult?”Physicsisadifficultsubject—noquestionaboutthat(butseethecommentsbelowabouthowtodowell).Theexamsareactuallywrittentobeasbriefandaseasyaspossiblewhilestilltestingtoseeifyoureallyunderstandthematerial.But“understandthematerial”doesn’tmeansimplymemorizingcertainproblemsorsituationsorrecognizing/regur-gitatingformulas.Itmeanscorrectlyapplyingthephysicsprinciplesyou’velearned—andthe only way to test that is to ask you to apply those principles in situations you’ve not seen before.Thisisadifferentsortoflearningandadifferentkindofexamthanwhatyoumaybeusedtoinothercourses,sotherawclassaveragesontheexamsaretypicallybetween40and50%—butdon’tpanicaboutthis.Youmaybeusedtogetting70-90%onexamsinothercourses,butalowerpercentageexamaverageheredoesnotmeanyou’refailing—noreventhatyou’reheadedforalowergrade:Note the grading scale—andtrackyourprogress!
“WhenwefirstencounteratopicinreadingorBeforeClassitems,itseemsfairlysimpleandeasybyitself,butthenwhenitap-pears on exams, it’s all mixed up with other topics. Why?”That’stheonlywaytotellifyoucanunderstandwhen/howacertainphysicsprincipleisoperating:whenyoucandistinguishitcorrectlyfromothers.BeforeClassitemsandtextbookmaterialsalonearenotsufficientpreparationforexams.Lecturesarehopefullygoingtoshowyouhowto“thinkoutloud”asyouapproachnewproblems,butyoustillneedtocontinueonyourown,throughthe Prep problems, and the HW sets.YouwillnotdowellinthecoursesimplybydoingtheBeforeClassandclassactivities.Youneedtogoin-depthandpractice.(Consider:Adictionaryisasuccinctlistofwordsanddefinitions,butyoudon’tlearntoreadandwritebystudyingadictionary.Youneedtoseeexamplesofwriting,andthenpractice—andpracticesomemore.Youlearnbydoing—notbyseeing.)
“The problems on the exams take so long—they’re like the HW problems. How can you expect us to do them in the time allowed on the exams?”Beforeworryingaboutfinishinganyproblem—grindingoutthemathandgettingananswer—youshouldbesetting up the problem.About70-80%ofthecreditforanyHWorexamproblemisfordoingthat—notforcrunchingdowntoananswer.Thesetup--that’sthe“SpotthePhysics”skillwe’llbeworkingoninclassalot.Sounless/untilyouaregettingallthesetupscorrectonexamproblems,youshouldn’tbeworryingabouthowlongtheytaketofinish—the partial credit you’ll be getting will add up to excellent exam scores anyway.The“finish”portionofmostphysicsproblemsisessentiallymath—butthat’saftertherealworkhasbeendone:Eachexamproblemisaboutranslatingthephysicssituationfromonelanguage(English)toanother(math)inordertounderstanditmoreclearly.Physicsisthestory;mathismerelythelanguagewetellitin.
Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2018 Course Syllabus 11
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Grading policies
General discussion:
Besidestheexams(worth700pointsovertheterm),therearethreeotherpartstothecourse(clickers,labandHW)inwhichyouearnpoints.Afull30%(300points)isofferedintheseways,abuilt-inincentivetoactivelyparticipateinallthosepartsofthecourse,whereyou’relearningthinkingandcommunicationsskills,inadditiontophysicsprinciples.Ingeneral,ifyoudowellwiththethreenon-examparts,itwilltypicallyraisesyourgradeatleasthalfaletterabovewhatyou’dhaveasaresultofyourexamaveragealone.Sousethoseotherpartsofthecourseasintended:“Maxout”thosepointsbyworkinghardandmonitoringyourunderstandingasyougo,anditwillserveyoutwofold:Theextrapointsyouearninthecourse;and(moreimportantly)theworkhabitsandpreparationitgivesyou.Bytheway,note:ThepercentagesyouwillearnforclickerandHWforthetermwillneverbelowerthanyourexamaverage.Say,forexample,thatyouhaveearneda75%examaverage(525pointsoutof700),butonly,say,50%(50/100)forclickers.Yourclickerscorewouldbeadjstedautomaticallytomatchyourexamaverage(75%)—you’dgetcreditfor75/100forclicker.AndlikewiseforHW.Butthis is NOT true for lab—only for clicker and HW.Note,too:Thegradingscalehasa“borderline”policy.Undercertainconditions,if your earned point total for the term is within 10 points of the next grade cutoff line,you’removedtothatgrade.Thoseconditionsareasfollows(youmustsatisfythemall):(i)Completeallyourworkinlab(noLabZeroes);(ii)turninallthreeHWassignments,allreasonablyattemptedandoriginalwork;(iii)maxoutyourclickerscore(100/100—nothardtodo—seepage7here);and(iv)showsteady/improvedexamperfor-manceduringtheterm(soyourfinalexampercentagemustequalorexceedyouroverallexampercentagefortheterm).
Frequently asked questions:
“Are the exams—or the course overall—graded on a curve?”No.Butsometimesadjustmentsaremadefordifficulty.Here’sthedistinction:A“curve”meansthattheinstructorlooksatthedistributionofpointsearnedbyallstudentsandarbitrarilydividestheA’sfromtheB’sfromtheC’s,etc.--basedon“natural”cutoffpoints(i.e.wheretherearen’tverymanyscores,and/orwherethehighestandlowestscoreslanded).That’snotdoneinthiscourse;thegradingscaleisfixed.Buteachmidtermexammayhaveanadjustment—pointsaddedtoeveryone’sscore,basedupontheinstructor’sestimationofthatexam’sdifficulty.Thisgivesyoutheclearestpossiblepictureofwhereyoustandasthetermgoesalong.Thenthefinalexamadjustmentisnotonlyforthedifficultyofthatexambutalsoasaretrospectivejudgmentforthetermasawhole.Thisfinaladjustmentis,byinstructorpolicy,alwayssufficienttogettheclassaveragetoC.Butthereisnoattemptto“shape”acurveanddivideitintoA’sthroughF’s.Everyone can earn a high grade in this course;there’sno“minimumquota”ofD’sorF’s.“I got an F on my exam. Am I going to fail the course?”No,youdidn’tgetanFonyourexam.Youdidn’tgetanylettergradeatall—it’salljustpointsinyourtotal,andthere’snolettergradeassociatedwiththattotaluntiltheendoftheterm.Anddon’tforgetthatafull30%ofyourcoursegradeisearnedvialecture,labandHW—yourexamsareNOTthewholepicture.To see where you really stand,you’llneedtocalculateyourcurrentgradecorrectly.It’syourresponsibilitytodothis.“My lab TA is a tough grader, but other TAs are easier. My friends are getting more points for their groups’ lab reports than I am for mine, and yet I know we had similar results. How is this fair? Those points affect our grades!”Yes:SomeTAsaremoreparticularininsistingthatyougivemorecompleteanswers.Theyallgetthesameanswerkeys/rubricsfromtheinstructor,butofcourse,they’reallhuman;eachhashis/herownstyle.Sotheinstructor’sspreadsheetisdesignedtodetect,week-by-week,if/whencertainTAshavebeentoughergradersthanothers.Andtheplayingfieldisthenautomaticallyre-leveled—byaddingsomepointstothestudentswithtoughTAs—soessentiallyyou’reallbeinggradedbythesame(themostlenient)measuringstick.SobegladifyouhaveastrictTA,becauseifyoucanlearntogetgoodscoresfromhim/her,thenwhenthespreadsheetaddspointstocompensateyoufortheextrarigor,you’llhave“icingonthecake,”points.SitdownwithyourTAandgooveryourscoredlabreportsandfindoutwhereyoumissedpoints.Youhavetheanswerkeysalready—therubricsthatappearinyourlabmaterials.“This course is so hard—aren’t you causing a lot of students to fail?”No,actually.AccordingtoAcademicRegulation17,agradeof“C”(GPA2.00)issupposedtobetheaveragegrade.Soifthegradingscaleweremoreconventionalinhowitinter-pretedanormaldistributionofscores(i.e.areasonablysymmetric-lookingbellcurve),only about half of the students would be getting grades of C or better in this course.ButlastterminPH211,forexample,ofthe461studentswhoenrolled,305ofthem(that’s66.2%)gotagradeofCorhigher.Inotherwords,wereportedthat2outofevery3studentswere“average”orbetter.“But still, this course is way too hard and too much work for a 200-level course!” Thatcommentsimplyreflectsunrealisticex-pectationsbroughtfromothercoursesorschools.There’snothinginanyOSUARthatsays200-levelcoursesare“supposedto”requireonlyacertain(modest)leveloftimeandeffort.Physicsisadifficultsubject—moresothanmanyothers.Buteventhen,itsworkloadisnotoutofline:OSU’sownAcademicSuccessCenterlistsguidelinesforaveragetimebudgetinginanycourse attheuniversity—2-3hoursofstudytimeforeveryhourinclass.That’sexactlywherethiscourseis,if you spend your time studying in the manner prescribed (which is quite different than you may be accustomed to).
Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2018 Course Syllabus 12
Sothiscourseisnotaboutmemorizingformulasorverbatimdefinitions.Thatwouldbelikememorizingalistofspellingwords.Thiscourseismorelikeacourseinvocabulary,grammarandphonetics—aboutgraspingthemeaningsandconnectionsbetweentheprinciplesandformulasofphysics.That’swhytheT/F/Nitemsontheexamsaskveryexactquestionsaboutthemeaningsandimplicationsofwhatyou’velearned—oftenwithnocalculationsinvolved.Andthat’swhythelongerPrep,HWandexamitemsarebuiltthewaytheyare:Theywillputtogethertheideasthatarepresentedseparatelyinclassandinthetext—togetherinwaysthatshould be recognizabletoyouifyou’retrulygraspingthemeaningoftheprinciples,ratherthanjustmemorizingtheformulasandsymbols.Inotherwords,ifyoureallyknowyourvocabulary,grammarandphonetics,thenyou’llhavenotroubleonanexamcomprehendinganewsentencemadefromfamiliarwordsandideas(andlikewise,you’llhavenotroublespellingorpronouncingawordyou’venotencounteredbefore)—noranytroubleexplainingyourselfandjustifyingyourreasoning.
–Thisisachallenging4-creditcourse,withlab.Takeitseriously,getorganized,andgetfocused.Doallthereading,allthewriting—anddon’tletup.Thisisagoodpreviewofwhatprofessionalleveldedicationandconcentrationfeelslike(which,afterall,iswhereyou’reheadedwithyoureducation).Itwillrequire12-18hoursperweekofyourtime—spentproperly,asdescribedhere—outsideofclass).Getready,acceptthis,andplanonit.There’s no shortcut.
Dothematerial/exercisesrecommendedintheBeforeClass(andAfterClass)links.This(notinlecture)iswhereI’lldomuchofthetraditional“storytelling”—introducingthephysicsconceptsandtryingtoguideyourindividualstudyofthem.No,noneofthatmaterialis“required”(scoredforcreditinanyway).Butbelieveme,everythingwillmakefarmoresenseifyoufollowmyrecommendations.MUCHofthestoryiswhatIleadyouthrough“afterhours”(online),andI’llbeaskingaboutitwithclickerquestions.I’msavingourclasstimemorefordiscussing/developingourreasoning—thestuffthatwereallyneedtoseelive-and-in-personandtalkabout.Soplease:Do not skipthepre-andpost-lecturematerial/recommendationsIpostonline.Yes,thisisalotoftimetospendonthecourse—andyes,Iknowyouhavetobalanceyourtimewithothercoursesyou’retaking.Buttruly,IthinkI’msavingyoutimeinthelongrunoverthewholeterm.Thisisfarbetterthanputtingthingsoffandtryingto“cram”beforeexams—thatjustdoesn’tworkwithphysics.Andbytheway:Thisguidedstudyandextramaterialisinresponsetomanyconstructivestudentevaluationcommentsfrompastyears,wishingforbetterguidanceonhowtospendindividualstudytime.(“I spend so much time, but I don’t think I’m studying what I should be—I thought I knew this stuff, but when exam time came, I didn’t.”)SoIwanttodoabetterjobinguidingwhatyouthinkabout—andinwhatorder—asyoustudyonyourowntime.That’smyover-archinggoal—butI’mreviewing/preparing/postingmaterialaswego,sobearwithme.
Cometoclass.Thisshouldgowithoutsaying,butIneedtosayit.Iwilloftenposttheclassnotespriortolecture,certainlyaf-terward.ButthatwillbetheonlyrecordIleavewithyouastowhathappenedinclass—youreallygottabethere,inotherwords.DoIrecommendyoutakenotesduringclass?That’suptoyou,ofcourse—everyonelearnsdifferently—butjustrealizethattheformatofwhatwedoin“lecture”won’treallybetraditionallecture.Iwon’toftenstandupthereanddispensephysicscontenttoyouintheconventionalformatofalecture.Themainreasonweallgettogetherinoneroomistopracticeourreasoningandcommunicationsskills.Yes,thetopicwillbephysics,buttheagendaisreallylearningtocommunicatescientificandtechnicalunderstanding—tootherhumanbeings.Sodon’ttrytoplaystenographerofalltheconversations—you’llbetoobusyrecordingittoparticipatefullyyourself.Andit’sintheparticipationwheretheconceptswillsinkin—takethemhomein your mind already,notjustonpaper.
Beanactivelistenerandlearner.Don’tbelieveanythingIsayoranythingyouread(orhear/see)untilyou’vecheckeditoutforyourself—untilyou’veconfirmedit.That’showyoulearn—byre-creating(re-teaching)ittoyourself—evenifit’sjustmullingitoverinyourmindandrestatingitaftersomeoneelsehasstatedit.Theaphorismisabsolutelytrue:“You don’t really learn a subject well until you try to teach it to someone else.”Activelearningmeans,essentially:Beyourownteacher.Itworks.Ithastowork.Nobodycanteachyouasubjectlikephysics(ormath,ormostconceptualtopics,forthatmatter).Youcanhearthestoryfirstfromsomeoneelse,butthentoreallygraspitsmeaning,youhavetore-tellittoyourself.Obviously,ourclassformat—lotsofdiscussionandsmall-andlarge-groupdebates—aremeanttoencourageyoutouseyourownwordsalot.Takethatideaandgeneralizeittoyourstudysessions,too:Talktothewall,yourroommate,yourparakeet,whatever—justforceyourselftoformwordstoexpressyourideasandunderstandingofthephysics.It works.
Onegoodstepontheroadtoself-teaching,ofcourse,istoencounterthematerialandideasmultipletimes—fromdifferentanglesandperspectives.Everyterm,IgetcommentsthatthematerialmadesomuchmoresensewhentheTAsexplaineditlater(afteryouworkedthroughmymaterials,wenttoclass,workedPrepproblems,didtheHWassignments,etc.).Yes. That’s exactly how it works. You’llneedtohearthisstuffmultipletimes.That’snormal.
Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2018 Course Syllabus 14
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Usetheclickerquestionsasthey’reintended:tohelppromptyourthinkingandgetthewordsflowingbothways—toyouandfromyou.Ipurposelyasksomeclickerquestionswhichmaynotseemfullyclear(orhavetoomuchextraneousinformation),orsometimeswherethebestanswerisamongthemostcommonwronganswers—the common mistakes and misconceptions.Idon’tdothistobe“tricky”orannoying.Idoitsothatyoucanmonitorwhetheryou’rereallygettingitorjustthinkyou’regettingit—that’sthepoint.Manyconceptsanddefinitionsinphysicsareeasytoconfuseifyou’renotcareful.That’swhatI’mtryingtoletyoudetectearly—sothatitdoesn’tshowuplater(ontheexam).Sotreateachclickerquestionasatruechallenge.Nomatterwhetherit’saconceptquestionoraconversationstarter,don’tjustbuzzinwithsomerandomanswerjusttogetcreditforbeingthere.That’sbeingpenny-wiseandpound-foolish.CountingclickercreditandthereasoningyoumustshowonallHWandexamproblems,fully half the points available in this course are for conceptual reasoning and for defending that reasoning.Don’toverlookthis.Andconsider:Youcangetreallygoodattheconceptsandcommunicatingthemevenifyounevergetthehangofwrite-outproblem-solving;butyouwon’tgetfaronthewrite-outproblemsifyoudon’tknowtheconceptsbehindthem.(Aha!)
Readeachlabbeforeyoucometothesession—withtheselabsespecially,youdon’tgetalotofspecificinstructions;essentiallyyoudesignyourownexperiments.Thelabsareoftenlengthy,soifyouspendtoomuch“get-up-to-speed”time,youwon’tfinish,andthenarrangingamake-uplabtimeisahassle.A word to the wise.
Useallthehumanresourceswehaveavailable.TheTAsandIhavealotofOfficeHourseachweek(andbydefinition,OfficeHoursareopen—noneedforanappointment—thedoorwillbeopen,andyoucanjustdropin).AndrememberthatIamjustthelead“story-teller”andmain“discussionfacilitator”inthiscourse.AndIknowthathearingastoryjustonceseldomdoesitinphysics(itsuredidn’tforme).SoI’mnothurtorinsultedoranythingtoknowthatyou’regoingtogetthingsclarifiedbyoneofthemanyexcellentTAswehave.Iknowthesefolks.Ofthosereturningwithexperience,I’vespecificallyaskedthemtoworkwithmeinthiscourse.Icountonthemtoofferyoudifferentexplanations,differentwordsandpictures.Theyareterrific,asIhopeyou’llsoondiscover—andyoushouldfeelwelcomeintheirofficehours(andofcourse,mine).Donoteverforget:Wetogether—theTAsandI—areyourbiggestfans.We want you to do well.WewanteveryonetogetanA,infact(yes,that’spossible).Andwe’retheoneswhowriteandscoreyourexams(notsomefacelessbogeymanwitharedpensomewhere),andwe’rerootingforyouall—everyoneofyou.Ofcourse,we’renotgoingtogivepointsawaywithoutyoushowingyouknowyourphysics,butwe’recertainlygoingtolookbeyondgoofyarithmeticerrors,forexample,toappreciatewhatyoureallydotodemonstratethatyougraspedthephysics.Soifyou’rehavingdifficulties,comeonintoofficehoursand“thinkoutloud”withoneofus(andwithotherstudentswhoareinthesameboat—oftenthebestsessionsarewhenyouworktogetherinsmallgroupsandbouncetheideasaround).You teach each other—betterthanIcouldeverdo.
How to monitor your progress:
Thekeyinallthisistomonitorwhereyouare—andwhatyou’renotgetting.Usecoloredpens,stickynotes,whatever—makeapointtocomeinduringofficehourstocheckyoursolutionsandyourthinkingandtoironouttheroughspots,sothattheHWproblemscomemoreeasily.Theyareyour“dress-rehearsal”fortheexamproblems(andlabandlecturearedesignedtosharpenyourphysicscomprehensionandreasoning/communicationsskills.Andifyou’redoingalloftheabove,you’llhavenotroublecreatingameaningfulandusefulsheetofexamnotessheet—whichisthefirst,bestwaytostudyforeachexam.Thestudentswhodidtheaboveregularlydidbetterandbetterallterm—andallyear.They learned how to learn and communicate physics.
Successfulstudentsalsomonitortheirprogressandstandinginthecourse,so that they aren’t worried/distracted by it.Thelinkbelowtakesyoutoanexamplecalculationsheetyoucanusetoestimatefairlycloselywhereyoustandduringtheterm.Only YOU are responsible for knowing where you stand in the course.Sobesuretokeepaccuraterecordsofallyourscoredwork—includingyourclickerquestionsansweredinclass—regardlesswhetheryouwererightorwrong.
Cheatingrarelystartswithsomeonethinking,“I’m going to cheat!”Ratheritstartswith,“I know this is against the rules, but—this one time—I really need to be an exception!”Inotherwords,itstartswiththeideathatoneneednotbearthefullconsequenc-esofone’sactionsifonecanjustfigureouthowtoduckthoseconsequences.That’swhattroublesmemost—it’sthatstartofareallyinsidioushabit,awayofthinking:“slidingby”issomehowOK,aslongasyoucangetawaywithit.
—Ihaveheardfromthoseaskingforpartial/fullcreditfornon-partial-credititems(“see, if I’d only used the right units or read that part of the question, I’d have answered it correctly”).(Yes,butyoudidn’t,soit’swrong.)Thereareplentyofportionsofthiscourse—abouthalfthetotalpoints—wherejudgmentiscalledforandforwhichpartialcreditisawarded.Butsomepartsareeitherrightorwrong.Aslongasthequestionsarewordedclearly(andIdothrowthemoutwhenIfailatthat)eitheryouansweritrightandgetallthepoints,oryoudon’tgetany.Everyoneofyouisaprofessionalintraining.Andprofessionalsdon’tgetpartialcreditfortheirscrew-upswhereit’simportanttogetitexactlyright.Professionalsadmittheirmistakes,fixthem,takefullresponsibility,andthenworkhardtofigureouthownottodoitagain.
—Ihaveheardstudentsmakingexcusesformissingdeadlines,assignments—orevenexamtimes(“I wrote it down but lost my notes” or “my web access went down”or“Icouldn’tfinditonthewebsite”or“I couldn’t be in class that day”).It’ssomeversionoftryingtoblameotherparties/circumstances—anythingexcepttheirownfailurestostayontopoftheirresponsibili-ties,tomanagetheirtime,andtoverifyortootherwisehaveaPlanBforallcrucialtimes/dates.Anyversionofthatblame-deflectingisveryunprofessional.Thisisn’thighschool.
—Ihaveheardfromthosewhoforgottowritetheirnamesontheirpapers,whoputtheminthewrongTAboxes,whoforgettobringclickersorcalculatorsorIDorpencils/eraser.(Insomecases,TAscametotherescue,buteventhen,afewwentsofarastoaskalsoforleniencyingrading“because of the distraction/time lost”tryingtofind/replacetheirmissingitems).
See,it’sthehope/assumptionthatonecanarrangetobeforgiven—tobeanexceptiontotheruleswhichlinkactionstotheirfullconsequences—that’stherealdangerhere.Notonlydoesavoidingtheconsequenceletyouavoidlearningtodobetterinthisparticularinstance,butthatwayofthinkingbecomesahabitinitself—it’samindsetthatisverydestructive.Allregulationssomehowstarttolooknegotiable—orevadable.Andsoonerorlateritboilsoverintooutrightcheating—takingrulesintoone’sownhands(“these don’t need to apply to me in this case”)andsettingthemaside.
—“Doctoring”ascored(returned)exam,thenappealingit.Letmebeclear:Iamveryhappytoreviewthescoringoryourexams.Wetrulywantyoutolookthemoveranddemonstrateanypointsthatyouearnedbutweremistakenlyomitted.Notonlydowewantyoutohavethepointsyoudeserve,butit’sagreattimetolearn/reviewthematerial.ButIdoaskyounottowriteonyourscoredexamforthisveryreason(andtheexamappealsprocessdescribeswhatyouneedtodo).Andpeoplegenerallyfollowthiswithnoproblems.AtOSU,Ihavedetectedonlyafewcasesofthissortofdishonesty—whichiseasilydocumented(we now photocopy all scored exams before returning them).Asoutrightfraud,thisisespeciallyegregious.
Learningisallaboutmakingmistakes.Thisisaplaceoflearning,soit’saplaceespeciallyfullofmistakes.Ioughttoknow:Imakeabunchofthemeveryday.Wealldo.Nobodyisheretoridiculeorhammeronyouformakinghonestmistakes,nomat-terhowcarelessorboneheaded.Weallgettired,distracted,frazzled.WhatI’mtryingtosayisthatNOmistakeofthatkindisunfixable—infact,that’swhatwe’rehereinlargeparttodo:tofigureoutwhat’sgoingwrongandmakeitright—not to pretend that it didn’t go wrong.
Soit’sfarbettertojustsayquietly,“I messed up—and I want to learn to do better.”Andaspartofthat,youmustaccepttheconsequencesofthatmistake.Ifyoudon’tfeeltheconsequences,youwon’tlearntoavoidthemthenexttime.Butthosecon-sequencesarealwayslessthanwhatcomesoftryingtoavoidthem(tryingtoputtheblameelsewhereorhidingtheerror).Andthereisnothingmoreimportant,morevital,thanhavingbeenunsuccessfulatsomethingfirst,butthen—throughMUCHeffortandfrustration—honestlyworkingitoutandfinallygettingitright.Nothingfeelsbetter—or is better.Idon’tcarewhatyourtranscriptsays,that’sthedefinitionofawinnerandasuccess—andthatqualitywilltakeyoualotfartherinlifethananyGPA.Ifyoudoubtme,justliveafewmoreyears.Butmeanwhile,please,don’tbargainawaythatqualityinyourself.Thatqualityisreallywhatyou’reheremosttodevelopandpolish—andwhyIsoenjoyworkingwithyou.
Oregon State University PH 212, Winter Term, 2018 Course Syllabus 17