Dr. Roger Miller

Timerman 207

267-2282

millerrs@potsdam.edu

http://www2.potsdam.edu/millerrs/

 

Syllabus—Physical Science (Fall 2008)

 

WHAT IS "PHYSICAL SCIENCE?" Sciences are divided into two broad categories, physical and biological sciences. Examples of physical sciences are physics, chemistry and geology, and examples of biological sciences are biology, botany and physiology. There are harder to classify sciences such as archeology and anthropology, and fields like biophysics that combine physical and biological sciences. The goal of any science is to generate a coherent description of some aspect of the world. These descriptions might be the relations between different plants, the structure of atoms and molecules, understanding planetary systems, or even the structure of the universe.

 

In this class we will focus on the properties and interactions of matter and energy. We will use elementary mathematics to describe our observations. The level of math is at the 8th or 9th grade level. You are expected to know or learn any math that is used in the class. Calculators are allowed during classes and labs. You may not use calculators on exams.

 

TEXT: Physics & Everyday Thinking, by Fred Goldberg, et. al.  ISBN: 978-1-58591-665-8.

 

You are responsible for all material presented in lectures, labs, and homework assignments.

 

COLLABORATION:   Collaboration among students is REQUIRED! You will work together in all classes and labs, presenting your ideas in small groups and to the whole class. You should study together and work together on homework. This DOES NOT MEAN you may copy each other's homework or labs. The final product must be your own work. If direct copying occurs, both students will be held responsible. If you have any specific questions on what is or is not allowed, you should consult me. You may not collaborate on the quizzes or the final. Copying of homework, labs, write-ups or exam problems will result in penalties ranging from a zero on the problem, assignment, exam or the course, and referral to the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards.

 

CLASS PARTICIPATION:     You are expected to attend ALL lectures and labs. Missing two classes (labs or lectures) will decrease your grade. Missing 4 classes will result in a grade of a 0 for the course, irrespective of your score on other work. Student athletes are expected to notify me in advance about any game related absences, and to make arrangements to make up all missed work, as described below. Should you be unable to attend a class or lab because of illness or other emergency, you must contact me by email prior to the next class, and provide me with written documentation regarding the reason for the absence. You must also make up any missed work within a week to receive credit. Only under extraordinary circumstances will you be permitted to make up work for more than two classes.

 

You are expected to actively engage in the class discussions. This means you must work in small groups in labs and class, do all in-class assignments and do your best to answer questions posed to you during the lectures and labs.

 

HOMEWORK and IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS: Homework will be assigned in lecture and lab. The only way to be sure you know what work has been assigned is to attend class. If you miss class, find out what you missed from the other students. I will collect work from in-class activities. Most solutions will be available on Blackboard. Posted solutions will appear as PDF files. These are readable on any Macintosh computer running OS X. If you donŐt have it, you can get Acrobat Reader as a free download from Adobe.com

 

EXAMS:  At the beginning of most classes will be a short quiz on material from the previous week's lab and lecture. There will be no makeup quizzes for students who are absent or tardy. There will be two exams and a final. The exams will consist of short answer and calculation type problems. The exams will cover material from in the labs, lectures and homework. You will receive no credit for solutions without the accompanying work. Calculators may not be used during exams. The exam dates are:

            Midterm:         

            FINAL:            Friday May 16, 10:15-12:15

The exams are comprehensive, covering material from the labs, lectures and all assignments from the beginning of the semester.

There are NO MAKEUP EXAMS!

 

GRADING (approximate): YOU WILL RECEIVE THE SAME GRADE FOR LAB AND LECTURE. Below is a rough breakdown of the points that will be assigned for the various components of the class. About 60% of your grade will be based on your performance on tests/

 

In-class assignments                                     10%

Attendance                                                   10%

Class participation                                        10%

Quizzes                                                        15%

Midterm                                                       20%

Final                                                            35%

 

The following list the minimum grade you can expect to receive based on your performance. Your final grade may be a bit higher.

 

            >90%         4.0

            >80%         3.0

            >65%         2.0

            >50%         1.0

 

Occasionally I find that a studentŐs knowledge isnŐt fully reflected in the test scores. In these cases I will raise the score by up to 10%. The way I figure this out is by your observing and interacting with you in labs, lectures and office hours.

 

Penalties for excessive absences

 

2 or 3 absences      lowered grade

4 absences              0 in the course