Course Syllabus

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Topics covered

Phys 115 covers the following topics:

  • electric fields and forces
  • electrical potential and potential energy
  • capacitors
  • circuits, Ohm’s law, Kirchhoff’s laws
  • RC circuits
  • magnetic fields and forces
  • thermodynamics
  • ideal gas law
  • thermal expansion
  • calorimetry
  • heat transfer
  • diffusion
  • pressure, buoyancy, fluid dynamics, and viscosity

Overview

This course has two components: lecture and tutorial.  Each component has several important aspects. You can see all the aspects required in a given week in Modules.

This website describes recommended practices to succeed in this course, and this website contains a list of resources you may find helpful for a variety of issues students may encounter during your time at UW.  We highly recommend the following:

  • Creating a weekly schedule to organize when you will work on the various course components.  We have posted sample weekly schedule here.
  • Working in groups.  We encourage you to work with others on assignments.  You can use Ed Discussion to post questions or answer others' questions, or to find people interested in forming a study group.  I will also monitor Ed Discussion frequently and will respond if needed.
  • If you have any questions, attend office hours so that they can be addressed.

Contact me if you need help finding the resources you need.

Contact Information

If you have questions, send an email with: your course and section (Phys 115C), your UW net ID (the part before @uw.edu in your email address), and your name as it appears on Canvas to:

  • the instructor, Charlotte Zimmerman at zimmermc@uw.edu, for personal correspondence related to grades, health issues, etc. You can also come by my office in the Physics Buildling, C208
  • the program coordinator at phys1xx@uw.edu for administrator questions related to registering, overloading, etc...

Course Material

The platform for online assignments is MyLab and Mastering through which you also access the e-textbook. You'll find this under the link "Digital Materials" in Canvas.

  • Learning Catalytics is used for in-class quizzes.
  • The textbook used is College Physics A Strategic Approach, 4th edition, by Knight Jones Field.
  • Information on how to access MyLab and Mastering and troubleshooting for common issues can be found here.

Please note that you have been automatically opted in to purchase the eTextbook and MyLab and Mastering. This means that you will receive a notification from Pearson to pay for the online system, and you need to make that payment.

**This information was updated on 1/13/2024. 

Class components

This class consists of the following components. For more details of each, click the links below.

Lecture overview

We will use a flipped classroom model, which has been shown to improve student learning.

  • Before each scheduled lecture you need to complete the assigned reading (see schedule below). 
    • Note: you should not expect to understand all the reading after reading it once. The goal is that you gain some familiarity with the concepts and quantities. In lecture, we'll work to build the skills on how to apply the ideas. 
  • In lecture, we'll focus on reviewing the main ideas and discussing how things fit together.
    • A central part of this course will be collaborative problem solving; lecture will orient around time for small and large group discussion.
    • Participation is essential to learning in this format, so please come ready to engage!

Lectures are from 1:30 to 2:50 PM on Tuesday and Thursday in lecture hall A102 of PAA. I will post lecture slides that you can use to take notes during class under the Files. Lectures will be recorded on Panopto which will be also available under the "Panopto Recordings" menu on the left. 

Tutorial overview

In tutorial, you will work with your peers to discuss problems designed to help you construct a conceptual understanding of physical laws though a research-based, scaffolded-discovery process.  Initially you may find the questions challenging and not easy to answer on your own.  Tutorial sections are designed to be a comfortable environment for you to make mistakes and to refine your ideas.  In the process you will learn how to reflect on your reasoning and to identify where you might make errors.

Tutorials are from 5PM to 6PM on Tuesday (unless they are exam days) in a large lecture hall 130 of KNE. Similarly to lectures, I will post tutorial slides for you to use to take notes in Files, and tutorial sessions will be recorded on Panopto.

Graded components

  • Pre-lecture reading quiz (25% of grade):
    • After completing the reading you need to answer questions on MyLab and Mastering before 11:59 PM on the day before the corresponding lecture.
    • You have up to 5 attempts for each question. For each wrong answer 10% of the grade is subtracted.  Note that practice problems, adaptive follow-ups, and dynamic study modules available also through Mastering are not graded, but great for your study.
    • Pre-lecture reading quiz score will be scaled by 1.25 at the end of quarter (but not allowed to go over 100%).
      • ex: If you earn a 70% for your reading quizzes combined, you'll receive a (70%*1.25) = 87.5% on reading quizzes at the end of the quarter.
  • Lecture/Tutorial in-class quizzes (10% of grade):
    • Participating in in-class quizzes on Learning Catalytics requires you to bring a web enabled device to lecture. If you do not own a web enabled device, you can loan for free from the university. See this site for more details. Please contact me if you have problem accessing to a web enabled device.
    • Some questions may be graded purely on participation, but most are graded 80% for participation and 20% for the correct answer. Just like pre-lecture reading quizzes, the total in-class quiz score will be scaled by 1.25 at the end of quarter (but not allowed to go over 100%).
  • Tutorial pretest (5% of grade):
    • These are designed to get you thinking about your ideas on topics covered in this course.  They are graded based on a thoughtful attempt, not on correctness.
    • These become available Friday at 3:30 PM
    • They are due on Monday at 11:59 PM.
    • Once you start a pretest, you will have 30 minutes to complete it without the ability to pause.
    • Your lowest tutorial pretest score will be automatically dropped.
  • Exams (60 % of grade): 

Important note:

Each exam includes questions based on the lectures and tutorials, so missing a lecture or tutorial section can have an impact on your exam performance.  If you miss a lecture or tutorial, make sure to work through the missed material to minimize the impact on your course grade.

The exam procedure is described here.

The following dates are preliminary and may change.

    • Midterm exam 1 on January 30th from 5:00 to 6:00 PM in Kane Hall
    • Midterm exam 2 on February 20th from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM in Kane Hall
    • Final exam on March 11th from 4:30 PM to 6:20 PM in PAA 102

Note that there are no make-up exams.  So, students with outside professional, service, or career commitments (i.e. military service, ROTC, professional conference presentation, NCAA sports, etc.) conflicting with the exam dates must contact me early in the quarter to establish alternate examination procedures.  Exam scores for students who miss an exam without making prior arrangements will be zero.

Each exam is out of 100 points, and has two components:

    • 80 points on lecture material
    • 20 points on tutorial material

Exams will count for 60% of your grade.  Your overall exam score will be based on the best of the following two methods:

    • Method 1: 60% from your average exam score for the two midterms and the final.
      • ex: If you earned a 75% on midterm 1, an 80% on midterm 2, and an 82% on the final, you would receive: (75 + 80 + 82)/3 = 79% as your "exam score". When calculating your grade, your exam would contribute 0.79*60% = 47.4%
    • Method 2: 20% from your best midterm score and 40% from your final exam score
      • ex: In the same scenario, your exams would contribute to your final grade as: 0.8*20% (from midterm 2) + 0.82*40% (from the final) = 48.8%
      • In this example, Method 2 gives a higher final contribution, and is what we would use to calculate this person's grade.

We try to design the exams such that a student who understands some of the material very well but needs some improvement in the remaining material should get a score around 65%.  If the class average on a given exam is less than 65%, then all the scores for that exam will be adjusted upward so that the average is 65%. Scores will not be adjusted downward even if the class average is higher than 65%.

If a student is found responsible for misconduct during an exam, a score of zero will be given for that exam for this student.  If the misconduct occurs during a midterm, only Method 1 is used to calculate the final grade, and Method 2 is not used.

Make up policies

This class is planned to be conducted in-person unless the University announces otherwise.  You are expected to participate in class to fully benefit from course activities and meet the course’s learning objectives.  To protect your fellow students, faculty, and staff, if you feel ill and may be contagious, you should not come to class.  When absent, it is your responsibility to contact me in advance (or as close to the class period as possible in the case of an unexpected absence), and to request appropriate make-up work as per policies below.

If you miss assignments due to a valid reason (family and medical emergency etc.), please contact me so that I can give you the following accommodations.

  • Lecture or tutorial in-class quizzes can be excused. Note the in-class quiz scores are scaled by 1.25 at the end of the quarter, so contact me only if you missed a significant number of them.
  • Pre-lecture reading quizzes' due dates can be extended. Note the pre-lecture reading quiz scores are scaled by 1.25 at the end of the quarter, so contact me only if you missed a significant number of them.
  • Tutorial pretest can be excused. Note that your lowest tutorial pretest score will be automatically dropped, so contact me only if you missed more than one.

If you require one of these accommodations, you need to notify me within one week of your absence or missed assignment. For illnesses or absences that last longer than one week, please contact DRS.

Grades

  • Your final weighted percentage is converted to a grade point using the following thresholds. 
    grade point final course score   grade point final course score   grade point final course score   grade point final course score
    4.0 93 3.0 78 2.0 63 1.0 48
    3.9 91.5 2.9 76.5 1.9 61.5 0.9 46.3
    3.8 90 2.8 75 1.8 60 0.8 44.6
    3.7 88.5 2.7 73.5 1.7 58.5 0.7 42.9
    3.6 87 2.6 72 1.6 57    
    3.5 85.5 2.5 70.5 1.5 55.5    
    3.4 84 2.4 69 1.4 54    
    3.3 82.5 2.3 67.5 1.3 52.5    
    3.2 81 2.2 66 1.2 51    
    3.1 79.5 2.1 64.5 1.1 49.5    

Reading schedule

Reading Schedule

Research Study Information

This course is part of a research project examining student reasoning ability and attitudes about physics with the goal of improving physics teaching.  By enrolling in this course, you are automatically included in the study. Early in the quarter, students will have an opportunity to learn about the study and to remove themselves from the study if they wish. Your instructor will not know whether or not you participate. Please click on this link to review the details of the study, contact a member of the research team, or remove yourself from the study.

Access and accommodation

Your experience in this class is important to us, so if you have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but are not limited to: mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical), please contact DRS to arrange accommodations.

Safe campus

We are committed to ensuring a safe environment on campus.  We encourage you to check out the resources available here.

Religious Accommodations

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).

Academic integrity and student conduct

The University takes academic integrity and student conduct very seriously.  Behaving with integrity and respect is part of our responsibility to our shared learning community.  Acts of academic misconduct may include, but are not limited to, cheating by working with others or sharing answers on exams.

Please note that taking photos or recording instructors, other students, and course materials without permission is strictly forbidden.  Streaming or posting inappropriate materials on any course platform is also not allowed. 

All the course materials including exam and quiz questions, lecture notes, lecture videos are intellectual properties of the instructor and the University of Washington. Distributing them in any form without permission is forbidden.  

The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals.  Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution.  More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/.

If you’re uncertain about if something is academic or behavioral misconduct, ask us.  we are willing to discuss questions you might have.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due