PS 126: Washburn University: 2005 Spring
The course motto: very reassuring I think.
Classes: Places and times.
Syllabus Items
Wait 15 seconds at least. (A self-note to the instructor.)
This page is linked from the official Washburn PS 126 course page.
We will just call it the text or Krauskopf or KB for Krauskopf & Beiser.
Not especially astronomy---but yours truly is an astronomy
specialist.
The main objectives are to learn some of the basic principles
of the aforesaid sciences and equally importantly to gain a greater
understanding of scientific thinking.
The scientific thinking in the physical sciences generally
includes experimentation, theorizing, utilization of
mathematics in the description of nature, and the scientific method.
For students who are unrefreshed in math, the math component may seem
challenging.
But there will be lots of practice.
This course is NOT one to teach you how to teach physical sciences
to elementary students.
It is a course to give students background in the physical sciences.
It is hoped that students will make progress in achieving
some of skills in
Washburn's General Educational Statement: The ability to
Is this a hard course?
Yeah, it's hard.
Yours truly lectures, etc. on physics and astronomy until April 8???
which is the end of week 12 of the semester. Thus, there are 11
weeks of classes (not counting spring break) and 32 lecture periods:
Martin Luther King Day causes the missing period. 3 periods are needed
for in-class tests. So there are 29 ordinary-day lecture periods.
Starting April 11???, Sue Salem of the Chemistry Department takes
over for the last 4 weeks of the semester: that makes up 12 lecture
periods. She may also make use of the scheduled final exam
period. Sue Salem will give you her own separate syllabus.
We discussed how to do things for about 2 minutes: that's what we
call coordination.
It's a different world after April 8: a much easier world for
yours truly.
From here on this syllabus concerns itself ALMOST ONLY with the
physics and astronomy components of the course.
Then there will be a 5 minute break.
Then USUALLY there will be a 25 minute group-work period in which
the students will work in groups on the homework
and other assigned problems or occasionally an experiment.
It is assumed that the students can find natural groups of their own.
No fewer than 2 people and no more than 4 people per group.
On the first day of class we will take some time to get the
groups set up and for the instructor to note them down and then
resume the lecture.
Groups can be changed later, of course.
The students are required to stay and participate in the group
work.
The instructor will circulate during the group-work period in TA-mode.
There will be a point for each group-work day. To get this point
students
must be around to the end of class and working on course work
with their group when the instructor circulates.
The group-work component of the class is 9 % of the final grade.
There will be 3 drop days and if a student must miss other days for
unavoidable reasons, special drops will be given.
The group-work period is somewhat experimental. If it does NOT
work well, then it will be canceled and the group-work weighting
of the final grade shifted to the in-class exams.
The multiple-choice questions are NOT marked. The answers
are within a page or two of the question itself.
The assigned (full answer) questions and problems have solutions at the
back of the text: these are odd-numbered questions and problems.
The students are to do the assigned questions and problems and then
self-mark them using the given solutions: you CANNOT look
at the solutions before you are ready to mark.
Sometimes a non-odd numbered question or problem may be included
in the homeworks: the solution will be supplied in class.
Each question and problem is worth 5 points.
All homeworks count the same no matter how much each one is out of.
Be fair with yourself, but strict.
Give part-marks, but if something is wrong, it's wrong.
Report your total for each homework to the instructor when you have it.
Try to keep up with the lecture material.
You can, of course, get help answering
the homeworks and work in collaboration.
In fact, collaboration is ENFORCED by the group work.
But there is a difference between and a lot of help and straight copying
of answers. Don't copy.
The homeworks are worth only 3 % or LESS of the total grade.
Thus variations between people in grading themselves should not be
very important.
There is one drop on the homeworks: thus the lowest homework
will be dropped for the final grade accounting.
In fact, most people should get most of the homework problems completely
right.
The instructor will often deviate from the text covering topics
in more or less detail or in different order. The instructor
thinks this is good since you get complementary presentations.
(Abbreviations: KB x--y means read KB pages x through y; MC means
multiple-choice question; Q means full answer question; P means
problem.)
The exams will be on the the topics just covered.
The tentative dates for the 3 in-class exams are:
Thus, they are worth 21 % each.
The tests are all multiple-choice questions
and scantrons are NOT used.
An answer table will be provided. They are closed book; calculators
are allowed.
An equation sheet will be provided. You will be given a
copy before the tests for study purposes.
Make-up tests are possible, but
students who have not taken a given test
must avoid knowing anything about that test given
in other sections or to other people.
The rules say the average grade is to be a C and that's the way it
will be.
But the rules permit some freedom since ``excellent,'' ``well above
average,'' ``below average but passing,'' and ``failure'' are
not precisely defined.
During the semester current letter grades are assigned in
an automated fashion according the BELL CURVE---which physicists
call a Gaussian.
There will probably be NO updating of the letter grades during
the chemistry component. Sue Salem just reports her grades to me
at the end of that component.
There is for instance NO need for F's at all.
At the end of the semester the instructor will make a
FINAL grade decision.
The instructor will NOT lower a grade from the
BELL CURVE assignment: the instructor might raise it depending
on several things including:
But students should count on anything.
Just do your best all along---subject to all the other constraints
in life.
If you desire a web posting of marks and grades, give an anonymous alias
on the fun quiz
at the end of this syllabus if it is a hardcopy syllabus.
You only need to hand this in if you want GRADE POSTING.
Follow the given alias rules.
The alias is ONLY for grade posting. You don't put it on
things you hand in and I won't recognize you by it.
You can, of course, give an alias at any time.
I do recommend that you ask for GRADE POSTING
since experience shows students,
particularly as the semester nears the end, do want to know what they've
gotten.
The fun quiz tear-away page is really only to give your name
and, if you wish, an alias to the instructor.
Students may voluntarily identify themselves to the instructor for a
referral to SSWDO.
But as Dorothy said, there's no place like home.
Well not quite.
Chapter 1: Science Philosophy (KB 2--6)
Note KB are a bit dogmatic. Everyone has
different nuance on these philosophical points.
MC: 1--3
Q: 1, 3: Total Marks 10
(Note KB's answers are dogmatic too.
Accept almost anything reasonable when you mark.)
Chapter 2: Motion (KB 28--55)
MC: 1--38
Q & P: all odd ones: Total Marks 195
Chapter 3: Energy (KB 64--84)
MC: 1--33
Q & P: all odd ones: Total Marks 130
Chapter 4: Matter & Energy, Heat & Temperature
(KB 98--102, 104--128)
Note the instructor's lectures vary the order
of topics and the detail of coverage.
MC: 1--31
Q & P: all odd ones: Total Marks 170
Chapter 5: Electricity (KB 136--152). We omit magnetism initially,
but we could return to it if there is time.
MC: 1--13, 29--35
Q: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17
P: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25
Total Marks 110
Chapter 6: Wave Motion (KB 176--192, 209--210)
MC: 1--19
Q: 1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 29, 33
P: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13
Total Marks 90
Chapter 7: The Nucleus (KB 218--241). We omit elementary particles
initially, but we could return to them if there is time.
MC: 1--23, 31--36
Q: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23
P: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19
Total Marks 110
Chapter 8: The Atom (KB 256--260, 262--265, 276--277). We plan to omit
several topics. But we might re-include them if it looks
like there is time.
MC: 1--5, 8, 11--12, 32--35
Q: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13
P: 1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13
Total Marks 75
Chapter 18: The Universe (KB 650--652, 654--660). The instructor
will lecture on cosmology and will expand considerably
on the text.
MC: 21--22, 26--34
Q: 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32
Total Marks 35
If there is time left over extra astronomy topics or earlier topics
that were bypassed can be taken up.
_________________________________________________________________
Exam Date
_________________________________________________________________
Exam 1 Feb11 F (tentative)
Exam 2 Mar11 F (tentative)
Exam 3: Apr08 F (tentative)
Final Exam May11 W 1:30 pm
_________________________________________________________________
Solutions to given tests.
_________________________________________________________________
The in-class tests are worth 63 % of the final grade.
homeworks < 3 % 1 drop
group work < 9 % 3 drops
3 in-class tests > 63 % no drop
chemistry 25 % no drop
Letter grades will be assigned following the
Washburn Faculty Handbook grade rules.
The actual class will not usually have exactly this breakdown because
the class distribution will not be exactly a bell curve.
Grade Distribution of a Bell Curve
Grade Percentage of Standard deviations from mean
a bell-curve class for each grade bin.
in each grade bin A standard deviation is the
statistical width of
the distribution
A 10 % 1.28
B 25 % 0.38
C 45 % -0.84
D 15 % -1.64
F 5 % 0.
The bell curve grade point average is 2.20.
Beware of aliens bearing grades.