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COURSE SYLLABUS

PHYS 117/1.0 - Introductory Physics (Fall {PHYS 117A} & Winter {PHYS 117B} terms)

Instructors: M. Singh (course coordinator) and A. Topper

Academic Assistant: K. Fox

PHYS 117 is a 6.0 unit course taking place in the Fall and Winter academic terms. This course is intended

primarily for students in the biological and life sciences. It satisfies the physics requirement for the Life

Sciences degree program and for the Faculty of Medicine; it is recommended but not required for Biology

degree programs; it can serve as the required physics course for some Environmental Science degree programs.

It is recommended that students check the calendar for details about their Degree Plan options. This course is

algebra-based and includes a required laboratory component.

PREREQUISITE: OAC Physics or equivalent is recommended but not required. An OAC or equivalent in

Mathematics is required.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of the course successful students will be able to

identify and interpret the laws of nature as summarized by the fundamental concepts that constitute the

foundation of classical physics

relate nature’s basic laws describing forces, motion, energy, momentum, thermodynamics,

electromagnetism, and the conservation rules that constrain these laws to real world applications

interpret and apply basic experiment methodologies designed to test fundamental concepts through

direct observation

quantitatively analyze measurement results with effective evaluation of experimental uncertainties

analyze the information contained in various hypothetical problem scenarios within the context of

recognizable physics laws and apply systematic problem-solving strategies to solve for unknown

quantities

A lecture plan is available for both lecture sections (001 and 002) with recommended readings from the

recommended textbook (College Physics, 10th edition of College Physics, by Serway & Vuille). Note that all

PHYS117 students will complete the same material for grading (ie. labs, homework, exams) regardless of

their lecture section. Organization into lab sections (004, 005 … 013) is independent of lecture section.

Required for the course:

Physics 117 Lab Manual, 2016-2017 (available in your first scheduled lab period during the secondweek of classes, $15 (cash only); a binder and graph paper is included and no other lab material isrequired. After that they are available from Physics Stores, STI 125, 8 am – noon, 1 pm – 4 pm)

Casio 991 calculator (no other type of calculator will be allowed for use during examinations)

Enhanced WebAssign (EWA) access for online homework, available from the Campus Bookstore.

EWA access can be obtained by purchasing one of two available package options:

i) 100% digital option consisting of EWA access + e-book (College Physics, 10th edition by

Serway & Vuille, containing all of the end-of-chapter material to be found in the full

textbook) for $94.95

ii) EWA access + e-book + custom soft cover printed text (Introductory Physics, adapted

from the full text and limited to material relevant to the course with all end-of-chapter

material included) for $149.95

i>clicker (required for use in class, available from the Campus Bookstore)

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GRADING SCHEME:

All components of this course will receive numerical percentage marks. The final grade you receive for

the course will be derived by converting your numerical course average to a letter grade according to

Queen’s Official Grade Conversion Scale:

Grade Numerical Course Average

(Range)

A+ 90-100

A 85-89

A- 80-84

B+ 77-79

B 73-76

B- 70-72

C+ 67-69

C 63-66

C- 60-62

D+ 57-59

D 53-56

D- 50-52

F 49 and below

Course Grade Components:

Homework

(completed online via Enhanced WebAssign, included

with the recommended course text)

7% due weekly on Thursdays by 11:59 pm starting September 22

Labs (a minimum grade of 50% on the laboratory component

is required in order to receive credit for the course)

15% approximately every two weeks, 4 labs per

term, total of 8 labs

i>clicker Responses 3%

A grade of 1.5% per term is obtained by voting in at least 25 classes in the term. To get credit for voting on a given day you need to vote for at least 75% of the questions.

Term Quizzes (4) 20%

All quizzes are 1 hour online and each is worth 5% of the final grade. They will be available to be written during the following times:- Fall Quiz #1 - Tues, Oct 11 @ 8 am to Wed, Oct 12 @ 4pm - Fall Quiz #2 - TBD- Winter Quiz #1 - Tues, Feb 7 @ 9 am to Wed, Feb 8 @ 4 pm - Winter Quiz #2

- TBD

December Term Exam 20% December (date set by the Exams Office)

Final Exam 35% April (date set by the Exams Office)

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* If you have a valid reason for submitting homework late, please fill out a request form on the coursewebsite. The request must be submitted no later than 9:30 pm on the due date.

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** The term quizzes are multiple choice and are done online. Each quiz must be completed within 1 hour of starting. They may be started within the time frames listed above. The quiz should be started no later than 1 hour before the end time (eg. no later than 3 pm on Wed, Oct 12 for Fall Quiz #1.)

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Labs [15%]: All students should plan on purchasing their PHYS117 Lab Manual 2016 - 2017 (available in your first scheduled lab period during the second week of classes, $15 (cash only); a binder and graph paper is included and no other lab material is required. After that they are available from Physics Stores, STI 125, 8 am – noon, 1 pm – 4 pm). All students MUST ATTEND their scheduled lab session in week 2 (Monday Sept. 19 - Friday Sept. 23) for lab orientation, group organization, and lab scheduling for both the Fall and Winter terms. StudentsMUST record their lab schedule in their PHYS117 Lab Manuals for future reference. Before your first scheduled laboratory in week 2, you should download, print out, read, and attempt the Error Analysis Worksheet. You will have an opportunity to get help and complete it during that period. It is due at the beginning of the following lab period.

A passing lab grade is required (i.e., at least a 50% average) in order to obtain a PHYS117 credit. The PHYS117 lab component is the same for all PHYS117 students, regardless of section number.

If you have previously taken PHYS 117 and passed the lab portion of the course, you can Request a Lab Exemption. If it is approved, your lab marks from your previous attempt at the course will be used and you will not need to attend labs this year.

Homework [7%]: Homework #1 (intended for review) is due on Thursday Sept. 22 and is for bonus marks. Access to Enhanced WebAssign is required for access to the online homework assignments. EWA access comes with purchase of the custom softcover book (Introductory Physics, adapted from the full text, College Physics, 10th edition, by Serway & Vuille) with selected material relevant to the course and including all end-of- chapter questions and appendices), or with purchase of the full e-book used in support of this course (College Physics, 10th edition, by Serway & Vuille).

The posted homework assignments shown on this course onQ site are intended ONLY to give students a chance to view the material that will be graded for credit without the need for EWA access. The parameters shown here will generally NOT be the same as those seen by students on EWA (problem variables are randomized). Homework is worth 7% of the overall grade for the course. This grade offers a credit for practicing problem solving using the tools developed in lectures and through independent reading. The assigned homework is the same for all PHYS117 students, regardless of section number.

If you have a valid reason for submitting your homework late, you can submit a Late Homework Submission form. If it is approved, the due date will be extended by no more than six (6) days. Requests for homework deadline extensions can ONLY be considered if submitted no later than 9:30 pm on the due date.

i>clicker Responses [3%]: Students must have an i>clicker (available from the Campus Bookstore) and have their clicker code registered on the PHYS 117 onQ site (NOT the i>clicker homepage). A grade of 1.5% per term is obtained by voting in at least 25 classes in the term. This allows for the occasional sick day. To get credit for voting on a given day you need to vote for at least 75% of the questions so if you miss one question in a class it will not affect your mark. Some of the questions are tough so we expect best effort but not necessarily the correct answer. If you vote in less than 25 classes you will get a proportionate fraction of the 1.5%. Keep in mind these questions are to help you evaluate your understanding and to give you a chance to discuss and to actively participate during class.

Tutorials [0%]: All PHYS117 students are free to attend any scheduled PHYS117 tutorial. Afternoon tutorials are from 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm and will be held in Stirling Hall, Rm. 412B on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Evening tutorials are from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm and will be held in Stirling Hall, Rm. 412B on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Tutorial assignments are accessed via EWA. There is no grade associated with the tutorial assignments which are intended to provide guided problem-solving practice for students. The assigned tutorial assignments (once again, these are not for credit) are the same for all PHYS117 students.

Exams [75%]: There are 4 term quizzes and 2 exams scheduled throughout the Fall and Winter terms: - Two Fall term quizzes are scheduled, worth 5% each:

- Fall term quiz #1 must be completed within 1 hour after starting the quiz, within the 32-hour time window extending from Tues, Oct 11 at 8 am until Wed, Oct 12 at 4 pm. - Fall term quiz #2 will be scheduled during week 9 of the term.- December term exam, scheduled by the Exams Office and worth 20% of the total grade. - Two Winter term quizzes are scheduled, worth 5% each:

- Winter term quiz #1 must be completed within 1 hour after starting the quiz, within the 32-hour time window extending from Tues, Feb 7 at 8 am until Wed, Feb 8 at 4 pm. - Winter term quiz #2 will be scheduled during week 9 of the term.- Final April term exam, scheduled by the Exams Office and worth 35% of the total grade.

A Casio 991 calculator is required - no other aids will be allowed in examination rooms. Exam equation sheets will always be provided with every exam and in advance of the exam to allow students time to familiarize themselves with the available information. It is recommended that students work with the Casio 991 calculator and the equation sheet while doing practice problems to prepare for exams. All PHYS117 students will write the same tests/exams, regardless of their lecture/lab section.

If performance in the December exam is better than either or both of the Fall term quizzes, the December term exam will be weighted as 25% or 30% of the course grade and the low term quiz grade (one or both) will not be counted.

If performance in the April exam is better than either or both of the Winter term quizzes, the April term exam will be weighted as 35% or 40% of the course grade and the low term quiz grade (one or both) will not be counted.

Note that better performance on the April exam cannot be used to replace poorer performance on the December exam.

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DISABILITY ACCOMODATIONS

Queen's University is committed to achieving full accessibility for persons with disabilities. Part of this

commitment includes arranging academic accommodations for students with disabilities to ensure they

have an equitable opportunity to participate in all of their academic activities. If you are a student with

a disability and think you may need accommodations, you are strongly encouraged to contact the

Disability Services Office (DSO) and register as early as possible. For more information, including

important deadlines, please visit the DSO website at: http://www.queensu.ca/hcds/ds/

COPYRIGHT OF COURSE MATERIALS

Materials generated by the instructors of this course may not be posted to commercial course material

sites without permission. However, they may be used and adapted, with attribution, for non-

commercial purposes. Material posted for student use on the course onQ site is designed for use as

part of PHYS117 at Queen’s University. Third party copyrighted materials (such as book chapters

and articles) have either been licensed for use in this course or fall under an exception or limitation in

Canadian Copyright law. Copying this material for distribution (e.g. uploading material to a

commercial third-party website) can lead to a violation of Copyright law. Find out more about

copyright here at http://library.queensu.ca/copyright.

Notes and supplementary material supplied by the professor(s) are copyrighted. Sharing these materials with others who are not members of PHYS 117 constitutes a 'use of unauthorized materials'.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic integrity is constituted by the five core fundamental values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect

and responsibility. These values are central to the building, nurturing and sustaining of an academic

community in which all members of the community will thrive. Adherence to the values expressed

through academic integrity forms a foundation for the "freedom of inquiry and exchange of ideas"

essential to the intellectual life of the University (see the Senate Report on Principles and Priorities).

Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the regulations concerning academic

integrity and for ensuring that their assignments conform to the principles of academic

integrity. Information on academic integrity is available in the Arts and Science Calendar (see

Academic Regulation 1), on the Arts and Science website (see

http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/academics/undergraduate/academic-integrity), and from the instructors of

this course.

Departures from academic integrity include plagiarism, use of unauthorized materials, facilitation,

forgery and falsification, and are antithetical to the development of an academic community at Queen's.

Note that the misuse of i>clickers or the online homework system (EWA) to obtain marks

fraudulently is a violation of academic integrity. Given the seriousness of these matters, actions which

contravene the regulations on academic integrity carry sanctions that can range from a warning or the

loss of grades on a course component to the failure of a course to a requirement to withdraw from the

university.