PHYS 1303 – Introductory Mechanics

RULES

• The course web homepage is at http://www.physics.smu.edu/~sdalley/1303/1303home.html where all relevant information will be posted.

• Cell phones must be turned off and put away at all times during lectures and test (or they become property of the lecturer and will be sold with all profits to a charity of your choice).

• I will use your official SMU e-mail address to communicate with you, so please check it regularly.

• For each lecture and test you are required to bring your own textbook and your own scientific calculator. Sharing will be considered cheating by both parties. Laptops are OK for lectures but not tests.

• This course operates a policy of zero tolerance toward Academic Dishonesty in any form in any test. It will always result in an automatic F grade for the course and a filing with the Honor Council. It will also upset me.

Grading Policy

· Tests 20% each

· Quizzes 5%

· Final 15%

A test missed for documented medical reasons or an SMU-sanctioned extra-curricular activity may be made up. Lowest 2 Quiz scores are dropped, including absence for any reason.

Immutable Grade Boundaries

A > 90% > A - > 85% > B + > 80% > B >75% > B - >70% > C+ > 65% > C > 60% > D > 50% > F. Requests to increase your grade for moral reasons, such as `I think I deserve it’ or `I attended all the classes’, etc., will serve only to annoy me.

QUIZZES

Quizzes will be given during each lecture to make sure you are a) present b) conscious c) attentive. Reading the textbook before lecture will make them easier to answer.

TESTS

4 tests, each lasting 75 minutes, will be given on the most recent lecture topics. The test questions will be closely based on the homework problems for those topics. The tests are open textbook and closed note, except you may bring one piece of letter–sized paper with anything written on both sides. Use of your own calculator is required. The test solutions and grading scheme will be temporarily posted on the web until the next test – this is to encourage you to review your own test answers promptly.

HOMEWORK

Structured homework is given on every lecture topic. It will not be graded but classes will be given to explain the homework solutions. You are strongly advised to spend time attempting homework problems and encouraged to discuss them. Homeworks are a minimum preparation for tests - do more problems from the textbook on those specific areas you find difficult.

FINAL EXAM

The Final is comprehensive, multiple choice, with questions similar to those on all the tests and homeworks, and lasts 3 hours. It is closed-book and closed-note; use of your own calculator is required. Data will be provided but formulas will not. However, you may bring one piece of letter–sized paper with anything written on both sides.

Disputes about the quality of grading will only be entertained if they are submitted in writing, explaining with specific reference to the grading scheme (posted on the web) why you think you are entitled to more points. Your appeal must be received in a timely manner, i.e. before the next test. If we accept your request, an independent regrade of all your answers will occur; your score can go up or down as a result.

DR. DALLEY’S TOP TEN ANNOYING THINGS DONE BY STUDENTS

No. 10 – Handing in illegible or nameless quiz answers.

No. 9 - Not coming to class (and then wondering why they do so badly in exams)

No. 8 - Not doing homework (and then wondering why they do so badly in exams).

No. 7 - Leaving cell-phones on.

No. 6 - Chatting (other than about physics) while the lecturer is speaking.

No. 5 – Asking for detailed help during or seconds before a test.

No. 4 - Complaining after a time-consuming and careful regrade at the request of the student has resulted in a lower score.

No. 3 - Asking for a personalized exam schedule.

No. 2 - Asking for a grade increase for purely moral reasons, such as, “I think I deserve it”, or, “I attended all the classes”.

No. 1 - Cheating!