PHYS 1301 – Ideas of Modern Physics

RULES

• The course web homepage is at http://www.physics.smu.edu/~sdalley/1301/1301home.html where all relevant information will be posted.

• Cell phones must be turned off and put away at all times during lectures, laboratories, and exams (or they become property of the lecturer).

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

• For each lecture you are required to bring your own textbook.

• This course operates a policy of zero tolerance toward Academic Dishonesty in any form at any level. It will always result in an automatic F grade for the course and a filing with the University Honor Council. Therefore, please reciprocate the respect and fairness I will show you.

Grading Policy

l Homework: 15%, Quizzes: 10%, Mid-term Exam 15%, Final Exam 25%, Labs: 25%, Essay: 10%

Lowest quiz, lab, and homework score is dropped when computing final course grade (this includes absence for any reason).

Grade Boundaries

A > 90% > A - > 85% > B+ > 80% > B > 75% > B- > 70% > C+ > 65% > C > 60% > D > 50% > F.

However, scoring less than 50 % overall in labs alone is automatic F course grade.

HOMEWORK

Homework is assigned each week (usually on Wednesday) and must be turned in as hardcopy at the beginning of lecture on the due date (usually following Monday) to gain credit. A homework question receives full credit only if your answer is completely clear and correct in the opinion of the grader. A bonus equivalent to extra 1/2 credit may be given for a particularly creative (and correct) answer. A homework question receives ½ credit if an honest attempt at an answer is made in the opinion of the grader. Illegible answers or abject nonsense will receive no credit. Example homework solutions will be posted on the web for a couple of weeks after the due date.

QUIZZES

Short quizzes, based upon the reading for the lecture, should be collected upon entry to each lecture, completed and deposited in the `quiz-box’ when it reaches you. Generally the quiz box will passed through the audience, starting at the back of the room, a few minutes after the lecture has started. If you unduly delay the passage of the quiz box, you will be asked to give a presentation to the class explaining the answers to the quiz.

EXAMS

Exam questions will be multiple choice and based on the homework, quiz, and lab questions. There is a Mid-term (up to 1 hour 30 minutes) covering the 1^st part of the course and a comprehensive Final (up to 3 hours) containing a greater proportion of questions from the 2^nd part of the course. Exams are closed-book and closed-note.

LABS

Each week there is a lab that illustrates the material covered in lectures. Each starts with a short quiz based on the lab manual, followed by the experiment or simulation. The report of the lab must be submitted to gain credit. An average score of less than 50% on the lab component of the course will result in an F grade for the whole course. See separate sheet for further information about labs.

Disputes about the quality of grading will only be entertained if they are submitted in writing, in a timely manner, explaining why you think you are entitled to more points. If we accept your request, we will regrade all your answers. This implies that your score may go up or down. You have been warned!

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

No. 10 - Delaying the passage of the quiz-box.

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

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

No. 7 - Leaving cell-phones on.

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

No. 5 - Complaining after a time-consuming and careful regrade at the request of the student has resulted in a lower score.

No. 4 - Asking for a personalized exam schedule.

No. 3 - Waving homework in front of the lecturer seconds before due and lecture is about to start, saying, “is this right?”

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!