PHYS 1313 – Fundamentals of Physics

RULES

• The course web homepage is at http://www.physics.smu.edu/~sdalley/1313/1313home.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 and your own calculator.

• You must use your own (non-programmable) calculator on each quiz and exam. Sharing a calculator will be considered cheating by both parties.

• This course operates a policy of zero tolerance toward Academic Dishonesty in any form in any exam (quiz, test, etc.), lab, or homework. It will always result in an automatic F grade for the course. In all cases a filing will be made with the Honor Council, which may lead to expulsion from the university

Grading Policy

· Homework: 15%

· Quizzes: 10%

· Mid-term 20% Final 30%

· Labs: 25%

Lowest quiz and lab score, and lowest two homework scores, are dropped when computing final course grade.

Grade Boundaries

Immutable boundaries are set at A > 90% > A - > 85% > B + > 80% > B >75% > B - >70% > C+ > 65% > C > 60% > D > 50%>F, except that less than 50 % in labs alone is automatic F course grade. 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.

HOMEWORK

Homework is assigned each week and must be turned in at the beginning of lecture on the due date to gain credit. A homework question receives full credit only if your answer is completely correct and follows the format guidelines of the Exemplary Homework. A homework question receives ½ credit if an honest attempt is made following the guidelines of the Exemplary Homework. In particular, you must show your work explicitly and neatly as illegible answers or answers without work shown will receive no credit. Homework solutions will be posted on the web after the due date.

QUIZZES

10-minute 4-question multiple choice quizzes will be given during a lecture roughly every two weeks and will cover roughly the lecture material of the previous two weeks. They will be unannounced and are closed book, but you may use your own lecture notes (no photocopies allowed), so you do not need to memorize formulas. Use of your own calculator is required.

EXAMS

Exam questions will be based on the homework and quiz questions. The Mid-term consists of 30 multiple choice questions in up to 1 hour 30 minutes; it covers the 1^st half of the course (mechanics). The Final consists of 50 multiple choice questions in up to 3 hours; it is comprehensive but will contain a greater proportion of questions from the 2^nd half of the course. Exams are 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 to each exam with anything written on both sides.

LABS

Each week there is a lab that illustrates the material covered in lectures. Each starts with a short quiz, followed by the experiment. The report of the lab must be submitted to gain credit and should follow the format guidelines of the Exemplary Lab Report. Lab reports must be turned in at the beginning of lecture on the date due 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, 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!