Course Overview

Course Code and Semester: Physics 10, Class Number 30430, Summer 2019
Course Description: Elementary introduction to the field of physics: mechanics, heat, electricity and magnetism, sound, optics, and modern physics. (Satisfies COA AA/AS area 1; CSU area B1; IGETC area 5A)
Recommended Preparation: Math 201 (elementary algebra) or Math 202 (geometry)

Who should take this course?

• Non-science major students who need to satisfy a physical science without lab requirement.
• Intended physics and engineering major students, if they have no prior exposure to physics (high school physics class or general knowledge) and/or if they are not ready to take Physics 4A yet.
• Students who want to see all the topics covered in the study of physics in one semester.

If you need to satisfy the "physical science with lab" requirement, you may be interested in the Physics 10L lab course (Physics 10 and Physics 10L together will satisfy the "physical science with lab" requirement). Please check with your transfer institution if you are not using this course to satisfy IGETC or CSU GE requirements.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Using written language, students explain and discuss the physics concepts listed in the course content, and apply them to everyday phenomena and interdisciplinary examples.
2. Students apply simple formulas to calculate measurable quantities that describe the physical environment related to the concepts of physics.
3. Students explain and discuss physical principles underlying classroom demonstrations.

Instructor Information

Instructor: Benjamin Stahl Contact:  course-related: Canvas Conversations not course-related: bstahl@peralta.edu You will hear from me regularly throughout the semester, usually through the Course Announcements. If you need to talk (rather than write) to me, please see the information regarding office hours below.

Office Hours

Online office hours will be held on ConferZoom (meeting room: https://cccconfer.zoom.us/my/bstahl). The hours are held online Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. If these hours do not work for you, you are always welcome to send me a message (see contact information above). I usually respond within 24 hours, and often sooner.

Course Materials

All course materials are free and available digitally. We are using a textbook derived from OpenStax College Physics (our version is scaled down to fit into one semester). You can access the textbook in any of the following ways:

• Access it online on CNX.org (this is always the latest version).
• Download PDF (this is version 10.1, size 103 MB).
• Directly in the Modules.

Your other course materials, including homework assignments, are available on the course Canvas site.

Important Notes

Exams

There will be four midterm exams (Exams 1, 2, 3, and 4) and one comprehensive, cumulative final exam. There are both in-person ("Option A") and online ("Option B") options for the midterms and the final exam (but please note the Option B Final Exam must be an oral exam by video conference; see more below). All students are encouraged to choose the in-person option whenever possible (Option A exams are most similar in format exams that you may be familiar with already), but online options are available for those students whose work, academic, or other personal situation makes it difficult for them to take the exams in person. Overall, the exams account for 60% of your grade.

Exams are held in the following weeks:

• Exam 1: week of June 24 (Week 2)
• Exam 2: week of July 8 (Week 4)
• Exam 3: week of July 22 (Week 6)
• Exam 4: week of August 5 (Week 8)
• Final Exam: week of August 5 (Week 8)

Option A exams will be held at 6:00 PM in ATLAN 100 (at the College of Alameda Science Annex https://goo.gl/maps/8qa2odVBNNfKiiYh7) on either a Tuesday or a Thursday depending on the specific exam. Option B exams are taken at the time of a student's choosing, after they have participated in a short video chat to go over exam rules and receive the exam password. Please see the Calendar for more details.

ADA Accommodation

Students who may need accommodation for their disabilities are encouraged to contact Disabled Students Program and Services (available in Room D-117 or by phone, 510-748-2328) as soon as possible so that reasonable (and legally-mandated) accommodations may be made. Usual accommodations include extended exam time and/or transcription service. If you are not sure whether you are eligible, please check with a DSPS counselor. The details regarding the nature of your disability are confidential and not shared with your instructor.

Tutoring and Academic Support

Physics tutors are usually available in the Math Lab on the 2nd floor of the Learning Resources Center (L 202D). Register for the free COA course, Learning Resources LRNRE 501, 24 hours in advance of using any tutoring services. I am not 100% sure that this is available during the Summer term --- please let me know whether or not this worked for you, should you try.

Online tutoring: Following services had been available in the past, but I had trouble verifying their availability for Physics 10 this semester. I am providing this information on AS-IS basis, but please do let me know if it worked or didn't work for you.

• Upswing.io: Find out more from our LRC website.
• NetTutor: You can access it through "Online Tutoring" link on the sidebar. This is a new program available through California Community Colleges Online Education Initiative. Please let me know how it worked/didn't work for you.

Tips for Success in Physics 10 Online

Follow this advice to maximize your learning in this class.

First, here's a little bit on my grading approach. My goal in grading is to reward two things: (1) the effort you put into this class, and (2) your understanding and knowledge of physics. For those just wanting to pass this class, I have a good news: my goal is to pass every student who stays engaged throughout the entirety of the course. But what about those who want to get a B or an A in this class?

Here's what I recommend:

• First, realize that this online class requires more self-discipline and integrity, as well as a level of comfort with technology, than face-to-face classes do. Set aside a time to regularly work on the assigned readings and problems, and be proactive in contacting me if you have any issues with Canvas, or any other technologies being used for the class. (Read more: Orientation to Online Learning)
• Second, make sure the line of communication is open. Most course announcements are made through Canvas Announcement. Check your Notification settings to make sure you receive timely notifications.
• Lastly, make use of all the resources being made available in the course. To make up for the lack of face-to-face interactions, lecture videos are posted for key topics and exercises, questions maybe posed in graded discussions, and peer-graded essay assignments are designed around multimedia learning material.

I believe it is possible not only for each student to pass this class, but also for everyone to do so with a grade of B or better—all that is needed is for you to have a little bit of self-discipline and to put in substantial and consistent effort.

Calendar and Assignments

This online course syllabus is hosted on Canvas which makes the calendar and assignments available to you at one glance. Please look at the calendar of assignments and course events (or go to your Canvas Calendar). Please check back periodically, as I will be adding additional materials throughout the course.  The "fine-print" details of the syllabus are below—I encourage you to read through them (this is our contract for the semester), but I will remind you of anything that is important.

The Fine Print - Course Policies

Please read on for the full listing of course policies. If you would rather skip it, that is fine; I will remind you of anything that is important.

• Registration: After the last day to register for classes (see Course Calendar), you must be registered in the class in order for you to receive credit. No students can be added after this date.
• Attendance: This is an online class and no face-to-face class attendance is required. However, students who miss assignments due in the first week will be dropped from class as "no show". Also, the instructor may drop a student if the student misses an excessive number of assignments without excuse. (See pg. 31 of College of Alameda 2017-2019 catalog for the college policy on attendance for face-to-face classes, which this is modeled after.)
• Academic Integrity: Everything you turn in must be your own work. If you use sources other than those provided in the course, please clearly cite them and give credit where it is due. Allowing another student to copy your own work also constitutes academic dishonesty. Please refer to pg. 237-246 of College of Alameda 2017-2019 catalog for the college policy on academic dishonesty and possible disciplinary measures.
• Honor Code Pledge: You must complete an honor code pledge (see schedule of assignments) to continue in this class. In addition, participation in certain activities deemed especially to require honor and integrity on the students' part will be limited only to students who honor their pledge (alternate options will be made available to students who have lost their eligibility).
• Schedule Subject to Change: Assignment and exam schedules are subject to change. Any changes will be announced through Canvas, and all efforts will be made to accommodate students.
• Late Assignments: All assignments are due on the date noted. Canvas will accept late submissions on essay or discussion assignments (the instructor reserves right to grade late submissions in appropriate cases). MyOpenMath assignments must be extended using a "late pass". Twelve late passes are given at the beginning of semester, and each late pass extends a MyOpenMath assignment deadline by 72 hours. Exams will be extended only in rare circumstances arising out of a situation beyond the student's control.
• Option A Exam Proctoring in Your City/Town: Only for students living too far away to reasonably travel to Alameda for the in-person exams. You can arrange for an authorized person (usually a teacher at your school or an instructor at your local community college) to proctor the exam. Please contact the instructor as soon as possible to make the arrangement; it usually takes a week for the arrangement to be set up the first time.
• Option B Final Exam Format: In order to ensure security of the exam, if you choose to take the final exam as Option B (online option), the exam will take the form of an oral exam. We will schedule a 2-hour video chat during the finals week, and this video chat itself will be the exam (the video chat will be recorded for record retention purposes). If you have not taken an oral exam in the past, you can think of it like a very long interview, where instead of trying to decide if you are good fit for a job position, I am trying to determine how much physics you understand.
• Allowed/Prohibited Items during Option A Exam:
  • Allowed: calculators without communication capability, limited notes (one page for midterms and one double-sided sheet for final exam), paper-bound foreign language dictionaries, writing instruments (pencil and pen), and a water bottle.
  • Prohibited: communication devices of any kind (cell phones, pagers, etc.), electronic devices other than a calculator, English-to-English dictionaries or any other books including the textbook.
• Allowed/Prohibited Items during Option B Exam (open book):
  • Allowed: calculators, foreign language dictionaries, any material that is provided in the context of the course (usually through Canvas), and the means used to access the online exam.
  • Prohibited: any outside help, including but not limited to: (a) an individual providing help during the exam, (b) external websites, unless they are used purely for calculation function, and (c) external references, either in digital or paper-bound format, other than those allowed above.
• Holistic Grading Rubric: A holistic grading scale is used for grading essay questions on the exam
  • 5 (out of 5 points possible): "Excellent understanding." The student clearly understands underlying concepts; one or two minor reasoning mistakes can appear on a "5" solution, if they don't lead to larger conceptual errors.
  • 4: "Good understanding." The student understands the main concepts and problem-solving approaches but is missing one major concept, or made one major mistake that may involve conceptual misunderstanding.
  • 3: "Fair understanding." The student remembers some basic concepts but needs to include and integrate several additional major concepts in their reasoning.
  • 2: "Poor understanding." The student mentions some laws and principles from memory that may be relevant but shows little understanding of how they are relevant.
  • 1: "No understanding." The student writes down something that may (or may not) be relevant.
  • 0: "Blank." Blank answers.
• Course Assignment Weights: assignments (including exams) count for your overall course grade in the following proportions (Note: During the semester, Midterm Exams may appear to have 60% on Canvas; this is only to provide an accurate final grade estimate, assuming your Final Exam is similar to your Midterm Exams. The weights used after the conclusion of semester are as below):
  • Questions and Exercises: 20%
  • Essay Questions: 10%
  • Peer Reviews: 5%
  • Participation (Graded Discussions): 5%
  • Midterm Exams: 30%
  • Final Exam: 30%
• Course Grading Scale: The letter grades are assigned following this course grade scale:
  • A: 85 to 100%
  • B: 70 to 85%
  • C: 50 to 70%
  • D: 40 to 50%
  • F: below 40%
  The instructor reserves the right to exercise discretion on the margins around this scale.
• List of Topics: Textbook: Introduction to Physics by Andrew Park (derived from Concepts of Physics by Bobby Bailey, which is derived from College Physics by OpenStax)
  • Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Chapter 2: Kinematics
  • Chapter 3: Dynamics
  • Chapter 4: Work and Energy
  • Chapter 5: Impulse and Momentum
  • Chapter 6: Oscillations and Waves
  • Chapter 7: Rotation
  • Chapter 8: Fluids
  • Chapter 9: Thermal Physics
  • Chapter 10: Electricity
  • Chapter 11: Magnetism
  • Chapter 12: Light
  • Chapter 13: Quantum Mechanics
  • Chapter 14: Special Relativity
  • Chapter 15: Nuclear and Particle Physics
  We are skipping some sections but all chapters are covered, and most of the sections are covered in exams. The homework exercises and review problems are most indicative of the level of details at which each chapter is covered.