PHYS 114 A: General Physics

Welcome to PHYS 114 A. My name is Kazumi Tolich, and I am your instructor.

In this class everyone is welcome, regardless of other identities you hold in addition to that of physics student. I expect everyone in this class to treat each other with respect.

Here is a list of resources to help you through this course or other aspects of your time at UW.  Contact me if you need help finding the resources you need.

PHYS 114 is the first of a three-quarter sequence of introductory physics courses targeted for students in life sciences. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to develop algebra-based models to describe the physical world pertaining to mechanics, and apply them to other fields of science and everyday phenomena.

Getting started

• The platform for online assignments is MyLab and Mastering through which you also access the e-textbook, College Physics A Strategic Approach, 4th edition, by Knight Jones Field.
• Please note that you have already purchased the access code for the eTextbook and MyLab and Mastering as a part of your registration fee.
• Information on how to access MyLab and Mastering can be found here.
• The access code is: PSPKSA-BAZOO-HUTCH-SCRAP-DOBBY-GLEES
• Troubleshooting for common issues with MyLab and Mastering is listed here.

Getting help and working collaboratively

• If at all possible, please do arrange with fellow students to work through assignments together. While we cannot all be in the same physical room, please recognize the importance of peer instruction. You can learn by listening to your peers, but you can also learn by expressing your own ideas and helping to teach your peers. This is an important part of the in-person instruction, and we strongly encourage you to maintain that practice for the online instruction.

• You will be assigned a single TA who can help you with the lecture and tutorial course material. During the week the TAs and I will hold office hours on Zoom to help you learn from the activities in which you will be engaged.  This is where you can meet with other students in the class and get your questions answered so that you are able to get as much learning as possible from the course activities.  If you cannot attend your TAs or my office hours, you can attend any TAs office hours. The office hour schedule is found in the "Office hours" on the menu.

• Use the discussion board (click "Discussions" on the menu on the left) for physics questions or syllabus related questions. I will monitor this frequently and will respond if needed. You are also encouraged to use this to organize online study groups using Zoom.

Contact information

• For personal correspondence related to grades, health issues, etc... send an email with your course (Phys 114) and name as it appears on Canvas to me (Kazumi Tolich) at ktolich@uw.edu.
• For administrator questions related to registering, overloading, etc... send an email with your course (Phys 114) and name as it appears on Canvas to the program coordinator at phys1xx@uw.edu.

Class components

• You can see all the components required in a given week by clicking on the "Modules" menu on the left. All the course assignments become available at least one week before they are due.
• This class consists of the following components:
  • Lectures: 
    Lectures will not be held at the scheduled times. You will work at your own pace before due dates. Engagement will occur through graded discussions and office hours through Zoom. The lectures will include the following graded components.
    • Pre-lecture reading quiz:
      After reading the assigned reading for each day (see schedule below), you should complete the quizzes related to the reading on MyLab and Mastering.

• • • Lecture reading discussion:
      After reading the assigned reading for each day (see schedule below), you should complete the discussion assignment related to the reading on the Canvas group discussion board.
    • Lecture video quiz:
      After you do Pre-lecture quiz and reading discussion, you should watch the lecture video and answer video quiz. The videos and associated slides will become available under the "Panopto Recordings" and "Files" menu on the left.  Quizzes will be embedded in these videos.

• • Tutorials: 
    Tutorials will not be held at the scheduled times. You will work at your own pace before due dates. Engagement will occur through graded discussions and office hours through Zoom. The tutorials will include the following graded components.
    • Tutorial Pre-test:
      You should complete the pre-test on Canvas. Once you open, the pretests are available for only 30 minutes, and after time is up, your answers will be automatically submitted. Please keep a record of your confirmation page.

• • • Tutorial discussion:
      Tutorial question slides are available under "Files" menu on the left. You should complete the tutorial discussion assignment on the Canvas group discussion board. If necessary, the TAs will give you guidance after the the video quiz is due.
    • Tutorial video quiz:
      After you do the tutorial discussion, you should watch the tutorial video and answer video quizzes. The videos will become available under the "Panopto Recordings" on the left.  Quizzes will be embedded in these videos.

Grades

• Your grade will be calculated based on the following contributions and based on the scale below.

  Component	​Percentage
  ​Exams	​60%
  Pre-lecture reading quiz	20%
  Lecture discussions	5%
  ​Video quiz	​10%
  ​Tutorial discussion	​3%
  ​Tutorial pre-test	​2%

• Your final grade is calculated using the following thresholds for the weighted score.
•  

  • grade point	final course score		grade point	final course score		grade point	final course score		grade point	final course score
    4.0	93		3.0	78		2.0	63		1.0	48
    3.9	91.5		2.9	76.5		1.9	61.5		0.9	46.3
    3.8	90		2.8	75		1.8	60		0.8	44.6
    3.7	88.5		2.7	73.5		1.7	58.5		0.7	42.9
    3.6	87		2.6	72		1.6	57
    3.5	85.5		2.5	70.5		1.5	55.5
    3.4	84		2.4	69		1.4	54
    3.3	82.5		2.3	67.5		1.3	52.5
    3.2	81		2.2	66		1.2	51
    3.1	79.5		2.1	64.5		1.1	49.5

• Exams

  • Your exam grade will calculated from the best three exams out of four with each counting 20% of the grade.

  • You may start each exam between 9:35am and 9:55am (PDT) on the following dates, and you will have one hour to finish each exam once you open.
    • Midterm exam 1 on July 15th
    • Midterm exam 2 on August 5th
    • Final exam 1 on August 19th
    • Final exam 2 on August 20th
  • All exams are open-book and administered on Canvas. Communication with others is not permitted.
  • We will choose the exam questions so that the average on each exam should be about 65%. If the average in any exam comes out lower than 65%, we will adjust everyone’s scores up.
  • Note that there are no make-up exams. So, students with outside professional, service, or career commitments (i.e. military service, ROTC, professional conference presentation, NCAA sports, etc.) conflicting with the exam dates must contact me early in the quarter to establish alternate examination procedures. Exam scores for students who miss an exam without making prior arrangements will be zero.
  • If a student is found responsible for misconduct during an exam, a score of zero would be given for that exam for this student, and this zero will not be dropped from the grade calculation.

• Lectures

  • Pre-lecture quiz:
  • You have up to 5 attempts for each question. For each wrong answer 10% of the grade is subtracted. At the end of the quarter your score will be scaled by 1.25 (but not allowed to go over 100%). Note that practice problems, adaptive follow-ups, and dynamic study modules available also through Mastering are not graded, but great for your study.
  • Lecture reading discussion:
    You will be given credit for either asking a question or answering a question already asked on the discussion board, or discussing a part of the reading you found particularly interesting. These are graded based on a thoughtful attempt, not on correctness. This is designed to have you carefully think about the reading and the quiz questions on the lecture slides. You are encouraged to discuss about how to solve the lecture quizzes, but simply giving away answers to video quizzes such as "the answer is A" is not allowed and will not get credit for this assignment. At the end of the quarter your score will be scaled by 1.25 (but not allowed to go over 100%).
  • Lecture video quiz:
    You will be graded based 80% on participation and 20% based on correctness, and at the end of the quarter your score will be scaled by 1.25 (but not allowed to go over 100%).

• Tutorials

  • Tutorial pre-test:
  • They are graded based on an honest attempt, so you will receive credit as long as you have attempted most of the questions, even if you run out of time. At the end of the quarter your score will be scaled by 1.25 (but not allowed to go over 100%).
  • Tutorial discussion:
    You will be given credit for either asking a question about the tutorial material of the week or answering a question already asked on the discussion board. These are graded based on a thoughtful attempt, not on correctness. This is designed to have you carefully think about the questions on the tutorial slides. Simply giving away answers to video quizzes such as "the answer is A" is not allowed and will not get credit for this assignment. At the end of the quarter your score will be scaled by 1.25 (but not allowed to go over 100%).
  • Tutorial video quiz:
    You will be graded based 80% on participation and 20% based on correctness, and at the end of the quarter your score will be scaled by 1.25 (but not allowed to go over 100%).

Reading schedule

• Reading schedule.

Access and accommodation

• Your experience in this class is important to me, so if you have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but are not limited to: mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical), please see details here.

Safe campus

• I am committed to ensuring a safe environment on campus. I suggest you check out the resources available here.

Religious Accommodations

• Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).

Academic integrity and student conduct

• The University takes academic integrity and student conduct very seriously. Behaving with integrity and respect is part of our responsibility to our shared learning community. Acts of academic misconduct may include, but are not limited to, cheating by sharing questions and answers on exams.
• Please note that screenshots or recordings of instructors, other students, and course materials during active video (Zoom) participation sessions are strictly forbidden. Streaming or posting inappropriate materials on any course platform is also not allowed. 
• All the course materials including exam and quiz questions, lecture notes, lecture videos are intellectual properties of the instructor and the University Of Washington. Distributing them in any form without permission is forbidden.  
• The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution.

• More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/.
• If you’re uncertain about if something is academic and behavioral misconduct, ask me. I am willing to discuss questions you might have.