Richard Barrans, Ph.D., M.Ed., Department of Physics and Astronomy
| Office: | PS 110 |
| Phone: | 766-6516 |
| e-mail: | rbarrans@uwyo.edu |
| Office Hours: | Monday 10 AM–noon, Wednesday noon–2 PM |
The successful student will:
How does the world work? What is it made of? The secrets of the universe are the focus of PHYS 1090. The course is a one-semester overview of physical science for students who plan to become elementary school teachers. It addresses the main domains of classical physics: mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism; and the fundamental concepts of chemistry: bonding, structure, and reactions. The emphasis is on recognizing physical principles at work in the everyday world, communicating your understandings to others, and using experiments and observation to deepen your understanding.
Textbooks: The Cartoon Guide to Physics, by Larry Gonick and Art Huffman, and The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry, by Larry Gonick and Craig Criddle, both published by HarperCollins. Available at the University Bookstore for $17.95 and $17.00, respectively.
Course Pack: PHYS 1090 Activities Manual, available at the bookstore for $19.50.
The final grade is determined from cumulative points attained. Grading is on a standard scale (90’s = A, 80’s = B, 70’s = C, 60’s = D, < 60% = F).
A total of 1000 points will be available in the course. They are apportioned as follows:
| item | number | points/ea | points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly units | 14 | 50 | 700 |
| Labors | 3 | 100 | 300 |
A note about grades: Your grade in this course reflects only your performance over a 15-week period on a limited set of evaluations. Your grade does not reflect your worth as a person or what I think of you. Because of the limited scope of this course, your grade is not a prediction of your future success or even an evaluation of your potential as a teacher. In short, do not cause yourself (or your instructor) anxiety by making more of your grade than it really is.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 3:10–5:00 PM, Physical Science Building, rooms 237–239. Lectures and laboratory activities are integrated in the three weekly class meetings. There is no grade for attendance, but points earned in class cannot be made up without a University excuse or prior instructor consent.
Class activities are your primary opportunity to learn the class material. Most of the class activities are activities designed to be done by groups of four students. These is no grade for participation, and students are not assigned group roles. Collaborating in group work is expected and encouraged because working and discussing with other students helps you develop your scientific reasoning and communication. You really will learn more by devoting your attention to the activity. Trust me on this, and don’t learn it the hard way.
Each unit is partly assessed by group interviews, in which each group will be asked four interview questions, selected from the activities manual. All group members receive ten (10) points if three or four of the questions are answered correctly, five (5) points if two are answered correctly, and zero (0) points if one or fewer questions are answered correctly.
Most units conclude with an on-line drill and written homework assignment. These reinforce the concepts explored in the activities and discussion. Unless otherwise specified, weekly homework questions require hard copy written answers.
There are three labors during the semester, each worth one hundred (100) points. These focus on developing skills beyond what is addressed in the weekly activities. Each labor is described in detail in its own document.
The textbooks are a resource for you to help yourself fulfill the course objectives. Textbook readings complement the material presented in class by providing a different approach and addressing additional information. Guides for all readings are posted on the class web site. Reading the corresponding text before a class meeting is recommended.
Course information is posted on the class web site at http://www.barransclass.com/phys1090. Drills are accessed and submitted through Sakai.
Anticipated absences should be brought to my attention before they occur. Work missed due to an absence may be made up if the student has an official University excuse or at my discretion. If a justified makeup is not possible due to schedule or equipment constraints, the missed work may be prorated.
Absent prior arrangements or unforeseen crises, work turned in after its due date is assessed a penalty of 10% for each calendar day that it is late. Drills on Sakai cannot be submitted late.
This class exists to help students learn physics and chemistry. Students are expected to conduct themselves in class in accordance with this goal. Those who disrupt the class or interfere with other students’ opportunity to learn will be asked to leave. Students are expected to respect others’ opinions and abilities, and to help each other during group work activities. If you have a cell phone, leave it home, or turn it off and keep it out of sight. Words cannot convey my displeasure at students text-messaging in class.
If you find yourself struggling, please see me for help sooner rather than later. I will do whatever I can to help you succeed.
Students are expected to work together on group work. Individual work, such as labors, must be solely the work of each student. All ideas from others that appear in writings and presentations submitted in this class must be properly attributed. Consult me or the specific assignment for the appropriate attribution format.
Academic dishonesty is forbidden and will be dealt with according to University procedures. Academic dishonesty primarily involves a student misrepresenting work submitted in the class or assisting another student submit misrepresented work. This includes, but is not limited to, signing an absent student’s name to a group work sheet; “dry-labbing” or recording data that you did not actually observe; submitting material for grading that is, was, or will be also submitted to another class; and submitting material written by another without proper attribution. A comprehensive description of academic dishonesty can be found at http://www.uwyo.edu/generalcounselsupport/UniRegs/802, rev 3.doc.
You are welcome to visit me in my office as described above. Otherwise, the very best way to contact me is by e-mail. I can pretty much guarantee that I will forget any conversation in class. If I have my wits about me when you speak to me in class, I will ask you to send me an e-mail to remind me of what we discussed. If I forget to tell you to send the e-mail, please send the e-mail anyway.
The hour immediately before class is not a good time to contact me, because I will be concentrating on preparing for class. After class is usually better, unless I am in a hurry to clean up before the scheduled end of class.
Finally, I am not permitted to discuss your grades by telephone or e-mail, so please do not ask!
If you have a physical, learning, or psychological disability and require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible. You will need to register with, and provide documentation of your disability to, University Disability Support Services (UDSS) in SEO, room 330 Knight Hall, 766-6189, TTY: 766-3073, udss@uwyo.edu. Please discuss any special needs you have with me as well.
This course fulfills the Earth Science (SE) component of the 2003 University Studies Program. SE courses include basic and applied study of fundamental principles addressing the earth-sun relationship, astronomy, distribution of physical/geological features, map interpretation, weather/climate/oceanography, soils and vegetation. They introduce the scientific approach, its scope and limitations. They provide a term-long laboratory experience (or equivalent substantial experimental work integrated with the lecture).
Information in the syllabus was, to the best knowledge of the instructor, correct and complete when distributed at the beginning of the term. The instructor, however, reserves the right, acting within the policies and procedures of the University of Wyoming, to make changes in the course content or instructional techniques during the term without notice or obligation. If any changes to the syllabus become necessary, students will be notified in class and on the web site.
Most of the units begin with laboratory activities on Monday. Labs may continue to Wednesday or Friday. Class discussion and lecture, and group interviews on Friday complete the unit. Additional activities, such as in-class work on labors, will usually be on Wednesdays or Fridays.
| Dates | Unit | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 24 | 1. Science as a way of learning | P ch. 1 |
| Aug 26, 28, 31 | 2. Newton’s First and Second Laws | P ch. 2 |
| Sep 2, 4, 9, 11 | 3. Momentum and Energy | P Ch. 6–10 |
| Sep 14, 16, 18 | 4. Fluids | C ch. 6 |
| Sep 21, 23, 25 | 5. Heat and Temperature | C Ch. 5, 6, 10 |
| Sep 28, 30, Oct 2 | 6. Electricity and Magnetism | P Ch. 12, 13, 15, 17, 18 |
| Oct 5, 7, 9 | 7. Waves and Sound | none |
| Oct 12, 14, 16 | 8. Light and Optics | none |
| Oct 19, 21, 23 | 9. Nuclei and Atoms | C Ch. 1, 2 |
| Oct 26, 28 | 10. Physical Changes and Mixtures | C Ch. 7 |
| Oct 30 | Labor 2 Presentations | |
| Nov 2, 4, 6 | 11. Chemical Bonding | C Ch. 3 |
| Nov 9, 11, 13 | 12. Reaction Heat and Equilibrium | C Ch. 4, 5, 8 |
| Nov 16, 18 | 13a. Acids and Bases | C Ch. 9 |
| Nov 20, 23 | 13b. Oxidation and Reduction | C Ch. 4, 11 |
| Nov 25–27 | Thanksgiving Break | |
| Nov 30, Dec 2, 4 | 14. Organic Compounds | C Ch. 12 |
| Dec 9 | Final: labor 3 Presentations, 3:30–5:30 PM | |
Reading Texts: P = Gonick and Huffman, The Cartoon Guide to Physics; C = Gonick and Criddle, The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry.
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Copyright © 2008, Richard Barrans
Revised: 22 August 2009. Maintained by Richard Barrans.
URL: http://www.barransclass.com/phys1090/P1090_Syll_F09.html