GS 104

Grading

Points

Note: all points listed below are approximate. I might make subtle adjustments during the term. See below for more details on the various categories of work.

• Homework, group work, and discussion: 150 points

  • Video questions: 34 points

  • Online homework: 46 points

  • Discussion : 10 points for hybrid and 20 points for online

  • Journal: 10 points

  • Written homework (online only): 40 points

  • Group work (hybrid only): 50 points

• Labs: 100 points

• Tests: 150 points

  • Chapter quizzes: 90 points for hybrid and 45 points for online

  • Midterm exam (online only): 45 points

  • Final exam: 60 points

Letter Grades

• A = 90%–100% 

• B = 80%–89.9%

• C = 70%–79.9%

• D = 60%–69.9%

• F = 0%–59.9%

Percentages may be rounded up at the discretion of the instructor.

Grading Principles

• You will not earn points when your activity is impossible to track (weekly reading).

• You will earn some points for making a good effort. These activities (discussion, video questions, and online homework) are designed to be part of the learning process, not assessments. Do your best, but don’t worry about making some mistakes. Unless I see a pattern of hasty or poor work, you will earn full credit.

• You will earn points on some activities only to the extent that your work is complete and correct. The written homework, labs, chapter quizzes, and final exam are designed as both learning opportunities and assessments. So you should be concerned about being as complete and correct as possible on these.

• You must show your work (symbolic formula, numbers in the formula, and an answer with units) when you calculate for the written homework, quizzes, and exams. When you do not calculate, you must explain your answer.

• I cannot guarantee a particular grade as it is ultimately based on performance. But nearly every student I have had in 23 years of teaching who completed all or nearly all of the work on time earned at least a B.

File Formats

Lab reports and written homework must be submitted as a single pdf only. Please always name your files with your name and the name of the assignment included. Always submit images right side up. Do not ever take photos of your monitor; take screenshots instead. Work that is submitted in an unapproved format may be returned for resubmission or given a grade of zero.

Details for Assigned Work

All of this work is designed to help you learn physics. If you find that anything is "busy work" (of no apparent value to you), then please engage me in a discussion.

• Videos and questions: These videos are by renowned physics professor Paul Hewitt (also the author of the text). You will earn full credit of 2 points per video for watching video lectures and answering the questions. The website will not give you full credit if you miss some questions, but I will override your score. Sometimes the software glitches and doesn’t give you credit at all; if so, then contact me with a Canvas message to fix it.

• Discussion: This may seem like "busy work" at times. But it serves the purposes of keeping you connected to me and other students and getting you in the habit of asking questions when you are stuck.

  • You will make a substantive post or reply each week regarding the homework to earn 1 point per week.

  • Online students will be given a  discussion prompt each week. You will do the following to earn 1 point per week:

    • Substantive post in response to the prompt

    • Substantive reply to another student

    • Substantive reply to all questions (if any) from the instructor and other students

See the communication section of the syllabus for further guidelines on productive discussions.

• Journal : You will complete the journal as directed for 1 point per week. These points will get lumped together in the gradebook with the points for group work (hybrid only), homework, and discussion.

• Online homework: You will complete online homework for 4-5 points per week. You will normally be allowed to keep trying until you get the right answer. You will earn full credit provided it is completed with reasonable effort.

• Group work (hybrid students only): Attendance of lectures is expected, but not required. If you cannot attend, then you must contact me to obtain an alternate assignment. You will solve problems in groups of 2 or 3 on whiteboards during the lectures, earning around 5 points per week for a reasonable effort and adherence to guidelines. Good group work includes the following:

  • Make and correct mistakes. You will not be punished for making mistakes, though you will be expected to correct them when directed to do so.

  • Build consensus (discuss your work), share the workload, and change roles. Use different colored pens to demonstrate this.

  • Show your work (a symbolic equation, numbers in the equation, and an answer with units) or reasoning even if you think the answer is obvious or you can do the math in your head. Getting correct answers is not sufficient.

  • Work on one problem (or part of a problem) at a time instead of working in parallel.

  • Don't erase anything until it has been checked by me and you have photographed your work for future reference.

• Written homework (online students only): Online students will complete, photograph (if not typed), and upload written homework. Use the discussion for help (and to help other students). See file format requirements above. Each problem (or subsection of a problem) will be worth half a point. Total points for homework will vary depending upon the length of the assignment, but will average around 4 points per week. I will post solutions to written homework after the due dates.

• Chapter quizzes: Online students will take a quiz (5 points each) on Canvas (using a lockdown browser) each week by Sundays at 11:59 pm. In-person students will take a quiz (10 points each) during the lectures on Tuesdays, covering the topics of the previous week. Quizzes are open-book, open-note, and limited to 30 minutes. Each problem (or subsection of a problem) is worth 1 or 2 points.

• Proctored midterm exam (online students only):  This is open-book and open-note. It is worth 45 points and is limited to 90 minutes. Each problem (or subsection of a problem) is worth 1 or 2 points. Online students must attend my office hours, use the proctors at Chemeketa’s testing services, or negotiate to have their exam proctored at a location convenient to them. See the proctoring page of the syllabus.

• Proctored comprehensive final exam: This is open-book and open-note. It is worth 60 points and is limited to 150 minutes. Each problem (or subsection of a problem) is worth 2 points. Hybrid students will take this at the regularly scheduled lecture time  and location during finals week. Online students must attend my office hours, use the proctors at Chemeketa’s testing services, or negotiate to have their exam proctored at a location convenient to them. See the proctoring page of the syllabus.

• Labs: You will complete your lab work, share some of your work (a photo, video, graph, or data) on the discussion, and submit your reports on Canvas by Fridays at 11:59 pm. Labs will be worth 10 points each. See the grading policies below.

Grading Policies

• Grading for written homework, quizzes, and exams: You must show your work (a symbolic equation, numbers in the equation, and an answer with units) or explanations (for conceptual questions) even if you think the answer is obvious or you can do the math in your head. Incorrect answers with correct work are worth half credit. Correct answers with inadequate work or explanations are also worth half credit.

• Lab grading:  Labs will be worth 10 points each under the following scale.

  • Good data, correct analysis, and a complete and accurate graph: 10 points

  • Multiple spelling, grammar, or unit errors or omissions: 9 points

  • Graph formatting issues, a little incorrect data, or a small number of calculation errors that don't meaningfully detract from the overall work: 9 points

  • Multiple minor errors or a single substantive error or omission that detracts from the results of the lab: 8 points

  • Multiple substantive errors that detract from the results of the lab, while still being valid overall: 7 points

  • Failure to share to the lab discussion: 1 point penalty

  • Lab work may be given a temporary grade of zero with the opportunity for resubmission if the work is insufficiently correct after a reasonable effort. Resubmission of lab work is due three working days from the date graded.

• Late policy: Late work and make-ups for lectures will generally be allowed (and given full credit) with prior arrangements. Do not be afraid to ask; the answer is almost always “yes.” When negotiating alternate due dates, you do not need to divulge personal information; focus on what you need (when you plan to turn it in) instead of why. There are a few exceptions to this policy:

  • During the first week, more flexibility is called for as you get oriented to the class. Just make sure that you get everything done so that you don’t get dropped from the class.

  • Technical or last minute personal issues might cause you to turn in your work a few minutes late without negotiations in advance. Don’t panic or abandon the work; you will not be blocked by Canvas. Just turn in the work as soon as you can and I will almost certainly grade it without penalty if you aren’t making it a habit. But be sure to communicate with me if it will be more than a few hours late. And be sure to negotiate in advance whenever possible.

  • If you post a question on homework or a lab and it is not answered in time for you to complete the work, then you may have a one day extension.

• Incomplete policy: A grade of incomplete (I) may be negotiated when a student with passing work needs additional time to complete the course. An incomplete will not be granted as a substitute for a failing grade (F).

• No-show drop: You are required to complete nearly all of the work assigned during the first week. Failure to do so may result in a “no-show drop” at the discretion of the instructor.

• Grade appeals: You have one week from the time anything is graded to appeal its score with a direct message on Canvas. Failure to do so constitutes acceptance of the grade. Please (respectfully) appeal grades that you either don’t understand or think are incorrect. It can be an opportunity for learning and I do make mistakes.

• Extra Projects: You may earn up to 15 points with extra projects. You must submit most extra projects by the end of week 9.  Points awarded are entirely at my discretion and cannot be stated in advance, with the exception of reporting errors. You should generally expect to get fewer points per hour of work compared to other coursework.

1. Report correctable errors (spelling, grammar, physics, etc.) in the websites or documents for this course. Post the error to the discussion board and earn a point. Repeated errors do not earn additional points. Note that I prefer to put commas and periods outside quotation marks when they aren't actually part of the quote (the English rather than the American convention). This is a deliberate choice and not an error.

2. Perform an additional lab of your own design. You must consult with me as you develop ideas.

3. Write a computer program. The program should solve a physics problem you cannot solve analytically, solve a wide variety of problems, or have an instructive animation. You must consult with me as you develop ideas.

4. Attend a Chemeketa planetarium show. Submit a paragraph of notes to me.

5. Watch some videos on physics or astronomy and submit a paragraph of notes for each one. Veritasium has some excellent physics videos (please stick to the physics playlist). The astronomy videos from Kurzgesagt are good (select ones that interest you from the list). Feel free to suggest other videos.

6. Join the search for gravitational waves by using your idle computer to analyze data from pulsars. You can give Chemeketa some fame and earn yourself some extra credit. Please follow these instructions:

• Go to the BOINC website Einstein@Home. Follow the directions for installing the BOINC software and joining Einstein@Home. Use a descriptive username such as your first name and last initial.

• Install the software on all computers you control. The software can be configured to run as a screensaver so it will only use your computers when they are idle, or you can choose to leave it on all the time in the background. Adjust how often and how much of the CPU is used.

• With laptops, I recommend that you avoid running at 100% of CPU time as they tend to overheat. With any computer, if you choose to leave it on all the time in the background, then it will slow down your computer.

• You will earn points based on the amount of data crunched by your computers by the end of the term. Just think, you can earn points while you sleep! Leave your computers on all the time. It will only cost you a few dollars a month in electricity for each computer. Better yet, enlist computers of your friends and family. There is a bit of a time lag (about a week) between when you crunch the data and get credit for it on the team page.

• Near the end of the term, send me a screen shot showing the amount of "credit" you have earned.

• Please don't ask me for computer technical support. You must figure out how to do this on your own, though you are welcome to discuss this with other students.

See the next part of the syllabus.