Welcome to PH201 at Chemeketa Community College for fall term 2025. This website will orient you to your class and function as a contract between you and me. I look forward to being your instructor.
Physics is the study of the fundamental behavior of nature, from the very large to the very small. Physics is fun!
Title: General Physics Credits: 4
Description: Offers the first term of a three-term sequence of introductory algebra-based college physics. Includes kinematics, Newton’s laws, energy, momentum, and rotation.
Prerequisites: Placement into WR115 (or higher), or completion of WR090 (or higher); and placement into MTH251 (or higher), or completion of MTH112Z (or higher); concurrent registration in PH214 or successful completion of it; or consent of instructor. (All prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of C or better.)
Text: College Physics; Knight, Jones, and Field; Pearson Addison Wesley (ISBN 978-0805306347, 978-0805390629, or 978-0321595492)
CRN: 39926
Lectures: MW 8:30-10:20 am in building 8, room 219
Name: Erik Jensen (please call me Erik)
Office: building 8, room 221E, 4000 Lancaster Dr. NE, Salem, OR, 97305
Email: erik.jensen@chemeketa.edu (see communication expectations)
Phone: 503.589.7838
CV: sites.google.com/chemeketa.edu/erikjensen/cv
Office: Building 8, room 221E
Office Hours Fall 2025: M noon-1 pm, W noon-3pm, and R 10:30 am-2 pm
During these hours I am available for immediate support in-person or on the discussion board. I am also available by appointment in-person or on Zoom.
My primary goals for my students are the following:
Physics: You will understand a wide variety of physical phenomena
Science: You will develop scientific literacy such as scientific methods, evaluating evidence, and interpreting graphs.
To achieve these goals, I lead my classes based on evidence of what helps students learn:
Active learning: You will learn physics mostly by doing physics; watching someone else is of limited value.
Teamwork with individual accountability: You will be expected to work with other students, though you will not normally be graded on the work of others.
Time on task, but have fun: You will spend a significant amount of time on this class and generally be on task during scheduled sessions. But some off-topic discussions are equally important.
Continuous work and varied assessment: I evaluate your learning on a variety of low-stakes assignments throughout the week.
Canvas (eLearn): This is the primary website for the class. You should normally access the materials through the “front door” by clicking on the class and going to the weekly page. Do not simply react to the calendar, to-do list, or notifications.
MyOpenMath: You will use this website for online homework. You will access it through links in Canvas.