PH 203

Grading Principles

• You will not earn any points for some of the assigned work when it is impossible to track (reading the text).

• You will earn some points simply for making a good effort. These activities (online homework, group work, watching videos, memorization activity) are designed to be part of the learning process, not assessments. Do your best, but don’t worry about making some mistakes.

• You will earn points on some activities only to the extent that your work is thorough, concise, and correct. The written homework, quizzes, and the 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.

• All work in this class is open-book and open-note unless otherwise specified.

I cannot guarantee a particular grade as it is ultimately based on performance. But I can honestly say that every student I have had in decades of teaching who completed all of the work earned at least a B.

Details for Assigned Work

Videos: You will earn one point for answering all of the questions during the lecture videos. 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 on Slack to fix it.

Memorization: Physics has some symbols, terms, units, and formulas that are important to memorize so that you can focus your efforts on problem-solving instead. You will be provided with online flashcards. You can use these or make your own physical copies. You will earn one point each week for doing so twice per week.

Group Work: You will practice problems on whiteboards during the lectures, earning around 3 points per week for a reasonable effort and adherence to guidelines. Good group work includes the following:

• 1. Make and correct mistakes. You will not be punished for making mistakes, though you will be expected to correct them when challenged by me.

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

  3. 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.

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

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

Online Homework: You will complete online homework for approximately four points each week. Points shown while you are doing online homework do not correspond with points for the class; they are there simply to show you how you are doing. Use Slack or office hours for help (and to help other students).

Written Homework: You will complete, photograph (if not typed), and upload written homework. You will be graded on both your process (showing work) and your answer. Written homework will sometimes be challenging and may require the use of ideas from multiple chapters of the text. It is worth an average of four per week. Use Slack or office hours for help (and to help other students).  I will post solutions to written homework after the due dates. 

Chapter Quizzes and Final Exam: You will demonstrate your learning on open-book (hard copy only) and open-note (print these out in advance) quizzes (30 minute time limit, 10 points each) and the final exam (2 hour time limit, 80 points). Questions will be mostly "essay" with occasional multiple choice. You will be expected to use general physical principles to solve novel problems; do not expect simple repetition of problems you have already done as homework with the numbers changed. You must show your work (see above).

Showing Work

You will be graded based on showing your work on written homework, chapter quizzes, and the final exam. This will normally include the following:

1. A list of known physical quantities. These include quantities given in the problem statement, empirical quantities you look up in the text (you are expected to know that these exist; no whining), and quantities you infer.

2. Equations used (including names of equations if they exist)

3. A short, verbal justifications for each of the equations used (why they are true)

4. Symbolic solution for the variable of interest (you do not need to show all of your algebra). It should be concise and simple (as few division signs and appearances of each variable as possible). Symbolic solution means that you don’t plug in any numbers in the middle of your algebra other than zeros (which simplify the equation).

5. Numbers plugged into the symbolic solution

6. Answer with units

7. Reflect on reasonableness of answer, if possible

A correct answer with missing or entirely incorrect work may result in a grade of zero.

Grading Policies

• Late Policy: Late work and make-ups will not generally be allowed without prior arrangements. In advance, you may negotiate alternate due dates. 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 instead of why. There are a few exceptions to this policy:

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

  2. 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.

  3. You may occasionally award yourself an extension of one day on online homework or a video lecture.

  4. If you post a question on the homework and it is not answered by the time it is due, 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 Procedure: 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 in writing. 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.

• File Formats: Lab reports, written homework, and group work 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; rotate them if needed. 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 zero.

Extra Projects

You may earn up to 10 points with extra projects. Please note the following:

• Extra projects will not generally be an efficient use of your time in terms of points earned per hour of work. You are unlikely to receive any points for an extra project with substantive mistakes. With the exception of reporting correctable errors, I will assess points as I see fit; do not ask me what something will be worth in advance. 

• These may not be completed during week 10 or finals week, so they should not be seen as ways to bump up a borderline letter grade at the last minute.

The following are some suggestions for extra projects:

1. Report correctable errors (spelling, grammar, physics, etc.) in the websites or documents for this course. Post the error to Slack 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 may work in a team. Write it in the normal format, but include a procedure as part of your raw data. 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. Veritasium has some excellent physics videos, though note that some of them are for different subjects and these should be avoided. 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 page of the syllabus.