Physics 108: Spring 2009: General Information

Physics 108 - Information

Instructor: Marc Sher
   Office: Small 224
   Phone: 221-3538    Email: mtsher@wm.edu
   Office Hours: Monday, Wednesdays 3-5 and by appointment. I'm often in and you're welcome to stop by anytime.
Text: College Physics by Giambattista, Richardson, Richardson, 2nd edition
WWW: physics.wm.edu/~sher/108.html
Sections: You must register for the lecture section, one problem session (108P) and one laboratory (108L). Labs will meet for the first time the week of February 2nd; Problem sessions will meet briefly the first week of classes.
Syllabus: A schedule of what sections of the text will be covered, the in-class tests, the labs, and the homework assignments is attached.
Homework: A set of problems is due at midnight on Thursday each week. The homework answers will be entered via the WWW using WebAssign (www.webassign.net). This software will enable provide instant feedback on which problems were answered correctly (and which were not). You will be allowed multiple attempts to upload answers (up to a maximum of 3 attempts per problem set), and your grade will be based on the last submission. Solutions will be available on the WWW the morning after the due date. Your username for WebAssign will be your W&M username (eg. mine is mtsher); for "Institution" you should enter "wm", and your initial password will be your username. If you registered with Webassign last semester, your password should not have been changed--if it has been, then just use your username (and then immediately change it to something else). If you did not take the course last semester, but have used Webassign in the past, then your password might be your old one, or it might be your username--try them both. I have set up WebAssign accounts for everyone who was enrolled as/of Monday, January 19th. If you added in after this, I will add you to WebAssign within a couple of days. If you purchase your text at the bookstore, a webassign card with a registration number is included. You may also buy a webassign card separately (if you bought the book elsewhere). If you do not buy it from the bookstore, you will need to pay a registration fee, which is more than the bookstore fee, which can be paid online using a credit card. You will have a couple of weeks before you have to pay the access fee. If your password doesn't work, e-mail me and I'll reset it.
In-class quizzes: Roughly 15 times during the semester, there will be a short one-question multiple choice quiz during class. You will have a few minutes to answer, and will be encouraged to talk to the people around you about the question. Then you put your name and answer on a piece of paper and turn it in. The answer will then be discussed. These will count for 2 percent of your overall grade (and half credit will be given for wrong answers).
Tests: There will be three 50-minute, closed-book tests during the semester.
Withdrawal: Drop/add/withdrawal issues should be directed to your problem session instructor.
Grading: Your grade is the responsibility of your problem section instructor. Letter grades will be assigned as shown below. Your final percentage will be rounded down to nearest integer (so 89.8% becomes 89%). Scores within half a percent of a higher grade may be rounded up to the higher grade (at the discretion of the problem session instructor with consultation with Prof. Sher and the lab instructor). Letter grades will be assigned as follows:
```
               A  93-100 %   A-  90-92
   B+  87-89   B  83-86      B-  80-82
   C+  77-79   C  73-76      C-  70-72
   D+  67-69   D  63-66      D-  60-62    F  <60
```
The grades will be calculated based on
```
 Homework - 13%,  Laboratory - 20%,   Pop Quizzes - 2%,  Tests - 40%,  Final Exam - 25% 
```
These grade ranges assume that the overall average in the course is 84 or higher. If it is lower, then the ranges will be adjusted so that the average grade is at the low end of the B range.
Second chance: If your final exam score is higher than your worst test score, then the worst test score will be replaced by your final exam score. This allows students who have a bad day on a test a chance to make it up.
Warning: There is one additional criterion: You must pass (60% minimum) the laboratory section of the course to pass the entire course. Anyone not passing the lab will be given an "F", regardless of the results of the grade ranges.

Physics 108: Physics for the Life Sciences
Physics Department
College of William and Mary

http://physics.wm.edu/~sher/P108_info.html