INSTRUCTOR: William Gregg

Office: 279 Nicholson Hall
Telephone: 578-4779
E-mail:
Office Hours: 2:30-3:30 PM - Monday, Wednesday; 10:30-11:30 AM - Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; or by appointment.

LECTURE: 11:30-12:30 PM - Monday-Wednesday-Friday - 119 Nicholson Hall - Syllabus

CLASS NOTES/HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

!!ANNOUNCEMENTS!!

TEXT:
Required: "Conceptual Physical Science" by Hewitt, publisher - Pearson-Addison Wesley 3rd Edition. The following chapters will be covered in text - Ch. 9-13, 14-16, 21-22, 31-34. Topics covered in text - Electricity & Magnetism, Waves (sounds and light), Chemistry & Nuclear Energy, Earth systems & Weather, Astronomy.

LECTURES:
You expect the instructor to show up on time and be prepared "to enlighten your mind". The same is expected of you! Class attendance is not required, but highly recommended! Coming or going during a lecture disrupts the class. If you absolutely need to, then sit near a door! A graded quiz will be given in lecture at leaset once per week. There will NOT be any make-up quizzes - However, the 2 lowest scores will be dropped.
Absolutely no beepers or phones will ring during class. If this happens, the owner will be asked to leave class. Please help me prevent rude behavior. Bring to class - besides note-taking material, a scientific calculator, and worked out homework if due that day.

HOMEWORK:
Assignments will be given for each chapter and the due date. Bring the worked assignments to class. During the last 5 minutes of class on the due date, you will be asked to do 1 randomly chosen question/problem from the assigned list of HW and turn it in on paper. If you have previously worked the assignment, it will be a matter of copying it from your work (you must show all work needed to arrive at the answer). It will be hand-graded and you will be given credit for the answer as well as the solution.

TESTS:
There will be four(4) one-hour tests given during the semester during class. No exam score will be dropped, but if your FINAL EXAM score is higher than the lowest of your regular test scores, the final exam percentage will be used to replace that lower score. NO MAKE-UP TESTS WILL BE GIVEN - except for LSU sponsored activities. Should you miss one test for any reason, that will be considered your "low score" and your final exam will replace it only. All tests are graded by computer on scantron, which are provided for you, therefore no partial or extra credit can be given. You must bring your ID card to the test as they will be checked against the class roll. You may bring one 3x5 card with appropriate equations, but with no notes at all. The card is subject to inspection. You should also bring No. 2 pencils and scientific calculator to the exams. Dates of tests are given below.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
The tests are designed to test your critical thinking skills as well as your knowledge of physical science. Therefore, you will be asked to solve problems that include algebra skills and that require at least two steps or more and be able to combine concepts from different areas of physical science. You will find this to be the most challenging part of the coursework.

GRADES:
The final grade will be determined by the following formula:

• Homework & class quizzes = (100 pts each) = 100 pts.
• Four(4) scored tests = 100 pts. each = 400 pts.
• Final Exam = 200 pts
• TOTAL = 700 pts.

A: 100-90%

B: 89-80%

C: 79-60%

D: 59-50%

F: <49%

However, a general curve for all tests may be given.

IMPORTANT DATES:

• TEST 1 - Monday, February 11 - Ch. 9-10, Electricity & Magnetism
• TEST 2 - Wednesday, March 5 - Ch. 11-13, Waves, Sound & Light
• TEST 3 - Friday, April 4 - Ch. 16, 14, 15, 21, 22 - Nuclear Energy & Chemistry
• TEST 4 - Monday, April 21 - Ch. 31-32 - Earth & Weather
• FINAL EXAM - Tuesday, May 6, 10:00-12:00 - add Ch. 33-34 (Astronomy) and cumulative.

• Final Drop Date w/o "W": Tuesday, January 22
• Final Add Date: Thursday, January 24
• Mid-term Grades: Tuesday, March 11
• Final Drop Date for Course: Monday, April 7 - *Important new LSU Academic Policy: allows limited number of "drops" without consequences, see 2006-07 catalog).
• Mardi Gras Holiday (no class): Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday, February 2-6
• Spring Break (no class): Monday-Friday, March 17-21
• The Last Class: Friday, May 2

GENERAL EDUCATION STATEMENT:
PHYSICAL SCIENCE 1002 is a General Education Course. Therefore this course is designed to address the following outcomes:

• An appreciation of the methods of critical thinking,
• A comprehension of how knowledge is acquired and applied,
• Several changes in our Physical Science classes are being implemented: (1) Student Response System "clickers" to make the large lecture classes more interactive between lecturer and student, (2) many more live demonstrations and simulations to aid understanding.

 

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