Instructor information
Name: Marcus Watson
Contact information: Office: 832C Phone: (831) 479-6519
Email: mawatson<at>cabrillo[dot]edu
Office hours: M 2.10–3.10 pm, T 3–4 pm, W 10–11 am, Th 2.10–3.10 pm and/or by cheerful appointment
PLC hours: M 11–12 pm, T 4–5 pm, W 11–11.30 am & 2.10–3.10 pm
Course information
Physics 11 is 4 semester units: 3 hours/week lecture, 3 hours/week lab, 1.1 hours/week PLC
Lecture meeting: M/W 12.40 - 2.10 pm, room 825
Lab meeting: T/Th 12.40 - 2.10 pm, room 830
PLC meeting: You must plan on spending 1 hour, 5 minutes every week working a PLC problem.
PLC is located in room 835
Required text: Physics 11 Course Block Notes, available in the "Materials" website.
Prerequisites: Math 4 or equivalent. Algebra, trigonometry and graphing skills are important.
Format/Objectives of the course
This class will cover the nature of matter and energy, the principles of mechanics, the transport of energy and information
as waves, electromagnetics and modern physics. The subjects include: energy & interactions, properties of forces, dynamics,
momentum, the atomic model of matter, thermodynamics, simple harmonic motion, waves, interference, pressure, circuits, E/M,
and some quantum physics. As you can see, this is a rather large spectrum, so your continuing attendance is extremely central
to doing well in this course. Upon completion, you should have a good understanding of the physical principles related to the
subjects of this course, the ability to apply these principles to solve problems and an improved facility at using mathematical
and non-mathematical representations of the material. Though calculus is not required for this course, I will be introducing
some basic mathematical operations to describe physical phenomena that we will discuss, however I will not expect you to work
with them in much detail.
PLC
The drop-in physics/engineering learning community (PLC) is in room 835, and is open every weekday with PLC tutors who can
help you work on your required PLC activities. Try working in small groups with other students who have a similar schedule.
The PLC is also a great place to work homework problems or study (even during non-tutored hours).
When you finish a PLC activity, be sure to show your work to any tutor or instructor and (more importantly) be prepared to
answer questions about what you've done. When the tutor is satisfied that you have completed and understood the activity,
he/she will initial the signoff sheet and you are done.
Important note: PLC activities must be completed by Thursday, 5.00 pm.
Homework sets
Homework will be assigned following each lab section. There will generally be about 5-8 problems in the form of FNTs (for
next time) questions/problems. Your work will be checked off during the next lab meeting, and will contribute to your
lab grade. The key to doing well in this class is to do the FNTs and, by spending a few hours a night studying, your
performance will be dramatically improved. The class periods will introduce you to a subject, but the more work you put
into the FNTs, the better your chances of earning a grade you want. Physics is just like everything else: the more you
practice, the better you get. I encourage you all to attend my office hours in order to get help. I suggest keeping a
well-organized notebook with your written solutions to all the problems and be prepared to submit it for grading.
Labs
You must actively participate in the lab experiments. Lab notes should be written neatly, and organized into sections that
include experimental data, how you obtained that data (if you are devising the experiment), calculations you made with that
data, graphs and a conclusion.
Twice this semester you will be asked to complete a formal lab write-up that follows the guidelines set out for labs in
Physics 4A. These guidelines can be found here. When not doing a formal lab report, your lab notes will be checked off by
the instructor every week for completeness & accuracy.
Formal lab reports are due the following week (either to me or the NAS division office, room 701) by Monday at 5.00 pm.
Grading & Exams
Your grade will be determined by dropping one exam score, then choosing the better of the two following options: in-class
exams 45%, final exam 45%, PLC 10% OR in-class exams 15%, final exam 75%, PLC 10%. The lab grade will modify your final
grade through the following scheme: High Pass (+2/3), Pass (+1/3), Low Pass (-1/3), Unsatisfactory (-1), Fail. Failing
the lab section by not attending three or more meetings or by not submitting work will mean you earn an F in the course.
There will be 7 40-minute exams whose dates can be found on the schedule. On exams, you will be given some equations
and any needed constants. There is no need to memorize equations or answer to specific problems. In this class, it is the
process of solution that is important. To this end, more points will be awarded to exam solutions with sound scientific
reasoning and a minor math error (resulting in an incorrect answer), than to solutions with an equation, no work and a
correct numerical answer. Please note: only calculators are allowed on exams. Cell phone usage during exams is forbidden.
Quizzes
During lecture, there will be short, conceptually-oriented questions asked. These concept quizzes will be multiple-choice
and taken on your PRS clickers and will count toward your quiz grade.
Make-ups
Any late homework or missed exams / labs cannot be accepted or made up unless PRIOR arrangements have been made with the
instructor or an extremely exceptional circumstance (as deemed by the instructor) is withstanding.
Expected time commitment
Per week breakdown of about 16 hours of work:
In class lecture: 3 hours
In lab activities: 3 hours
In class PLC activities: 1 hour 5 minutes
Reading the block notes: 4 hours
FNTs & studying: 4-5 hours
Instructor responsibilities
My responsibility is to set high standards for your achievement, and provide a supportive environment to help you meet these
standards. I will meet my responsibilites by: 1) Being available during scheduled office hours and for appointments;
2) Assigning appropriate material to help you further your understanding of physics; 3) Returning graded assignments in a
timely fashion; 4) Regularly updating the course website with daily summaries and homework & exam solutions.
Academic honesty
All work submitted must be your own. You are allowed and encouraged to work in groups on homework problems or test review,
but on exams and quizzes you must work independently. Any cheating on exams will result first in no credit, then an F in
the course. Please review the Cabrillo statement regarding plagiarism in the catalog.
Disabilities
If you are a student with a disability, the Disabled Students Program & Services (DSPS) office determines appropriate
accomodations through consultation with you. After you meet with DSPS and they have determined your needs, please let me
know as soon as possible what accomodations you will need. Please bring an Accomodation Letter that verifies your needs and
eligibility for accomodations.
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