Course Description (from the campus bulletin): Physics 4 is the second half of an introductory, calculus-based, physics course for science and mathematics majors. It is concerned with the laws and principles of electricity, magnetism, and optics, and includes an introduction to modern physics.

Course Objectives: Students will learn the principles and applications of electricity, magnetism, optics, and modern physics through classroom lectures, problem solving sessions, and laboratory work.  Student knowledge will be evaluated through the use of quizzes and tests. Ultimately, this class should improve your:

• quantitative skills (e.g. units, significant digits, error analysis)
• problem solving skills
• understanding of how the universe works; thinking logically and scientifically

Grading Policy: Grades will basically follow the traditional divisions at 90% (A or A-), 80% (B+, B, B-), 70% (C+, C, C-), and 60% (D), with minimal adjustments based on how the class proceeds.

Extra Credit: There will be no significant extra credit or extra credit papers. Do the homework, labs, and take the quizzes and tests, and everyone can do well in this class. As the semester progresses, there is less and less to be done to increase your grade. There is nothing to be done about your grade once you take the final exam.

Class Work & Participation: Everyone starts with 90% participation grade. Subtractions are made for being disruptive (excessive talking, ringing phones, being late, etc) as well as excessive absences. Additions are made for contributing (questions or answers) to class discussions. Problems will also be given to be done in class. These problems can be done in groups (up to 3 people). The intent of these is to have you benefit both from working in groups and have my (limited) assistance at making it past the stumbling blocks of problem solving.

Homework: Homework assignments will be presented in class and will generally consist of problems from the required text. The homeworks will not be graded. Instead, quizzes will cover the material and problem solving skills. Even though the homework will not be graded, the homework problems must be done in order to gain mastery of the material and skills necessary for both the quizzes and tests.

Quizzes: Quizzes will be 20 minutes long given in class usually every week in which we don't have a test. The intent of the quizzes is to insure: (1) that you have read the chapter to be covered that day and (2) that you can solve problems from the previous material. Hence, questions on the new material that you are to have read will be very straightforward covering, for example, new vocabulary. Questions on the older material will be more along the lines of the easier homework problems. I will drop your lowest quiz grade. In some cases, missed quizzes can be made-up if taken before the subsequent class (either section) by stopping by my office. Only with good and verifiable excuses can quizzes be made up after the subsequent class.

Tests: The class will have two tests as scheduled on the syllabus. Each test will cover the material presented since the previous test (to be precise, much of what we will learn applies throughout all the chapters, however, the questions will be geared towards specifically covering material presented between the tests). The tests will be given during classtime.

Final: The final will be held during the time dictated by the Registrar during Exam Week and will be similar in style to the two tests.

Lab: The lab is integral with the lecture. You receive a single grade for the class which represents the work you do in lecture and lab. I will drop your lowest lab grade. If turning in a lab electronically, (1) the subject should be "PHY4:" followed by the title of the lab, and (2) attach the write-up as a PDF. Do not share a Google Doc with me or send me a Word file. Instead export or publish to a PDF and attach it. Lab writeups must include all raw data measured in class. Only students present for the lab can attach their name to a writeup.

Turn-in: I prefer items turned-in via paper. Because I only email submission as a courtesy, I do not generally acknowledge receipt. For those cases where you need to send me work electronically: (1) the subject should be "PHY4:" followed by the title of the lab, (2) attach the write-up as a PDF. Do not share a Google Doc which can be changed after "sending" it to me or even removed before I get a chance to grade it, (3) Do not send me a file in a closed-source format (such as Word or Excel) because I don't use such software and conversions are unreliable.

Cheating: You are encouraged to work on homework problems with others. However, you must work alone on quizzes and tests. On quizzes and exams you may use only a calculator (not a cell phone's calculator) and writing utensils; I will give you an equation sheet for each test. On individual lab write-ups (and therefore excluding group write-ups), every sentence should be yours alone, but data tables can be copied.

Other Resources: Tutors, library books, office hours, and supplemental texts provide additional assistance. Please see the Learning Support Center for more information.