Physics 11x6 Policy

Attendance:
You must attend and actively participate in class. It is essential to see how the material is presented differently from the book. In borderline grade cases, attendance and participation will be considered.
Taking Notes:

Taking notes in this class is required. It is as important as coming to class.

You must take notes by hand, if possible. (For reasoning and evidence, see this link.)

Homework:
Exams/Quizzes:
  • Three short, take-home quizzes will be given on Moodle throughout the semester.
  • If you do not do a quiz by the time it is due, you will not have an opportunity to do it late. That is unfair to your classmates who all did it on time. If you miss a quiz, I would be happy to give you extra credit homework to practice the topic you misssed. 
  • Two exams will be given as listed on the syllabus.
  • If the scheduled time is not possible for you, you may take it in any two-hour block on that day or the previous class day.
  • The final exam has two parts: the closed book exam is not comprehensive; final Expert TA assignment is comprehensive.
    Mind-Reading:
    On humid days, I am not able to mind-read in this class, and the point is to learn thought processes.  You must show your work, show your thought process, for homework, exam and quiz solutions in order to get the most credit even if your answers are correct. Incorrect reasoning will be penalized even for correct answers.
    Grade Weight:
  • Three Quizzes, each of equal value: 15%
  • Two Semester Exams and Third Exam (during finals), each of equal value: 50%
  • Comprehensive Final Assignment 10%
  • Homework Assignments (approximately two each week, individual values vary): 25%
  • Additional ("extra credit") Homework: If you do the regular homework assignments, then homework is worth 25% of your grade. The more additional homework you do, it improves your homework grade, and the more the homework counts, and the less the exams count. If you get all the extra homework points, homework is then worth 45% of your grade (an additional 20%) and the weight of the exams goes down to 30%. Or if you get half the extra homework points, homework will count as 35% of your grade and the weight of the exams is 40%, etc.
  • Please see Moodle for a convenient grade calculator.
  • Honor and Responsibility:
    If you are going to miss class, a homework, a lab, a quiz or an exam, you must let me know ahead of time.  You may reschedule earlier than the original due date.  The only exceptions to this rule are for unforeseen emergencies, and will require a note from the Dean or a doctor. Take responsibility for your work and yourself. Do not blame an unfinished homework on the fact that you could not find a time to meet with me the day before it is due. Honor is of utmost importance in the academic atmosphere and is taken very seriously by me. I encourage people to work together on homework and labs, but the finished product must be your own work. I would encourage anyone to come to me with a problem that has kept you from doing your work, so that we can work something out, rather than just taking a zero, or worse yet, cheating and possibly failing the class. I will feel free to give you freedom, but then the conduct of the Honor System instituted at Randolph College is in the hands of the students.
    Expectation of Effort: Please see the link here.
    Grade Scale:
    This class grades on a ten-point scale, where an A is worth 95, B is worh 85, etc. Please see here for detail. Please note that in the case of a completion grade, a complete assignment is an A, which is worh 95 points.
    Note:
    These rules are subject to change.  I give ample opportunity to do well in this class - homework is worth a significant amount and you can do it until you get it right. For these reasons I do not typically give additional extra credit and do not make exceptions for missing work.