UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT	Physics 152 Spring 2012 General Information
Department of Physics

Instructor: K. Spartalian, A511 Cook.

Phone: 656-0047 (office), 656-2644 (department).

email: Kevork.Spartalian(at)uvm.edu 

Office Hours: Mon 1:00-2:00 p.m., Wed. 10:30 - 11:30, Thurs. 2:00 -3:00 or by appointment.

Materials:

• Textbook: "smartPhysics, Electricity and Magnetism" by Gladding, Selen and Stelzer, ISBN: 142929499X / ISBN-13: 9781429294997.
• Pocket calculator with trigonometric functions, scientific notation and exponential functions.

Course format:

Three lectures per week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9:35 – 10:25 am, B112 Angell. New topics will be presented at this time.  Laboratory exercises will be conducted on some Fridays. See Course Outline and Laboratory Procedures for details.

Homework:

Homework problems serve as illustrations of the lecture material and are essential towards consolidation of the students' grasp of physical principles.  The smartPhysics calendar shows the homework assignments for each unit.

Examinations:

There will be four hourly exams based on lecture, homework and smartPhysics material. The final examination will have two parts, the first part will be the fourth hourly exam and the second part will be cumulative and cover the material from the first three hourly exams.

Course Grades:

For each student, a score will be computed based on 100 points to be distributed as follows:

• Four hourly exams: 4 ×12 = 48 points.
• Final cumulative examination: 12 points.
• smartPhysics homework problems:15 points.
• smartPhysics prelectures and checkpoints: 5 points
  
• Laboratory: 20 points.

    Up to six points of extra credit may be awarded upon completion of on-line work posted on Blackboard.

Numerical to Letter Grade Conversion:

Final grades will be calculated and rounded up to the nearest one-tenth of a point.  Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

A range = 100.0 - 90.0

B range = 89.9 - 80.0

C range = 79.9 - 70.0

D range = 69.9 - 60.0

F = below 60.

Grade Posting:

Grades will be posted on Blackboard to ensure privacy.  It is each student's responsibility to verify the accuracy of the postings regularly.  Report any discrepancies promptly.

Attendance:

Attendance at lectures will be taken frequently.  A student's attendance record provides additional information for assessing a student's overall attitude in the course.  It will be used for advising, for documentation in a letter of reference, etc.  Regular attendance is not in itself adequate justification for awarding college credit.  It is the student's responsibility to keep up with missed material, announcements, etc.

Missed work policy:

Often, circumstances beyond a student's control warrant an absence.  Valid reasons for such absences must be documented by notes from the academic dean, the attending physician, the team coach, the officiating clergyman, the presiding judge, the arresting officer, the FEMA official etc.  Merely being seen by a physician is not a valid reason, neither is a sibling's out-of- town wedding, a planned family vacation or a rock concert in Albany.

Missing Hourly Exams:

Missing an hourly exam will result in a score of zero unless the student has a valid excuse as defined above.  A student with a valid reason may be given a make-up exam at a time that is mutually convenient for the student and the instructor.

Missing the Final:

Missing the final examination will result in a final course grade of F unless the student has arranged with the instructor through the appropriate academic dean for an "Incomplete."

Academic Dishonesty Disclosure:

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Perceived failures to abide by the standards of academic integrity will be prosecuted as set forth in the Academic Integrity Code.