Mr. Steve Campbell

Email: stevecampbell@oakmountain.us

Giancoli, Douglas C., Physics: Principles with Applications, 6^th Ed., (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005)

The textbook is a primary source for your learning in this course. Concept coverage will be organized around the textbook's structure, and you will need to read the appropriate sections of the text (according to topic) before the classroom meeting.

If you do not regularly keep up with the readings in this course, your success rate is likely to be poor.

The methods of this course assume that more than a body of knowledge is being conveyed. This course will help you learn how to learn, it will train your brain, sharpen your critical thinking skills and make you perceive interconnections in the world around you.

Since this is a senior (or junior) course, students are expected to take a great deal of responsibility for their learning; there are probably times when you will struggle with problems and questions, you may even think the instructor has not given you the tools needed to solve the problem. Sometimes you will solve a problem with a sudden burst of creative energy, or just by coming back to it after a brief time away.

In addition to text and laboratories, this course will include lecture, problem-solving, Internet and media experiences, discussion and projects. Regular attendance and full participation in class are essential for success in this course.

Regular laboratory experiences and other student-centered activities will be a feature of this course. Labs are expected to result in significant learning; as a result, you cannot usually consider a Lab "complete" until a detailed Lab Report is completed.

Students are expected to share all data collected before leaving class. The excuse of forgetting to copy lab information is not permitted. In addition, fudging, borrowing or lending of lab data is not permitted, and falls under the Honor Code for this course.

Homework is a daily feature of this course. If you do not complete your homework, thoroughly and thoughtfully, on a regular basis, your success rate in this course is likely to be poor.

This course operates on a point-accumulation system. Each TEST is worth up to 100 points. Other assignments are given point values based on this fact: for instance, homework checks might be worth 5 to 15 points, a PQ worth 15 points, etc. Homework is sometimes collected and graded, sometimes a homework check (full points for showing your work when asked) is given.

Typically, you can expect around 400 points to be available per trimester.

Here is how trimester averages are determined:

Extra Credit work may occasionally be made available. Students may also petition the instructor for Extra Credit assignments. Extra Credit may not raise your score a full letter grade. Any individual extra credit assignment may not raise your grade more than 3%.