WINTHROP UNIVERSITY course Syllabus
Department of Chemistry, Physics, & Geology

Semester: Summer C-2022 (June 6 – July 7)                       
Course: PHYS 102 (001): Everyday Physics Laboratory
Credit hours: 1                                  Meeting Days/Time: asynchronous online       

Professor: Ponn Maheswaranathan        Office: online Blackboard WebLink 
Phone: (803) 504 9399                          E-mail: mahesp@winthrop.edu
Office Hours: MWF 9-10 PM (virtual WebLink)  or by appointment. 

Textbook:
The Physics of Everyday Phenomena, 10th Edition, Griffith, McGraw Hill publishing.
Lab handouts will be provided. 

Course Description: PHYS 102 is an introductory physics laboratory course primarily intended for non-science majors. It can be used to meet the laboratory science requirement. Introductory physics experiments in mechanics, sound, heat, properties of matter, electricity, magnetism, and optics will be performed in the laboratory. Labs are conducted remotely online and you need to do a post-lab quiz and submit a lab report for each lab within a week of conducting the lab. There will be a Final exam administered in Blackboard using the lockdown browser and webcam.

Course Objectives:

• Develop an understanding of physics' role as the most basic of the sciences.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the history of scientific discovery.
• Learn the introductory physics concepts associated with mechanics, sound, heat, properties of matter, electricity, magnetism, and optics.
• Gain an understanding of physics' role in technology and in everyday life and to discuss the strengths and limitations of science. 
• Develop conceptual and analytical problem solving skills.
• Learn how to design and carry out introductory physics experiments.
• Learn how to use computers for data collection & analysis and graphing.
• Draw conclusions for the experiments and write laboratory reports.

University-Level Competency:

The Everyday Physics Laboratory course introduces students to the role of scientific reasoning in desigining and conducting  introductory physics experiments (e.g., measuring the acceleration due to gravity, investigating the energy of a cart as it moves down a track, identifying meatls by measuring their specific heats, and measuring the focal length of a lens). They will apply the scientific methodologies of inquiry during their investigations to predict outcomes and write well-reasoned conclusions. They will also be introduced to the history of scientific discovery and learn that the theories in physics evolve into laws after repeated independent experiments and evaluations. In addition they will see how the scientific advances made in a laboratory transforms into usefull technological devices (e.g., motion sensors are used to detect the presence and speed of a moving object).   

General Education Requirements:

PHYS 102 fulfill one hour of general education requirement for natural sciences. Listed below are the fundamental student learning objectives (1, 2, 3, 4, and 6) for natural science courses as well as examples of how they will be fulfilled in PHYS 102.

Upon completing this course, students will be:

1. Conversant with the following introductory physics concepts: mechanics, sound, heat, properties of matter, electricity, magnetism, and optics. This competancy will be assessed using the final exam.   
2. Able to apply the scientific methodologies of inquiry. (e.g., experiments and investigations in the Everyday Physics Laboratory). This competancy will be assessed using the lab reports.   
3. Able to discuss the strengths and limitations of science. (e.g., experimental error and analysis in the Everyday Physics Laboratory). This competancy will be assessed using the lab reports. 
4. Able to demonstrate an understanding of the history of scientific discovery. (e.g., measuring devices are introduced in the laboratory with historical perspectives). This competancy will be assessed using the final exam.   
6. Able to communicate about scientific subjects including (lab courses only) the defense of conclusions based on one's own observations. (e.g., Everyday Physics Laboratory reports) This competancy will be assessed using the lab reports.

Writing Component: The General Education Writing Component will be incorporated into this course by requiring lab reports with conclusions for the experiments performed, at least 20 pages of writing.

Student Conduct Code: The policy on student academic misconduct is outlined in the "Student Conduct Code Academic Misconduct Policy" in the online Student Handbook (http://www2.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/handbook/StudentHandbook.pdf). 

Students with Disabilities:
Winthrop University is dedicated to providing access to education. If you have a disability and need classroom accommodations, please contact Gena Smith, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities, at 323-3290, as soon as possible. Once you have your professor notification, please tell me so that I am aware of your accommodations well before the first {test/paper/assignment}.

Syllabus change policy: The instructor will make changes to this syllabus as deemed necessary for the progression of the course.

Grading: Writing components and final are scheduled as follows: 

	%Grade
Laboratory Reports	60%
Post-lab quizzes	10%
Final Exam: July 7, 2022	30%
TOTAL	100%

The above total points will be used to assign a letter grade:

93%-100% = A    88%-92% = A-    85%-87% = B+   
80%-84% = B       76%-79% = B-     72%-75% = C+   
66%-71% = C      56%-65% = D        0%-55% = F

How to write a conclusion?
* Conclusion is the most important part of your report. It is a brief summary-paragraph, about half a page, high-lighting everything. You must write your own conclusion, after completing the data collection and analysis. It must be written as the last piece and attached after data tables and graphs.  
* Conclusion should state things that are unique for your investigation which can be accomplished by including values of the experimentally determined physical quantities.  Just remember that you cannot write your conclusion without completing your experiments or investigations. General statements like "I have determined the densities of given solids" is not acceptable.
* You may start your conclusion by re-stating the purpose with appropriate changes. Then you need to briefly state (don't repeat procedure) how you conducted the experiment and collected the data. Continue this with summarizing your results (include numbers), referring to the data tables and graphs when appropriate, and answer the purpose. Then you may discuss about some of the difficulties you had, errors and their possible causes, and suggestions for improvement. Describe your reasoning using physics terminology and principles. You should explain as completely as possible what goes through your mind that leads you to your conclusion.