Physics 206 — Mechanics

Texas A&M University, Fall 2023

All University Physics Sections

Course overview

Physics 206, Newtonian Mechanics for Engineering and Science, is the first semester of a two-semester sequence in introductory physics, intended to introduce students to the basic principles of Newtonian mechanics and harmonic motion. We will cover topics in mechanics, Newton's Laws, the concepts of energy and work, conservation of energy and momentum, rotational motion, gravity, harmonic motion and waves. This corresponds to chapters 1–11, 13 and 14 of Young and Freedman's University Physics. The course is taught with pre-lectures, lectures, recitations and in-class particpation. The pre-lectures present the core concepts prior to class and allows more time for problem-solving strategies in class as compared to traditional lectures. The recitation is meant to practice problem-solving and to sharpen your reasoning about physics in a smaller class-size setting than the main lecture (which will have close to 150 students in it). The material is presented at a level that requires signficant algebra and trigonometry, as well as some basic calculus.

Upon successfully completing this course, you will have come to understand the basic principles governing the motion of objects, learned to think more critically/scientifically, and developed the skills needed to attack difficult problems. These are all skills that will serve you strongly in your future courses and careers, even if you never again consider a block sliding down an incline.

Course Schedule

The weekly class schedule gives an outline of the course, but is by no means definitive; check with your professor for a more complete schedule of your specific sections. Your online homework and pre-lecture assignments are listed in Mastering; the homework will generally be a chapter a week, while the pre-lectures will likely be due closer to your class (due dates will depend on your section/instructor). These assignments may be adjusted as the semester progresses to accomodate the pace of the class, so you should refer back to these calendars often to make sure you don't miss a deadline or extension. Information about the format of the recitations as well as problem sets used by your recitation leader may be found here: recitations.shtml.

Instructors

Policies

Absences Absences

• Only in the case of officially excused absences will a student be allowed to remedy a missed exam or recitation.
• Consistent with Rule 7.3, students are required to notify their instructor and/or their T.A. by the end of the second working day after their absence, and documented proof must be presented within one week of the last date of the absence. Otherwise, the student will receive a zero for the missed exam and/or recitation.
• Note: very few conditions qualify as an authorized excused absence, so avoid missing an exam at all costs!

Exams Exams

The final exam grade will be based on the fraction of learning objectives achieved. Any LO with a passing grade (≥60% of the times tested) in the comprehensive exam will supersede the results for that LO from the 3 midterms. However, if a LO is not passed in the comprehensive exam, it will count just like other midterms in the cumulative passing criteria.

• If you miss an exam without a valid and accepted University-excused absence (see above), you will receive a "fail" on all learning objectives tested.
• If you miss an exam for a University-approved absence as detailed by Student Rule 07, fill out the Absence Reporting form found in Canvas and submit the appropriate documentation. There will be a makeup exam scheduled for the Monday following an exam from 7:15-9:15 pm.
• The use of calculators are allowed and strongly encouraged on exams. Students will want to have a calculator that can perform calculations using the basic trigonometric functions and their inverses, exponential and logarithm calculations as well as calculations using an arbitrary power. Calculators that cannot wirelessly connect to the internet are NOT allowed to be used. These include, but are not limited to, phones, laptops, smart watches, etc.

If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact Disability Services at White Creek complex on west campus or call (979)845-1637. When you are scheduling your exam with Disability Services, ensure that you do not finish before the rest of the class begins the exam; we require this to maintain the integrity of the common exams. For example, if you are alotted 3 hrs for a midterm exam, you may start as early as 4:30pm and may not leave the testing center (or have access to your phone or other modes of communication) until the rest of the class starts at 7:30pm. Furthermore, we must receive notification from them early enough (>1 week) before an exam to make special accomodations.

Homework Homework

• Unless you have a valid and accepted absence (see above) for missing a full week of class, you will not get an extension on the homework. You should start working on the weekly assignment as soon as we start covering the material to avoid last-minute complications; if you wait until the night before to do the homework, you are much more likely to run into problems, either concept-related or from technical issues!
• Each weekly assignment is due at a specified time, depending on your individual instructor's schedule; you can see when they're due via MyLab & Mastering in Canvas.
• Late submissions are accepted, however full credit will not be given. The penalty is –10% per day past the deadline. To encourage doing the homework (which is necessary to succeed in the course!), the maximum penalty—no matter how late—is –50%.
• Each incorrect answer to a problem reduces your credit for that problem by 3%. You have a maximum of 10 attempts per problem. For multiple choice problems, incorrect answers are reduced by 100%/(# of options – 1), e.g. if there are four options, you lose 33.3% per wrong guess.
• As described in Mastering, adaptive follow-up assignments are a chance for you to improve your grade, if you choose to do them. They are due two days after the assignment is over, and Mastering attempts to ask targeted questions to address your shortcomings in the corresponding assignment. It contains up to 3 sets of questions and is worth 2 additional (i.e. bonus) points. If you do well enough on the initial assignment, specifically ≥95%, you will automatically receive the bonus without having to do the adaptive follow-up questions.
• Your final homework grade is based on your average grade over all homework assignments. This may be >100% with the adaptive follow-up bonus points.

Recitations Recitations

• All recitations will be led by your Teaching Assistant (TA); if you have questions about recitations, you should start by contacting your TA.
• It is required and important that you go to the recitation in the first week of classes; you will be introduced to how they will be run throughout the semester.
• If you miss a regularly scheduled recitation for a valid and accepted absence (see above), it is your responsibilty to inform your T.A. immediately and promptly to make sure you do not lose points for your recitation grade. Please do not contact your instructor before contacting your T.A.; they run the recitations so, barring extenuating circumstances, we will leave this up to them.

Prelectures Prelectures

• Separate from the homework, but still within Mastering, you are required to watch "pre-lecture" videos and answer some conceptual quizzes before your instructor goes through the material.
• The exact schedule will depend on your instructor/section, but generally there will be about one assignment per week, due a little before the material is covered in class.

i>Clickers i>Clickers

• Students will only be using the iClicker Reef app that is accessible through a phone or computer. Physical remotes will NOT be used.
• Please remember that it is your responsibility to come prepared to participate with every day. Technical difficulties (unable to connect to wifi, couldn't log in, didn't answer in time, etc.) will not be reasons for your participation to be excused.
• Overall, participation is valued more than the actual answer. The specifics will vary with each instructor, but generally anonymous polling will be used and you will not face significant penalties for incorrect answers.
• Overall, participation is valued more than the actual answer. However, each instructor will have their own grading policy.

Course Components

Pre-requisites Pre-requisites

A grade of C or better in MATH 151 "Engineering Mathematics I" or MATH 171 "Analytic Geometry and Calculus" or equivalent. You are expected to have a working knowledge of plane geometry, trigonometry, and algebra. This course is calculus-based, so some familiarity of calculus is also assumed. You may check your preparedness in math by trying these short quizzes. As the semester progresses you will also be expected to have a working knowledge of derivatives and integrals, and be proficient in the use of vectors (component decomposition, addition, subtraction, dot and cross products).

Math preparation Math preparation

Although not "required," we highly recommend that you check your math skills by taking these simple quizzes. If you're not prepared enough in math and don't find them simple, then you will be at an immediate disadvantage in this course; it is far too easy to fall behind in this fast-paced class, even if you're already strong in math.

Learning objectives Learning objectives

The course is based on learning objectives (LOs), which is a substantial change to the traditional manner of grading exams. The overall exam grade will be based on the fraction of LOs passed versus tested (typically, 50-60 LOs are tested by the end of the semester). A given LO is considered "passed" if ≥60% of the instances are achieved. Since what matters most is how much you learn at the end of the semester, if an LOs is passed on the Comprehensive exam, that LO is passed overall regardless of how it was tested on the midterms. As an example: LO 21 is tested three times on Exam II and none were achieved. It is tested another 2 times on Exam III, and is achieved in both cases. Going into the Comprehensive, this LO is not passing since it was achieved only 2/5=40% of the times tested. On the Comprehensive, it is tested 3 more times and is achieved twice, so is passed since 2/3=60%. Even though the overall testing is 4/8=50%, this LO is passed because the Comprehensive trumps all earlier attempts. However, if you fail the LO by itself in the comprehensive, it is counted in the cumulative calculation as carrying the same weight as the midterms.

You may view your current status after the first midterm at https://freshman.physics.tamu.edu/p206/. It is in your best interest to become familiar with the list of objectives for this course at https://mechanics.physics.tamu.edu/los.html.

MyLab & Mastering (homework and pre-lectures) MyLab & Mastering (homework and pre-lectures)

The textbook and all other components are integrated with the MyLab & Mastering system. Registration is done using your NetID via canvas.tamu.edu. Step-by-step instructions to sign up for MyLab & Mastering are given here.

If you encounter technical issues with the Mastering website, the most common solution is to disable blocking of pop-ups. If this doesn't fix it, perhaps try another browser (e.g. Chrome). Further information is in this handout.

The components integrated with MyLab & Mastering are:

The textbook:

University Physics, vol. 1, 15th edition, by Young & Freedman, published by Pearson. The bookstore has a customized loose-leaf version (ISBN: 978-0137638468) which includes 24-month access to the eBook and Mastering for $166.67. This is likely your cheapest option, but you may find another copy if you like and pay online to gain access to Mastering. Older editions are not significantly different and may be used.

Homework:

Mastering will be used to submit the homework assigments on a weekly basis. It is included in your textbook purchase. Since this is a new textbook, from a different publisher, there is no accommodation possible for those that have previously taken this course. Your Canvas page has a link to access the site under "MyLab and Mastering" in the content menu.

Pre-lectures:

There are weekly pre-lecture assignments which involve watching videos that introduce you to the topic we will later discuss in class. At the end of the videos are short quizzes on the material you just watched. This component too is included in your textbook purchase.

Recitations Recitations

Recitations are limited to 24 students to clarify concepts from the lectures and to practice problem-solving strategies in small groups. Your recitation is led by a graduate student Teaching Assistant; your lecture instructor has very little to do with recitations, so contact your TA if you have any issues regarding recitations (e.g. absent due to illness). Each recitation is 80 mins (1h20m) long and active participation is highly encouraged.

More information about recitations can be found at the recitations page, and details such as days/times, your TA, his/her email, etc., can be found at .

iClicker (participation) iClicker (participation)

Students will use the iClicker Reef app which can be used through a phone or computer. Physical remotes will not be used. The College of Arts and Sciences has a site license with iClicker, so students should not need to pay for an account for this class. The details for how to join/register for your instructors course should be found in Canvas.

Below are links from iClicker to help you register and get started with the iClicker:

• Checklist: Getting Started with the iClicker Student App – How to create an account and get the apps for your phone
• Student Guide to Roster & Grade Sync – How to update your current profile to include your University email

Course Evaluation

Exams	70% (all sections) As listed on the class schedule, there are 3 common midterms on the evenings of Fri Sep 15th, Fri Oct 13th, and Fri Nov 10th. In addition, we will be having a common comprehensive exam covering all of the material in the course on Dec 1st, the Fri before classes end. All exams will be in person and are multiple choice. Exams are graded in terms of learning objectives. The complete list of learning objectives that a student is expected to master at the end of the semester is posted at mechanics.physics.tamu.edu/los.html. In the end, the final overall exam grade will be based on the fraction of learning objectives achieved. Any LO with a passing grade in the comprehensive exam will trump the results for that LO from the 3 midterms. However, if a LO is not passed in the comprehensive exam, it will count just like other midterms in the cumulative passing criteria.
Online homework	6% (5% for honour sections) Submitted and graded using MyLab & Mastering.
Recitations	6% (5% for honour sections) The grade for recitations is based on participation. See this page for more information. We strongly suggest you be an active learner and actively participate in the discussions of these smaller class-sized recitations.
Pre-lectures	6% (5% for honour sections) This course uses the pre-lecture videos and follow-up assignments from within Pearson's MyLab & Mastering. The online videos are meant to introduce you to upcoming concepts, and follow up with short conceptual questions to assess how well you grasped the core physics concepts.
i>clickers	6% (5% for honour sections) A personal response system used for in-class participation and/or quizzes.
Concept Quizzes	6% (5% for honour sections) The concept quizzes are available to take in canvas. The quizzes can be taken as many times as desired and the highest score will be kept as a grade.
Honours assignments	5% (honours only) Only applicable to sections 213–218. The instructor will provide details in class.

Resources available to you

Mechanics Scholars Competition

Unfortunately, due to the ongoing pandemic, it is unclear yet whether the Mechanics Scholars Competition will be held this semester. If not, those enrolled in PHYS 206 may take it next time it is offered. This page will be updated as soon as there is any more information.

Further information

Math readiness:	link to some simple quizzes to test how prepared you are in math.
Custom pre-lectures:	videos we made to supplement the ones you normally do. We cannot embed them in Mastering, so these are not worth points; but you may find them useful. They follow Prof. Melconian's lecture notes very closely.
Formula sheets:	link to the formula sheets that will be provided to you for each midterm and the comprehensive exam.
Previous exams:	link to the exams from PHYS 206 last year (with answer keys). Note that this course adopts a common midterm exam policy: all sections of PHYS 206 will write the same midterms at the same time; your professor is only one of a number of faculty that will be contributing problems to the midterms.
Academic calendar:	link to the Registrar's academic calendar. Includes important dates, holidays and deadlines. Note that all sections of PHYS 206 write a comprehensive exam the evening of Fri Dec 1 (6:30–9:30 pm). Therefore we will not be having a final exam during finals week.
Canvas:	Texas A&M's centralized learning management system.

Academic Integrity Statement and Policy

"An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do."

"Texas A&M University students are responsible for authenticating all work submitted to an instructor. If asked, students must be able to produce proof that the item submitted is indeed the work of that student. Students must keep appropriate records at all times. The inability to authenticate one's work, should the instructor request it, may be sufficient grounds to initiate an academic misconduct case" (Section 20.1.2.3, Student Rule 20).

You can learn more about the Aggie Honor System Office Rules and Procedures, academic integrity, and your rights and responsibilities at aggiehonor.tamu.edu.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy Statement

Texas A&M University is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities for all students. If you experience barriers to your education due to a disability or think you may have a disability, please contact Disability Resources in the Student Services Building or at (979) 845-1637 or visit disability.tamu.edu. Disabilities may include, but are not limited to attentional, learning, mental health, sensory, physical, or chronic health conditions. All students are encouraged to discuss their disability related needs with Disability Resources and their instructors as soon as possible.

Title IX and Statement on Limits to Confidentiality

Texas A&M University is committed to fostering a learning environment that is safe and productive for all. University policies and federal and state laws prohibit gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment, including sexual assault, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

With the exception of some medical and mental health providers, all university employees (including full and part-time faculty, staff, paid graduate assistants, student workers, etc.) are Mandatory Reporters and must report to the Title IX Office if the employee experiences, observes, or becomes aware of an incident that meets the following conditions (see University Rule 08.01.01.M1):

• The incident is reasonably believed to be discrimination or harassment.
• The incident is alleged to have been committed by or against a person who, at the time of the incident, was (1) a student enrolled at the University or (2) an employee of the University.

Mandatory Reporters must file a report regardless of how the information comes to their attention – including but not limited to face-to-face conversations, a written class assignment or paper, class discussion, email, text, or social media post. Although Mandatory Reporters must file a report, in most instances, you will be able to control how the report is handled, including whether or not to pursue a formal investigation. The University's goal is to make sure you are aware of the range of options available to you and to ensure access to the resources you need.

Students wishing to discuss concerns in a confidential setting are encouraged to make an appointment with Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

Students can learn more about filing a report, accessing supportive resources, and navigating the Title IX investigation and resolution process on the University's Title IX webpage.

Statement on Mental Health and Wellness

Texas A&M University recognizes that mental health and wellness are critical factors that influence a student's academic success and overall wellbeing. Students are encouraged to engage in proper self-care by utilizing the resources and services available from Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS). Students who need someone to talk to can call the TAMU Helpline (979-845-2700) from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. weekdays and 24 hours on weekends. 24-hour emergency help is also available through the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800-273-8255) or at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.