INTRODUCTION

Dear Parent:

Science is headlining the news almost every day. It may be replacing the space shuttle program, or genetics research, or the latest drug to hit the market. In order for us to stay connected with what is happening in conversations and make informed decisions it is necessary to have a solid background in science. Physics is one of the four core areas of science that your student will study to help prepare them for the world.

The most successful students are those who take responsibility for their own progress. We should try as teachers and parents to help the student grow in self motivation and in developing good study habits such as promptly completing homework, preparing for class, taking notes, and working with a study partner.

Physics is a course that requires students to actively take part in their learning. This means that homework and study time are both vitally important. If you find that your student is still struggling in the course, know that help is available. The physics department is a close group of colleagues who will arrange whatever we can to help your student achieve his or her best in our discipline.

In this newsletter you will find things to help a struggling student and a list of policies and procedures. Please read them carefully with your student and make sure that he or she understands the responsibilities that come with this course. Also note the needed materials.

I am looking forward to spending the semester exploring Physics with your student. As a team, I believe that we can have a very successful year!

I encourage you to take a look at the class wiki before and during the semester. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Mr. Scott G. Shoaf

Instructor Information

Mr. Scott G. ShoafEmail:

School Phone: 980-343-5800 ext. 584Please see class wiki for additional information.

Email is the most efficient way to contact me. Thank you.

Class Wiki

Information for parents & students can be found at Upcoming due dates, guided notes, class assignments, and online help can be found on the class wiki.

Physics Items Needed for Class:

  1. Scientific Calculator. A graphing calculator can be useful but is not required.
  2. Pencil. You work will require you to make corrections and adjustments. ALL work must therefore be submitted to me in pencil.
  3. Three-ring Binder. A notebook will be needed to be kept specifically for Physics. Because there are so many printed notes and handouts, the three-ring binder is the notebook of choice.
  4. Colored Pencils/Thin Markers. Not required but will assist in understanding concepts in notes and on exercises.

Attendance

Because each class builds on previous knowledge, it is very important that students are in class every day. When absences cannot be avoided, it is the student’s responsibility to get the notes and the assignments missed. This is the expectation of the teacher and the responsibility of the student.

Beginning Class

Students should come to class every day with their notebook, calculator, paper, pencil, reference pack, and all work. Students are expected to be in the door BEFORE the bell rings.Students should take care of all bathroom business BEFORE class.

Grading Policy

Formal Assessments 70%Informal Assessment 30%

Test (4)Informal Lab (4)

Formal Lab (2 or 4)Homework and class work (1)

Quiz (1)

A formal assessment includes tests, quizzes, projects, or formal labs. An informal assessment includes homework, class work, or informal labs. In each category the assignments will be weighted differently.

Unit Tests

Tests will be given at the end of every unit. If a student knows that he or she will be out of class on the day of a test (for a field trip, band concert, etc.) the student is responsible for making an appointment with the teacher and taking the test ahead of time. These tests will cover the same material as the regular test, but will not necessarily be the same test or format. If a student misses aregularly scheduled test due to illness, the student has five class days to make up the test during an afterschool tutoring session, until that time the tests are considered to be zeros in the grade book. It is the student’s responsibility to schedule their tests within that time frame, not the teacher’s.

Quizzes

Quizzes will be announced and unannounced. Your two lowest quiz grades will be omitted at the end of each nine weeks, provided all quizzes were taken. You can simply omit the first two quizzes you miss or you must make up your quiz afterschool within 5 school days, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Homework

Students are assigned homework most nights. Some assignments will be online, and students will need internet access to obtain the work and turn in their answers. They DO NOT, however, need to be on a computer to work on the assignment, nor do they need to answer the questions in order or all at once.Homework is an extension of the class lesson and is vital to successfully mastering Physics. They need to work on problem sets every evening, not just the day before it is due. The due date for homework is given in the syllabus, and will be due at 10 pm CST on that date. After the due date has passed, students will be able to access the correct answers and solutions by picking up the solutions on the UTexas site. Students will not be granted extensions to turn in late assignments so please plan accordingly.

University of Texas Homework Information

Getting Started

a) Log on to the following address

or go to the class wiki and use the provided link.

b) Get your UTEID by following the instructions at the given link. Then log back in to the system.

c) When you view "My Courses", if you don't see any courses listed, click "Enroll in new course".

Obtain the unique number for your class from your instructor and enter this when prompted. Your instructor will be notified that you want to register, and you will see a status message indicating that your enrollment is pending.

Your number is 20115.

d) Viewing and submitting your assignment

Choose My Courses to view your course listings, and then choose a course to see the assignments associated with that course. Click on an individual assignment to see problems and a form to submit your answers. Problems have many different variations, so your assignment will be different from another student in your class. All assignments have due dates and your instructor has the option of displaying a solution after the due date has passed.

Numbers

a) Significant digits and precision The computer carries out all calculations to at least six significant digits. Do not use "significant figures" algorithms to round off your answer. Do not round off 'intermediate' calculations. Six digits are shown in solutions. To be scored as correct, an answer must be within 1% of the computer's answer (except for an answer of zero, which must be exact). You will be informed of any exceptions to this tolerance.

b) Scientific/Engineering notation ("times 10 to the power") Very large or very small numbers may be input with "scientific notation," e.g., +3.56e-10, which is 3.56 times ten to the negative tenth power. However, 468 (or 468.0) is just as good as +4.68e+02 or +4.68E+02.

Constants and Conversion Factors

Be aware that using conversion factors and/or constants not identical with those used by the algorithm in the computer may cause discrepancies (e.g., using pi = 3.14 instead of pi = 3.14159265358979324). In general, don’t use constants other than those given in the links in the help section online.

Number of Tries Allowed for

Web submission

You will be told immediately whether your answer is correct or not. If your answer is incorrect, you are provided additional opportunities (multiple tries) to get the correct answer, as follows:

a) Multiple-choice questions: You are allowed n - 1 tries, where n = "number of choices."

b) Numeric questions: On "numeric" questions (you input the number itself), you are allowed seven tries.

Randomization

All students have the same generic question; however, each student has different parameters and hence different answers. The order of the choices is scrambled from version to version.

Online Homework Scoring

a) Multiple-choice questions

A randomly guessing student should, on average, receive the same score as a student who does not answer. Our multiple-choice scoring scheme corrects for random guessing by giving negative scores for incorrect answers. (The SAT does this also.) This scheme makes haphazard guessing a waste of time, which will not improve (or help) your score over the long run.

If you are not sure of the correct answer, but you can eliminate one or more of the choices as wrong, you increase your chances of selecting the correct answer. Statistically, it is to your advantage to answer such a question.

The table above illustrates how the neutral scoring scheme works for a +10.00 point question. The table is subdivided into three blocks, which represent the number of choices for a particular multiple choice question: Block 1 (10 choices); Block 2 (6); and Block 3 (3 choices). Each block includes three columns: Try represents the number of times a question is attempted; Correct represents the question score if answered correctly on this particular attempt; and Incorrect represents the question score if answered incorrectly on this and all previous attempts. For example, when you select the correct choice on the first try, you receive full credit; a score of +10.00. If your answer is incorrect (on a 10 option question), however, you are penalized and you receive a negative score of -1.11 (at least until you try again).

b) Numeric questions using web submission

For more than one try, the full credit score is multiplied by 0.93^(t - 1), where “t” is the number of tries you use, and “^” means “raised to the power of”.

Question with 10 tries / Question with 6 tries / Question with 3 tries
Try / Correct / Incorrect / Try / Correct / Incorrect / Try / Correct / Incorrect
1 / +10 / -1.11 / 1 / +10 / -2 / 1 / +10 / -5
2 / +7.78 / -2.22 / 2 / +6 / -4 / 2 / 0 / -10
3 / +5.56 / -3.33 / 3 / +2 / -6
4 / +3.33 / -4.44 / 4 / -2 / -8
5 / +1.11 / -5.56 / 5 / -6 / -10
6 / -1.11 / -6.67
7 / -3.33 / -7.78
8 / -5.56 / -8.89
9 / -7.78 / -10

HAVING TROUBLE AND NEED HELP?

  1. Try reading the section in your textbook that corresponds to the material being covered in class.
  2. Go to the class wiki and link to the online review for topic that corresponds with the material being covered in class.
  3. Come to tutoring afterschool on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays.

If you have tried these three things and are still having difficulty, please see me as soon as possible to explore other alternatives.

Remind 101

Students should and parents can get text reminders for class by signing up through Remind 101. Text the following to 979-256-1175:

2nd Block: @2ndshoaf

Class Rules

The following are four simple rules that will be followed in addition to the school rules/policies and lab procedures.

  • Be Courteous—respect the other students around you as well as the teacher, and behave in a manner that exhibits this respect
  • Be Prepared—come to class on time with all materials, ready to work and learn for a full ninety minutes
  • Be Responsible—for your materials, your deadlines, your behavior, and the lab equipment when it is in use.
  • Be Safe—due to the nature of many of our physics labs it is EXTREMELY important that you respect the rules of the lab to protect yourself and those around you.

Consequences

Should any of the rules of the class or school be broken the following consequence plan will be put into action as appropriate.

  1. Warning verbal or non-verbal cue
  2. Private discussion with Mr. Shoaf after class
  3. 15 minute detention
  4. 30 minute detention student will write a letter home to parent to be used at next consequence describing behavior and consequences
  5. The letter written will be sent home to parent with addendum from current behavior issue. In addition Mr. Shoaf will call home to discuss the issue and an after school detention will be issued
  6. The issue will be referred to the office

Mr. Shoaf’s Wish List

Lab Donations for Consumable Items (Make Checks to: Myers Park High School)

Tissue/Kleenex

Paper Towels

Copy Paper

AAA Batteries/ C Batteries

By signing and returning this form you are agreeing you have read and understand everything in this handout. In particular the following items:

  1. What to do if your student needs help.
  2. How to sign up for text reminders.
  3. Materials needed for class everyday.
  4. The quiz policy.
  5. Students will need access to a computer with Internet access throughout the course of this class.
  6. Homework is due and a grade is received date listed in the syllabus and on UTexas website. If this date needs to be changed it will be announced in class and listed as an emergency message upon logging in to the UTexas website.

Please print the information below and return it to me by Wednesday January 29, 2014.

Student Name: ______

Guidance Counselor: ______

Parent / Guardian Name: ______

Home phone: ______

Daytime phone: ______

Best time to contact: ______

E-mail: ______

Any other important information: ______

______

I have read this letter and understand what is expected of my child. I will do my best to help my child fulfill his or her responsibilities and keep up with his or her progress. If I have any questions or concerns or if I am unaware of my child’s progress, I will contact you through e-mail.

Student Signature: ______

Print Parent Name: ______

Parent Signature: ______