Academic Physics Syllabus
Program Description: The academic program of study is designed to prepare students for college level work.
Course Description: In this course, we will explore the underlying, governing physical principles of our universe through the use of hypothesizing, observation, data gathering, and mathematical analysis.
Key topics to be discovered and discussed are as follows: data gathering and graphical analysis, mechanics, 1- and 2-dimensional kinematics, including Newton's Laws of Motion, statics and dynamics, conservation of momentum, work and energy conservation, properties of solids and liquids, thermodynamics, wave motion, and sound. If time permits, we will also do a cursory overview of electricity.
Reference Textbooks:
Class Rules
Come to class on-time, prepared to learn and stay the entire time.
- 3 Ring Binder or Bound Notebook and Folder (Required)
- Scientific Calculator (Required)- Not provided
- District Chromebook
(Required)
- Composition Notebook (Required)- For Lab <--For 2021/2022 hold off on purchasing until told to do so.
- Sharpened Pencil or Pen
- Homework Completed
- No Food and Drinks
- Plan to work bell to bell
- Do not interrupt class to go to the lav. You will be denied during the first or last 15 minutes of class
- Get the homework that you missed from a friend or e-mail me.
- Excessive absences will be grounds for credit denial and/or failure of the course, according to school district policy
Respect all people, property, and ideas
Do your very best!
Follow any school rules not addressed here but found in the student handbook including but not limited to:
Consequences
| Warning |
30 seconds after class |
Notify parents |
Detention |
Request Conference |
- If an action is severe enough, higher consequences can be taken.
NOTE:
Since this is a laboratory class, fooling around in the laboratory will not be tolerated. Any student who fools around in the lab will be removed from the lab, receive a failing grade on the current assignment and will receive an appropriate consequence. Students must follow the lab rules listed as lab safety rules.
All textbooks are the property of the North Pocono School District. The parent, guardian, or other person having custody of a child to whom textbooks are issued, will be liable for any loss, abuse, or damage more than that which would result from normal use of such textbook.
All textbooks must be returned to the issuing school when the student is promoted, transferred, or withdrawn.
It is the student’s responsibility to sign out and sign in their textbook
Grading
Procedures
Grading will be done on a percentage system with each graded assignment providing a specific number of points towards each category. A
65 % minimum average is needed to pass. Your grade will be comprised of:
- 65% Tests / Quizzes / Chapter outlines
- 15% Labs / Lab Quizzes
- 20% WebAssign / Homework / Class Assignments
Assignments may include:
Tests
- comprised of Problems, Concepts, Interpretation of lab, Understanding of
relationships of equations
- All tests must be completed in the time provided. No extra time will be given unless previous permission has been granted.
- If you are absent the day
before a test and new
information is presented for the test you are given 1 day to make up
the test. If you are absent the day before a test and no new
information is presented you are still required to take the test.
- If absent it must be made up promptly upon return or you will receive a zero. This means you may need to come during a study, lunch, before, or after school. It is your responsibility to schedule your makeup with Dr. Croom between 7:25 and 7:40 on the day you would like to make up the test.
- Repeated absences on the day of tests may lead to the following consequences:
- Forfeit of extra credit opportunities
- You may be also given another version of the test where a given problem written in multiple choice format is replaced by an open-ended problem, where all work must be shown - the replacement problem may or may not be equivalent in complexity
- students being required to make up the test at the end of the quarter. During the last two weeks of the quarter, the instructor will open a window for make ups to take place. It is the responsibility of the student to find a time within this window to come and make up the test. If the student does not find a time to come and take it, they will have to take it during the class period.
- Tests and homework follow
the late schedule listed above
under their specific heading.
Formal Labs Must be typed and must
follow lab report format outlined below.
- There will be a deduction of points for every day late
- After 3 days the lab
becomes a ZERO
- Mini-Labs (Informal Labs) will also be performed and will weighted appropriately compared to Formal Labs
Reading
Quizzes
- Will be based on assigned
readings.
- All quizzes must be completed in the time provided. No extra time will be given unless previous permission has been granted.
Spot,
homework, and announced Quizzes
- Being absent the day
before a quiz does not provide
exception from the quiz. E-mail your instructor, call a friend, read
your chapter, practice your problems, determine what you missed.
- All quizzes must be completed in the time provided. No extra time will be given unless previous permission has been granted.
Homework
- Homework assignments may
or may not be graded. Graded homework will count as a quiz grade. Students
are expected to always come to class with their homework complete.
- Late homework WILL NOT be
accepted
- Partial completed homework
will be considered incomplete
Example of a full credit homework problem:
Problem: A car goes from 5m/s to 25m/s in 3s,
what is the acceleration of the car?
Class
Participation
- Will be considered for
borderline grades
- Students who miss more than 4 days of class total after the first quarter, 6 days total after the second quarter, 8 days after the third quarter, and 10 days after the fourth quarter will not be eligible for participation recognition
Extra
Credit
- Extra Credit if assigned
will be given to the entire
class. Extra credit assignments are not to be worked on in class and
will be required to be handed in on the given day. No partial credit is
given for extra credit.
- Some test may have extra
credit on them. Extra credits on
test can vary from extra reading assignment, recent news events,
problems, or opinion statements.
End of year Research
Paper
- Research papers will
involve the research of a physics
topics and the creation of a presentation to demonstrate the learned
concepts. Research papers will be graded like a test.
End of year Presentations
- Presentations will be
graded according to a rubric
handed-out before the beginning of the project. All areas discussed in
the rubric need to be covered
Final Exam
- There will be cumulative final exam
in this class.
Unprepared
for Class
- Students coming to class
unprepared based on the rules above lose 5 points from their test point total for each occurrence. Coming to class unprepared include but
are not limited to not having your pencil or pen, notebook, textbook,
or handouts.
Absenteeism and Grades
- Due to the nature of physics student attendance in class is required. Students who miss classes, miss integral parts of the course that cannot be replicated on paper or in a small group setting. As the number of days students are absent increases, their overall grade in the course will decrease from missed quiz and test questions, and from poor lab performance. Students need to make every effort to be in class every day to prevent their grades from decreasing.
- If a student misses over 15 days of class during the year, the student will see a reduction in their quarter class grade by 1 point for each additional day they miss.
- Any assignment you miss
because of absence is your
responsibility to make up. If after a week the
assignment is still outstanding it becomes a zero. This may require you
to spend some time after school making up labs and projects.
Additional Information
- Leaving the classroom in the
middle of a test, quiz, or
other formal assignment is discouraged. Take care of all personal
issues before entering the classroom. A consistent pattern of leaving
during an assignment will be viewed as giving the test taker unfair
advantage and points may be deducted. Follow the rules provided for the
SATs found at http://www.collegeboard.com/html/sat_terms_conditions.html
- Proficiency in word processing and spreadsheet skills will be an ongoing process. Formal lab reports and certain assignments will require a certain proficiency using the Microsoft Office 2007 or later package, Google Sheet, and Google Docs which are readily available to all students on the NPSD Internet. Specifically, we will be using Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel throughout the semester.
- It is the responsibility of
the student to keep track of
his/her grades. Dr. Croom
will not give grades out
during the semester. All
grades will be posted on the
school's online grading program for you to check. If you question your
nine weeks average, you must be able to prove your grades so keep your
assignments.
Final Course Grade
will be determined by the following system.
22.5% of each quarters average
10% Final Exam Score
Academic Honesty
Your integrity should be very important to you. Copying homework or assignments is cheating, and when caught you will be given a 0%. Working together is different than copying. Any quiz, test or project you are caught cheating on will result in automatic 0% with no opportunity for a retake. I will give different versions of test/quizzes and move students around during testing to ensure you are doing your own work. Ultimately however, it is you who must determine how you want to succeed, on your own merits or dishonestly through the work of someone else.
Other Information
Computer Responsibility
Students are required to pay for any damage done district computers during the time they are using them. Because of this, it is very important that students report any damage to the machine when they sign it out, so they are not held responsible. It is also important that students always return the computer to where they originally got them. Computers left out could be accidentally broken. If students don't return their computers, they could lose their computer privilege and/or have to pay for damages.
Calculator Replacement Cost
| Model |
Cost |
| TI-84 |
$106.55 |
| TI-30 |
$12.60 |
Students should bring the same calculator to class each day. Please borrow or buy one if you do not already have one. A small number of calculators are available to sign-out. These calculators will be assigned to each student, and it will be their personal responsibility-to carry the calculator with them. UNDER NO CICUMSTANCES may calculators be left in the classroom.
If a calculator is lost, stolen, not returned, or it is returned in a damaged condition, the student will be responsible for replacing the calculator with a new fully functional calculator of the same model. Students are also responsibility for replacing batteries in calculators they borrow if necessary.
Students will be required to accept full responsibility for the calculators that are borrowed from the school. If a calculator is not returned or it is retuned in damaged condition, the student will be obligated replace the calculator with a brand-new calculator of the same model in its factory-sealed box or pay the price listed above.
All the graphing calculator models require batteries. Student may be required to purchase batteries for the calculators they borrow if necessary.
We are asking you and your student to sign the form on the last page of this letter and return it to the student ’s physics teacher. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your student's physics teacher at the above number.
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Publication / Picture Waiver
A picture of your student or work created by your student may be included in a classroom project. We may use the resulting project in one or more of the following ways:
- Science Fair Projects
- Use as a demonstration project/activity in educational workshops, classes, and/or conferences.
- Use videos for the benefit of improving on classroom management techniques
- Use portions of the videos during meeting dealing with your child.
- Submit as samples to grant and contest entries for your child and/or the North Pocono School District.
- Part of school projects that student might publish on the Internet.
- Part of an article submitted to the district website or a newspaper about an activity your child participated in related to the school or the class
If you do not want your students picture used please contact me by one of the means listed above.
Lab Safety Rules (Your Copy)
This is to certify that I, ____________________, have been instructed in the following safety component of this science class:
- By signing below, I verify that I have been informed where the following items are located and have been instructed on how to use the so named items:
- Fire extinguisher
- Fire blanket
- Eyewash fountain
- Safety shower
- Exhaust hood
- Chemical spill control kits
- First aid kit
- Eye protective devices (goggles)
- Master shutoff for gas, electricity, and water
- Heat sources (Burners, ovens, etc.)
- I will not use any lab equipment, unless instructed on when and how to use such an item by my teacher. If I have any questions on how something works or need a refresher on how something works, I will ask the teacher in charge.
- There will be no projectile motion in this class, unless instructed by the teacher to do so.
- Special laboratory clothing shall be worn when dealing with labs that require clothing protection. These clothing items can include but is not limited to, closed toe shoes, glasses instead of contacts, safety goggles, lab jackets, long pants and gloves. Any students repeatedly failing to comply with this regulation may be removed from participation in class and receive an unsatisfactory grade.
- I have been informed on the safety procedures for the following situations, and know that I must report the following situations as soon as possible to my teacher:
- Fire
- Chemical Splash to the body
- Eye emergency
- Chemical Spill
- Broken Glass
- Other injuries
- I will follow all other safety rules in the class which will be posted which include but are not limited to
- No running
- No physical contact with others
- No harassing others
- No food, drinks or gum
- I will be required to buy all lab equipment I break in class. (Some of the lab equipment is in excess of $500)
Student Copy
Procedures and Rules Acknowledgment
I, ________________________ (student's name) have read and agree to follow all the, policies, procedures, classroom rules, and lab safety rules set forth in the class syllabus found on my courses procedures page on www.croomphysics.com. If I have a question about any portion of the syllabus, I will ask my teacher for clarification. I realize that I must obey these rules to ensure my own safety, and that of my fellow students and instructor. I will fully cooperate with my instructor and fellow students to maintain a safe classroom and lab environment. I will also closely follow the oral and written instructions provided by the instructor. I am aware that any violation of this safety contract that results in unsafe conditions in the laboratory, or misbehavior on my part, may result in being removed from the laboratory, receiving a detention, receiving a failing grade, and/or dismissal from the course.
Dear Parent or Guardian,
We feel that you should be informed regarding the school's effort to create and maintain a safe science classroom and laboratory environment. With the cooperation of the instructor, parents/guardians, and student, possible hazards can be corrected and prevented. You should be aware of all the, policies, procedures, classroom rules, and lab safety rules your student will receive before engaging in class and laboratory work. Please read the list of these policies, procedures, classroom rules, and lab safety rules which are set forth in the class syllabus found on the Procedures page on www.croomphysics.com. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your student's teacher. No student will be permitted to perform laboratory activities unless this contract is signed by both the student and the parent/guardian and is on file with the teacher. Your signature on this contract indicates that you have read this syllabus and are aware of the measures taken to ensure the safety of your student in the science class and laboratory as well as the grading procedure and the student's responsibilities for the course. It is also expected that you will instruct your student to uphold their agreement to the follow these rules and procedures in the class and laboratory.
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| Parent/Guardian Name (print) |
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Signature |
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Date |
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Please return the signature sheet to Dr. Croom in Room 104
Information Sheet
Name(Student) ( First, Last,Preferred) _____________________________________________
Contact Name (First, Last, Relationship) ____________________________________________
Contact Phone Number__________________________________________________________
Contact e-mail address(parent)____________________________________________________
Contact e-mail address(student)___________________________________________________
Questions
- Are you color blind?
- Do you have an after school job?
- How many hours per week?______
Record of Home Contact
Do not write in this box
Procedures and Rules Acknowledgment
I, ________________________ (student's name) have read and agree to follow all the, policies, procedures, classroom rules, and lab safety rules set forth in the class syllabus found on my courses procedures page on www.croomphysics.com. If I have a question about any portion of the syllabus, I will ask my teacher for clarification. I realize that I must obey these rules to ensure my own safety, and that of my fellow students and instructor. I will fully cooperate with my instructor and fellow students to maintain a safe classroom and lab environment. I will also closely follow the oral and written instructions provided by the instructor. I am aware that any violation of this safety contract that results in unsafe conditions in the laboratory, or misbehavior on my part, may result in being removed from the laboratory, receiving a detention, receiving a failing grade, and/or dismissal from the course.
Dear Parent or Guardian,
We feel that you should be informed regarding the school's effort to create and maintain a safe science classroom and laboratory environment. With the cooperation of the instructor, parents/guardians, and student, possible hazards can be corrected and prevented. You should be aware of all the, policies, procedures, classroom rules, and lab safety rules your student will receive before engaging in class and laboratory work. Please read the list of these policies, procedures, classroom rules, and lab safety rules which are set forth in the class syllabus found on the Procedures page on www.croomphysics.com. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your student's teacher. No student will be permitted to perform laboratory activities unless this contract is signed by both the student and the parent/guardian and is on file with the teacher. Your signature on this contract indicates that you have read this syllabus and are aware of the measures taken to ensure the safety of your student in the science class and laboratory as well as the grading procedure and the student's responsibilities for the course. It is also expected that you will instruct your student to uphold their agreement to the follow these rules and procedures in the class and laboratory.
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| Parent/Guardian Name (print) |
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Signature |
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Date |
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Please return the signature sheet to Dr. Croom in Room 104
