Syllabus

Science Prerequisites for Health Professionals

PHYS 1011: Physics II – Summer 2024

Credits - 4

Description

This algebra-based online course is a four credit-hour course that includes a hands-on physics laboratory. The overall goal of this online course is to provide the student, interested in the health professions, with a continuing introduction to physics that emphasizes additional concepts than those covered in PHYS 1010 that are the foundation of science and which the students may encounter in their professional studies. These topics include thermodynamics, waves and sound, electrostatics, circuits, magnetism, light and optics, and atomic and nuclear phenomena. Course pre-req: one semester of college algebra. PHYS 1010 or equivalent physics course is highly recommended.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Program Outcomes

In lecture courses, students should be able to:

1. Communicate scientific concepts and information clearly.
2. Illustrate fundamental laws, theories, and principles of scientific disciplines.
3. Apply knowledge and critical thinking skills to scientific problems.

In lab courses, students should be able to:

1. Ask a question or define a problem that can be tested.
2. Hypothesize possible result(s).
3. Plan and/or conduct an investigation individually and/or collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence.
4. Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (i.e. computational, mathematical, graphical, etc.) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.
5. Communicate the results by constructing an explanation based on multiple pieces of valid and reliable evidence obtained from a variety of sources (including students’ own investigations, models, theories, simulations, peer review) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
6. Apply scientific ideas, principles, and/or evidence gained from various experiments, as well as other observations and/or research, to provide an explanation of phenomena and solve design problems, taking into account possible unanticipated effects.

Course Outcomes

The objectives of this course are designed to facilitate your construction of conceptual models to describe physical ideas that are the foundation of sciences that you may encounter in your professional studies.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Apply thermodynamics principles to explain various scenarios.
• Predict auditory phenomena using wave properties of sound.
• Design a project, collect data, and interpret results related to thermodynamics and sound.
• Analyze electrostatic distributions and interactions.
• Interpret simple resistive and capacitive DC circuits.
• Explain behavior of charged particles in magnetic fields.
• Solve geometric optics problems using ray tracing methods and equations.
• Summarize physical principles behind observed atomic and nuclear phenomena.
• Discuss potential health concerns associated with digital technology.
• Produce an audio, video, or written report related to modern physics concepts of electromagnetic, atomic, or nuclear phenomena.

SELF PACED DESIGN

On the course start date, students will have access to orientation. This must be completed to be able to gain access to the first module in the course. Students must complete the first module to gain access to the next one. We recommend that students spend about 15 hours per week to complete a course in 16 weeks. When trying to complete the course in less than 16 weeks, we typically see students do this successfully within 12-14 weeks. Instructors will be timely in grading and feedback, but it will not be instant.

Assignments

Lectures and Laboratories

Course Details

Physics II is divided up into 16 weeks that follow the second half of the textbook. Each week contains a reading assignment, video lectures, homework assignment, and lecture quiz, except weeks that have an exam or project. Non-exam/project weeks also contain a laboratory assignment and lab report. Each of the three units includes a discussion board.

TED-Ed Lecture Videos

All lecture videos feature optional quiz questions that students can use to check their understanding. The questions do not count towards final grades. To access this optional content, please register for a free TED-Ed account here.

Assigned Homework Problems and Lecture Quizzes

Successful comprehension of physics concepts requires practice, diligence, and motivation. You should spend several hours per section on homework and independent of laboratory time. Assignments can be found through Brightspace. They consist of homework with solutions to check your work once the homework has been reviewed by your instructor, and lecture quizzes.

Laboratory Assignments

A significant amount of time is dedicated to at-home hands-on laboratory experiments. We will make use of the IOLab Wireless Lab System along with accompanying laboratory instructions to collect data, analyze data on your home computer, and share results and interpretation with the instructor and other students. Other lab experiments will make use of the materials in the Hands-On Lab Kit. Labs will focus on discovering relationships between physical variables and identifying applications of the relevant physics principles. Laboratory instructions and experiment submission forms are provided for each lab and are organized by course week/topic.

Discussion Board Posts

Discussion questions cover interesting current events or materials that contribute to a deeper understanding of key concepts and allow you to interact with your classmates and the instructor. There are a total of six required discussion questions throughout the quarter that will count towards your discussion grade for the unit. Each question will require you to conduct at-home lab work, read additional materials (a short journal or magazine article), visit a specific webpage, and/or view a short video. Then you will write a response following the guidelines in the assignment.

To earn full credit: you will need to post a response, respond to the original posts of at least two other students, and then contribute to an ongoing discussion. For special cases where one or two students are accelerating faster through the course, the instructor will participate in the discussion so that everyone has the opportunity to interact.

Discussion Question Guidelines

1. Read the assignment carefully so that you are familiar with the materials that you need to cover and how to craft your post.
2. Respect each other’s ideas, feelings, and experience. Some of the questions involve areas of disagreement. Expect your classmates to have different opinions.
3. Use proper writing style. Correct spelling and sentence structure are expected just as if you were writing a regular paper. Use spell check and grammar check before you submit.
4. Write your posting in a word document! That way you can save a copy and use spell check and grammar check.
5. Cite the sources that you use to write your response. Follow the AMA guidelines.
6. Avoid posting large blocks of text. Break your writing into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs to make your posting easier to read online.
7. Subscribe to the discussion so that you get email updates when there is activity.
8. Use the “reply” button rather than the “compose” button when responding to someone else’s post.
9. When responding to a classmate, address them by name.
10. Do not use postings such as “I agree,” “I don’t know either,” or “ditto.” They do not add to the discussion, take up space on the Discussions, and will not be counted.
11. Everyone benefits from an active discussion. Check back in frequently to see what others are saying.
12. Plan your time carefully. You will need to give your classmates time to respond to your postings. This is an asynchronous class where students will be in different points of the class.

Practice Proctored Exam

There is a highly recommended Practice Proctored Exam available to all students. The first attempt is free. This exam does not cover course material and is not included in your overall course grade. It prepares test takers for what the testing environment will be like, what forms of identification are needed, and provides a chance to test your external webcam with a live proctor. This is a great way to become familiar with and prepare for your exam!

Examination and Grading Information

Exams and Projects

You must purchase the Official UNE External Webcam to take your proctored examinations. Remember to order your webcam at least three weeks prior to scheduling your first proctored exam. For all exams, you must review the Proctored Examinations information and requirements in the Policies section of this syllabus.

Each unit concludes with a final assessment. In the first unit, that assessment is a hands-on project and a written report. The second unit culminates in a proctored exam. For the final unit, you will create a presentation and complete a short proctored exam. The exams are closed for review. You will not be able to review these exams at any time. Please contact your instructor for specific feedback.

The two proctored exams begin and end promptly with scheduled times. Be prepared to stay in the exam room for the entire time.  The exams are administered online via web proctoring – you will be required to follow all the proctor’s requests.

You may use:

1. A scientific calculator (NOT a graphing calculator)
2. A UNE Compliant whiteboard. You must show your proctor that the whiteboard is clear at the beginning of your testing session and you must erase your whiteboard in front of the proctor before disconnecting from your session. If you do not do this, your exam will not be credited.
3. Scratch Paper. You are permitted to use one blank piece of scrap paper during the exam. The paper may not exceed the standard 8.5 by 11 inches. The paper can be used on the front and back. At the end of the exam, the paper must be ripped up in front of the proctor prior to disconnecting.
4. The provided Equation Sheet (available in Brightspace) by opening it in front of your proctor just before you start your exam. It must be a digital copy; no printed copies are allowed.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Homework	13%
Quizzes	13%
Unit 1 Project	16%
Unit 2 Exam	16%
Unit 3 Exam	6%
Unit 3 Project	10%
Lab	20%
Discussion	6%
TOTAL	100%

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00