College of the Redwoods, Mendocino

Syllabus for:

Introduction to Physical Science

Spring, 2013 PHYSCI 10 033306 3.0 Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 8:15-9:20 a.m. FBHS Michael Grady Office location and hours: Associate Faculty Office, tba Phone: 707 962-2600 Email: [email protected] Course Description: A survey for non-science majors covering the basic topics of physics, chemistry, geology and astronomy. Topics include matter and energy, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, light, atomic structure, chemical change, organic chemistry, earth structure and composition, plate tectonics, the solar system and the stars. Student Learning Outcomes: 1. Articulate the cyclic nature of scientific inquiry, which includes observation/data collection, pattern recognition, interpretation, hypothesis, and testing. 2. Demonstrate application of fundamental physical laws to observable natural phenomena in physics, chemistry, earth sciences, and astronomy. 3. Discuss the relationship between science on society from historical and current perspectives. 4. Discuss the impact of individuals when making informed decisions. Special accommodations: College of the Redwoods complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act in making reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. Please present your written accommodation request at least one week before the first test so that necessary arrangements can be made. No last-minute arrangements or post-test adjustments will be made. If you have a disability or believe you might benefit from disability related services and may need accommodations, please see me or contact Disabled Students Programs and Services. Students may make requests for alternative media by contacting DSPS. Academic Misconduct: Cheating, plagiarism, collusion, abuse of resource materials, computer misuse, fabrication or falsification, multiple submissions, complicity in academic misconduct, and/ or bearing false witness will not be tolerated. Violations will be dealt with according to the procedures and sanctions proscribed by the College of the Redwoods. Students caught plagiarizing or cheating on exams will receive an “F” in the course. Semester & Year: Course ID and Section Number: Number of Credits/Units: Day/Time: Location: Instructor’s Name: Contact Information:

The student code of conduct is available on the College of the Redwoods website at: http://www.redwoods.edu/District/Board/New/Chapter5/Ap5500.pdf College of the Redwoods is committed to equal opportunity in employment, admission to the college, and in the conduct of all of its programs and activities.

Physical Science 10 – Introduction to Physical Science College of the Redwoods, Mendocino - Spring, 2013 Required texts: Science Matters (2nd ed.), Robert Hazen, James Trefil, 2009 [“H&T”] Basic Physics – A Self-Teaching Guide (2nd ed.), Karl F. Kuhn, 1996 [“BP”] Course essentials: Physics, chemistry, geology and astronomy in 15 weeks. It can be done! The goal is to develop a basic introduction to the concepts and terminology of the physical sciences for use in other courses and so that you can read about and hear about the topics and learn about them on your own for the rest of your life. Come to every class. Complete the assigned reading before each class. Work diligently for fifteen short weeks by reading, writing, discussing, and asking questions about the concepts and ideas until they start to make sense to you. Written work in this course is required to have college-level correct spelling, complete sentence structure, and coherent use of language. Assessment and grading: There are two ways of assessing or measuring what a student is accomplishing in a course. One way is called “formative assessment” . This is usually done during a program; it provides the opportunity for immediate evidence of student learning at a particular point, and provides feedback that actually can improve student learning. The other way is called “summative assessment” and often involves more the traditional and familiar exams that test the level of learning achieved at the end of a unit or course. In Physical Science 10, we will have two kinds of formative assessment. Once a week at the beginning of a class, we’ll write “one-minute essays” on specific topics. Every week there will be three or so take home questions about the current reading assignment to be answered and turned in the following week. These “reading memos” and the one-minute essays will be scored and will account for about a third of the course grade. Another third of the course grade will come from summative assessment obtained from three in-class tests. A comprehensive final exam or an individual research project will be the remainder of scored work that will determine your course grade. All these assessments will be described more in class. Letter grades for the course will be assigned along the convention of percent of possible points: A: 94-100% A- : 90-93% B+ : 87-89% B: 83-86% B- : 80-82% C: 76-79% C- : 70-75% D: 60-69% F: less than 60% Work to be turned in is due on the dates announced in class or listed in the class schedule. Exams are given on the dates listed in the class schedule. If you cannot be present for an exam because of emergency or medical reasons and produce a valid written excuse (family or medical), arrangements may be made to take an exam earlier or later than scheduled at the discretion of the instructor. Work turned in late will be given reduced or no credit at the discretion of the instructor. In general, come to every class and turn in everything on schedule for full credit. Disclaimer: The course schedule and procedures are subject to change in the event of unforeseen circumstances. The instructor reserves the right to add, delete, or revise portions of the course or syllabus. Any change will be announced.

Class communication: Along with classroom discussion, lectures and exercises, there will be other communications such as announcements, exam prep lists, and memos posted on the MyCR website for this course. You can access the site by getting to MyCR through the College homepage (www.redwoods.edu), selecting the MyCR (Sakai) button, and logging in with your CR Webadvisor User ID and password. Once in MyCR, there should be a quicklink to the course website in your bar at the top or in My Sites. Some of the concepts and ideas covered in the course are: 1. Scientific inquiry. 2. Gravity. 3. The International System of units. 4. Work, energy, heat and temperature. 5. Electricity and magnetism. 6. Wave behavior. 7. Matter, atoms and molecules. 8. The Periodic table. 9. Chemical Reactions. 10. Organic Chemistry. 11. Geologic time. 12. Plate Tectonic theory. 13. Earth's changes through geologic time. 14. The relationship between Earth, the solar system, and the Universe. 15. Universality of physical laws. 16. Impact of society and individuals on practice of scientific inquiry. Final exam topics: [Key concepts for definition (be able to define, describe, explain them)] Mass, matter: gravity, weight Motion, acceleration, inertia, force Thermal energy, temperature, heat conduction/convection/radiation Electric charge: types, origin of, relation to magnetism Electromagnetic radiation: origin of, speed, spreading with distance (inverse square law), - two components of electromagnetic radiation Waves: origin of, form, characteristics Atoms: structure of, sub-atomic particles (names and characteristics), ions Elements: differences between atoms of, 3 essential types of elements Bonds between atoms; molecules, compounds States of matter, names for change in state Nuclear chemistry: radioactive decay types, nuclear reactions/processes Cosmology: universe, galaxy, stars: origin, stages of, fate of Solar system: origin, characteristics of Earth: origin, structure; lithosphere-hydrosphere-atmosphere cycles SI system: base units, multiples/fractions of, prefixes for Science: laws, theories, hypotheses, observations, experiments

Physical Science 10, Spring 2013 Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

Day, Date M 1/14 Tu 1/15 W 1/16 Tu 1/22 W 1/23 M 1/28 Tu 1/29 W 1/30 M 2/4 Tu 2/5 W 2/6 M 2/11 Tu 2/12 W 2/13 M 2/25 Tu 2/26 W 2/27 M 3/4 Tu 3/5 W 3/6 M 3/11 Tu 3/12 W 3/13 M 3/18 Tu 3/19 W 3/20 M 3/25 Tu 3/26 W 3/27 M 4/1 Tu 4/2 W 4/3 M 4/8 Tu 4/9 W 4/10

Class Schedule (0815-0920)

Reading course syllabus, survey H&T Introduction; BP intro

Assignment to be turned in survey one-minute essay 1

H&T Ch. 1 Knowing (pp. 325) H&T Ch. 2 Energy (pp. 2643)

reading memo one-minute essay 2 reading memo one-minute essay 3

H&T Ch. 3 Electricity and Magnetism (pp. 44-66)

reading memo one-minute essay 4

Ch. 4 The Atom (pp. 67-79)

Ch. 5 The World of the Quantum (pp. 80-93) Ch. 6 Chemical Bonding (pp. 94-114) Ch. 7 Atomic Architecture (pp. 115-136) Ch. 8 Nuclear Physics (pp. 137-152) Ch. 9 Fundamental Struct. of Matter (pp. 153-164) Ch. 10 Astronomy (pp. 165182) Ch. 11 Cosmology (pp. 182193)

min. day Test 1 reading memo one-minute essay 5 reading memo reading memo

one-minute essay 6 reading memo Test 2 reading memo one-minute essay 7 reading memo reading memo min. day one-minute essay 8 Test 3

36 37 38 39 40 41

M 4/22 Tu 4/23 W 4/24 M 4/29 Tu 4/30 W 5/1 May 7

Ch. 12 Relativity (pp. 194214) Ch. 13 Earth (pp. 215-232) Ch. 14 Earth Cycles (pp. 233-250) All previous

one-minute essay 9 reading memo reading memo one-minute essay 10 reading memo FINAL EXAM

Disclaimer: The course schedule and procedures are subject to change in the event of unforeseen circumstances.