PHYS 1010 Syllabus

Physical Science
University of Georgia, Spring 2025

Basic Information
Instructor: Adithya Kuchibhotla
Email: [email protected]
Office: 239 Physics Building
Lectures: Tue and Thu – Physics Building
Room 202 11:10 AM - 12:25 PM
Student drop-in (office) hours: Mon 3–4 PM in 221 Physics building and
Tue 4–5 PM in 254 Physics building
Exam dates: Exam 1 - Thu, Feb 6 (in class)
Exam 2 - Thu, Mar 20 (in class)
Exam 3 - Thu, Apr 24 (in class)
Final presentation - Various times

Introduction
Welcome to Physics 1010 (Physical Science). This course will introduce non-science ma-
jor students to essential ideas in Physical Science, ranging from Newton’s Laws to Nuclear
Physics. Many examples of the applications of these ideas will be discussed and demon-
strated. The principal aim of the course is to give you an idea of how the physical sciences
work and to present some classical and some current ideas in the major branches of physics.
Some of the topics we will cover are motion, energy, optics, electricity and magnetism, and
waves. We will only look at each topic superficially, but in enough detail to give you the
type of understanding of the phenomena that a college student in the 21st century should
have.

Prerequisites
Physics is a quantitative science. However, the emphasis in PHYS 1010 is on the qualitative
aspects of physics. While we will not completely neglect the quantitative aspects and will
do some numerical problems, the only math preparation that is required for this course is
high-school algebra.

Course Communication
Email is the preferred method of communication with the instructor. Messages sent via
online platforms (such as eLC or any other online platforms used for homeworks and other
assignments), may not receive a reply. All course announcements will be made on eLC.

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Course Materials
ˆ Free reference e-book: Openstax - https://openstax.org/details/books/physics.
ˆ Free reference e-book: Openstax - https://openstax.org/details/books/college-physics-
2e.
ˆ Optional paid textbook: Conceptual Physics, 13th ed., by Paul G. Hewitt. You may
use older editions if you wish.
ˆ A simple scientific calculator for exams, which must be non-programmable, non-
graphing, and non-symbolic. Acceptable calculators include the TI-30X series
and the Sharp EL-531; examples of unacceptable calculators include the TI-83 and
the Casio fx-115ES. The use of calculator graphing, algebra-solving, or programming
functions will not be permitted for any exam, nor will PDAs, cellphones, etc. (A good
rule of thumb is, if the calculator isn’t allowed on the SAT, it’s also not allowed for
exams.)

Online Course Resources

ˆ Online assignments are an essential part of the course. You will access your homeworks
and other assignments online, either through Person’s Mastering Physics or otherwise.
ˆ The eLearning Commons (eLC - http://www.elc.uga.edu/) will serve as the repos-
itory of course information: announcements, homework and exam solutions, grades,
practice problems and tutorials, simulations, links to outside resources, etc.
ˆ You will be automatically subscribed to a low-volume email announcement list. It is
important that you check your email daily.

Other Student Resources

ˆ Office hours will give you and your classmates an opportunity to work on problems
in small groups. I will be on hand to answer questions and give guidance, but this is
really designed for you to work together. Please make use of this time.
ˆ If you cannot come to my regular office hours, or need additional help, please set up
an appointment (by email or in person) to see me outside of class.
ˆ Free peer tutoring is available through the Office for Student Success and Achievement.

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Grading Policy and Assignments
Your overall grade will be determined from your course performance, weighted as follows:

Item Weight towards total grade

35%
Three midterm exams
(14%/12%/9% for highest/middle/lowest grades)
Final Presentation 25%
Homeworks 20%
Class participation 20%

Letter grades will be assigned from your overall numerical grade according to the following:
A 87.5 A– 85.0 B+ 82.5 B 75.0 B– 72.5 C+ 70.0 C 62.5 C– 60.0 D 50.0 F
Overall numerical grades will be rounded to the nearest first decimal place.

Exams
There will be three in-class midterm exams (on designated dates, during the regular class
times). All exams will be closed-book and closed-notes. You may use a simple scientific
calculator that is non-programmable, non-graphing, and non-symbolic (calculators such as
the TI-83 or TI-84 are not allowed). You will be provided with a formula sheet for each
exam. The purpose of the formula sheet is to focus your studying on understanding rather
than memorization.
Exams will comprise both conceptual and problem-solving questions and are designed to
test your understanding thoroughly and to distinguish among levels of performance. If the
average percentage score in the exams (across all sections) is less than 75%, then the scores
are “curved” or “rescaled” such that the average is brought up to 75%. This conversion is
based partly on the distribution of raw scores, but also on the difficulty level of the exam.
A rescaled numerical grade will never be lower than your raw score.
There will be no make-up midterm exams. If you need to miss a midterm exam for
a serious, documentable reason, your final presentation grade will be substituted for
atmost one of your midterms, making your final presentation worth 34-39% of your overall
grade (depending on how this grade compares to your other midterm exam grades). This
policy is designed to handle unavoidable situations like medical or family emergencies, or
previously scheduled academic or athletic events. Please contact me as soon as you know of
the conflict (before the exam if at all possible), and provide sufficient documentation in a
timely fashion. Unexcused exam absences will result in an exam grade of zero.

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Homeworks
We will have regular homework assignments. Homeworks will be posted online, and most
problems will require you to submit your answers online. Each assignment will be weighted
equally unless otherwise specified. The lowest homework score will be dropped.
If you miss the deadline to submit homework answers for credit, please make every effort to
work through all the problems on every assignment, in order to master the topics covered.
Teamwork can be a very effective way to learn, so I encourage you to collaborate with your
classmates on homework problems.

Attendance and Class participation

Students are strongly encouraged to attend the class, but attendance is not mandatory.
However, up to 20% of total class credit will be awarded for participating in class activities.
These activities will take place in fthe form of discussion, problem-solving, debates, etc.

Course Policies
Academic Honesty
UGA Student Honor Code: “I will be academically honest in all of my academic work and will
not tolerate academic dishonesty of others.” UGA has a comprehensive academic honesty
policy, A Culture of Honesty, which is available from the Office of Instruction at http:
//honesty.uga.edu/. This policy covers all academic work. All students are responsible for
fully understanding and abiding by this policy. Typical consequences of academic dishonesty
on homework or an exam range from receiving a zero for that grade, to failing the course,
to being suspended from UGA.

Withdrawals/Incompletes
The Undergraduate Bulletin and the Registrar’s Office website describe the University poli-
cies regarding withdrawals and incompletes (http://reg.uga.edu/policies/withdrawals).
If you don’t complete the initial required administrative tasks of the course (e.g., the ques-
tionnaire), or are demonstrably not attending class and completing work, you may be with-
drawn from the class for “excessive absence”.
If you are considering withdrawing from the course, please discuss your choice with me
beforehand.

Copyright

Copyright ©2024 University of Georgia. All rights reserved.

No part of the materials used throughout this course may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means–electronic, me-
chanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise–without written permission from the copy-
right holder. You are not allowed to upload, post or transmit copyrighted material to course-
sharing or other websites.

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Disability Accommodations
I will try to make every effort to accommodate students with disabilities. Students requesting
accommodations must coordinate with the Disability Resource Center (DRC).

Use of Generative AI

To ensure you develop and master the foundational knowledge and skills in this course,
the use of generative AI (GAI) tools is strictly prohibited. This includes all stages of your
work process, even the preliminary ones. This prohibition extends to AI writing tools like
Grammarly and Wordtune, as well as GAI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Writesonic, Rytr,
and Rtutor. If you are uncertain about using a particular tool to support your work, please
consult with me before using it.

UGA Well-being Resources

UGA Well-being Resources promote student success by cultivating a culture that supports
a more active, healthy, and engaged student community.
Anyone needing assistance is encouraged to contact Student Care & Outreach (SCO) in the
Division of Student Affairs at 706-542-8479 or visit https://sco.uga.edu. Student Care
& Outreach helps students navigate difficult circumstances by connecting them with the
most appropriate resources or services. They also administer the Embark@UGA program
which supports students experiencing, or who have experienced, homelessness, foster care,
or housing insecurity.
UGA provides both clinical and non-clinical options to support student well-being and mental
health, any time, any place. Whether on campus, or studying from home or abroad, UGA
Well-being Resources are here to help.

ˆ Well-being Resources: https://well-being.uga.edu

ˆ Student Care and Outreach: https://sco.uga.edu
ˆ University Health Center: https://healthcenter.uga.edu
ˆ Counseling and Psychiatric Services: https://caps.uga.edu or CAPS 24/7 crisis
support at 706-542-2273
ˆ Health Promotion/Fontaine Center: https://healthpromotion.uga.edu
ˆ Disability Resource Center and Testing Services: https://drc.uga.edu

Additional information, including free digital well-being resources, can be accessed through
the UGA app or by visiting https://well-being.uga.edu.
Disclaimer: The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to
the class by the instructor may be necessary.