Nova Southeastern University

Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences

Division of Math, Science, and Technology
Course Syllabus (Winter 2014)
Last Date Revised: 12/02/2014
I. COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE:
Winter 2014
01/06/2014 05/01/2014
PHYS 2400 Physics I/Lab
CRN 31965
Lecture (Parker 201) M: 6-8:30 pm
Lab (Parker 345): W: 6-8:45 pm
II. INSTRUCTOR:
Jose E. Diaz, Ph.D.
Phone:
E-Mail: jd1428@nova.edu
Office Hours: by appt
Divisional contact: Dr. Reza Razeghifard, (954) 262-8333 razeghif@nova.edu.
III. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Basic principles of mechanics, including vectors, force, equilibrium, displacement,
velocity, acceleration, mass, Newton's Laws, work energy, gravitation, momentum,
rotational motion, mechanics of systems of particles and rigid bodies. Includes laboratory
sessions. This course has been exempted from the requirements of the Writing Across the
Curriculum policy. Prerequisite: MATH 2200.
IV. LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of the course, the student should be able to:
1. Use calculus and the basic concepts of mechanics, such as energy,
momentum, force, torque, and wave motion to solve simple mechanical
problems.
2. Use calculus and the basic concepts of fluid mechanics, including pressure,
density, and volume flow to solve fluid problems.
3. Apply calculus and thermodynamic concepts such as heat, internal energy,
temperature, thermal conduction, and entropy to thermodynamic problems,
especially to problems involving ideal gases.
V. REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS:

Physics For Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics, by Douglas Giancoli,
4th ed., Prentice Hall (ISBN: 978-0-13-149508-1); Basic Theory and Experiments
in Physics, 4th ed., by Castano and Simon, Kendall-Hunt Publishing (ISBN: 9780-7575-5132-1).
A scientific calculator is required and may be used for all assignments and tests.
The calculator should have scientific notation, trigonometric functions,
exponential and logarithm capability.

VI. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES:

Classroom etiquette: no cell phone use (cell phone silcenced and put away), no
laptops, no recordings.
Attendance and punctuality: Required.
Homework will be assigned every class. In order to keep up with the class you
should do the homework before the beginning of the next class meeting. Keep all
of your homework in a portfolio.
Short in-class or online quizzes and surveys will be given.
Exams: Two midterms and a final.
The final exam is not comprehensive. It will be based on the new material
covered since the previous exam and the chapters on Newtons Laws and Energy.
If you miss a midterm exam (with a valid documented reason), a comprehensive
final will be substituted for the missed midterm and the final exam.
If you miss both midterms (for whatever reason) you will receive a failing grade
in the course.
If you miss the final exam (for whatever reason) you will receive a failing grade
in the course.
VII. COURSE SCHEDULE AND TOPIC OUTLINE:
Class schedule subject to modification, but not without prior notification.
o 01/06/2014: Measurement, Math review, and Kinematics
o 01/13/2014: Kinematics and Vectors
o 01/20/2014: Holiday
o 01/27/2014: Vectors, Newtons Laws I
o 02/03/2014: Exam I, Newtons Laws II
o 02/10/2014: Gravitation, Work, and Energy
o 02/17/2014: Conservation of Energy
o 02/24/2014: Midterm week
o 03/03/2014: Spring break
o 03/10/2014: Momentum, Conservation of Momentum
o 03/17/2014: Rotational Motion, Torque
o 03/24/2014: Exam II, Equilibrium
o 03/31/2014: Fluids
o 04/07/2014: Oscillations, Wave motion, and Sound
o 04/14/2014: Temperature and Kinetic Theory of gases
o 04/21/2014: Laws of Thermodynamics

-------------: Final Exam (http://fcas.nova.edu/coursewizard/crninfo.cfm?

txtTerm=201430&txtCRN=31965

Schedule of Physics I Experiments

Winter 2014
Lab. No.

Week of
Jan 6

Exp. No.

Page No.*

Title/Topic
No physics labs

Jan 13
Jan 20

1.01

Measurement
No physics labs

Jan 27

1.02

3
4

Feb 3
Feb 10

1.03
1.04

11
16

Feb 17
Feb 24

1.05

21

Acceleration due
to Gravity
Vectors
Newtons 2nd
Law
Energy
No physics labs

Mar 3
6
Mar 10
1.06
25
7
Mar 17
1.07
29
8
Mar 24
1.08
33
9
Mar 31
1.09
38
10
Apr 7
1.10
45
* Page numbers refer to lab instructions handout for general physics.

No physics labs
Momentum
Torque
Buoyancy
Ideal Gas Law
Calorimetry

VIII. GRADING CRITERIA:

The lecture grade is 80% of the overall grade and the lab grade is the other 20%.
The lecture grade is based on the exams and the online surveys and quizzes.
The exams count as 90% of the lecture grade and the surveys and quizzes as the
other 10%.
All 3 exams are equally weighted
Overall grading scale:
A: 93-100 A-: 85-92
B+: 81-84 B: 77-80 ... B-: 75-76
C+: 71-74 C: 67-70 C-: 65-66
D+: 62-64 D: 60-61 F: 0-59
IX: COLLEGE-WIDE POLICY STATEMENTS
A. Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct appears in a variety of
forms (including plagiarism). It is a violation of NSU academic policy and
may be punished in a variety of ways, from failing the assignment and/or
the entire course to academic probation, suspension or expulsion. If you
have questions about what constitutes academic misconduct before
handing in an assignment, see your instructor. For more information

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

regarding academic misconduct policies, see the NSU Undergraduate

Student Catalog (http://www.fcas.nova.edu/catalog/20102011catalog.pdf).
Writing across the Curriculum: Each undergraduate course includes
written assignments, in the language of instruction, that make up at least
25% of the final course grade. Each course contains at least eight (8) pages
(approximately 2,000 words or their equivalent) of writing, with faculty
providing feedback on these assignments. Written assignments can include
(but are not limited to) the following: essays, summaries, memos, lesson
plans, journal entries, lab reports, project proposals, progress reports, case
studies and project reviews.
Last Day to Withdraw: To withdraw from a course, it is not sufficient
simply to stop attending class or to inform the instructor of your intention
to withdraw. In accordance with college policy, contact your adviser to
begin the withdrawal process. The last day to withdraw from this
course may be viewed at
http://www.fcas.nova.edu/calendars/Winter2011.cfm
Email Policy: All email communications between students and faculty
must be conducted via NSU email accounts. This requirement will assist
NSU in communicating more effectively and protecting your privacy.
Emails sent to faculty from non-NSU accounts will be returned to the
sender with instructions to resend the communication from your NSU
account. To set up an NSU email account or to get help with an existing
account, go to http://www.nova.edu/cwis/oit/stuservices.html . Also, the
computer help desk is available to assist you with questions regarding
your NSU email account. It can be reached at 954-262-HELP or 1-800541-6682, ext. HELP (4357).
Student Course Evaluations: Student comment and feedback evaluating
each college class is an important tool to evaluate program effectiveness.
Participation in this process is a responsibility of each student. The
university uses electronic evaluations that are completed online. It is
important to the faculty and administration that students complete the
online evaluation of each course. Students will be notified via NSU email
accounts when the evaluation web link is opened (approximately the nextto-last week of the course). At the completion of the term and after
instructors submit grades, instructors will receive an anonymous summary
of the entire classs evaluation. Student names or ID numbers cannot be
identified. The course evaluation website can be found here:
https://www.nova.edu/sbin/evaluations/oce-get-nsuid.cgi.
Student Responsibility for Course Prerequisites: Students are
responsible to have satisfied all published prerequisites for this class.
Please review the prerequisites and discuss any questions with your
instructor and/or your academic advisor.

Additional Academic Resources: Nova Southeastern University offers a

variety of resources that may aid in student success. Among these resources
are:
G. Accommodations for students with documented disabilities. For more
information about ADA policy, services, and procedures, students may
call the Office of Student Disability Services at 954-262-7189 or visit
http://www.nova.edu/disabilityservices.
H. Free tutoring services. Students are encouraged to use the free tutoring
services offered by the Office of Academic Services (OAS). OAS
provides a supportive atmosphere in which tutors and students work
collaboratively on improving students writing, math, and/or science
skills. For more information, students may visit
http://www.fcas.nova.edu/academicservices/ or call OAS at (954) 2628350.
I. Student Success Portal. All undergraduate students and faculty are
encouraged to utilize the Student Success Portal to locate information
about university-wide resources designed to promote student success. The
Student Success Portal can be accessed at
http://www.nova.edu/studentsuccess.