Abington Heights School District

Science Department

Physics Level – 2

Mr. Vannan

Course Overview:  Physics Level - 2 is a rigorous full-year course in introductory Physics.  The course consists of two basic components, lecture and laboratory.  The laboratory activities are designed as an essential extenuation of the lecture material.  Topics covered will be taken, typically in order, from the course text.  Please refer to the school district curriculum guide for more detailed information concerning topics covered.  As the year progresses, all relevant material is made available on Mr. Vannan’s Physics Level – 2 web page.

Course Components:

Lecture:  Students are expected to be prepared for lecture every day.  To be considered prepared, you are to possess a textbook, a writing utensil, a calculator, and a notebook.

Laboratory:  Each six day cycle students will have two scheduled lab periods.  Selected lab periods will be dedicated to experimentation.  Other lab periods will be dedicated to group or independent problem solving.  At the instructor’s discretion, some lab periods may be utilized for further lecture time. 

Evaluations: 

Homework:  The completion of homework is necessary for success in this class.  Not all homework assignments will be collected for assessment; however homework assignments will be reviewed during the class period in which they are due.  At the end of each chapter, students will be asked to compile and submit selected problems from the chapter for a homework grade. 

Quizzes:  Quizzes will consist of any combination of work-out problems, multiple choice, short answer or essay questions.  Quizzes may not always be announced ahead of time.

Exams:  Exams may be all multiple choice, all long answer (work out problems or essay), or a combination of both.  Exams may contain information related to laboratory exercises.  Exams will be announced at least three days (weekend days are counted in this number) prior to the exam.  If a student is absent the day or two days prior to a scheduled exam, he/she will be required to take the exam.  This includes extracurricular activity absences.  Only in exceptional cases (to be determined by the instructor) will a student be allowed to reschedule an exam.

            Textbooks or notebooks will never be permitted open during an exam.  Any necessary formulae or data will be provided in the exam or on the blackboard.  All a student will need to complete an exam is a pencil/eraser and a calculator.  When necessary, scrap paper will be provided by the instructor and collected with the exam.

Mid-term Exam:  A mid-term exam covering approximately the first half of the year will be given near the end of the second marking period.  All information for the exam will be on the course web page and on the community portal.

Final Exam:  The final exam will include material covered after the mid-term exam.  The mid-term exam grade and the final exam grade affect the student’s cumulative average as outlined by the district.  Senior exemption from the final exam will also follow district protocol.  As with the mid-term, all information for the exam will be on the course web page and on the community portal.

Laboratory:  Evaluation of laboratory participation will generally consist of a lab hand-out to be completed and turned in as indicated by the instructor.  It may be required that each member of the class completes this handout or that a group of students complete this handout.  At the instructor’s discretion, some labs may require a formal lab report as completed in previous science classes.

Make-up Policy:  In the event of an absence, students are required to make up any missed exams, quizzes, or laboratory experiments.  Exams and quizzes must be made up on the first day a student returns to class after a missed evaluation.  Make-up exams and quizzes may or may not be identical to the original.  Missed homework assignments also need to be brought to the attention of the instructor immediately after a student’s return.  Students are also required to obtain any missed notes/lecture materials from a competent peer.  Any work not made up will be recorded as a zero.  Any arrangements other than the aforementioned are left to the discretion of the instructor.

Grading:  Each assignment, quiz, exam, or laboratory experiment will be worth a to-be-determined amount of points.  At the end of the each marking period the number of points obtained by the student will be divided by the maximum number of points it would be possible to obtain.  The outcome, multiplied by 100, will be the student’s grade.

Example:

Final Average:

74/80 * 100 = 92.5%

Course Website:  The course website is updated daily and includes important information about class, including assignments, due dates, daily recaps, review sheets, and lab exercises. 

http://www.ahsd.org/science/vannan/