Lecture Policies for Natural Sciences 105
9:30-10:45 TTH FCR 202
| Textbook | Course Goals | Attendance | Lecture Exams | Term Paper |
| Quizes | Homework | Extra Credit |
Laboratory | Grading | Cheating |
REQUIRED TEXT:
The Physical Sciences: An Integrated Approach, 2nd Edition, by Trefil and Hazen, 1997. If you can't find it under NSc 105, look under Planetary Sciences 105a.
COURSE GOALS:
Allow you to become part of a scientifically literate citizenry. After this class you should be able to read and understand popular (newspaper, magazine) coverage of discoveries in such fields as physics, chemistry, geology and astronomy. You should gain an understanding that a few universal laws describe the behavior of the physical world. You will learn about Newton's laws, atomic structure, the evolution of stars, and geology. We will continually stress how these topics are important, and relevant, in your everyday lives.
ATTENDANCE:
Attendance in lecture is required. Exams emphasize material covered in lecture as well as the text. Your ability to earn a high grade depends on attending lectures, taking good notes, and doing the required reading.
LECTURE EXAMS:
Three exams are scheduled on the dates shown on the Class Schedule. The first two exams (midterms) are each worth 100 points and the final exam, worth 200 points, is cumulative. Make-up exams will only be given in exceptional situations and must be cleared ahead of time. Exams will emphasize a general
understanding of the topic, rather than memorization of lots of details. Exams may include short-answer, multiple-choice, true-false, diagram-type and essay questions. Exams will include at least 10% from the text, but not covered in class. There is a formal procedure to follow if you have questions about how your exam was graded.
TERM PAPER:
An 8-10 page, double spaced term paper, worth 100 points, is required for this course. We will help you select a topic. Grading is based both on content and form (use a spell-checker!). It is due 21 April.
QUIZZES:
There will be a quiz at the beginning of every lecture on the assigned reading material. The quiz scores during the semester will be added together and have the same weight as a midterm exam (i.e., 100 points).
HOMEWORK:
There will be approximately six homework (or special activity) assignments, each worth 25 points. The best four will be combined into a single Homework score out of 100 possible points.
EXTRA CREDIT:
There will be several opportunities to earn extra credit points during the semester. Possibilities include giving in-class presentations, a possible field trip, service at the Gem and Mineral Show, and writing reports/proposals on physical-science relevant topics. You will be allowed to earn up to 70 extra credit points, where each extra credit point counts the same as an exam point. More details later.
LABORATORY:
There is no required lab for this course, although we will try and construct some hands-on experiences for you. For those needing/wanting a lab, we recommend GEOS 103 (Intro to Geosciences Lab).
| Two Midterm Exams, 100 points each, | 200 | |||
| Final Exam (cumulative) | 200 | |||
| Homework | 100 | |||
| Quizzes | 100 | |||
| Term Paper | 100 | |||
| | ||||
| Total | 700 |
Extra credit points are added to your total. They can add 10% (or one full grade!) to your total.
Your grade for the course will then be given based on the following:
| 630 or more | = | A |
| 560 to 629 | = | B |
| 490 to 559 | = | C |
| 420 to 489 | = | D |
| less than 360 | = | E |
DON'T DO IT! Cheating is any attempt to represent someone else's work (on exams, quizzes, the term paper, extra credit reports, etc.) as your own. Cheating can result in a failing grade for this course and expulsion from the University. Refer to the Code of Academic Integrity, which is posted in the Learning Center (Gould-Simpson 205) and is available in the Geosciences Main Office (Gould-Simpson 208). We operate on the honor system.