Syllabus

Physical Science Syllabus

Instructor: Amber Allshouse, Room 312, aallshouse@dis.or.kr

Class Times: Green Days, 11:00 – 12:25 pm

Textbook: Frank, Jones, Little and Miller – Prentice Hall Physical Science, Pearson: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2009

Course Description: In this science explorer course students will develop and expand understanding of the chemical, physical, and biological environment. Students will learn chemical building blocks and interactions as well as the properties of motion, forces, and energy. This course also covers the topics of electricity and magnetism, characteristics of waves and sound, and the electromagnetic spectrum and light.

Attendance Policy: Regular attendance of this class is expected to perform satisfactorily; excessive absences will make it difficult for students to complete the course to its fullest. Students are expected to arrive to class on time and prepared. Also, if a student knows ahead of time about an absence, they should meet with me to find out what work needs to be done when they return to the class.

Grading Policy: Grades will be assigned based upon completion of daily homework, quizzes, projects and tests. The grading scale is as follows: 93 – 100% = A, 85- 92% = B, 75 – 84% = C, 70 – 74% = D, any grade 69% or below is an F. Student’s grades will be determined as follows: class participation 10%, daily homework 20%, quizzes 30%, projects and tests 40%. Semester grades will be determined by adding quarter one and quarter 2 or quarter 3 and quarter 4; (Q1 + Q2) or (Q3 + Q4) = 100%.

Cheating/Plagiarism Policy: Cheating will not be accepted, if a student is caught cheating they will receive a zero on the assignment. The same is said for plagiarism which means copying another student’s work and calling it their own.

Late Work Policy: Late work will be docked ten points a day, unless you have an excused absence (see absence policy), and will not be accepted after 2 weeks from the original due date. Students need to attach a late work slip to their assignment or it will not be accepted. There will be exceptions made for extenuating circumstances.

Makeup Policy: Students that miss a class are expected to make up the work missed. It is a student’s responsibility to meet with me outside of class to determine what work needs to be done. Some assignments may not be able to be made up, such as: group projects or lab activities

Retake Policy: Any student that receives an F will have the opportunity to request a makeup quiz or test. To retake an assignment it is the student’s responsibility to meet me with me to determine an appropriate time within 3 class periods of the original quiz or test. Students that retake an assignment can raise their grade up to a 75 which is a C.

Additional Assistance: Additional assistance is available from me during my learning lab on green days at 1:05 – 2:30 pm as well as on Mondays from 2:30 to 5pm. If a student requires a different time they may e-mail me or set up a time that I can meet with them to provide assistance. If a student wants to meet in the morning they must email me before 7pm that night.

Homework: Students can expect homework every class period; this homework is expected to be attempted fully. If there are problems that students do not know, they should write them on their homework paper and bring them into class where we will go over the problems. Students should not ever leave an entire homework assignment blank; they should at least attempt the homework. Homework will be posted daily on the classroom blog. To get the homework go to blogger.com and type in DISPhysicalScience into the search bar.

Supply List:• No. 2 Pencils
• Erasers (at least 1 spare)
• Loose Leaf College Ruled Paper
• 3 Ring Binder
• Ruler/Straight Edge
• Calculator

Topics:• Chemical Building Blocks
• Motion, Forces, and Energy
• Sound and Light
• Electricity and Magnetism