Course Syllabus

Please see the course homepage for logistics and timeline.

Instructor: Pete Schwartz, Pete's Webpage, pschwart@calpoly.edu, x6-1220

Text: We will use prepared videos and online reading. We will also make some use of a textbook: Physics of Societal Issues: Calculations on National Security, Environment, and Energy, 2nd edition, David Hafemeister, Springer 2014, copyrighted for public use!, So you can buy it, or download it for free here. The author, "DH," was a Cal Poly physics professor and good friend. He taught his last class with me at age 81, PHYS-310, in 2015,  He left us spring of 2023.  

Grading: You will be graded based on watching the videos, weekly assessments, homework, and a group project to be presented during final exam time.  There are two grades: your performance grade, and your participation grade.  Your performance grade will be 60% your assessment/final exam scores, and 40% your project score.  The final exam is only 30% of the exam score, but it replaces any assessment is higher than, so it can count for much more.  For your participation grade, you are expected to responsibly watch videos and and attempt HW problems best you can in order to stay up with the class and participate fully... if not, your the performance grade will be lowered (explained below). The class is not competitive and I would like to see everyone earn an "A". However, I expect that the final distribution will be "A-" or "B+" centered.

Assessments: We have short weekly assessments every Thursday. Thursday of week 10, there will be a longer "final assessment" that will be substituted for previous assessments that are lower, so missing or bombing assessments will not appreciably affect your grade. Assessment questions will be cumulative, covering all previous material, but likely more heavily weighted toward the most recent homework assignment. The last assessment during finals week will be longer and draw more heavily on project presentations during the final week of class. The final assessment will count as one regular assessment, but will also replace all previous assessment grades that are lower.

Homework: We'll have weekly homework assignments due Tuesday before class. Solutions will be posted after Tuesday's class. Homework will be graded and recorded, counted as participation, and hopefully guarantees spirited discussion on Tuesdays.

Grading: homework and assessments are graded A=4,B=3,C=2,D=1,F=0. So, a "2" does not mean 50% or failing.  A grade of 2 is a "C".

24-hour policies:

1) I can change an assignment as late as 24 hours before it is due.  Anything I add after that is not required.  Hence, if you prepare for class days beforehand, please check the assignments the day before class.  This being said, I make every effort to plan class on longer time scales.

2) You can receive your graded assessments as soon as 24 hours after you take them.

3) I will not speak with you about your graded assessments for 24 hours after you receive the graded assessment.  However, you should talk to others about the graded assessment.  

Projects: You will research an energy problem and solution in a group of 3-4 students.  You are also invited to build something like a working fusion reactor, if you like. These can also be open-ended "service learning" projects whereby you engage with an outside community or "client". Thus quantitative project requirements are not possible. You will independently research and learn about your project area. You will professionally communicate with your community and/or other student groups in this class or students in my appropriate technology class, or research students. Your group will build a professional website and make a professional presentation during finals week. You will gain some real world information and teach us some interesting things we don't know already. You will make recommendations as to how the project should continue or not continue. You may "succeed" or "fail". A valiant failure with reflection will receive high acclaim. You will have some feedback along the way from your website preparation.  The bar for the projects is very "middle". Rather than strive for excellence, we strive for "goodness". I will inquire into your group to verify that your participation was supportive and helpful... that you did your part in the group. 

Preparing for Class (Videos and Reading) -A Big Part of your Grade: It is imperative that we come to class prepared. You are required to watch videos on WeVideo, and read, providing a reflection on the discussion board before each class. Please prepare on time for every class. For videos, you need to answer all the questions (but you don't need to answer correctly) and watch until the end for full credit. For reading, you have to leave at least one interesting statement and respond to someone else's statement, at least one hour before class, so I can read through them before class.  If you do 90% of the preparation on time, then your final grade will be calculated as above. However, if your participation is less than 90%, your final grade will be lowered by twice the % your preparation is less than 90%. So if you have 75% participation, your grade will be docked (90% - 75%)*2 = 0.3, which is the difference between an "A" and an "A-" on our 4-point scale. If you don't prepare for class at all, but get an "A" on all your assessments, your final grade will be a "C"... please prepare for class.

Idea Sheets:
You will estimate answers best you can.  You are welcome to build your own idea sheet provided it has no more than 50 hand-written ideas. An average drawing is worth 5 ideas. I recommend that you start an idea sheet now and add information as it appears in the videos, while dropping old information you don't need anymore.

Calculators:
Please don't use calculators for homework or assessments.  We will estimate answers.  Most everything we calculate will be good for +/- 20%.  For the few activities that require precision, you can build an Excel spreadsheet or use some kind of software.

My Commitment to You: I will do my best to provide you with a planned structure, resources, and activities to learn. I will accept you as an adult and accept your decisions with respect to our class. I will evaluate you only on criteria that I find foundational (to communicate energy concepts and how they affect our lives) allowing you the freedom to learn in a manner that you enjoy. I will do my best to understand your professed needs and help you the best way I know.

My Expectations from You: I expect that you will make decisions consistent with your best interest and your values, and that you will accept accountability for these decisions. I also expect that we will all will work toward the well being of our community. I expect that you will respect my time and make the best use of our time together by coming to class prepared. My intention is to help you learn from the resources around you: textbooks, online media, and each other. I ask you to record your questions while you study. I expect to start class with questions related to the reading and videos. If you have a question, please ask it after you have addressed the related resource (video or reading) and consulted others in your group.

Competition: Your performance will be graded not against each other, but rated against the criteria established above. You are not in competition. My experience is and studies show that everyone learns better if we help each other.