SMU Honors Physics Section

SMU Department of Physics
FALL 2021

Professor Stephen Sekula

SMU Physics Honors Section – FALL 2021

Syllabus for Honors Physics
General Information
The Honors Physics Section is intended to provide honors students with additional activities,
information, and challenges to allow them to broaden and deepen their physics knowledge while
concurrently taking the introductory physics course sequence. The framework of this syllabus isintended to allow honors students to go above and beyond the normal classroom environment
without creating a huge additional burden on the students. Honors students should be looking togo a little further than non-honors students, and this syllabus reflects that.
Participants in the Honors Physics Section will engage in the following activities each semester:
••

•

•

They will use class time to engage in learning exercises that synthesize information fromthe 130X introductory physics courses, allowing them to find more breadth and depth in
the subject of physics.
They will have access to expertise from outside the classroom environment, including
faculty, staff, and students from SMU and other institutions, as well as individuals with aphysics background working in private industry. The goal here is to enrich their learning
environment by giving them direct access to experts at various levels of the field.
They will engage in a coherent, semester-long project. Preparing for, and delivering, thisproject will be the focus of various activities throughout the semester. Honors students will
be expected to learn to present their work to an audience, including (but not limited to)their peers in the Honors Physics Section.
Students will pass or fail the section based on an assessment of their work andparticipation, to be determined by the instructor.

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SMU Physics Honors Section – FALL 2021

Honors Physics Section - FALL 2021
Professor Stephen Sekula(Learning Assistant: TBD)
Students will engage in a semester-long “Grand Challenge” problem-solving exercise. This willdefine the arc of the semester, setting the tone for planning out classroom activities and eventually
defining the deliverable at the end of the course. In between class periods relevant to thedevelopment of solutions to the Grand Challenge Problem, the students will be engaged indemonstrations of physics principles and exercises to explore these demonstrations. These classperiods will follow a pattern consistent with the scientific method: observation of a physicalphenomenon, hypothesis building to explain the phenomenon, and calculation and testing toassess the hypothesis. The details of this program are given below. Taking into accountThanksgiving in the Fall and Spring Break in the Spring, each semester has 14 weeks in which aclassroom period or activity of the Honors Physics Section is possible.

Plan of Activities
CLASS PERIODACTIVITY

1Introduction to the Honors Physics Section

2

Team and Scenario Assignment: Physics Game Night

3

Interactive Activity #1

4

First “Honors Collaboration Meeting”
Presentation of the three ideas on outcomes of the premise in theGrand Challenge Problem

5

How to Present Your Findings

6Interactive Activity #2

7

Interactive Activity #3

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SMU Physics Honors Section – FALL 2021
8

Second “Honors Collaboration Meeting”
Presentation of status of solutions to the Grand Challenge
Problem, including first draft of your project media.

9Honors Physics Hack-a-Thon

10

Interactive Activity #4

11

Interactive Activity #5

12

Third “Honors Collaboration Meeting”
Final presentations of status of solutions to the Grand Challenge
Problem, including project media drafts.

13

PHYSICS DISCUSSION WEEK
(Each team meets with the instructors for 1 hour at a mutually
determined time during the week. This substitutes for the
regular class period)

14

Final Projects Due for Presentation and Evaluation

Assessment
Student performance for Honors Credit will be assessed as follows:••••

Participation in weekly classroom meetings
Quality of presentations at “Honors Collaboration Meetings”
Quality of final project media
Quality of engagement with the audience for your final project.

This course is pass/fail, but the determination of “passing” or “failing” is determined from thenumerical grade you accumulate during the term. A final grade of C- (70%) or better is a “pass,”
while anything less than that is a “fail”.
There is a 10% professionalism grade in this course which is tied to adherence to classroom
etiquette, including the wearing of masks to protect oneself and others from SARS-CoV-2 during
the ongoing pandemic.
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SMU Physics Honors Section – FALL 2021

Grade Components
Class Activities and Participation

55%Honors Physics Collaboration Meetings 10%Honors Physics Final Project25%

Overall Professionalism

10%

Total

100%

The Grand Challenge Problem
The focal event of each semester is the solving of a “Grand Challenge” problem. This is a physics
problem with no textbook solution. Rather, you will draw upon your own creativity, informed by
the principles of physics you are learning in PHYS 130X, to address the question in as detailed amanner as possible. You will be assessed on:••••

your incremental progress on developing answers to the question (see below);
the creativity, originality, or novelty of the ideas that lead to your final answers;
your ability to investigate the ideas through physics calculations and supporting material;
and the reliability and accuracy of your calculations.

This is not purely a storytelling process; rather, you will engage in a mathematical and physicalexercise where the math speaks, and you will describe what it says. The Grand Challenge process
and solution will build gradually over the semester, woven into the fabric of the Honors Physics
Section.
The Grand Challenge will be a team exercise1. You will be randomly assembled into teams at thebeginning of the semester. Your team will be expected to meet at least once a week outside of classto discuss the Grand Challenge and, in particular, how what you have learned that week might beused to explore a consequence of the theme of the Grand Challenge. Your team will report thestatus of your work (each individual presenting a brief, 5-minute overview of their status) at the“Honors Collaboration Meetings” - periods of in-class time (see schedule) devoted entirely to a1 Depending on the number of students in the Honors Physics Section, we will revisit this aspect of the GrandChallenge Problem.

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SMU Physics Honors Section – FALL 2021
public airing of progress. Members of other teams are free to ask questions and offer suggestions
or criticism of presented work. In addition, one of our week's will be devoted to in-depth
discussions on the physics principles and details; these discussions will happen outside of classtime (instead of class period) between each team and the instructors. This entire exercise is tomodel how real, collaborative, scientific work, as well as peer review, operates in the real world.
A separate and detailed explanation of the entire Grand Challenge exercise will be made available
by the instructor.

Classroom Mask Policy
Masks are required in this course. This masking requirement is subject to change during thesemester, and any changes will be announced in class, posted clearly in Canvas, and updated in thesyllabus.
Mask wearing in this class is included in the expectations of professionalism within a culture ofrespect, such that failure to follow this classroom requirement would negatively impact the overall
professionalism/participation grade for up to 10% of the final course grade.

University Honor CodeThe student Honor Code2 can be found in the SMU Student Handbook 3. All students will be
expected to adhere to it. Any student found cheating or plagiarizing any other person’s work will
be given a zero for that work and an academic violation will be filed through the Vice President
for Student Affairs Office. If you are uncertain of the definition of plagiarism as it regards
independentworks

ofmathematicalandphysicalcomputation,documentation,anddemonstration, it is your responsibility to speak with the instructor and understand these rules.

Title IX and Disability Accommodations
2 http://www.smu.edu/StudentAffairs/StudentLife/StudentHandbook/HonorCode
3 http://www.smu.edu/StudentAffairs/StudentLife/StudentHandbook

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SMU Physics Honors Section – FALL 2021
DisabilityAccommodations

Students who need academic accommodations for a disability must first registerwith Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies (DASS). Students cancall 214-768-1470 or visit http://www.smu.edu/Provost/SASP/DASS to begin
the process. Once they are registered and approved, students then submit aDASS Accommodation Letter through the electronic portal, DASS Link, andthen communicate directly with each of their instructors to make appropriatearrangements. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, but ratherrequire advance notice in order to implement.
SexualAll forms of sexual harassment, including sexual assault, dating violence,
Harassment
domestic violence and stalking, are violations of SMU’s Title IX Sexual
Harassment Policy and may also violate Texas law. Students who wish to file acomplaint or to receive more information about the grievance process maycontact
SamanthaThomas,
SMU’sTitleIX
Coordinator,
at accessequity@smu.edu or 214-768-3601. Please note that faculty aremandatory reporters. If students notify faculty of sexual harassment, facultymust report it to the Title IX Coordinator. For more information about sexualharassment, including resources available to assist students, please visit
www.smu.edu/sexualmisconduct.
Pregnant
and Under Title IX, students who are pregnant or parenting may request academic
Parentingadjustments by contacting Elsie Johnson (elsiej@smu.edu) in the Office of theStudents
Dean of Students, or by calling 214-768-4564. Students seeking assistancemust schedule an appointment with their professors as early as possible, present
a letter from the Office of the Dean of Students, and make appropriatearrangements. Please note that academic adjustments are not retroactive and,
when feasible, require advance notice to implement.

SMU Requirements
Religious
Observance

Religiously observant students wishing to be absent on holidays that
require missing class should notify their professors in writing at thebeginning of the semester and should discuss with them, in advance,
acceptable ways of making up any work missed because of the absence.
Click here for a list of holidays.
COVID-19 and Students who test positive for COVID-19 and need to isolate, or who
Other Medical- are notified of potential exposure, must follow SMU’s Contact Tracing
Related Absences Protocol. To ensure academic continuity and avoid any course penalties,
students should follow the same procedures described by their instructors as
they would for any other medical-related absence in order to be provided withappropriate modifications to assignments, deadlines, and exams.
Excused Absences Students participating in an officially sanctioned, scheduled universityforUniversity extracurricular activity should be given the opportunity to make up class7SMU Physics Honors Section – FALL 2021
ExtracurricularActivities

Final Exams

assignments or other graded assignments that were missed as a result oftheir participation. It is the responsibility of the student to makearrangements for make-up work with the instructor prior to any missedscheduled examinations or other missed assignments. (See 2020-2021
SMU Undergraduate Catalog under “Enrollment and Academic
Records/Excused Absences.”)
Final course examinations shall be given in all courses where appropriate, andsome form of final assessment is essential. Final exams and assessments must beadministered as specified in the official examination schedule. Exams cannot be
administered or due during the last week of classes or during the Reading
Period. Syllabi must state clearly the form of the final exam or assessment, andthe due date and time must match the official SMU exam schedule. Final exams
are not required to be provided online.

Student Support
Student
Students needing assistance with writing assignments for SMU courses may
Academic Success schedule an appointment with the Writing Center through Canvas. Students
Programs
who would like support for subject-specific tutoring or success strategies
should contact SASP, Loyd All Sports Center, Suite 202; 214-768-3648;
https://www.smu.edu/sasp.
Caring
CCC is a resource for anyone in the SMU community to refer students ofCommunity
concern to the Office of the Dean of Students. The online referral form can beConnections
found at smu.edu/deanofstudentsccc. After a referral form is submitted, students
Programwill be contacted to discuss the concern, strategize options, and be connected toappropriate resources. Anyone who is unclear about what steps to take if they
have concerns about students should either consult the CCC Reference Guide orcontact the Office of the Dean of Students at 214-768-4564.

Additional Policies
CampusLaw

Carry In accordance with Texas Senate Bill 11, also known as the ‘campus carry’ law,and following consultation with entire University community, SMU chooses toremain a weapons-free campus. Specifically, SMU prohibits possession ofweapons (either openly or in a concealed manner) on campus. For more
information,pleasesee:
http://www.smu.edu/BusinessFinance/Police/Weapons_Policy.

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SMU Physics Honors Section – FALL 2021

I-M-A Physicist
An Approach to Active Peer Learning
In this course, your are dropped into situations involving one or more physical phenomena andexpected to explore, play, hypothesize, test, and share your results. These are the core traits of agood scientist. To help guide this process, which otherwise might lead you nowhere, please try toimplement in some form the “I-M-A Physicist” approach in your group. Your groups typicallycontain 3 people. In the case that there are exactly three people, you should designate one person
to fulfill each of the following roles in the group:•(I)nquirer: this person asks questions about the phenomena, intended to inspire the othermembers of the team to take a step in inquiry. When another member of a team has drawn
a conclusion, the inquirer might ask a challenge question. For instance, if the phenomenon
demonstrated in the class is that two objects of different mass, dropped at the same timefrom the same height, are observed to reach the ground at the same time, an opening
inquiry might be:◦ “I wonder whether the material that makes the objects has any effect on the outcome?”•(M)easurer: this person’s job is to perform a measurement (or if more than one person isneeded for measurement, coordinate the measurement between people) intended to gather
data that addresses an inquiry. In the example above, the measurer’s job is to response to
the inquirer by proposing that different materials be dropped, whether of the same mass as
one another or of different masses. The measurer’s job is to make sure the materials reallydo start at the same height, and to record (e.g. using a camera phone) the moment when
they reach the ground. Measurement can take many forms: a meter stick and marked
paper, a video, an audio recording, etc. Be creative! Use the tools you have in your pocket,
or ask for tools you do not have.

•(A)nalyst: this person’s job is to take the data from the measurer and draw conclusions
from it. Conclusions should be rooted in the data; no conclusion not supported by thedata should be drawn. Perhaps this is by watching a video or listening to an audio
recording, and stating a conclusion (or more than one) from what is recorded. Perhaps thisis by reading marks made using a pencil and meter stick, or time measurements recorded ina chart. Data takes many forms, and the Analyst’s job is to determine what the data are
9SMU Physics Honors Section – FALL 2021
saying.
Inquiry, Measurement, and Analysis (IMA) are core to the progress of knowledge using thescientific method. This way of thinking about roles in a team-based exercise can help guide you in
learning how to conduct each step. In a real-world situation, each scientist is expected to conduct
inquiry, measurement, and analysis, either by themselves or as part of a team.
If there are MORE than 3 team members, the others in the group can help with measurement
and other activities, but at least one of them should be designated as a dedicated “opponent”:•(O)pponent: this person’s job is to challenge, in a constructive manner, any assumptions
that are implicit in inquiry, measurement, or analysis, and to offer alternative explanationsof the data that might be consistent with the data but not considered by the othermembers of the team. To be constructive, the opponent should not merely stand in theway of assumptions or conclusions, but offer a selection of next steps to eliminate or verify
their opposition.

If there are only three members, all three team members should take the role of the Opponent
after a round of Inquiry-Measurement-Analysis has concluded. Challenging assumptions andconclusions are essential to the progress of science; what differentiates science from other humanendeavors is that a scientific opponent offers in return the test that verifies or refutes theirchallenge, and accepts the result of their proposed test (even if it dis-confirms their challenge),
regardless of its outcome.

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SMU Physics Honors Section – FALL 2021

GRAND CHALLENGE PROBLEM(FALL 2021)

Photo by Alison Wang on Unsplash

That can't be right. Or can it? And what if it were right?
Use what you have learned/are learning in introductory physics courses to assess
three possible aspects of a cartoon, including the implications of the depiction ofphysics being correct or incorrect and what would be expected in the real world.

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