Course Syllabus

Fall 2026 | PHY-1041-VO01 - Physics I

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Albert Cordes
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Ryan Joy

General Education Requirements

Natural Science

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course provides insight into how basic physics principles are used and applied. Students develop practical problem-solving and analytical thinking skills as applied to Newtonian mechanics, energy, fluids, and the mechanical properties of matter. Includes a laboratory. Prerequisite: College Algebra. Pre-Calculus Mathematics is strongly recommended.

Essential Objectives

1. Define and apply basic problem-solving techniques.
2. Describe scalar and vector quantities, the components of a vector, and employ vector addition both graphically and analytically.
3. Explain kinematics in one and two dimensions (velocity, acceleration, and displacement) and apply to problem-solving.
4. Identify the relationship between force and motion as defined by Newton's first, second, and third laws, and apply these laws to the analysis and solution of physical problems.
5. Explain the concepts of equilibrium, circular motion, rotation, work, power, energy, momentum, and conservation of momentum, and apply these concepts to the solution of physical problems.
6. Describe the mechanical properties of matter such as density and elasticity.
7. Explain such concepts of fluid mechanics as pressure, Archimedes' Principle and fluid flow, and apply these to the solution of physical problems.
8. Explain simple harmonic motion, energy in the simple harmonic oscillator, period and sinusoidal nature of SHM, the simple pendulum, damped harmonic motion, resonance in forced vibration, wave motion and its characteristics.
9. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding, interpreting, evaluating, and applying quantitative data and information.
10. Explain how knowledge created in the natural sciences has contributed to the creation, maintenance and dismantling of social inequalities and discuss the impacts of diversity and inclusion on scientific research and practice.

Laboratory Objectives:

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations.

Fall 2026 textbook details will be available on 2026-05-18. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

PHY-1041-VO01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Prohibited: The use of generative AI is not allowed in this course, with the exception of spellcheck, grammar check and similar tools. This course rests in the value of students engaging in the learning process without relying on AI-generated content. Students will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills independently, owning their learning journey from start to finish. If you use these tools, your actions would be considered academically dishonest and a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

Methods

Teaching Methods

You'll participate in several different types of learning activities in this class including:

• Reading your text
• Attending my power-point video lectures
• Performing on-line simulations
• Doing homework in Expert TA, an on line homework system
• Participating in discussions forums,
• Performing laboratory experiments
• Preparing lab reports

Lab kits will be required for this course. There will be 9 labs that you will do at home, using the contents of the lab kit.

Evaluation Criteria

Discussion	The quantity and quality of your discussion contributions will count for 10% of your grade.
Expert TA Homework	13% Expert TA homework. This is automatically graded. You will be able to see your scores in the gradebook section of the software. I will import those grades into Canvas
You will have 13 labs to submit during the course of the semester. Some will be submitted as formal lab reports and some will be written up in an electronic lab notebook.	These will constitute 32% of your grade.
Simulations	Each module will have one or two on-line simulations to perform, and questions to answer based on the simulations. This work will constitute 18% of your grade.
Exams	There will be three 1 hour timed exams. The exams will be administered in the Expert TA platform, and will constitute 27% of your grade

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

There are two discussion questions for each module. A student is expected to post an initial response, and then at least one response to someone else's post.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Generally, I do not accept late work. I do make exceptions if circumstances warrent it.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/student-support/accessibility-services/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity

Apply Now for this semester.