Is the online version of this course easier than the classroom version?
This online course covers the same amount of material as the classroom version. Both versions of this course require the same amount of commitment and hard work. Some students may find it more convenient to study and complete assignments at their own pace in the online course, but the classroom and online versions require the same amount of learning. Most students find that they need to have more discipline and better time management skills to do well in an online course, compared to a classroom course.
The classroom and online versions of this course both require substantial amounts of time and commitment. Most students should expect to spend at least 12 hours every week on this course if they want to learn the material and get a good grade. Many students will have to spend more than 12 hours every week on this course.

How Much Time Will The Labs Take?
The labs for traditional classroom courses are usually constrained by schedules which allow access to the lab facilities and equipment only at certain dates and times. The labs for this course are online, and each student has been provided the necessary equipment, so there are no time constraints (except for a due date). Some labs for this course may take more time, others may take less time, than the labs for the classroom version of this course. This online course has fewer labs than the classroom version, so the total amount of time that you spend on an individual online lab may be longer than some of the labs for the classroom version.

What textbook(s) should I buy for this course?
The Physics textbook for this course is online, downloadable and free. It is a different textbook from the one that the classroom version of PH 201 uses. Other modules in this course will tell you how to get your free copy. If you have already bought a copy of the textbook for the classroom version of this course, you may return it to the bookstore for a refund. (Do this soon, because most bookstores have a time limit on refunds.)
There is one extra book that you have to read for this course. It is called "A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra)". Details are in the "A Mind For Numbers" module on the Modules page.

Is there anything else that I have to buy for this course?
There is also an extra on-line mini-course that you are required to take. It is called ALEKS, and will help to sharpen the math skills that you will need to do well in this course. Refer to the ALEKS module on the Modules page for details.
You will also need a calculator that can calculate roots, exponents and trigonometric functions.

Do I need to buy an access code from the bookstore?
You do not buy your ALEKS access code from the bookstore. You buy it directly from ALEKS. Refer to the ALEKS module on the Modules page for details.

How can I contact the instructor?
Contact information is in the Syllabus.
If you send an email to the instructor:
- If you think that it would be helpful for the instructor to see the problem, attach a "screenshot", i.e., a picture of your computer screen displaying things that will help them understand the specifics of your problem. On Windows computers, pressing the "print screen" button copies the computer's screen image to the computer's clipboard. (On Apple computers, command-shift-3 does this.) You can then paste it into an email, or you can paste it into a file, save the file and attach the file to the email.
- It may also be helpful to attach a photo(s) of handwritten notes and/or problem solutions.

What is the best way to study Physics?
Most people find that the best way to study Physics is to find a quiet place where you can be alone with the text and other study materials, without any distractions. Physics is a skill. You have to do more than just read about it to master it. You have to practice it, just as you would have to practice to become skillful at playing a sport or musical instrument. So read the material carefully and, at the end of every few sentences, ask yourself "did I really understand that?". If so, great. Move on. If you are not sure, read back over it. This takes time and effort.

Do I have to have my own computer to take this course?
You must have access to a personal computer with a modern spreadsheet program and up-to-date web browser to complete the requirements for this course.
You also must install some software on the computer that you use for this course. This often causes problems for people who use public computers, such as those found in libraries, because installing software usually requires having "administrator" authority on that computer, which they will not let you have. One alternative would be to persuade a friend to let you use their computer.
You will have to be able to store spreadsheets and other data objects and use them later. If you are using someone else's computer, one easy way to do this is to buy yourself an inexpensive USB flash drive (also called a "thumb drive" or "jump drive"). Even if you do have your own computer, it is a good idea to make a backup copy of all of your important data on your USB drive, to protect your data from getting overlaid, accidentally deleted or lost due to a hardware failure or other mishap.

I would like to use my smart phone, tablet or iPad to take this course, instead of a computer. Can I do that?
We support this course only when it is accessed by using a computer. We do not support any smart phone or other mobile version of this course.
According to the Canvas Guide, "mobile browsers are not officially supported". We have not tested this course on any smart phone, tablet or iPad, and therefore we cannot guarantee that it will work on them. The worst case is that it may look like it works, but actually doesn't, causing you to miss assignment deadlines, submit erroneous answers on quizzes, etc.
So ... use a computer. This is not our requirement; it is a Canvas requirement.

I have a very old computer. Can I use it to take this course?
We have tested this course on various personal computers with different operating systems and web browsers, and we have not had any problems. Note, however, that Canvas does not support older web browsers. (See "I believe that my web browser is having problems with Canvas", below.) If your computer is too old to run a browser that Canvas supports, you must use a more modern computer, with a more modern browser, to take this course.

I believe that my web browser is having problems with Canvas. What do I do?
Instructure, the company that wrote Canvas, says that Canvas works with the current version of all major web browsers. However, Canvas does not support older browser versions. If you are having problems that you think are related to your browser, be sure that you are running the current version of the browser and that you have applied all of the current updates from the browser's manufacturer. If that does not work, try using a different browser (e.g., if Internet Explorer is having problems, try Chrome or Firefox). For more information, visit the Canvas guide.

I live in an area with very slow and/or unreliable internet connections. Can I still take this course?
We strongly recommend that you not use a dial-up internet connection to take this course . Not only would everything be frustratingly slow, our graded quizzes are timed and a dial-up connection would probably load the quiz so slowly that you would not have enough time to complete it.
If your broadband internet connection is slow or is unreliable, you may also have problems with graded quizzes and other course content. Obviously, if your internet connection goes down while you are taking a quiz, that is a problem. You will have to use your own judgement. Perhaps you can view course content at home, then go to a library with fast, reliable internet connections to take quizzes and submit assignments.

I entered the correct answer in a quiz and Canvas still graded it as "incorrect". What happened?
Be sure to read the "feedback bubble" for your answer, if there is one. A feedback bubble will explain why a particular answer is incorrect, and/or provide information about how to solve the problem correctly. If the Feedback bubble does not explain why your answer is wrong, your disagreement with Canvas may be caused by:
(1) Entering the wrong number of significant figures. For example, if the problem says "to the nearest hundredth", the answer is 4.00 and you enter 4, Canvas will grade it as "incorrect" because it really is incorrect.
(2) Entering the units when you are not supposed to. If the answer is 5 dollars, the question says "to the nearest dollar" and you enter $5, Canvas may grade it as incorrect. Likewise for "miles", "seconds", "pounds" or any other units. You should not enter the units unless the question specifically tells you to. For quizzes in the early parts of the course, we warn you not to enter the units for numerical answers. On later quizzes, this warning is in the "standard information for every practice quiz" and "standard information for every graded quiz"; each quiz introduction has a link to these documents.
(3) The designers may have set up the question incorrectly. Many other students have taken these quizzes and we are pretty sure we have resolved all of the issues, so this kind of problem should be rare. But, if you are sure that one of your answers has been graded incorrectly, send a detailed email to the instructor. Your email must provide enough detail to thoroughly explain why you believe that your grade is wrong. For example, "On Chapter 1, Quiz 2, Question 3, I used y = mx + b to calculate the answer. The attached screenshot shows that m=1, x=2, b=3 and my answer is 5, but Canvas still graded my response as incorrect".

I can see my quiz answers immediately after I take the quiz, but after I leave the quiz web page, I can no longer see them. Why?
Some students have noticed when you look at results of practice quizzes (which answers were right and which were wrong), you can only see this information once. You need to take notes as you look through these results and use them to guide your further study. This is a key point. Last semester we noticed some students were using a "ready, fire, aim" approach. This seemed to involve taking practice quizzes without adequate reading, study, and preparation. Then their attention narrowed to only questions they missed and the quiz was quickly repeated, with little time devoted to growth and further learning. We discovered that students who slowed themselves down a bit actually progressed faster. The chapters we provide build strongly on information in earlier chapters.

My computer will not open, or will not read, PH 201 spreadsheet files. Why?
(1) If you do not have Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers installed on your computer, you must purchase it and install it to open these types of files. (Buy Excel for Windows computers; either Excel or Apple Numbers for Macs.)
(2) If you do have Excel or Numbers installed on your computer, you need to be sure that your computer is configured it so that it automatically uses one of these programs to open spreadsheet files (i.e., any file with an xls or xlsx extension). PHS101 instructors do not configure students' computers, but any qualified tech support person will know how to do this.
(3) If your spreadsheet program is more than 5 years old, it may be too old to work with our spreadsheets. We have tested this course with recent versions of Excel and Numbers, but we can not guarantee that older versions of either of these spreadsheet programs will work with the spreadsheets in this course.
(4) There was a problem with your computer and/or your browser so that the file did not properly download and/or open when you clicked it. Try to find the file in your downloads folder. If it is not there, your computer failed to download it properly. If it is there, open your spreadsheet program in a separate window then try to open the downloaded spreadsheet from the spreadsheet window (You do this by clicking "file" then "open" in the spreadsheet window, then, while staying in the spreadsheet "file open" window, going to the folder where the spreadsheet file is located and double clicking it.)
An alternative would be to use one of the student computers in the UAB Sterne library, which have Excel and are configured to correctly open spreadsheet files. If you can't get to the Sterne library, most public libraries also have computers that can do this.
PH 201 uses many spreadsheets, so this is a serious problem that you must resolve as soon as possible

Somebody told me they need a "screen capture" (also called a "screenshot"). How do I do this?
On a Windows computer, display the thing(s) that you want to capture on your screen. Then press "Ctrl", "Alt" and "Print Screen" at the same time. This will copy an image of your screen to your computer's clipboard. You can then paste it into an email, MS-Word (and most other word processors), MS-Excel, MS-Paint or any other software that can handle images.
As an alternative, most Windows computers also have a "snipping tool". You can get to it by left-clicking the Windows icon in the lower left corner of your screen, then "All Programs" then "Accessories".

I can see some of my assignments, but when I click on them, nothing happens.
This is probably because you have not completed one or more of the prerequisite assignments.