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[Phys-L] Re: Physics Solutions Manual

Lots of talk here about textbook homework problems. Before I comment, I
just want to emphasize that, like any other good physics teacher, the goal
of my course is to learn the basic concepts and principles of physics....and
not to simply learn how to solve textbook problems. I know that most of you
out there feel the same way as I do about this. And that said, I do assign
many textbook problems as homework, because they can be a valuable tool
which students can use to accomplish the goal stated above.
When I realized that several of my students are copying or otherwise putting
forth minimal effort to solve homework problems, I also stopped collecting
their work. Instead, I give "homework quizzes" which I think gets them
working harder at learning how to solve the problems rather than just
getting them done. If, say, 20 problems are assigned, I will select maybe 8
of them and put them on the quiz. They are identical to the text problem
with only a change in one or two of the givens (or possibly changing a
proton to an electron, etc.) so that the answer will be different from the
original problem. The quiz counts as maybe 40% of a test and I believe this
method has my students trying harder to figure out the homework problems.
This is just one small part of my entire approach to teaching physics, but I
am pleased with how well it is working so I thought I'd share. My 6th
edition Giancoli text comes with all the text problems in Word files, so it
makes it very easy to put the quizzes together with a few changes to the
problem.

~ Ralph von Philp
Boonsboro High, MD

----- Original Message -----
From: "Anthony Lapinski" <anthony_lapinski@PDS.ORG>
To: <PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 6:01 PM
Subject: Re: Physics Solutions Manual


I teach in a private high school. Years ago I stopped collecting and
grading homework. Too much to grade, and some kids were just "copying"
answers from their friends. So now I always assign odd numbered problems,
so students can at least check their answer in the back if the book
(Cutnell & Johnson). The best learning is student-centered, not teacher
centered. They are ultimately responsible for learning the material. Most
kids love this approach, and it's also easier on me. I'll know if they
know it when the test arrives. I also grade/review tests, but students
cannot keep them. Even at the high school level, I trust nobody...

Forum for Physics Educators <PHYS-L@list1.ucc.nau.edu> on Tuesday,
February 7, 2006 at 12:33 PM -0500 wrote:
Here's my 'nasty' remedy:

Declare up front:

1. Use of a Solution manual--however obtained--is not permitted.
2. Use of a Solution manual without citation, is plagiarism.
3. Plagiarism is grounds for failure in the course.
4. State: "I have definitive ways of knowing if you are using a solution
manual."

That should scare the majority away from using such. Those who feel they
are 'clever' enough to get away with it will probably be clever enough to
figure that they have to restructure the solutions and be careful of
strange
nomenclature, and thus in the act of cheating, may actually end up
learning
about as much as those who actually work the problems. ;-)

Rick

*********************************************************
Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Indiana
rtarara@saintmarys.edu
********************************************************
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COMING: Spanish language versions.
www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/software.html
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********************************************************
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob LaMontagne" <rlamont@POSTOFFICE.PROVIDENCE.EDU>
To: <PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 11:09 AM
Subject: Physics Solutions Manual


We have just discovered a very unpleasant occurrence. Someone has made
photocopies of the solutions manual to Serway, Physics for Scientists
and
Engineers, and is selling them (and also a few copies of the manual
itself)
on EBay. Amazon.com also provides a link to a copy, but it appears
unavailable at the moment. I don't know if it's an instructor or a
student
who is doing this, but it certainly seems, at the very least, like a
copyright infringement. The publisher claims that it does not sell the
solutions manual - it's only provided to instructors.

For me, this is an absolute disaster. I use homework as a major part of
the
way I present my physics course. I spend the first 20 to 25 minutes of
each
class going over homework that the students didn't understand. If a
student
asks a question I work directly with that student, coaxing him/her
through
the solution. I rarely just go to the board and simply present the
solution
- it's an interactive process that assumes that the actual solution is
not
available - the student and I "discover" an approach that solves the
problem. The other students are free to contribute comments, but the
main
interaction is between me and the student who brought up the problem.

If the solutions manual is available, then the part of the class devoted
to
homework becomes a defense of the approach taken by the person who wrote
the
solutions manual. A typical question from the student now becomes "why
did
they do this way?". The students miss out on the best part of
introductory
physics which to me is the development of the physical intuition needed
to
start a problem from scratch and invent a path to a solution. The fun
part
of reviewing a homework problem in class is to uncover all the different
paths that the students invented to arrive at the same solution.

Has anyone else encountered this mass sale of solutions? Do you see it
as
an
impediment to your teaching of your physics courses?

Bob at PC

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