Syllabus for NUC-303
NUCLEAR PHYSICS FOR TECHNOLOGY
This course provides students with fundamental concepts of atomic and nuclear physics, nuclear reactor physics, and nuclear reactor operations. It includes a background in atomic and nuclear physics, nuclear reactions and elementary particle interactions as well as considerations for nuclear reactor design, reactor control, and reactor operations.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
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You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. These textbooks are available online and can be downloaded yourself.
Nuclear Physics for Technology is a three-credit online course, consisting of six modules. Modules include topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, take online timed quizzes, complete written assignments, and write a Final Paper. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.
One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.
Nuclear Physics for Technology requires you to participate in three graded discussion forums. There is also an ungraded but required Introductions forum in Module 1. All class discussions take place on the class Discussion Board.
Communication and collaboration among fellow students and with the mentor is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a discussion question and subsequent comments on classmates' responses. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation, including your use of relevant course information and your awareness of and responses to the postings of your classmates. Remember, these are discussions. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.
You are required to complete eight written assignments/problem sets. The problem sets will reflect the assigned reading material associated with the course module.
Assignments must be prepared electronically, using a word processor and whatever equation editor comes with your word processing software. However, if your word processor is not compatible with your mentor's word processor, you will need check with your mentor first to determine any alternative. (Note: You may submit the scanned hand-written solutions if your mentor allows this option.)
You are required to complete eleven online quizzes. There are two quizzes per module, except for module 2, in which there is only one quiz. The quizzes will reflect the assigned reading material associated with the course module. Each quiz has 10 to 20 multiple choice questions. The quizzes are timed, 2 hours each.Two hours are allotted because some questions require numerical calculations (no more than 2-step calculations).
In lieu of a final exam, you are required to complete a final paper.
Your final research paper shall be 6-8 pages long. You are required to discuss the design and operation considerations of a thermal or fast reactor system. Design and operation considerations include fuel management, reactor control, and maintenance considerations, as well as costs and operating histories, including reliability concerns. The final paper entails two stages:
Stage 1: Submit a 1–2 page paper outline (worth 2 percent of your course grade) that includes technical information of a reactor system: type of reactor, type of fuel, type of moderator, type of coolant, and safe shutdown systems. The outline should list two key references you will be using in the reference list, and include a schematic of the vessel internals.
Stage 2: Complete and submit the final paper (worth 16 percent of your course grade).
Please see the Final Paper areas of the course Web site for further details.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
Stage 1: Outline—2 percent
Stage 2: Final paper—16 percent
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.
Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.
Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.
If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.
For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance, click the links provided below.
Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism
When to Quote and When to Paraphrase
Writing Assistance at Smarthinking
Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.
If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.
If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.
Possible sanctions include:
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