MidTermSubmit AndStillItMoves jjPHY203 FA26
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Overview
Dr. Yaverbaum first addresses the corrected Google Classroom homework deadline and the midterm submission problems, emphasizing that uploaded work must reach the portal as one document and that late work will be graded with penalties based on timing and communication. He then reassures students that completing a demanding physics course requires persistence, before reading his allegorical story “And Still It Moves,” which uses the Sun, Venus, and Jupiter’s moons to illustrate Galileo’s principle of relativity and why Earth’s motion is not obvious from everyday experience.
Key takeaways
- A document counts as submitted only when it reaches Google Classroom; students should allow time for uploading and submit the final exam as one file before the 9:25 deadline.
- When a deadline or upload problem arises, prompt individual communication gives Dr. Yaverbaum information to consider when exercising discretion over late penalties.
- Dr. Yaverbaum frames persistence through physics as a learned capacity: students can feel uncertain or discouraged while still being capable of succeeding in a challenging science program.
- In “And Still It Moves,” the Sun’s apparent daily motion and the stars’ passage across the sky are observations that can make Earth seem stationary, even when that interpretation is mistaken.
- The phases of Venus show that it reflects sunlight, while Jupiter’s four orbiting moons demonstrate that celestial bodies can orbit something other than Earth.
- Jupiter’s moons provide a concrete model for questioning an Earth-centered view of the cosmos and understanding Galileo’s principle of relativity.
Chapters
- Dr. Yaverbaum greets students and checks the live class chat before addressing a reported homework deadline issue.
- He finds that the deadline shown as October 26 was not intentional and corrects it in Google Classroom to Wednesday, October 28.
- He thanks Winnie for flagging the error and invites students to submit participation credit for respectfully identifying and confirming the correction.
- Dr. Yaverbaum says he is not inclined to extend the homework beyond October 28 because the course needs to move on to later material.
- Students with individual timing problems should contact him directly and provide advance notice when possible.
- Students may submit revisions or additional work later for more points, even if they cannot complete every part by the deadline.
- Dr. Yaverbaum congratulates everyone who attended class after the midterm, whether they finished the exam or were still dealing with submission concerns.
- Drawing on his own undergraduate and graduate physics exams, he describes exam periods as challenging even for people who choose to study physics.
- He encourages students who submitted the exam to take a moment to feel relief before focusing on the eventual grade.
- Dr. Yaverbaum notes that an open-world, take-home exam can take longer and prove more taxing than students expect.
- Students whose exams were not yet submitted should still attend class and communicate rather than disappear after a stressful exam experience.
- He frames difficult moments in a science major as common, including doubts about belonging, ability, and whether continuing is worthwhile.
- The exam portal closed at 9:25, and Dr. Yaverbaum stresses that work is not officially submitted until it reaches the system.
- Uploading time is part of the submission process, so students should plan for it on the final, which will be similarly long.
- He distinguishes students who communicated about upload problems from those with no submission and no contact, and says communication matters.
- Dr. Yaverbaum confirms that he can see documents uploaded near the deadline even when the portal will not accept the final submit action.
- He says those documents will be graded, but late submissions may receive a point penalty; a temporary zero or “excused” status does not mean the exam earned zero.
- For grading, the work must be assembled into one document rather than submitted as multiple separate files.
- The final exam document must eventually be placed in Google Classroom, where it can be graded; an emailed document does not count as a submission.
- Dr. Yaverbaum says he will use discretion when assessing late work, considering how late it is and how promptly the student communicated.
- Students with individual upload or document-format problems can discuss them with him directly, including after class.
- Dr. Yaverbaum describes tolerating discomfort as a major life skill students can develop through a demanding science program.
- He points out that students choose to challenge themselves at a level where even capable people may sometimes feel untalented or out of place.
- He says he values working with students because their persistence through difficult coursework is impressive.
- Dr. Yaverbaum says success is not automatic, but students can improve their chances by continuing rather than letting frustration or self-doubt take over.
- He notes that some students may need to repeat a course, and says a second attempt can be made more manageable through support and effort.
- He argues that completing a rigorous program such as John Jay’s forensic science major demonstrates the ability to solve difficult problems and earns students’ degrees.
- Dr. Yaverbaum shifts from exam discussion to reading “And Still It Moves,” a short story he wrote to offer a calmer way into the course material.
- The story is an allegory about why people can believe Earth moves even though they do not feel that motion directly.
- Its characters, Jesse, Missy Jean, and Professor Popio, observe familiar sky objects from their surroundings in New York City.
- Jesse, Missy Jean, and Professor Popio watch the Sun rise, an everyday observation that makes the sky appear to move around them.
- The story explains that the Moon does not produce its own light: sunlight reflects off it, and its visible phase depends on its position.
- As the characters watch stars cross the sky, they initially interpret the motion as the world turning around them.
- Professor Popio identifies Venus as a planet because it wanders among the constellations while staying near the Sun.
- The characters later spot Jupiter among the stars and learn that planets move along their own paths rather than remaining fixed in one constellation.
- Binoculars reveal that Venus has phases like the Moon, supporting the idea that it reflects sunlight rather than generating its own.
- Through binoculars, Jesse and Missy Jean see four moons orbiting Jupiter, showing that not every object in the sky revolves around Earth.
- The story builds from Jupiter’s moons to the possibility that Earth is also a moving world, despite feeling stationary underfoot.
- Jesse’s conclusion, “And still it moves,” encapsulates the story’s Galileo-inspired challenge to trust appearances alone.
Transcript excerpt
0:10 Hello. Hello, Ashley. Hello, Kimberly. Hello, Winnie. Good morning. Hello, Adena. Good morning. Hello, Adriana. Hello, Yanelli. Hello, Alexa. Hello, Daryl. Hello, Jason. Hello, Martina. Hello, Alexie. Hello. Hello, Zummy. Okay. Hello, Marjorie. Hello, Sierra. [snorts] Hello Madison. Hello David. Hello Abby.
1:05 Hello Madison. Hello Mir. Hang on a second. I wonder if we can get more people in here. One second. Oh no. This is as big this is as big as it gets. Okay. Um, hello Evelyn. Hello Jezel. Let me look at the Oh, hello Jaden. Hello Neva. Oh, yeah. There's Nvaia, right? Got Na. Okay, Italy. Hello. Hello.
1:52 Uh, Kimberly, I'm going to look at the chat in one second. Like almost literally one. Okay, one. I am looking at the Oh, interesting point. Wait a minute. All right. Already interesting things in the chat. Hang on a sec. I think I see your um Good morning. What did I not say? Good morning, Alexa, Juliana, Sebastian, Diana, June, Ibraim. Okay, wait. I'm looking at the chat. Uh, wait. Um, I'm a little confu. Okay, wait, wait.
2:45 Uh, well, all right. Wait a minute. There's some of these questions are harder than others in the chat. Hang on a sec. Oh. Oh. Oh, yeah. Okay. Wait. Winnie's question, which is public. No, no, you're right. Good point. Uh, thank you. Let me So, Winnie is asking about the homework that's due, which I appreciate. Let me That's I don't think that's intentional. Let me check on that right now. Hang on. Um, thank you. I I certainly was not I um it wasn't contra Okay, let me just check right now. Hold on. Um due October 26. Oh yeah, that is okay. Thank I wonder why. Yeah, that that is not
3:37 conscious or deliberate. Let me change
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Summary, takeaways, and chapters were generated by AI from the video's transcript and may contain errors. The video belongs to its creator, Dr. Yaverbaum.