Using a no-cost online homework platform for mechanics problems in Physics

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  PHY 200 – Engineering Physics I
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a Physics course for undergraduate or graduate students by Frank Yip at Cal Poly Maritime Academy. The open textbook provides a brief survey of problems in calculus based physics (mechanics) at the first-year undergraduate level. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to eliminate costs of online homework problems. Most students access the open textbook in web browser.

Course Title and Number - PHY 200 – Engineering Physics I
Brief Description of course highlights:  Vectors and scalars, motion, Newton's laws, statics and dynamics, translational and rotational kinematics, rotational dynamics, work and energy, momentum, conservation principles, equilibrium and elasticity, gravitation, periodic motion and fluid mechanics. 3 lectures. Fulfills GE Area B1.

Student population: Engineering majors, usually first- or second-year students that have passed Calculus 1.

Learning or student outcomes:  At the completion of this course, the successful student will be able to:

1. Add and subtract vectors, apply calculus in solving physics problems
2. Understand and apply the fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics and
    kinematics.
3. Apply scientific reasoning to a variety of problems in physics.
4. Use the mathematical tools associated with the physics taught in the course.
5. Apply the concepts and laws of physics learned in this course to problems in physics and future coursework.

Syllabus and/or Sample assignment from the course or the adoption:

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title:  PHY200: Engineering Physics I Fall 2025, LibreTexts ADAPT 

Brief Description:  The LibreTexts ADAPT online homework platform offers adaptive online homework, including homework sets linked to OpenStax OER textbooks. Instructors can also get developer accounts to add or edit homework problems. In this case, I used the homework problems linked to OpenStax University Physics, Volume 1, and edited and added to the homework problems available through the ADAPT platform so the problems are correct, and better support student learning. 

Please provide a link to the resource:  https://adapt.libretexts.org/students/courses/7911/assignments/anonymous-user

Authors:  OpenStax, with edits and corrections by F. Yip

Student access:  Web-link, given to students in syllabus and also linked from course LMS (Canvas) page. 

Supplemental resources:  Problems can be referenced from other open-source materials (Openstax) so that students can refer to linked textbook that is also zero-cost (electronically) 

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  Approximately $ 45 per student, cost of usual paid online homework platform (Webassign)

License*: https://libretexts.org/terms-conditions

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. Prior to using this zero-cost homework system, students would have to pay a non-trivial amount for online homework. This helped save all of them money (~$45 each per semester), but as well it helped students immediately register and begin the homework to not fall behind. I had observed that more and more students were having trouble paying for online homework at the start of the term and it created hardships that was making some of them fall behind while they waited to save the money for the paid services.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course?  A colleague in Physics suggested it after having heard about it at an Affordable Learning Solutions (AL$) information session on our campus.

Sharing Best Practices:  Online homework systems usually charge for access, but there is a quality assurance in the problems being worked out and solutions. The sacrifice of my editing time and having to examine each problem was time-consuming, but did help the students to avoid the cost and now other instructors can benefit from my edits with problems that should be updated and work. I spend several hours each week to try the problems I assigned, but I’d hope the developers can assign more people to these tasks, but they did make it easy to have access so that I could do the work on their behalf.

Describe any challenges you experienced, and lessons learned. It was the case that there were several typos or inconsistent homework solutions in a few of the exercises.  I worked with the developer of Libretexts (Delmar Larsen) who granted me editing privileges to be able to repair the broken homework problems.  About 1 or 2 of these would appear, on average, for my assignments.  The edits were corrected and all users of the platform would see the corrected problem after my revisions.

Instructor Name - Frank Yip
I am a Professor of Physics and Chemistry in the Department of Oceanography and Natural Sciences at Cal Poly, Maritime Academy.

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://physics.calpoly.edu/Node/1214

Please describe the courses/course numbers that you teach.

PHY100  General Physics I, PHY105   General Physics I Lab,  PHY200   Engineering Physics I,   PHY205  Engineering Physics II,  PHY120  Physics for Future Leaders,  CHE110   General Chemistry I,  CHE205 Chemistry of Plant Processes

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  Brief philosophy: The challenges associated with teaching mathematics or physical sciences are best met with making the particular concept or idea relevant and practical to the student throughout the instruction. Frequently students struggle to relate abstract theoretical ideas or conceptually challenging material because they initially find the principle or equations inapplicable to their daily lives. My philosophy of instruction dealing with mathematical concepts is to directly relate the ideas to something applied and practical. Often this can be accomplished by searching for a related application or parallel idea more frequently encountered of which the students might possess more understanding. In particular, this requires me as instructor to better know the student's background in order to relate the objective to something they might be more inclined to process and comprehend. My role as a teacher has commonly found me relying on the student's own experiences and I have benefited from getting to know the various backgrounds of my audience in order to best consider how to adapt concepts to something within their working knowledge.