ISP209L Summer 2008: Mysteries of the Physical World


     Instructor: Tibor F. Nagy
     Phone: (517) 884-5508
     Email: nagy_t@pa.msu.edu               Location: 302 North Kedzie
     Office: BPS 1253                       Time: Tu and Th 12:40-3:30 PM


   This two-credit laboratory provides hands-on experience to discover basic
   physical phenomena. The course consists of a series of experiments in the
   areas of mechanics, electromagnetism, optics and modern physics.

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

   - Required Course Pack: "ISP 209L" from the Student Book Store (SBS) on
   Grand River. You must bring the relevant lab modules from the course pack
   every week, as indicated on the reverse side. It will not be possible to
   do the labs without them.

   - Labs are held in 302 North Kedzie. Each lab will begin with a brief
   closed-book quiz, followed by a short introductory lecture.

   - A calculator with square root, trigonometric (sine, cosine, tangent),
   logarithmic and exponential functions is required.

   - Working in groups of 2 or 3 you will perform measurements and tabulate
   your data in one or more short experiment modules from the Course Pack.
   The scheduled lab modules are listed in this syllabus. (Note: groups
   of 4 will only be permitted if all of the other groups in the class have
   at least 3 people in them.)

   - After conducting the experiment and tabulating the data, each student
   will independently analyze and present the results, and answer the
   questions. You are encouraged to seek help from the instructor and/or
   from other students. However, the work you turn in should be your own.

   - All materials used to determine grades (quiz, data sheets, plots,
   answers to the questions) will be prepared by each student during the
   lab period and submitted for grading before leaving the lab.

   - There will be a final exam in the last week of class. The exam will
   include quiz questions and questions derived from the lab material.

   SCHEDULE:

   July 01 Intruduction and Syllabus
   July 03 Lab 1A   : Rolling Dice
           Lab 1B   : Human reaction times
   July 08 Lab 2A   : Free fall measurement of g
           Lab 2B   : Pendulum measurement of g
   July 10 Lab 3    : Threshold of hearing
   July 15 Lab 4A   : Power, work, energy
           Lab 4B   : Electrical equivalent of heat
   July 17 Lab 5A   : Rolling cylinders
           Lab 5B   : Angular momentum
   July 22 Lab 6A-B : Simple circuits
           Lab 6C   : Magnetic fields
   July 24 Lab 7A   : The oscilloscope
           Lab 7B   : Magnetic Induction
   July 29 Lab 8A   : Reflection
           Lab 8B   : Refraction
           Lab 8C   : Critical angle
   July 31 Lab 9A   : Single slit diffraction
           Lab 9B   : Babinet's Principle
   Aug. 05 Lab 10A  : Two slit interference
           Lab 10B  : Diffraction grating
   Aug. 07 Lab 12A  : Low temperature
           Lab 12B  : Light emitting diode
           Lab 12C  : Superconductivity
   Aug. 12 FINAL EXAM

   GRADING:

   - The quizes will be graded on a scale of 0-3 pnts. The lab reports will
   be graded 0-7 pnts. Hence the total number of points possible for each
   lab class will be 10. Since there are 11 labs (see schedule above), the
   maximum achievable points is 110.

   A perfect score of 7 on the lab reports will be based on the following:
   (1) Legibility
   (2) All experimental numbers correctly entered and the units are given.
   (3) All of the data manipulations done properly (additions, averages).
   (4) All of the graphs completed properly with axes and points labeled.
   (5) Each questions are answered completely. (This will be given a large
   weight in the grading).
   (6) Individual work when required.

   - The final exam will be 20% of the total grade. The final grades will
   have an average of approximately 3.0, graded on a curve, regardless of
   the percentage totals.

   ABSENCE / LATE POLICY:

   There will be no opportunities to make up a missed laboratory. If a lab
   is missed with a legitimate excuse (such as illness) you should inform me
   by email or phone within 24 hours following the lab. In most cases I will
   ask for some documentation, such as a note from the doctor. In these
   cases, the missing quiz and lab scores will be replaced by an average of
   your other scores. Students with unexcused absences will receive a zero
   for the missing quiz and lab scores. Unfortunately, the same applies to
   students who miss a lab because they forget to bring the relevant pages
   from the course pack. No make-up quizzes are given. So, students arriving
   late to the lab will miss their chance to take the quiz. Students who
   arrive late may also not be allowed to do the lab, at the instructor's
   discretion.