Syllabus - Physics 191

Professor M. A. Abolins

Room 256A P-A, 3-5180

Office Hours M 11:00 - 12:30 or by appointment.

Lab Instructors: Prof. B. Golding, C. Balazs, T. Tait

Course Description

In this course we will perform a series of simple experiments illustrating various principles of mechanics and electricity and magnetism. The schedule of these is listed below. You should find the exercises helpful in illustrating topics covered in the lecture courses dealing with the same topics, however, the intent of the course is not simply to supplement the lecture. Its main objective is to teach you:

• to make careful and critical measurements

• to organize your observations

• to become familiar with equipment and to develop some skills in ``troubleshooting''

• to recognize that any measurement must be accompanied by an estimate of its uncertainty. A theme of this course will be the treatment and propagation of uncertainties in measurements.

Course Organization

All experiments will be performed in Room 108 P-A on the following schedule:

    WEEK OF   EXP. NO.  TITLE
    -------   --------  ---------------------------
    Jan.14      1       Random and Systematic Errors
      21        2       Free Fall
      28        3       Simple Pendulum
    Feb. 4      4       Rotational Motion I
      11        5       Rotational Motion II
      18        6       Collisions in 2 Dimensions
      25        7       Simple Harmonic Motion
    Mar.3               Spring Break
      10        8       DC Instruments and Circuits
      17        9       Analog Studies of Electrostatic Fields
      24       10       Heat Equivalence of Electrical Energy
      31       11       CRT and Oscilloscope
    Apr.7      12       AC Voltage and Power I
      14       13       AC Voltage and Power II
      21       14       Magnetic Fields of Circular Coils
      28                Final Exam

The Laboratory Notebook

All data must be recorded in ink in a bound notebook with numbered pages and, preferably, quadrille ruling to facilitate the drawing of graphs. No erasures are permitted. If a mistake is made it should be crossed out neatly with a single line and the correct entry made nearby. Generally speaking, the following information should be recorded:

• a sketch of the experimental apparatus with relevant parameters noted

• all measurements taken

• any comments about deviations from suggested procedures

• any comments about what went wrong during the laboratory session

General

It is expected that write-ups will be organized to facilitate understanding and grading. You may use word processors or typewriters but, neatly written reports in ink are acceptable.

You may collaborate with your partner in the data analysis but you are expected to do an independent write-up. Good English prose should be used throughout and neatness and readability count.

The following points summarize items that write-ups should contain.

• The cover sheet with the title, experiment number, data, your and your partner's names and instructor's name.

• A brief statement of the purpose of the experiment. One or two sentences will suffice here. Do not parrot the hand-out.

• An appropriate summary of the original data abstracted from your laboratory notebook.

• Discussion of any special difficulties or departures from the suggested experimental procedure.

• Sample calculations. Include one sample of each kind of calculation that had to be made. Do not show all of them.

• The experimental results. Summarize your results clearly and concisely. If tables or graphs are indicated, include them. Do not ramble here; be very specific. Include an error analysis if one is indicated.

The lab reports are due one week after the lab is completed. If your report is late by 4 days or less, a penalty of 10% per day will be subtracted from the grade. If the report is turned in late more than 4 days but, before the last day of class, the penalty will be 40% of the grade. You are urged to turn in your reports in a timely manner to avoid these problems. It is expected that if a lab is missed for legitimate reasons, that it will be made up at a time to be arranged with your instructor.

Grades

Your grade will be based on your laboratory reports which will be worth 20 points apiece and a laboratory final exam which will be worth 40 points. Efforts will be made to ensure equivalent grading in labs taught by different instructors.

Text

John R. Taylor, An Introduction to Error Analysis, University Science Books, 1992.

Last Modified: 11:45 am EST, 26-Mar-1996