Syllabus for PHY251

Summer I 2002

 

LABORATORY REQUIREMENTS

  • Text: The manual, PHYSICS 251 - SUMMER SEMESTER 2002 can be purchased at Ned's Bookstore. Data Sheets will be distributed via computer.
  • Calculator: Trigonometric and logarithmic functions are required. Statistics functions will be very useful, but are not required.
  • Pens and a Straight-Edge: Pencils and erasers are not allowed in the teaching labs.

SCHEDULE
Laboratories will begin on May 13, 2002 and run through June 27, 2002. There will be 12 experiments. The purpose of this course is to teach you how to make measurements of physical parameters and how to analyze and interpret them. Working in groups of two, you will make measurements, tabulate and graph your data, evaluate uncertainties on your measurements, analyze the results of your experiments, and answer the questions for each experiment given in the laboratory manual.

PREPARATION FOR THE LAB SESSIONS
You will find it very helpful to prepare well, i.e. read and study the materials for the laboratories before you come to class. Being prepared before you come to your lab session will enable you to finish on time, enjoy the lab more and help you get a higher grade. During the first 10 minutes of every lab period (except for the first lab of the semester) a closed book quiz may be given aimed at testing your readiness to perform that day's experiment and your understanding of the previous experiment. There will be more information about quizzes from your lab instructor during the first lab.  Please arrive on time or you will miss the quiz and the credit. All the materials to be graded (your lab report including data sheets, graphs, answers to questions, etc.) must be completed during your lab period and handed in to the instructor before you leave the lab.

The lab report consists of a cover sheet with your name, your student number and section number. This cover sheet should also contain a short description of the purpose of this experiment and a conclusion based upon your observations and measurements. Both of these parts should be in your own words, do not just copy the manual.

GRADES
Laboratory reports will be graded by your instructor on a 10 point scale and will be handed back at the beginning of the next lab. The points will be distributed roughly as follows: purpose (1 pt), data (including accuracy), graphs and calculations (4 - 5  pts), answers to questions (2 - 3 pts), and conclusion (1 - 2  pts). Explain how you identified and tried to solve problems in the experiments, if there were any. If you see that your data was incorrect or your predictions of results were incorrect, explain as well as you can, what is wrong.  Please write clearly and neatly in full sentences.  Avoid wordiness and excessive detail.

Quizzes will in generally have 4 questions and will be graded on a 4 point scale.

Your grade will be based on the total number of points for the labs and quizzes.  Since the instructors for the various sections do not necessarily grade identically, the scores for a given instructor's sections will be considered as a group for grading purposes.  Each of the groups will receive approximately the same average grade in the course, so that there is no advantage to having one instructor rather than another.  Within the group, the grades will be assigned strictly in order of points achieved.  The grade will be assigned by a curve, not a "straight scale" (for which there is no uniform definition in any case).  In the past, the average for the course was about 2.6. Please obtain from your instructor and save your graded lab reports and quizzes. You will need all of these if at the end of the semester you think your score wasn't correctly calculated.

Your lowest quiz score and lab report MAY be dropped.  If you have an unexcused absence from lab, that quiz/lab report WILL NOT BE DROPPED.  Only excused absences or completed quiz/lab scores will be considered for a drop.  Do not assume ANY quiz/lab will be dropped.

MISSING LABS/MAKE-UP LABS
Because personally participating in each laboratory is the essential part of this course, you must be present for each day’s session. Should you find yourself in a position where you must miss a session you should make every attempt to make up labs missed for valid, documentable reasons. Make these arrangements with your instructor.  Please write an explanatory note with suitable documentation.  No make-ups are allowed without an explanatory note.  If you miss a lab without reason, it will be counted as zero. Arrangements for a possible make-up should be initiated before the missed lab if possible, but in any case no later than 24 hours after the missed lab.  Please make the arrangements for alternate attendance during the preceding week if the reason for absence is a pre-scheduled event, such as field trips or religious holidays.  Make-ups will involve approved special attendance in a lab earlier or later in the week, if an open space is available.  However,  experience has shown that grades of students who miss EVEN ONE LAB are lower than those who attend and complete all labs. You can reach your instructor by e-mail or by office hour.

Your instructor is in charge of all aspects of laboratory procedures. Please confer with your instructor first if you have a problem, since they can ordinarily solve most problems.

The laboratory coordinator for this course is Jane Repko. Her office hours are Monday 2pm - 3pm and Tuesday, 9am - 10am in room 1253 BPS.  If you cannot make these office hours and would like to make an appointment send an e-mail to Jane Repko at repko_j@pa.msu.edu. Please include a phone number and a copy of your academic schedule so she can get back to you and set up a mutually convenient time.

COMPUTERS IN PHYSICS 251

During this semester and the coming semesters computers will be used in the physics undergraduate labs. This is done for several reasons:

1) We want to remove lengthy and repetitive calculations from the labs, so that you can concentrate on the interpretation and analyses of the physics experiments performed.

2) We want to acquaint you with computers because they are modern tools used in nearly all fields of education and business.

There are five software tools you will use in the physics labs:

I. Microsoft Excel
This is a spreadsheet program which you use to record/store your data. An empty spreadsheet is available at the start of each lab. The program allows you to do ALL calculations on your data. This tool removes all repetitive calculations from the lab, so you can concentrate on graphing and interpreting your data. However, the spreadsheet does not do ALL the calculations for you. In order to start the calculations you must perform at least one of them by hand. After you enter the correct formula into the spreadsheet for that particular quantity, the program will do all the other calculations for you.

II. Kaleidagraph
This tool is a general plotting program. It takes its input from columns of data and allows you to either plot a histogram of the contents of one column and/or graph any column versus any other column. Although some of these things are possible in Excel, Kaleidagraph has a very user friendly interface for adjusting axes/labels/text/bins etc. in any of the graphs. The input for the graphs is copied/pasted from the Excel spreadsheet. Once you are satisfied with your graph (binning is correct, labels are clear, axes are labeled and have units !!), you should save the graph on disk. It can then either be printed separately or copied/pasted into your final lab report.

III. Microsoft Word
Word is used as the standard wordprocessor for the lab. In the beginning, it should be used for writing your introduction and conclusion. Toward the end of the semester it is expected that you submit your completed report in Word. This will allow you to include the relevant parts of your spreadsheets, graphs, introduction, and conclusion.

IV. Video Point
This software allows you to collect coordinate data by clicking on locations of interest on video images with a mouse. You are able to study two dimensional motions by locating, displaying, and analyzing coordinate data obtained from sequences of digitized video frames.

V. Graphing Calculator
This is a tool very similar to a graphics calculator, but much more flexible. It allows you to graph functions in a very convenient way and even print them out.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND HINTS:

·  Save your files in the folder "Documents" located on the desktop and do this regularly!

·  Save your files using your last names and experiment number.

·  Bring in your own floppy disk and save all your documents. This will help you in the following weeks. We do not back-up student data! If something happens to your work and it is destroyed, you will have to do the lab again. ....SAVE YOUR DATA OFTEN!!!

·  All the necessary applications and folders with manuals and spreadsheets will be on the computer desktop screen in the PHY251 folder when you start, so you should not have to search for items.