Syllabus for PHY251

Fall 2006

 

LABORATORY REQUIREMENTS

SCHEDULE
Laboratories will begin on September 11, 2006 and run through December 8, 2006. 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 in 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 a closed book quiz will be given aimed at testing your readiness to perform that day's experiment and your understanding of the previous experiment. There WILL be a quiz on the first day of lab so please make sure you have read the syllabus and the first experiment "Introduction to Computer Tools and Uncertainties" before arriving to class the week of September 11th. 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, student number, section number and your lab partner's name. 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 20 point scale and will be handed back at the beginning of the next lab. The points will be distributed roughly as follows: quiz (4 pts), introduction or purpose (1 pt), acquisition of data (including accuracy) (4 pts), graphs and calculations (4 pts), answers to questions (4 pts), and conclusion (3 pts). Explain how you identified and tried to solve problems in the experiment, 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.

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.

Plagiarism or copying will not be tolerated. Any lab report which copies directly from the lab manual will receive a zero. Students turning in identical or slightly modified copies of the introduction, conclusion or answers to questions will receive zeros for that lab. Lab partners are expected to turn in copies of the same Excel data sheets and graphs, however. Please review MSU's policy on Academic Integrity included below:

Academic Integrity:
The principles of truth and honesty are recognized as fundamental to a community of teachers and scholars. The University expects that both faculty and students will honor these principles and in so doing protect the validity of University grades. This means that all academic work will be done by the student to whom it is assigned, without unauthorized aid of any kind. (See General Student Regulation 1.00, Scholarship and Grades, for specific regulations.) Instructors, for their part, will exercise care in the planning and supervision of academic work, so that honest effort will be positively encouraged. If any instance of academic dishonesty is discovered by an instructor, it is his or her responsibility to take appropriate action Depending on his or her judgment of the particular case, he or she may give a failing grade to the student on the assignment or for the course. In instances where a failing grade in a course is given only for academic dishonesty, the instructor will notify the student's academic dean in writing of the circumstances. The student who receives a failing grade based on a charge of academic dishonesty may appeal a judgment made by a department, school, or a college to the University Academic Integrity Review Board. Refer to Academic Freedom for Students at Michigan State University. When, in the judgment of the academic dean, action other than, or in addition to, a failing grade is warranted, the dean will refer the case to the college- level hearing board which shall have original jurisdiction. In cases of ambiguous jurisdiction the appropriate judiciary will be randomly selected by the Assistant Provost from one of the three core colleges. Appeals from the judgment may be made to the University Academic Integrity Review Board. Refer to Academic Freedom for Students at Michigan State University. In instances of academic dishonesty where the in structor feels that action other than, or in addition to, a failing grade in the course is warranted, the instructor will report the case to his or her departmental or school chairperson and to the student’s academic dean. The dean will then refer the case to the College- level hearing board which shall have original jurisdiction Refer to Academic Freedom for Students at Michigan State University.

MISSING LABS/MAKE-UP LABS
Because personally participating in each laboratory is an essential part of this course, you must be present for each session. Should you find yourself in a position where you must miss a session, you must inform your instructor beforehand and provide an explanatory note with suitable documentation. Make-up labs will be limited to attending another lab section during the same week that has less than 22 students enrolled. Please note that most sections are currently full so it may not be possible to find room in another section for a make-up lab. If you miss a lab for an unanticipated reason, such as illness, you must notify your instructor no later than 24 hours after the missed lab and provide suitable documentation (i.e. a note from your doctor). To ease the burden on students you miss a lab due to a legitimate reason, we will drop the lowest lab score of the semester before computing your grade.

Your lab instructor is in charge of all aspects of laboratory procedures. Please confer with him/her if you have a problem, since they can ordinarily solve most problems. Communications regarding the day-to-day operations of your section should be directed to your TA NOT the lab coordinator. (ie: a missed lab,etc.)

The laboratory coordinator for this course is Professor Tollefson. Her office hours are 3:30-5:00 PM Tuesdays in room 3247 of BPS. If you cannot make this office hour and would like to make an appointment send an e-mail to Professor Tollefson at tollefson@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.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND HINTS:

·  Bring a flash memory or floppy disk to each lab,so you can save your files as you work. There is no space on the computers in the lab for your files. You should prepare the cover sheet to your lab report, with the introduction, before you come to lab. Store this on your flash memory or floppy disk.

·  SAVE YOUR DATA OFTEN!!! There are no student data back-ups and all student data is deleted after the laboratory period ends.

·  All the necessary computer software and spreadsheets will be on the computer when you start, so you should not have to search for items. You must purchase a new laboratory manual from any of the local bookstores. Do not use old versions of the laboratory manual as there have been significant changes to the material.

·  No food or drinks of any kind are allowed in the laboratories....there are NO exceptions.

HINTS ON HOW TO WRITE A GOOD LAB REPORT:

·  Your lab report should be self-contained. That means that anybody who reads it should be able to figure out what you did, why you did it, and what results you obtained. Your Introduction or Purpose does not need to be very long, but do not just copy what is written in the Lab Manual.

·  Whenever your lab report includes a table of data from Excel, write down enough information so the reader knows where the data came from. If some of the columns include the results of a calculation performed within Excel, write down the formula next to the spreadsheet, including the values of any fixed parameters used in the formula. Also include a sample calculation showing what Excel did for one line of the spreadsheet.

·  Whenever your lab report includes a graph, write down what you learned from the graph, or any conclusions you made from looking at the graph. Graphs must have a title and axis labels which include the correct units.

·  The overall Conclusion of the Lab Report gives you a chance to summarize what you learned in the lab. Your conclusion must include the final result from your experiment including errors on that result. For example, if the purpose of the lab is to measure the acceleration due to gravity, g, you must state in the conclusion "I measured the value of g to be 9.6 +/- 0.4 m/s^2". Units must be included. If the results didn't come out as you expected, suggest why not. (Don't just attribute it to "human error"!)

·  The lab manual has a description of the contents of a lab report on pages vii-ix.

COMPUTERS IN PHYSICS 251

Computers will be used in all the physics undergraduate labs and they are controlled by a central server. It is your responsibility to close all applications and log-out of your computer account when you leave the laboratory.

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 to your user space on the server or on a floppy disk. It can then be printed separately or copied/pasted into your final lab report.

III. Microsoft Word
Word is used as the standard word processor 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.

Last update: August 29, 2006