Syllabus for PHY251

Summer I 2006

 

LABORATORY REQUIREMENTS

• Text: The manual, PHYSICS 251 and PHYSICS 252 combined manual, published by Hayden - McNeil, can be purchased at any local student bookstore.

• 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.

• PHY 251 on the Web : http//www.pa.msu.edu/courses/current/PHY251

SCHEDULE
Laboratories will begin on May 15, 2006 and run through June 27, 2006. There will be 12 experiments. The purpose of this course is to teach you how to make measurements of physical quantities 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 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 will 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 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 experiments, if there were any. If you see that your data were 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 during the semester.  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".  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.

MISSING LABS/MAKE-UP LABS
Make up labs are limited to attending another regularly section on a date in which the experiment is being performed and are only available for students who miss a lab for a legitimate reason. Because personally participating in each laboratory is the 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. If there is room in another section, you can make arrangements with your lab instructor to make up the lab by attending a different section. However, many of the sections are full so it may not be possible to find room in another section. In addition, arrangements to attend another section must be made with your lab instructor. 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 MD). To ease the burden on students who miss a lab due to a legitimate reason, we will drop the lowest lab score of the semester before computing your grade.

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

The laboratory coordinator for this course is Richard Hallstein. His office hours are Tuesday 10:30am - 11:30am in room 1253BPS. If you cannot make this office hour and would like to make an appointment send an e-mail to hallstein@pa.msu.edu. Please include a phone number and a copy of your academic schedule so he can get back to you and set up a mutually convenient time.

Communications regarding the day-to-day operations of your section should be directed to your TA NOT the lab coordinator. (ie: a missed lab, attending another section, etc.)

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 wordprocessor for the lab. In the beginning, it should be used for writing your introduction and conclusion. 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:

·  Bring a floppy disk or on a flash memory stick so you can save your files as you work. There is no space on the computers to save your lab 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 stick or floppy disk.

· SAVE YOUR DATA OFTEN!! If something happens to your work during the lab and it is destroyed, you will have to do the lab again.

·  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.

·  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.
• The overall Conclusion of the Lab Report gives you a chance to summarize the results obtained in the lab, as well as what you learned. If the results didn't come out as you expected, suggest why not. (Don't just attribute it to "human error"!)

Last update: April 20, 2006