Your final 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.
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 who miss a lab due to a legitimate reason, we will drop the lowest lab score of the semester before computing your final grade.
Your lab instructor (TA) is in charge of all aspects of laboratory procedures. Please confer with her/him 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 Schwienhorst. His office hours are 3:30-5:00PM on Tuesdays in room 3234 BPS. If you cannot make this office hour and would like to make an appointment please send an e-mail to Professor Schwienhorst at schwier@pa.msu.edu. Please include a phone number and a copy of your academic schedule in order to set up a meeting at a mutually convenient time.
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/s2". 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 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: