Syllabus for PHY251 Spring 2007  

LABORATORY REQUIREMENTS

SCHEDULE
Laboratories will begin on January 22, 2007 and run through April 27, 2007. There will be 13 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 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.  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 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 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
Because 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 lab instructor beforehand, and provide an explanatory note with suitable documentation.  If there is room in another section that week, you can make arrangements with your lab instructor to make up the lab by attending a different section.  Note, however, that many of the sections are full, so it may not be possible to find room in another section.  To ease the burden on students who must miss a lab due to a legitimate reason, we will drop the lowest lab score or 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 Professor Norman Birge. His office hours are Wednesdays, 3:30-5:00 PM, in room 4224 BPS. If you cannot make these office hours and would like to make an appointment, send an e-mail to Professor Birge at birge@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 instructor, 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 four software tools you will use in the physics labs:

I. Microsoft Excel
Excel is a spreadsheet program that 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, and it performs all repetitive calculations so you can concentrate on graphing and interpreting your data.  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
Kaleidagraph is a general plotting program. It takes its input from columns of data and allows you either to plot a histogram of the contents of one column or graph any column versus any other column. Although some of these things are possible in Excel, Kaleidagraph has a user-friendly interface for adjusting axes/labels/text/bins etc. in any of the graphs. The input for the graphs is copied and 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 flash memory stick or floppy disk. It can then be printed separately or copied and 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 you may choose to 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
Video Point 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.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND HINTS:

·  Bring a flash memory stick or floppy disk to each lab, so you can save your files as you work.  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!!!  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. 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.

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

 

Last update: January 18, 2007