Syllabus - Physics 191
Fall Semester 2010
updated Aug 18, 2010
Lead Instructor:
Professor
Lisa Lapidus
Room 4223 BPS Building
884-5656
lapidus@msu.edu
Office hours: Fridays, 2-4 PM
Print this syllabus, which also contains the schedule for your
course. The write-ups for the experiments are linked to the schedule at the end
of this syllabus. Click here to find the instructor
for your section.
Course Objectives and Description
In this course we will perform a series of experiments illustrating several
principles of classical mechanics covered in the lecture courses. The
analysis of these experiments is designed to give practial experience in
quantitative measurement, organization and critical interpretation of results,
and the evaluation of uncertainties necessary to scientific measurement. The
course is definitely not "cookbook" style: every detail of procedure
isn't spelled out. It is significantly more demanding than the 251
laboratory, and meets the level required of physics and astrophysics
majors. The official course description is here.
THE COURSE GOALS in brief:
During this course, we expect you to:
* become familiar with some particular laboratory equipment and procedures.
* use reference materials to decide how best to carry out analyses measurements
within the available time
* make careful and critical measurements.
* record and organize your observations.
* estimate uncertainties in your measurements
* judge whether your measurements are consistent with previous measurements.
The laboratory exercises are meant to prepare you to preform and analyze
your own scientific measurements, but will require you to think through how best
to perform the measurements, analyze, and interpret the results.
Class Schedule
The first class will be introductory. The first laboratory session, during the week
of September 13, will consist of 3 hours of analysis of existing data using
Excel and Kaleidagraph. If for any reason you miss your first lab session, you
should contact your instructor or Professor Lapidus immediately. The detailed
schedule is given at the end of this syllabus.
Materials
1. You will need to print out this syllabus and bring it to
class.
2. The textbook for this course is "An Introduction to
Error Analysis" (2nd edition) by John R. Taylor, published by
University Science Books.
3. The experiments are described on the PHY191 web pages linked to the schedule
at the end of this syllabus. You should print out the lab write-up (you'll
need Adobe PDF
Reader) for the experiment you will be performing and bring it to
the lab. The first lab write-up, Experiment 1,
also contains the Reference Guide for the class, so bring the
Experiment 1 writeup to every lab. The alternative to printing
the lab write-ups is to purchase a course
pack from the Student Bookstore (on Grand River),
which will contain all the printed materials except this syllabus.
4. You must record your observations/data in a lab book. This may be a traditional bound lab book or a
spiral (not looseleaf) notebook. You
will be required to attach a copy of the pages you used for each lab report and
keep a copy for yourself. If you use a
notebook with “carbonless” copies, please hand in the original
white pages, not the yellow pages.
5. You will need to bring to lab each week a scientific calculator.
6. To back up data for experiments spanning 2 weeks, it is advised (but not
required) that you bring a USB Flash Disk (sometimes also called a "thumb
drive", "jump drive", "key disk", etc.).
7.Finally, because this is a physics lab, you will need access to a
calculus-level physics text such as Fundamentals of Physics (Halliday et. al.)
or Physics for Scientists and Engineers (Bauer et. al.).
Excel and Kaleidagraph will be used for data analysis in the lab sessions.
Kaleidagraph is also available in the physics help room and can be downloaded
temporarily, or purchased, at the Kaleidagraph
web site. However, most students should not need to use Kaleidagraph
outside the laboratory period.
Laboratory Procedures and Grading
You will do the experiments in groups of two (with a different partner for
most experiments). You will collaborate with your partner in data
taking, but you are expected to do independent calculations and write
independent reports. Most labs will consist of two 3 hour sessions. Your instructor
will initial your data before you leave the lab. Each report will
be handed in the next week after the in-class portion of the lab is
completed. Late reports will not be accepted.
Attendance is mandatory. If you have an excused medical
absence, your instructor will determine whether you will be permitted to do a
makeup or whether you will be graded on the remaining reports.
Before each class, you will be expected to print and read the description
of the experiment, and read sections of the book by Taylor to clarify how to perform the
necessary error estimations. This advance preparation is essential if you
wish to successfully finish the lab. Write your responses to
“Questions for Discussion” in lab book before the experiment. You
may discuss them with your lab partner beforehand. Based on the lab write-up,
it is suggested that you make yourself a checklist of the
measurements and analysis plots you will need to make during the lab period. In
later labs, you will need to plan what tables you need to organize your data
and results.
Your laboratory measurements will be performed during class, but you should
also make graphs and perform calculations during class to determine whether
your measurements are valid. If you blindly take data without checking
it, your grade will suffer.
There will also be homework assignments due most weeks (= 15% of lab grade).
There tends to be more homework earlier in the term, as more new material on
error analysis is encountered then. For similar reasons, most students find the
earlier experiments somewhat harder. A practical examination during the last
week of classes will count for 20% of the class grade. That leaves 65% for the
scores on the regular lab reports. There is no final exam in this course.
Grades have been typically assigned by a curve for students supervised by a
particular instructor.
SCHEDULE:
The lab schedule is given in the table below. Print out the lab writeup for
your next lab (if you haven't bought the course pack) and study it
before class. All sessions will be held in the lab room BPS 1263.