General Physics Laboratory 213
Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
Lab:
Office Hours:
Web site:
Fall 2008
Jennifer Fowler
CHCB 226
406-243-5273
M,T, or W, 3:10-5:00 PM. CHCB Room 229.
Mondays 10-11am, Wednesdays 2-3pm and by appointment.
www.physics.umt.edu/labs
Overview: The goal of this class is to give you a sound introduction to classical experimental physics. This
will include studying some basic concepts in physics, development of problem solving skills, and learning of
laboratory techniques. It is essential that you keep up from the start as the concepts in this course build on
each other. Co-requisite to this course is PHY 211.
Laboratory: There will be 11 two-hour labs during the semester. 10 of those labs will count towards your
final grade. You will be required to attend the labs, take measurements, and then write up a report for each
lab. Each student must hand in their own lab report written in their own words (no duplicates!) In preparation
for the course, you should go to the course web site to download two documents: (1) Laboratory Report Guide,
which gives instructions on what to include in the lab report and how to present your results; and (2) Errors
and the Treatment of Data, which explains how to handle error analysis, graphing, and other key issues that
come up while writing labs. Each week, a few days before your lab, you should download and print a copy of
the current lab, read it and bring it with you to your lab meeting. Students are expected to have read the
instructions prior to arriving at the lab, and will be asked to write a brief pre-lab assignment. Labs are held
Mon 3:10-5 pm, Tues 3:10-5 pm or Wed 3:10-5 pm in room CHCB 225 or 229. Lab Reports are due at the
next lab meeting. The last lab report is due December 5. Absolutely no labs will be accepted after this date.
There will be no make-up labs; if you miss your lab go to another section that week.
Grading:
Laboratory Write-ups:
Pre-laboratory Write-ups:
80%
20%
(100 pts each)
(10 pts each)
This course can be taken for a traditional letter grade only:
A=90%-100%, B=80%-89%, C=70%-79%, C=60%-69%, F=59% or less
All students must practice academic honesty. Academic misconduct is subject to an academic penalty by the
course instructor and/or disciplinary sanction by the University. All students need to be familiar with the Student Conduct Code. The Code is available for review online at www.umt.edu/SA/VPSA/index.cfm/page/1321.
General Physics Laboratory 213
Schedule
Week:
Labs
Week 1
Aug 25–29
Introduction to Error Analysis.
Week 2
Sept 1–5
NO LAB
Week 3
Sept 8–12
Measuring g
Week 4
Sept 15–19
Projectiles
Week 5
Sept 22–26
Equilibrium
Week 6
Sept 29–Oct 3
Circular Motion
Week 7
Oct 6–10
Hooke’s Law
Week 8
Oct 13–17
E and p
Week 9
Oct 20–24
Collisions
Week 10
Oct 27–31
Moment of Inertia
Week 11
Nov 3–7
NO LAB
Week 12
Nov 10–14
NO LAB
Week 13
Nov 17–21
Simple Pendulum
Week 14
Nov 24–28
NO LAB
Week 15
Dec 1–5
Archimedes’ Principle
Week 16
Dec 8–12
Final’s Week NO LAB
Fall 2008