______________________________________________________________________________
Instructor: Maria Novovic-Zec, M.S.
Office:
Office Hours:
Office Phone:
E-mail:
ILB, Room 229
Tuesday & Wednesday 10:00-11:00
Friday 1:00-2:00
460-6224 ext. 1374 mnovovic@southalabama.edu
Web Page: http://southalabama.edu/colleges/artsandsci/physics
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Course Format: Lab-No Web Component, Lab-Web Enhanced
Manual: Physics Experiments for PH 114 & 115, 5 th
edition, May 2014.
Lab Meetings: ILB 120
Lab Schedule:
Week of:
Aug 18-24
Aug 25-31 (Tue-Mon)
Sep 1-4 & 14 (Tue-Fri & Mon)
Sep 7-11
Sep 15-21 (Tue-Mon)
Sep 22-28
Sep 29-Oct 5
Oct 8 & 9
Oct 12-16
(Tue-Mon)
(Tue-Mon)
(Tue-Mon)
(Mon-Fri)
Oct 19-23
Oct 26-30
Nov 2-6
(Mon-Fri)
(Mon-Fri)
(Mon-Fri)
Nov 9-13
Nov 16-20
Nov 23-27
(Mon-Fri)
(Mon-Fri)
Nov 30-Dec 4 (Mon-Fri)
Course Description and Objective:
Experiment number Topic
Introduction
Lab 1
Lab 2
Labor Day
Lab 3
Lab 4
Lab 5
Fall Break
Lab 6
Lab 7
Lab 8
Lab 9
Lab 10
Lab 11
Thanksgiving
Lab 12
Uncertainties
Density
No labs this week
Acceleration due to gravity
Projectile motion
Dynamics
No labs on Tue-Fri this week
Work-Energy theorem
Conservation of momentum
Centripetal acceleration
Moment of inertia
Simple harmonic motion
Mechanical waves
No labs this week
Mechanical equivalent of heat
This laboratory course will supplement the lecture course for introductory algebra/trigonometry-based physics (PH 114). The PH 114L grade is a component of the
PH 114 course grade. Student must pass this laboratory course to receive a passing grade in the PH 114 course. We will perform experiments that help to explain some of the physical processes that you encounter every day. Students are expected to gather a deeper understanding of the physical phenomena, its underlying mathematics and principal experience reporting their observations. In addition, the lab reports you write should help improve your scientific and technical writing skills.

Course Materials:
•
Physics Experiments for PH 114 &115 Laboratory Manual, 5 th
edition, May 2014
•
Lab Folder
•
Paper and pencil/pen, ruler, calculator and graph paper
There is no need for you to bring and use your laptops in the lab. There are several softwares we will be using to acquire and/or analyze the data, and those are available on computers in the lab. Please do not use your cell phones during the lab.
Attendance Policy:
The lab is an integral part of the course, and attendance to labs is mandatory. You are expected to arrive on time, and to complete assignments as scheduled. If you need to miss a lab session, you may attend another section during the week of the missed lab only if you have prior approval of both instructors! Make up work must be turned in to the instructor of the make up class attended. I only allow two excused absences per semester.
Any unexcused absence will result in grade of zero for that week’s lab report.
Students with Disabilities:
“In accordance with the Americas with disabilities Act, students with disabilities who are registered with the Office of Student Disability Services will be afforded reasonable accommodations in completing lab assignments.”
Lab Reports:
There are 12 labs throughout the semester. Your final lab grade is the average of all lab grades. There is no “drop grade”. The Lab Manual is MANDATORY and must be purchased prior to coming to the first lab. All work performed in the lab will be documented by lab reports. The lab reports will be typed or handwritten individually and will be turned in at the end of each lab period. You will be working in groups of 2 during the labs. It is expected that group members share the same data collected during the experiment, but the content of the report itself should be unique for each individual.
Material copied from the lab manual, textbook any printed/electronic source etc. or material copied from another student will be assigned a grade of zero. Late work will not be accepted.
Grades:
Lab reports will be graded out of a maximum of 100 points according to the following scale:
Preliminary Assignment (10%) Data (20%)
Title and Objective (5%) Calculations (25%)
Equipment (5%) Conclusion (15%)
Theory (20%)
The points awarded in each section are based on the inclusion or omission of the required elements, neatness, and overall presentation.
Preliminary Assignment
•
Preliminary assignment is located at the end of each lab in the lab manual. You will need to read the lab in order to answer the questions.

•
Preliminary assignment must be turned at the beginning of the class, before the lab introduction.
Objective
•
Briefly and clearly state the purpose of the laboratory experiment in your own words. Why is this lab being performed?
Equipment
•
List all equipment used in each lab experiment.
Theory
•
Explain the physics behind the topic being studied in your own words and include all the equations that are being used. What do we need to know in order to perform the experiment?
•
Define the variables.
•
Do not discuss the particulars of the experiment itself.
•
Do not word equations.
Data
•
Sketch experimental set-up.
•
Describe the experiment.
•
Explain how the equipment was used to obtain your data (what did you do in order to obtain data and what data did you get).
•
Data tables are to be neat and organized (including UNITS, uncertainty, etc.)
•
Write down all measured quantities with corresponding uncertainties.
Calculations
•
Show the calculations step by step. Write general formulas (equations) first.
•
Calculate relevant instrumental and statistical uncertainties.
•
Use MKS (Meters, Kilograms, Seconds).
•
Use transitional text between equations.
•
Compare your results with any known values.
Conclusion
•
Report your results (state the experimental results with absolute uncertainty) and draw conclusions based on those results. Do your results provide evidence to support the physics theory you are investigating? In other words was the objective of the lab reached?
•
Discuss “sources of error”. Do not give a list of mistakes that you may have made along the way, but rather think about the nature of the measurements. What is the largest contributing factor to the total error? Are there assumptions made in the theory that are not strictly true in the real world? Finally, never say “human error”! It’s a meaningless phrase.
At the end of class you must turn your current as well as the graded lab report from the previous week. Your graded reports will be kept on file and will not be returned. Students who fail to do so will not pass the lab section. The average of all lab reports will determine your final lab grade for the semester.