PH 201L: Calculus-Based Physics I Laboratory
Fall 2015
______________________________________________________________________________
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Office Phone:
E-mail:
Web Page:
Course Format:
Manual:
Lab Meetings:
Maria Novovic-Zec, M.S.
ILB, Room 229
Tuesday & Wednesday 10:00-11:00
Friday 1:00-2:00
460-6224 ext. 1374
mnovovic@southalabama.edu
http://southalabama.edu/colleges/artsandsci/physics → Faculty →
Faculty Stuff → Mrs. Marija Novovic→ Personal Webpage
Lab-No Web Component, Lab-Web Enhanced
Physics Experiments for PH 201 & 202, 5th edition, May 2014.
ILB 120
Lab Schedule:
Week of:
Aug 18-24
Aug 25-31
Sep 1-4 & 14
Sep 7-11
Sep 15-21
Sep 22-28
Sep 29-Oct 5
Oct 8 & 9
Oct 12-16
Oct 19-23
Oct 26-30
Nov 2-6
Nov 9-13
Nov 16-20
Nov 23-27
Nov 30-Dec 4
Experiment number
(Tue-Mon)
(Tue-Mon)
(Tue-Fri & Mon)
(Tue-Mon)
(Tue-Mon)
(Tue-Mon)
(Mon-Fri)
(Mon-Fri)
(Mon-Fri)
(Mon-Fri)
(Mon-Fri)
(Mon-Fri)
(Mon-Fri)
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
Topic
Introduction
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
Course Description and Objective:
This laboratory course will supplement the lecture course for introductory calculus-based
physics (PH 201). The PH 201L grade is a component of the PH 201 course grade.
Student must pass this laboratory course to receive a passing grade in the PH 201 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 201 & 202 Laboratory Manual, 5th 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.