Physics 161-206 University Physics Lab I
Fall 2014, Room 324 Planetary Hall, Thursdays, 7:20 PM – 10:00 PM
Instructor:
Office:
Andrew Shabaev
Research Hall, room 227
Phone:
E-mail:
703-993-9221
ashabaev@gmu.edu
Please note: All communication via email to your instructor must be through
your GMU email account. Your instructor may send information to the class
via email. It is up to each student to regularly check his or her GMU email
account.
Office Hours:
Text:
THURSDAY: 6:00 – 7:00 PM or by appointment
All experiment write-ups are available on line through Blackboard.
Lab Schedule:
Date
8/28
Lab Topic
Measurement lab
9/4
No Lab this week (Labor Day)
2
9/11
Free Fall
3
9/18
Projectile Motion
Problem set
(Individual)
In class (Group)
4
9/25
Vectors and Newton’s Laws I
In class (Group)
5
10/2
Newton’s Laws II
Individual Report
6
10/9
Work and Energy
In class (Group)
7
10/16
Pendulum
In class (Group)
8
10/23
Conservation of Energy
Individual Report
9
10/30
Conservation of Momentum
In class (Group)
10
11/6
Moment of Inertia
Individual Report
11
11/13
In class (Group)
12
11/20
Rotational Motion and Angular
Momentum
Static Equilibrium
11/27
No lab this week (Thanksgiving)
12/4
Lab final exam
1
Assignment
Problem set
(Individual)
Individual Report
In class (Individual)
1
Grading:
Lab Reports (14 points each, best 10 out of 11)
Problem Set on Measurement Uncertainties
Quizzes (2 points each, best 10 out of 11)
Final test
Total
140 points
14 points
20 points
26 points
200 points
A = 200-180
B+= 179.99-173
B = 172.99-167
B- = 166.99-160
C+= 159.99-153
C = 152.99-147
C- = 146.99-140
D = 139.99-120
Goals and Requirements for the Course:
This course is designed to help students to develop the ability to perform scientific experiments and to enhance their
understanding of theoretical material presented in PHYS160 (Mechanics) by performing landmark experiments with
emphasis on the presentation and interpretation of experimental data. Such data will be assessed within the context of
experimental uncertainties.
PHYS160 is co-requisite to PHYS161. The student will be required to make extensive use of computer-generated graphs
and tables for displaying and analyzing experimental data. This will be accomplished using Excel or other spreadsheet
programs of comparable capability. To this end, each laboratory station is equipped with PC and requisite software.
Additional computing facilities are available on campus for students who require more time, but do not have access to the
software at home.
Lab Manual
Individual lab write-ups can be accessed through Blackboard and must be downloaded before each class. Print out the write-up
at home and bring it with you to the lab. Students are not permitted to print the lab write-ups using the lab printers.
Lab Groups:
Students will work in groups. Each group will consist of 2-3 students. Instructors may assign lab groups at their
discretion. All members of a group should be involved in conducting lab experiments. Students should rotate the
responsibilities so that each student gets experience on the software programs and Excel, as these abilities will be tested
on the final exam.
Computers may not be used for any purpose until the lecture is over. At no time may they be used for reading e-mail or web
surfing. After the lab, you may e-mail your results to your account or save the files on a memory stick.
Quizzes:
At the beginning of each lab (Except the Lab 1: Measurement), students will take a short quiz for that specific lab.
Students must read the lab write-ups and review lecture material that corresponds to the lab before attending the lab.
Quizzes may include the following: lab procedures, theory from the lab write-up or from lecture, Excel techniques, or
graph analysis.
Lab Reports:
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For those experiments designated “Individual Report” in the schedule, all students are required to submit an individual
lab report. These reports must be an individual’s effort that reflects the understanding of the individual student of the
experiment. Reports will be turned in to the instructor at the start of the next scheduled lab session. The group lab reports
are done by the members of each lab group collectively. Each member of the group must be actively involved and
contribute to the completion of the lab report. The reports labeled as “in-class” are due the same day that the experiment is
performed. Late lab reports are penalized 2 points per DAY. No lab report will be accepted more than 6 days late. The lab
report with the lowest grade will be dropped. Students are not allowed to print their lab reports in the lab using the
lab printer.
Plagiarism is a violation of the honor code. Since students will work together, it is important to understand what
permissible group work is and what must be done individually. In taking data, each student may perform a different role but
everyone must participate in performing each part of the experiment. You may not report on parts of an experiment that you
did not actively participate in. Usually one person will enter data into the computer and all students may use computer
calculations and graphs done in the lab. All work done outside of the lab must be completed individually. Work that must
be done individually includes the introduction, conclusion, uncertainty calculations and discussion of uncertainties.
Students may discuss these sections with their lab partners but the work must be done individually and copying is strictly
forbidden. Any two reports that have identical sentences or have paragraphs with identical structure will be considered
plagiarized
Makeup Labs:
There are NO makeup labs. Students who do not attend a lab may not turn in a lab report for that lab. Students who miss
a lab due to an emergency must provide sufficient documentation for their absence. In that case the grade corresponding
to the missed lab will be redistributed among other labs. Students who miss a lab due to a non-emergency will receive a
grade zero for that lab. Students who miss more than one lab will be required to take an incomplete for the course.
Pre-Lab Lecture:
There is an introductory lecture at the beginning of each lab. It is expected that all students arrive on time and not miss
any portion of this lecture. After the lecture, students work in their groups and conduct the experiment scheduled for that
day. Students who miss the pre-lab lecture WILL NOT be allowed to conduct the experiment for that particular lab.
Data Sheet:
For each lab there are one or more data sheets to be filled out based on your lab experiment. All students are required to
have the instructor initial their data sheet before leaving the lab for the day. The initialed data sheet must be attached at
the end of the submitted lab. Students are encouraged to finish most of their calculations and error analysis in the lab.
Final:
A final test will be given at the beginning of the last lab period. This test will be a test of the laboratory procedures,
operations, set-ups, purpose, computations, graphs, error analysis, and difficulties pertaining to the experiments. It will
also it include specific measurements using devices used in the lab. Students should study the lab manual and their lab
reports to prepare for the test. This lab test is not a test of all the material that is covered in the lecture part of the physics
course, but only the material used in the lab. This test may include questions regarding the use of the computer and how it
was used in this course.
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Individual Lab Report Format:
Each member of a group must submit a laboratory report neatly handwritten or typed in his or her own words. The basic
format is as follows:
PHYS-161: Individual Lab Report Format:
Each member of a group must submit a laboratory report neatly handwritten or typed in his or her own words. The basic format is as
follows:
Laboratory Research Paper Format for Individual papers:
Lab Research Paper Title
Author
Date of submission
Lab Partners Names
Computer Person Name
1. Abstract (1 points)
A brief statement summarizing what was done, why, and giving the principal results. It should be complete enough so
that one need not read the paper to understand the abstract. Everything in the abstract is repeated, but with more
elaboration, in the paper. The purpose of the abstract is to allow the reader to determine whether or not it will be
worth the while to read the entire paper. All data result values may not be included in this section but some statement
as to the conclusiveness of the data is required. It is best to write the abstract after the entire paper has been written. It
is impossible to write this section before all analysis is completed.
2. Introduction (1 points)
The introduction provides the background and theory motivating the experiment as well as your hypothesis which likely results
from such theory. Important physical principles that may be used later in the paper should be explained in a general way. Key
derivations that lead to these results should be referenced and included as appendices. Equations used in the body of the report
must be introduced in this section unless the equation is not part of the theory at hand, for example a geometrical equation used
because of procedural steps. These types of equations should be included in the Results portion of the lab paper.
3. Description of the Experiment (2 points)
The experiment must be described thoroughly but concisely. The description should cover all apparatus used (diagrams of
experimental arrangements, if helpful) and a short discussion of techniques and procedures. This latter discussion only needs to be
sufficiently detailed to reveal both the strengths and weaknesses of the work. Do not copy bullet lists from the lab manual, this
section must be your own work.
4. Results (These are results based on your experimental measurements, NOT on theoretical predictions) (3 points)
Present your experimentally gathered data and observations of that data in tabular and/or graphical form. Make sure to write
about each graph or table directly after it has been introduced. Include a description of any mathematical manipulations of the
data such as how the associated uncertainty was calculated for the measured values. Any sample calculations should be included
in the Appendices; the results of these calculations should be included in the data table presentation beside the relevant data. After
each data presentation, i.e. data table or graph, observations should be discussed. Data may not be simply stapled to the back of
the lab paper but included within the body of the lab paper. If data is long, students may abbreviate the data to relevant columns
but entire data sets must be referenced and included in an appendix unless otherwise noted by the lab instructor. If multiple data
runs were acquired discussing of precision may appropriately be completed in this section.
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5. Analysis (3 points)
Analysis of the experimental and predicted results should be presented here. Experimentally obtained graphs and tabular data
comparison to theoretical curves belong here. Results stand or fall as supported by the data and analysis, irrespective of your
opinion. Accuracy analysis belongs in this section because it compares experimental data to predicted results.
6. Closing Remarks(1 point)
Draw conclusions about the results. While speculations are sometimes appropriate in this section, opinion must be carefully
distinguished from conclusions that are supported completely by evidence.
7. References (1 point)
List the sources (books, papers, URLs, etc…) you used when writing your lab research paper. Please note that copying a picture
from a website or from the online manual requires a citation. Please make sure to include all URL addresses used as sources either
of content or images during the paper writing procedure. Make sure to avoid plagiarism when using any of the sources.
Contains raw data instructor signed page, material that elaborates on or supplements what is in the body of the paper, such as
derivations of important relationships (equations), sample calculations for uncertainty propagation, and general calculations of
variables. If large data has been abbreviated, the entire data set should be contained in an appendix as well unless the data longer
than 1 printed page.
Points given for each part of the lab report
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Some Tips for Lab Reports
In writing your report your goal should be to cover everything that is required in as few words as possible. Some students
include “extras” in hopes of enhancing their grade but this is usually a waste of time. Examples of extra material that will
not result in a better grade are details of the life of the scientist that did the work, derivations of the equations, history of
the development of the theory, applications of the technology, discussions of how much you enjoyed or didn’t enjoy doing
the experiment, describing how hard it was to make the measurements or how you initially made a mistake and wasted
time.
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