TENTATIVE CALENDAR PHYSICS 357 SPRING 2014
BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION: We will attempt to perform the experiments listed below.
Each one will be preceded by at least one lecture, usually more, on the background
physics needed for that experiment. The lectures for the first few weeks will stress the
statistical treatment of data and the law of propagation of errors.
COURSE PURPOSE, SCOPE, AND EXPECTED STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
The purpose of the course includes transmission to the students of the
sufficient background and understanding that allow them to make sensible
measurements in experimental physics. In addition the students are
expected to gain the facility of determining how errors in taking data arise
and propagate to yield the errors in final results. It is expected that as a
result of writing an analysis of each experiment set up and performed the
students will develop skill in planning experiments with meaningful data
and minimal errors.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
(1) Students will be working in pairs, two students at each of the four stations. They
will alternate in such a way that by the end of the semester each student will have
composed two Write Ups (WU) and 4 Non Write Ups (NWU) as explained below.
(2) All lab books due (turn in both graded and ungraded lab books ) ABSOLUTE
DEADLINE: FRI, MAY 9. THE DEADLINE FOR TURNING IN GRADES BY THE
INSTRUCTOR IS MAY 20 AT 11PM. THIS IS ONLY 5 DAYS AFTER THE LAST DAY OF
FINAL EXAMS. THIS LEAVES VERY LITTLE TIME FOR CATCHING UP ON UNFINISHED
EXPERIMENTS AND FOR GRADING.
YOU MUST RECOGNIZE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE DEADLINES FOR TURNING IN
YOUR WORK AND HANDING THINGS IN VERY LATE OR AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER.
NO INCOMPLETES!
(3) Due dates for all formal writeups (WU) on 4 experiments as well as due dates for all
nonwriteups (NWU) and problem sheet are listed below. Each one of the experiments must be
turned in no later than the Friday of the specific week indicated in the calendar below. If you
complete the analysis of an experiment early, then turn it in on a Friday as soon as possible after
completing the experiment. You will be docked 1 point per day for each day that you are late in
handing in a required report or problem sheet unless you have a legitimate excuse. You must not
wait until the end of the semester and turn them all in. If a large number are not turned in on
time, or if you do not turn them in until the end of the semester YOU WILL NOT BE GRADED ON
THEM AND YOUR GRADE LOWERED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GRADING SCALE AT THE END
OF THIS CALENDAR. The instructor will return reports as promptly as other responsibilities
permit, but grading carefully 48 reports, 80 quizzes, and 8 formal reports also requires an
enormous amount of time.
WEEK
(Tues.)
Jan.28
EXPT. PERFORMED
Expt. I, statistics of
nuclear counting
DUE DATE FOR
WU, NWU OR
PROBS(FRI)
none
QUIZ ON EXPT
LISTED
quiz on error
(10)
Feb. 4
Expt.II, Tu., Nuclear
Decay,WLS; Th.Expt.III
Feb. 11 Expt. III,parts of RCL
Circuits & Resonance
Feb. 18 Expt. VII, HF Trans
& Pulse Propagation
Feb. 25 Expt.VI, Fabry Perot
Interferometers
Mar. 4
Finish Expt.VI; start
Expt. IX,Zeeman effect
Mar. 11 Expt. IX,Z.E., Hyperfine
Structure, Isotope shift
Mar. 18 Expt. IV, Hall Effect &
carrier Mobility
Mar. 25 Expt. VIII, Diffraction,
Fresnel, Fraunhofer
Apr. 8 Expt.XI, Gas Lasers
Apr. 15 Expt.XI, Gas Lasers
Apr. 22 Expt.XIII,Franck-Hertz
expt.,discrete levels
Apr. 29 Expt.XII, Pulsed NMR
none
EXPTI
NWU)
none
none
quiz on errors
(10)
EXPT.II
(WU)
Prob Sheet
(due Fri)
EXPT.III
(NWU)
EXPT.VI
(NWU)
EXPT. IV
(WU)
EXPT.IX
(WU)
EXPT.VIII
(NWU)
EXPT. IV
(NWU)
EXPT.XIII
quiz on I,II
(20)
quiz on III
(20)
none
quiz on VI
(20)
none
quiz on VIII
(20)
quiz on IV
(20)
quiz on XIII
(20)
quiz on XIV
(20)
May. 8 Expt.X, Cav. Balance
quiz on X
(20)
All expts., both graded and ungraded, INCLUDING X are due on May 9
EXPT. XI IS A FORMAL WRITEUP AND IS DUE ON MAY 9
NOTE: IN THE SYLLABUS EACH EXPERIMENT HAS A CHECKLIST AT THE END SO THAT YOU
CAN CHECK TO BE SURE YOU HAVE RECORDED ALL NEEDED DATA BEFORE LEAVING THE LAB.
NOTE HOWEVER THAT SINCE THE LAST SYLLABUS REVISION SEVERAL CHANGES MEAN THAT
THIS SEMESTER SEVERAL ARE INCOMPLETE, SO MAKE YOUR OWN CHECKLIST TO BE SAFE
NOTE: Eight of the experiments do not require a writeup. This means that for these
experiments (NWU) you do not have to write out the answers to the questions asked in
the syllabus, unless they relate to the analysis of your data to get an asked for result, and
errors. However, it is essential in these experiments that you:
(1) record the data in your laboratory computation book.
(2) analyze the data.
(3) compute all of the experimental quantities which are
involved in the experiment and requested in the syllabus.
(4) record the quantities determined in (3) in your lab book.
If you do choose to answer all the questions for any of the
eight experiments you will receive extra credit . These
May .6 Expt.XII, Pulsed NMR
(NWU)
EXPT.XIV
(NWU)
none
reports will be included in the final grade, and will be
counted as making up a part of the grade for item #2
in the next section; namely, "Lab book, nonwriteups".
(see grading policy).
These eight experiments will be graded as follows:
E(excellent, 9 or 10); S(satisfactory, 7 or 8); P (poor, 5 or 6)
U (unsatisfactory, 0 - 3). The maximum number of points on
a"nonwriteup" report for analyzing the data and answering
only questions related to the analysis of the data is 8. They will be weighted so as to
constitute approximately 17% of the grade. Approximately 20 % of the grade assigned to
each report will be devoted to organization of the report. Organize your thoughts on each
experiment and the report on that experiment before you start.
Remember, someone has to read that report. Have you made your thoughts clear to the
reader? The most important suggestion that can be offered for both "nonwriteups" and
"writeups" is that you complete these experiments in so far as analyzing the data is
concerned as soon as possible after you perform the experiment !!! If you put them aside,
you will have the impossible (and unacceptable) task of trying to complete the analysis
on all 6 or 7 experiments during the last week of the semester. Budget your time and
don't get behind. The due dates for the writeup(WU) and nonwriteup(NWU) expts. are
given on the calendar above. MANY OF THE EXPERIMENTS HAVE COMPUTER
SPREADSHEETS WHICH WILL DO MUCH OF THE ANALYSIS AND GIVE YOU THE
RESULTS. THE EXPERIMENTS WHICH HAVE SUCH SPREADSHEETS ARE IDENTIFIED IN
THE SYLLABUS.
SAVE THIS OUTLINE! It is the calendar for experiments and quizzes,
and it gives the weighting to be used in the final grade.
Prerequisites and Corequisites: The present curriculum plan for physics majors is based
on the assumption that the student has completed Chem 200, Physics 197, 311, or EE
330, EE 330L and 354 before enrolling in Physics 357. Several of the experiments
performed in Physics 357 require certain concepts which are discussed in Physics 311
and Physics 354 and if you have not previously encountered these concepts you will be
at a disadvantage. It is best if you are currently enrolled in Physics 410 or have
completed it.
Text:
Laboratory Syllabus for 357 (revised 2013) (required)
Introduction To Modern Optics, Hecht (recommended
reference)
Practical Physics, G. L. Squires, 4th ed.
(Cambridge) (required)
Taylor Manual, (useful reference) (several copies are available in
the library and two are available in the lab).
Experimental Physics, R. A. Dunlap, Oxford Press, 1988,
(useful reference)
Additional references and reading assignments for the subject of
errors and measurements: Note that the Study Outline I on
Errors has specific references to both Squires and the Taylor Manual. You should make
your first reading assignment the pertinent references made to Squires in Study Outline I
and also the Taylor Manual if it is available to you. This latter reference is written at a
more advanced level. If you are interested in outside reading on the subject of errors and
measurements the references below are particularly readable:
a. "Scientific American", October 1970, p. 62 (in library)
b. "Contemporary Physics", June 1966, p. 350 (in library)
c. Practical Statistics Simply Explained, by Langley, Dover
d. Probability and Experimental Errors in Science, by
Parratt, Dover
e. An Introduction To Error Analysis, John R. Taylor, SECOND ED.
f. Statistical Treatment of Experimental Data, Young
(copy available in the lab)
g. A Practical Guide To Data Analysis for Physical
Science Students, Louis Lyons, Cambridge Univ.Press
GRADING POLICY
POINTS
APPROXIMATE %
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Lab Book, Writeups
Lab Book, Nonwriteups
Technique
Formal Report
Quizzes
Problems
300
200
105
130
360
105
-----1200 Total
25
17
9
10
30
9
It is important to emphasize that the grades in this course are not based upon class
average for a particular semester.
OFFICE HOURS
DAY
M, W
T,Th
F
S ,S
TIME
OFFICE
2:30(+OR-20)PM- 7:00PM
available,5-7PM
2:30(+OR-20) until 7:30 p.m.
~3,4 until 7:30PM
P-338
P-338
P-338.
P-338
OFFICE PHONE: 594-6160
The office hours stated are subject to change if colloquia, committee or dept. meetings are
called. If you can’t make any of these times e-mail me and we hopefully can arrange a time.
email: richard.morris@mail.sdsu.edu