PHYS 3650: Modern Physics Lab
General Information
Instructor:
R. Michalak,
Office
215 PS
E-mail
rudim@uwyo.edu
GA’s:
Austin Gager
PS 233
agager@uwyo.edu
Office hours(RM): PS215, Wednesday 1-3pm
Lecture:
First day
1-2 pm
Lab:
First day
2-4pm
Second and Third day 1-4pm
Un-supervised and minimally supervised lab makeup sessions by appointment.
Text:
Melissinos ‘Experiments in Modern Physics’
Additional texts (not required):
Taylor ‘Error Theory’
Krane or Taylor ‘Modern Physics’ – your old text form Phys 2320
Webpage:
You will find course related information on my website
www.physics.uwyo.edu/~rudim
Course Content:
This course is an introduction to experimentation techniques and experiments in modern physics. We learn
about proper techniques for report writing, data analysis, literature research, and measuring techniques
including functional principles of measurement instrumentation.
We study a variety of landmark experiments, learn about electronics and semiconductors, and pursue
mastery in a subset of experiments that will be analyzed to a deeper level. During the study of the
introductory set of experiments, writing the laboratory report will be introduced chapter by chapter.
This course has been modified to fulfil USP2015-COM3. The course meets all seven of the following
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Use the discourse of a discipline or interdisciplinary field to communicate that field’s subject
matter to academic or professional audiences through written, oral, and digital
communication.
- three preliminary reports with draft deadlines
- three full reports at professional standard level
- six 20 minute oral prelabs
- seminar style 10 minute oral/powerpoint presentation at beginning of term about key
equipment
- IT: exploring Origin data analysis packet, Windat and Chaos experiment PC control
software
2. Find, analyze, evaluate, and document information appropriately as applicable to the
discipline, interdisciplinary field, or professional setting as demonstrated by completing a
substantial communication project that requires appropriate research skills.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
- each report’s and one limited report’s introduction section requires extensive literature
research; rules for citing, quoting trained in special 3 hour lecture (see below).
Recognize and evaluate more advanced aspects of communication that respond to the
purposes and needs of audiences in a discipline, interdisciplinary field, or professional
setting.
- special 3 hour lab report lecture defines audience of reports and sets rules how to address
audience appropriately
- seminar style report on equipment trains different audience specific presentation rules and
skills
Make effective use of multiple drafts, revision, computer technology, peer and instructor
comments, and collaboration to show understanding of communication standards in a
discipline or interdisciplinary field.
- three preliminary reports use drafts deadlines, explicit specific feedback and re-submission
deadlines
- data fitting individualized on Origin software package where students have to develop their
own fit routines( e.g. nuclear experiment – three to four Gaussian peaks with different
heights, positions, and widths overlap with 1/f background noise and continuous Compton
spectrum)
Observe the accepted conventions of spelling, grammar, organizational structure,
punctuation, delivery and documentation expected in disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or
professional contexts.
- three hour interactive lecture on report writing with real time exercises and commented
example reports
Deliver presentations in a confident and professional manner, consistent with the standards
of the discipline or interdisciplinary field.
- six oral prelabs and an oral midterm prepare and train the student for the 1 ½ hour final
oral exam
Interact effectively with audience members, engage opposing viewpoints constructively, and
demonstrate active listening skills.
- equipment seminar has question and answer section; student topics overlap to guarantee all
students have something to contribute and question during discussion.
- pre-labs are interactive discussions (see below)
All of the following information is tentative and I reserve the right to change any of it as seems
necessary to keep the class average on course. Such changes will be announced in class.
Lecture
During the first two weeks three hour long lecture blocks will be given on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. After that, each new experiment will start with a one hour lecture on one of the labs that are
coming up.
Laboratory
Nine complex modern physics experiments with two to three lab days each. On day one
of each experiment, the first hour is in lecture format to introduce one lab’s theory and practice. The
remainder of day one is set aside for your understanding of the experimental setup and trouble-shooting,
including the identification and minimizing of systematic errors and the deciding on necessary number of
repetitions for data statistics.
Students receive a detailed handout for the experiment they will perform in the following week. Each full
lab begins with questions about the theoretical and experimental background during the first 20 minutes of
the two times three hour lab, during which each student answers a set of related questions, which qualify
the student to participate in the lab.
Students are encouraged to come to office hours before lab day and address questions they have about the
lab instructions and theoretical background of an experiment.
Participation in all laboratory sessions is mandatory for the successful completion of this course. Excused
absence requires a valid doctor’s note or university excuse. In that case, an appointment is made for a
makeup session. Missing more than one lab day without university excuse or failing to submit more than
one lab report results in failing the course.
Lab groups will be arranged during the first week and will stay together for the term unless other rules will
be agreed upon between the students and the lecturer.
Students are responsible for making sure the data they take are meaningful and complete. Missing or wrong
data will lead to lower lab grades.
Safety advice is given at the beginning of the first lecture and students sign a consent form, which also
proves that the students have been instructed about lab related dangers and have been instructed how to
proceed in the event of an accident.
Lab reports and homework have to be handed in according to the schedule and will be handed back at the
beginning of the next but one lab day. Expectations for reports will be further specified in lecture.
A lab grade consists of two parts: The performance during lab and the grade on the lab report. Each student
hands in his or her own report and multiple copies of almost identical reports will not be accepted. Limited
Reports may be handed back before final grading for improvement so that they can be re-submitted by the
due date.
Grades
Labs with prelim reports:
Labs with full reports:
Final exam lab:
Standards:
3
3
1
27 in 4 categories
15%
30%
20%
35%
The standard grading rules:
• There are three level of standards one can achieve: Basic, Advanced, and Proficiency
• The levels are related to learning outcomes according to Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Basic Standard
= Bloom 1/2
- Memorization and Understanding
Advanced Standard
= Bloom 3
- Application
Proficiency Standard
= Bloom 4
- Analysis/Synthesis/Evaluation
To obtain the grade for standards you will need to accomplish certain mixes of standards in five categories.
Some of these can be assessed during lab, some during prelab or final exam, others in lecture (especially
the ‘Roman number’ lecture).
The four categories are: experiment, report, oral & theory, COM3. Once assessment starts (week 2) you
will get a master chart, and we keep records as well, that allows you to trace your progress and current
standing. The grades are compiled from the five categories. In order to fulfil a standard (at any of the three
levels) in any category you need to fulfil the standard in a certain number of sub-categories first.
Here are the sub-categories for each category:
• experiment: basic lab skills, safety skills, mastery of advanced apparatus, software packages,
data fitting, random error, systematic error, experiment modification/adaptation 8 sub-categories
• report: spellcheck, paragraph design, chapter design, chapter integration, report chapter content,
bibliography, deadlines 7 sub-categories
• oral & theory: preparation, audience, confidence, delivery, math, theory 6 sub-categories
• COM3: drafts, IT usage, use of jargon, oral exam, peer group, professional standards 6 sub-cat.
Some of the sub-categories are self-explaining, on others we will comment further as we reach the
assessment stage.
Before you reach a higher level standard you have to fulfil the respective lower level standards in each subcategory. If you fail a standard sub-category you can retake it as often as there is time, but not more than
once per day. Some standards you will fill implicitly and we will inform you at the end of the day about it
when you sign your standard sheet out for the day or when a lab report is returned. We will also explain
why you may have not passed a standard. The lab TA can award basic and advanced standards. Proficient
standards are only awarded by the instructor.
How awarded standards are converted into standard grades:
In order to get any grade from standards you need to accumulate enough sub-category standards to fulfil the
standard for the whole category. You will have to go through the whole procedure again to reach an
advanced standard, only this time at the advanced Bloom’s level. And then again for the proficient level. In
order to get the category basic standard you will need to achieve a basic standard in each sub-category. In
order to get the advanced or proficient standards in a category, you need an advanced/proficient in all but
one sub-category and at least and advanced standard in the last sub-category for the proficient category
standard.
Based on these achieved category standards, we will determine your per cent grade for the 35% of the
course grade which are standard based. A proficient standard category counts 8.75% toward the overall
standard grade, an advanced standard category counts 7.00%, and a basic standard category counts 6%.
For example, 1 proficient, 2 advanced, and 1 basic standard in categories will earn you 28.75 or 79.8% of
the total available 35% toward the final grade. 1 advanced, 2 basic and 1 unachieved category standard will
earn you 52.85 of the 35% = 18.5 % toward the final grade.
Grading rubric for reports:
Report intro
Report exp detail
Report
Results/Discussion
Report Conclusion
Report Labbook (data)
15%
15%
category Q
category E
category W
category *
miscellaneous (good use of draft, timely submission)
10%
10%
10%
10%
15%
5%
5%
5%
100%
total
category E
error progression
error statistic, use of error bar
data distribution and fitting
category W
maturity of writing
analysis and synthesis
integration of experiments in common perspective
labbook editing by rules
category Q
citations, bibliography
quotations
audience level
category *
data quality
data quantity
method independent repetition
report intro
motivation why, how does expt fit bigger course picture
order consistent with use in results
relation to current level of knowledge
model and approximation limits addressed
from general to specific
report expt details
apparatus, functioning and setup
parts which limit range
anticipated systematic errors
all parameters relevant for reproducibility
report results
summary of main data
clear line of thought / logical sequence of expt: why, how,
what
important sources of error, how corrected or minimized
use of handbook of physics to evaluate results
report conclusion
results meaning in bigger picture
non-trivial suggestions how to improve
report labbook
raw data with relevant observations
no erasing/ making unreadable (APS standard)
completeness
tidiness
organization
explanations and grading symbols
grading
symbols
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
evidence lacking
reason not fully appropriate
vague reasoning
insufficient reasoning
inappropriate reasoning
pov deficient
no pov
&1
&2
&3
&4
&5
some lack of focus
lack of organization
problem with progression of ideas
incoherent
disorganized to a degree where understanding your point is affected
~1
~2
~3
~4
~5
~6
~7
problem with diagram axis
problem with vector
tidiness figure/sketch
figure poorly related to problem
no figure, eqn, example where necessary
no derivation/ re-arrangement of textbook eqn demonstrated
wrong result in calculation
Course Scale:
A > 93.3%
A- > 90.0%
B+ > 86.7%
B > 83.3%
B- > 80.0%
C+ > 76.7%
C > 73.3%
C- > 70.0%
D+ > 66.7%
D > 63.3%
F < 63.3%
There is no curve to the final grade.
GPA
4.0
3.67
3.33
3.0
2.67
2.33
2.0
1.67
1.33
1.0
0.0
Tentative Class Schedule Spring 2015– PHYS 3650 to be updated
Week
T
R
Lab
PS 233
Deadlines:
1 Jan 26 – Jan 30
2 Feb 2 – Feb 6
3 Feb 9 – Feb 13
Intro & Data
Distributions I
Taylor
Data
Distributions II
Taylor
All lab reports except expt. 9
are due on Thursdays at the
beginning of lab/lecture
Intro
Lecture
Lecture Report Citing, Quoting,
Writing (3 hrs) Plagiarism(3 hrs)
Lab1 Day1
Lecture (i)
4 Feb 16 – Feb 20
Lab2 Day1
Lecture (ii)
5 Feb 23 – Feb 27
Lab3 Day1
Lecture (iii)
Lab1 Day2
Lecture (i)
(i), (ii), (iii) lectures week 3,4,5
Lab safety, software training,
Equipment seminar, Lab theory 1
Lab2 Day2 Lab report #1 (intro and data)
Lecture (ii)
Lab3 Day2
Lecture (iii)
6 Mar 2 – Mar 6
Lab 4
Day1
Lab 4
Day 2
7 Mar 9 – Mar 13
Lab 4
Day3
Lab 5
Day1
9 Mar 23– Mar 27
Lab 5
Day2
Lab 5
Day3
10 Mar 30 –Apr 3
Lab 6
Day1
Lab 6
Day2
11 Apr 6 –Apr 10
Lab 6
Day3
Lab 7
Day1
12 Apr 13 –Apr 17
Lab 7
Day2
Lab 7
Day3
13 Apr 20 –Apr 24
Lab 8
Day1
Lab 8
Day2
14 Apr 7 –May 1
Lab 8
Day3
Lab 9
Day1
15 May 4 – May 8
Lab 9
Day2
Lab 9
Day3
May 11 – May 15
Monday
Exam
student 1
Exam lab
Student 2
Exam lab
Student 3
Tuesday etc.
Exam etc.
8 Mar 16 – Mar 20
Lab report #2 (exp det and data)
Lab report #3 (disc and data)
Lab report #4 (bibliogr, concl and data)
Mid semester: Mar 13
Spring break
midterm grades due on Mar 18
From now on full lab reports
Mar 27 last day to withdraw
advising week get your PERC
Lab report #5
Lab report #6
Lab report #7
Lab report #8
Lab 9 no report – it is your final exam expt.
Exam Time Slot 1- 9:30am to 11am
Exam Time Slot 2- 12:30am to 2pm
Exam Time Slot 3- 3:00pm to 4:30pm
All limited lab reports train the writing of one chapter of a lab report plus the results section.
Students can hand in drafts one week before the due date and received commented mock graded
feedback. They have to the report deadline to correct and improve on the draft.
The course offers the following major assignments:
- Three full lab reports: Professional writing graded according to actual publisher criteria.
- Oral Exam: 1 ½ hour presentation and conversation about the relevant physics of one of the previously
carried out modern physics experiments. The conversation covers material from ALL prior physics courses
and skills students have learned throughout our curriculum up to and including junior level.
Oral Exam
Choose from lab week 4 to 10 of your group’s labs and email me your preferences by
Nov 19. I will email you back the lab you are assigned to do during the oral exam. Use the remaining time
before finals week to practice the experiment, study data analysis, and study the theoretical background of
the material.
Be ready to explain all apparatus functioning principles, to demonstrate the experiment, to discuss the main
error sources and calculations and results, and to explain and discuss the theoretical background.
If you miss the final exam, you receive a 0% final exam grade toward the final grade, i.e. no
extension on final exam. If you have a time conflict for the final exam, email me about this no later
than Dec 1.
Safety Advice and Student Contract
In the advanced modern physics lab equipment is in use, which can hurt a person, if used
in inappropriate ways. Participating students are expected to behave maturely and follow
the safety instructions.
Particular risk arises from the following:
High voltage (eg electronics, Millikan, photoelectric effect)
Laser light (eg Michelson, speed of light)
Radioactivity (nuclear)
Mercury (Thomson e/m)
High magnetic fields (Transport Properties)
Cryogenic coolants (Transport Properties)
Hot surfaces (eg BlackBody radiation, photoelectric effect)
Erratically moving heavy parts (Chaos)
Other risks may be present.
High voltage can lead to severe electrocution shock.
Laser light as well as its reflections can damage the unprotected eye.
Radioactive radiation leads to ionized particles, which can cause cancer.
Mercury is a volatile and poisonous substance. Incorporation must be avoided.
High magnetic fields can affect battery controlled devices like pacemakers. They can also
erase credit cards and other magnetic storage media.
Direct contact with small amounts of cryogenic liquids leads to skin burns similar to heat
skin damage. In case of a magnet quench, large amounts of cryo-gas will be set free
within a few seconds. The lab area has to be evacuated instantly.
Hot surfaces cause skin burn.
Erratically moving parts can cause collision accidents.
Student contract: My participation in this lab course expresses my awareness of
the risks inherent in the experiments and my consent to follow safety advice and
to apply common sense judgment to avoid accidents.
I will be held responsible to take the initiative and ask questions, if any risks
involved are unclear to me.
In case of accidents, I will inform the course supervisor or his present TA
instantly. I will seek medical help as soon as possible.
________
date
_____________
name
_________________
signature