Spring 2012 ; L1 (Tu Blocks 12 – E4) and L3 (W Blocks 6 – 8); Trexler 273
Instructor: Dr.
P. Nelson; Trexler 161C; x5250; nelson@roanoke.edu
Office Hours: M – F 1000 – 1130; M 1300 – 1530; TuTh 1230 – 1400; by appointment
1
R
EQUIRED
M
ATERIALS
:
L AB H ANDOUTS : Lab handouts will be made available on Inquire (NQR). I will also distribute them in class. Pre-lab materials are also available on NQR; these should to be printed and completed before you come to class.
S UPPLIES : Bound (not loose-leaf) lab notebook; scientific calculator
G
OAL
: This course is designed to enhance your learning and understanding of the topics covered in lecture via hands-on application of the physical principles introduced in the lecture text. The main emphasis will be on clarifying and expanding your understanding of these topics. You will be introduced to new experimental techniques and methods of error analysis. You will also receive practice in clearly communicating your experimental results via technical writing.
I NTENDED L EARNING O UTCOMES : Upon completing this course, successful students will (1) be able to conduct scientific experiments in a manner that allows them to obtain thorough, accurate data; (2) formulate hypotheses and cogently and coherently discuss the results of an experiment in light of these hypotheses, both qualitatively and quantitatively; (3) be able to specify sources of error that appear in an experimental process and (4) present experimental results in a coherent, well-organized, written manner.
F
OOD
& D
RINKS
: Do not bring any food items (lunch, candy, gum, drinks, etc.) to class. This is a lab environment and, as such, we have many pieces of equipment that run much more smoothly if you do not drop crumbs or spill sticky liquids on them.
E
LECTRONIC
D
EVICES
U
SAGE
P
OLICY
: The use of cell phones, pagers, PDAs, MP3/CD players, gaming devices, or any electronic entertainment or communication device is strictly prohibited during class time. Leave these devices at home or locked in your vehicle.
The computers in this room are to be used for the completion of assignments directly associated with this course. During class time, you may not use them for completing assignments for other courses, checking email, IMing, ‘social networking,’ or for any other activity which is not directly associated with the current class assignment in this course. This is your only warning.
Any infractions will result in no credit for the day’s activities. You may use your own, personal laptop for note taking.
S AVE YOUR WORK OFTEN !
Do not save any work to the lab computers. The C: drives are purged when you log out and you will lose any saved files. You should save all data collected
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Should be made at least 24 hours in advance.

and all work performed in this course to your Z: drive or onto a personal USB drive.
A
TTENDANCE
& M
AKE
-U
PS
: A portion (15%) of your Physics 104 grade is based upon your performance in the laboratory; therefore, you must register for both a lecture and a lab section.
(Registering for a lecture does not automatically enroll you in the lab.)
You must attend all labs.
You may only attend the lab section for which you are registered.
Failure to complete all labs will result in a reduction in your Physics 104 grade by one full letter . This is in addition to the grade reduction received for having a zero on a lab report. You may attend another lab section under the following circumstances: ( i ) you have a legitimate excuse due to an unavoidable circumstance, as defined above and ( ii ) you obtain permission from both lab instructors involved at least 24 hours in advance. This agreement must be in writing or email.
All missed labs must be made up.
If you are unable to attend your regularly scheduled lab session due to an unavoidable circumstance,
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you must attend one of the make-up. Your attendance at the make-up session will be considered ‘excused’ and you will receive full credit for the lab if you provide a note signed by a governing official (doctor, law enforcement officer, etc…).
Otherwise, you will receive only half credit.
Most labs will not require the entire class period. You are expected to arrive prepared and on time!
No one who arrives once data collection has begun will be permitted to perform the lab activity that day; this will be counted as an unexcused absence (unless you have documentation).
Exam Review sessions are not optional. You will be graded on participation. Review sessions count as normal lab meetings otherwise.
L
AB
N
OTEBOOK
: Every student will record data in a bound (not loose-leaf) lab notebook. Begin each lab on a new page. Label each page with the title of the lab and the date the lab was performed. Record all data neatly in tables . Record results in a separate table. You must also show a sample of each different calculation, perform error analysis, and all graphs. Record answers to all discussion questions as well. Tables and calculations must include proper units.
I will check your lab notebook each week before you leave lab each week. I will assign it a score based upon the following rubric
10
Entries are organized and thorough. All data and results are in table format. Error and sample calculations are shown and are correct.
Units are included in tables and all calculations.
Graph axes labels include units.
5
Notebook entries are haphazard, illegible, do not include units or you were not prepared for class. Graphs are not properly secured in the notebook. Data was recorded in lab notebook, but not in table format. Error or sample calculations were not shown, or were incomplete. Results were not stated, or were not in table format.
0
Unexcused absence. You did not bring your lab notebook; if you show your correctlyformatted notebook to me later, you will get 5 points.
2
Death, medical emergency, court appearance, sports competition or other college function (advanced notice required ), or any other situation deemed urgent or unavoidable by the instructor.
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W EEKLY L AB E XERCISES : You will conduct the in-class portion of the lab exercise in groups of no more than three people, unless the instructor gives permission otherwise. At the end of the period, each group member should have an identical copy of all data collected during the lab, recorded in your lab notebook and possibly in electronic form (Excel tables, graphs, etc.). For each lab exercise, you will submit the following items:
P
RE
-
LAB
: [10 points] The purpose of the pre-lab assignment is to introduce the material that will be investigated during the lab. Pre-lab materials will be posted on NQR. Pre-labs are due at the beginning of lab (i.e., before I give the intro). Pre-lab solutions should be neat (preferably typed). Your name should appear in the upper-right corner of the first page; staple all pages . I will discuss pre-labs before/as part of the lab introduction/background.
W
EEKLY
R
EPORTS
: [50 points] Lab reports consist of four sections: Abstract; Introduction;
Data and Results; and Discussion. Since one of the course objectives is to communicate experimental results in a coherent, well-organized, written manner, each lab will emphasize a different section of a lab report, as listed on the course outline.
All reports must be typed and equations must be properly formatted using an equation editor.
Weekly reports must be submitted electronically by 11:59 PM on Thursday ( Tuesday section ) or Friday ( Wednesday section ) via the appropriate link on NQR.
We will alternate between group and individual submissions, as noted on the course outline.
The first time that a new section is introduced, you will submit a group report. Graded, commented copies will be provided to each group member the following week. Subsequent versions reports of the same type will be complete individually . You are expected to use the comments provided on the group report to enhance your individual submissions.
All group members will receive the same grade on the group reports. The assumption is that everyone participated equally in all aspects of the lab exercise (data collection, analysis or written work). If any group member feels that another was only a passive participant in any aspect of the lab, email me and I will investigate the matter. I will provide copies of graded group reports to all members of the group.
Do not discard any graded work until the end of the semester. If there is a discrepancy between the grades recorded on the assignment and on NQR, I will ask to see the hard copy. If you cannot produce the graded hard copy, the grade will stand as recorded.
L ATE P OLICY : A 10% late penalty will be assessed for each day any assignment is late. After three days, the assignment will receive no credit. Pre-labs are the exception; since I intend to discuss pre-labs at the beginning of class, pre-labs will not be accepted late.
G RADING : At the end of the semester, your raw lab percentage score will be determined based on Pre-labs ( 15% ), Weekly reports ( 60% ), Notebook ( 10% ), and the final lab report ( 15% ).
A
CADEMIC
I
NTEGRITY
: All work submitted must reflect your own (in the case of individual submissions) or your group’s (for group submissions) effort and expertise.
I expect you to adhere to the academic integrity policies as outlined in the brochure, Academic Integrity at Roanoke College . Data collected must illustrate your honest effort to perform the experiments; falsifying data is considered cheating. If you are re-taking Physics 104, you may not use data collected in previous semesters. The data collected by your group may not be shared with other groups.
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You may work with others on the individual lab reports; however, all analyses, discussion and conclusions must reflect your own understanding of the phenomena studied – that is, individual lab submissions must be your own work.
Although students working within the same group will have the same data, recording of the data into the lab notebook is to be completed individually and should be done neatly . Excel graphs created during lab time may be shared by group members, and secured in each student’s lab notebook. Error values and sample calculations using the data obtained by your group are to be calculated in each individual’s lab notebook.
Tentative Course Outline (Spring 2012)
Week Date
1 16-Jan
2 23-Jan
Lab
No lab meetings
Course policies
Lab 1: Heat Capacity & Latent Heat
3 30-Jan Lab 2: The Ideal Gas Law
Report
Data & Results
(G)
Data & Results
(I)
4 6-Feb Exam Review (Mandatory Attendance)
5 13-Feb
Make-up session: Labs 1 & 2
No regular lab meeting
6 20-Feb Lab 3: Electric Fields and Equipotential Surfaces
7 27-Feb Lab 4: Ohm's Law
8 5-Mar Spring Break ( No lab meetings )
9 12-Mar Lab 5: RC Circuits & Exam Review
10 19-Mar
Make-up session: Labs 3 – 5
No regular lab meeting
11 26-Mar Lab 6: Properties of Magnetic Fields
Introduction
(G)
Introduction (I)
Abstract (G)
Discussion (G)
12 2-Apr Lab 7: Magnetic Induction
13 9-Apr Exam Review (Mandatory Attendance)
Discussion (I)
14 16-Apr Lab 8: Mirrors and Lenses
15 23-Apr
Make-up session: Labs 6 – 8 ( Mon. Apr. 23, 2:20 -
5:20 )
All (I)
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