Physics and Astronomy Department
San Francisco State University
PHYSICS 122.05
SYLLABUS
Phys 122 General Physics II Lab Sec. 05: Wed. 13:10-15:55, TH 116.
This is the lab to accompany Phys 121, the second semester of non-calculus physics.
Prerequisites: Phys111; Concurrent registration in (or prior credit for) the lecture part of the course
(Phys 121) is required.
Instructor: Liliana I. Lopez; office TH 208, phone 338-1969;
Help session/office hours: Wednesday 10-11, TH 230
e-mail: astrolil@sfsu.edu
Lab Coordinator: Prof. James Lockhart
e-mail: lockhart@stars.sfsu.edu
Class Set-up: I will lecture the first 5-15 min of class, depending on the assigned lab. I will take
questions on the lab before passing out the weekly quiz. Then you will start the labs.
Learning Objectives
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You will learn to make reliable measurements of physical quantities, and to estimate the
uncertainty in the measurement.
You will learn the scientific method of testing scientific theory by confrontation with
experiment.
You will carry out measurements and observations permitting you to test some of the
physical laws presented in the lecture part of the course.
You will learn to record scientific observation and analysis in a lab notebook, following
accepted scientific practice.
You will use some of the instruments and experimental techniques of the physical sciences.
Keeping a Lab Book
Your lab notebooks are to be turned in each week, at the end of the lab. Your lab notebook should be
an organized, legible, complete account of your lab work. ALL WORK IS TO BE DONE IN CLASS!
All your work in the lab is to be documented in this book, in a special way explained below in detail.
This is the method used by research scientists in all fields to record their work as they do it. Here are
some procedures to follow.
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PLEASE leave enough space between paragraphs and answers to questions. Don’t try to
save too much paper so that your writing is difficult to read.
While you are in the lab, write only in your lab book, blue and black ink ONLY please.
Treat the lab book as a sequential log of what happened, noting the time as you start each
new experiment or procedure.
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Describe what you do as you do it. Don't devote a lot of space to writing out procedure
before you do it. It is unrealistic to write down everything you're going to do ahead of time,
because what you do often depends on how the early phases of the experiment work out.
Diagrams are very important. Every time you work with a piece of apparatus, make some
sort of sketch. Capture the essence of the situation, without unnecessary detail (unless you
just like drawing!) Often the diagram can provide a convenient and easy-to-read way to
record data - for instance, writing voltages measured directly onto a circuit diagram.
A guideline for knowing how much detail to put in: you should be able to get out your lab
book three months later and repeat the experiment, just from what you have in your lab
book. (See Final Exam below.)
Don't record data and plan to analyze it later. In each part of the experiment, take the data,
do any necessary calculations, and finish your complete conclusion, before doing the next
part. Each time you obtain a result, put a box around it so that it stands out. Once you get a
result, discuss its error and its interpretation before going on to the next part of the
experiment.
Please note:
1.) Include any lab notes taken at the beginning of class in your notebook, on separate pages from
your lab write-up.
2.) Start each experiment on a new page; include the date, experiment title, and lab partners.
3.) Use black or blue pen, DO NOT erase any large portions—cross them out neatly. WRITE
LEGIBLY! I will have 25+ notebooks to grade and limited time. If I can’t read/understand your
work, I will not have time to retrace your steps to figure out your mistake. I will just mark your
result wrong.
4.) A common mistake is to include too little, or too much, in your first few lab write-ups. If you do
not include enough info, it makes your write-up incomplete. If you include too much, you are
probably including non-essential details—also, you will not be able to finish within in the allotted
lab time. A complete but succinct lab write-up can be finished within the lab period.
5.) When you're done, the question you should ask yourself:” If I read my lab book in 6 months,
could I understand what was done in this experiment without the lab manual? Could my lab
partner?"
Format to follow:
Before you start the experiment, write down:
1.) Purpose – What are you trying to accomplish with this lab? 1-3 sentences should suffice.
Think "big picture", not "well-first-I-did-this-then-I-did-that" cookbook style.
2.) Set-up – Brief (2 sentences) description of setup. You can use mostly schematic diagrams with
appropriate variables labeled. Don't recopy the lab manual. This section should not be hugely time
consuming— the three next sections are the main thrust of your write-up:
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While doing the experiment, write down:
3.) Data – You should present your data very clearly. Always box results. Data tables (handdrawn or Excel printout) are usually best. Always include units, and uncertainties if available.
4.) Analysis – Clearly write down a formula first, before you use it. Show how you did any
calculations you did. (If it is a repetitive calculation, you only need to show an example.) If you are
having Excel compute formulas for you, write the formulas on the printout, or type them into the
column headers. Include graphs (hand-drawn or computer printout.) Your instructor will give you
further info on how to make proper graphs (labeling axes, including units, scaling axes to fit data
nicely onto the graph area, etc)
After you’re done with the experiment:
5.) Results/Conclusions: This section should generally be 1-2 short paragraphs, where you briefly
summarize the main thrust of your results. What do they tell you? How well did your results agree
with the theory or expected result? Don’t be afraid to mention specific numbers if they’re
important. If they did not agree, give some possible reasons why.
Grading:
Each lab will be worth 10 points; assigned according to the amount of work and thought you put into
it. I usually grant 1 pt. per question, 1 pt. for analysis, 1 pt. for accuracy of results and/or explanation
of why the result was unsatisfactory, and 1 pt. for set-up. This breakdown of points will vary slightly
on each lab.
A short quiz will be given at the start of each lab. The quiz will be based on that particular lab. If you
read and study the assigned lab for 15 min you should do fine on the quizzes. Each quiz is worth 5
points.
To ensure a good score please follow the above criteria carefully. If you are unhappy with the scores
you are getting, please talk to me EARLY in the semester to get advice, rather than two weeks before
the semester ends. However, please note all grades are final. I will not change quiz or lab notebook
grades after I’ve returned these to you. Also keep in mind that part of your grade in class is based on
effort. While you also need to learn the material and understand what's going on, if you put in a good
effort, AND it shows in your lab write-ups, you will do significantly better than if you do not.
The grade for the lab is separate from the lecture-course grade. The lab coordinator (Prof. J. Lockhart)
will determine the letter grades given for the lab course, based on the numerical scores given by the lab
instructor (me). All lab sections will be given a similar distribution of grades, with an average grade of
about 3.0 (B). The numerical grade will be based on grades for the individual labs, quizzes, and the
final exam, with the final exam counting the same as two labs. Note that, as in most science courses,
the grades will be assigned according to a curve. We do NOT follow the system where grades
between 90 and 100 represent A's, 80-90, B's, etc. Students will be given an estimated letter grade
near midterm time.
Final Exam: A final exam will be given during the last lab. Each person will do two one-hour
experiments, working alone and referring only to their lab book. Each of the experiments will follow
part of one of the regular labs closely. This means that you should make sure that you carry out some
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of the measurements for each of the labs. Your lab book should contain all of the information
necessary to carry out the measurements.
Participation: Participation can make or break your grade if you are on the edge between an A- and a
B+, for example, or worse, between a C- and a D+. This generally refers more to group participation
and cooperating with your group.
Cheating: I will not tolerate cheating of any kind in this class. While you are supposed to work with
your lab partners in doing and understanding the lab, your write-ups must be your own. This also
includes copying the procedure directly from the lab manual. Such labs will receive a grade of zero for
that week, with no chance for a make-up.
Lab Partners: You may or may not be in the same group as your friends. If there are disruptions or
someone wants to change groups, for a valid reason, I will reassign groups.
Makeup: There will not be a makeup lab at the end of the semester, so try to be at every meeting of
the lab. I will drop everyone's lowest lab grade; so one lab can be missed without penalty. You can
make up one additional missed lab by going to the Exploratorium, working with some suitable display
and writing a 2 page, double-spaced typed report on it. See me before you go, for more details.
Tutoring & Help Session: I want to encourage everyone to use my help session, not just for lab
questions, but for lecture and homework questions as well. If you cannot attend the specified time, feel
free to email me your questions (including weekends). If you need extra help with the course material at
any point during the semester and need tutoring, please let me know. I’m willing to help you in addition to my
scheduled help session.
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