Physics 261

Experimental Physics I: Mechanics, Heat, and Fields

Fall 2006

Course description: Physics 261 is the laboratory associated with Physics 260 and carries one credit. You must pass both Physics 261 and 260 in the same semester to receive credit for either; you will be required to repeat both 260 and 261 otherwise. The scores for both courses will be combined and the grade for Physics 261 will be identical to that of Physics 260, as required by the Engineering College. The labs meet for three hours a week and you will be expected to complete an introduction to spreadsheets, eight experiments, and two culminating laboratory activities.

CORE: Phys260 and Phys261, taken together in the same semester, satisfy the CORE physical science laboratory requirement.  Phys260 alone does not satisfy the CORE nonlaboratory science requirement.

General information

• Prerequisites: none

• Corequisite: Phys 260

• Text: you are required to purchase the current version of the laboratory manual: Physics 261 Laboratory Manual (Wiley Custom Services).

• Times and places:  All sections meet in Room 3219 in the Physics building.  The following table shows the schedule and teaching assistant for each section.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8:00	Sect 0101- Buchoff		Sect 0109 - Griggs	Sect 0113 - Slutsky
9:00	Sect 0101		Sect 0109	Sect 0113
10:00	Sect 0101	Sect 0104 - Griggs	Sect 0109	Sect 0113
11:00		Sect 0104		Sect 0114 - Kott
12:00	Sect 0102 - Kott	Sect 0104		Sect 0114
13:00	Sect 0102	Sect 0105 - Chauhan	Sect 0111 - Johnson	Sect 0114	TA meeting
14:00	Sect 0102	Sect 0105	Sect 0111	Sect 0117 - Chauhan	TA meeting
15:00	Sect 0103 - Chauhan	Sect 0105	Sect 0111	Sect 0117
16:00	Sect 0103	Sect 0110 - Johnson	Sect 0112 - Johnson	Sect 0117
17:00	Sect 0103	Sect 0110	Sect 0112
18:00		Sect 0110	Sect 0112
19:00	Sect 0106 - Buchoff	Sect 0107 - Buchoff	Sect 0108 - Griggs	Sect 0118 - Kott
20:00	Sect 0106	Sect 0107	Sect 0108	Sect 0118
21:00	Sect 0106	Sect 0107	Sect 0108	Sect 0118

• Attendance: You should make every effort to attend your regularly scheduled lab section, but if you must miss your section please contact the appropriate TA and request to attend another section, in advance if possible.  We will try to accommodate such requests if space and equipment are available.  Otherwise, you must sign up to perform the experiment during the designated make-up week.  It is your responsibility to deliver your write-up to the TA for your registered section and to ensure that you receive credit for all lab reports.  Do not discard lab reports before final grades are posted!

• Late arrival: Classes begin promptly on the hour and it is important to arrive on time to receive lab instructions and to have sufficient time to finish.  If you arrive more than 10 minutes late you might not be allowed into the lab and would then have to make it up in another section or during the make-up week.

• Contact information: the table below provides contact information for the professor and teaching assistants.

   

  Name	sections	room	e-mail	phone	office hours
  Prof. Kelly		PHYS 2215-C	jjkelly@umd.edu	5-6110
  Mike Buchoff	101, 106, 107	PHYS 4223	mbuchoff@umd.edu	5-6192	M 1-2
  Sanjeev Chauhan	103, 105, 117	PHYS 0104	sanjeevk@umd.edu	5-8577	W 1-4
  Kenneth Griggs	104, 108, 109	PHYS 3107	kagriggs@umd.edu	5-3306	W 2-3
  Tyrel Johnson	110, 111, 112	PHYS 4219	tyrelj@umd.edu	5-6073	M 1-4
  Tomek Kott	102, 114, 118	PHYS 4219	tkott@umd.edu	5-6073	W 11-12
  Simon Slutsky	113	PHYS 3101	simons@umd.edu	5-6194	W 1-2

   

Grading policies

• Regular labs: the 8 regular labs comprise a total of 70% of the course grade.  Each of these labs will be scored as follows:

  prelab questions	0, 10, 20%
  data	40%
  analysis	25%
  postlab questions	15%

• Prelab questions: the prelab questions must be answered before coming to lab and will be checked at the beginning of each lab.  They will graded as follows: no attempt, 0%; feeble attempt, 10%; sincere attempt, full 20% even if partially incorrect.

• Data and analysis: you will work with lab partners and will share data with them. However, you will be responsible for doing your own analysis and write-up. Each person in the group will also be required to demonstrate proficiency with the spreadsheet. You will be tested on this basic skill during the lab sessions. If by the end of the second lab, you cannot demonstrate to your teaching assistant the ability to do simple tasks on the spreadsheet, your grade will be progressively reduced each week until you can. The point is: you must learn to use the spreadsheet.

• Lab reports: our aim in this lab is to enhance the understanding of the experiments you perform while at the same time minimizing the amount of time spent on analysis and write-ups. This means that it is not necessary to do extensive write-ups. Overly long or padded lab reports will be penalized. Be sure to label all tables and graphs with quantities and their units.  Reports must be submitted before leaving the lab.

• Culminating labs: are special labs where you will be given questions about some of the labs you performed during the semester. The list of possible questions is included in the lab manual and you should review the ones for each lab after you have completed that experiment. This will make the culminating lab much easier! More questions may be handed out during the semester.  The 2 culminating labs comprise a total of 30% of the course grade.

• Missed lab: missing a lab and not making it up will result in failure of the course.

Experiment schedule

The following table outlines the experiment and discussion schedule. You are strongly advised to read the relevant chapter of the laboratory manual, work through all derivations, and answer the prelab questions before coming to the lab so that you understand the physical principles for each experiment and the assumptions used to relate abstract principles to practical measurements.  You should also work through the error propagation for derived quantities so that you can anticipate which uncertainties are likely to determine the accuracy with which the experimental goals can be achieved.  You should then be well prepared for making careful measurements and complete record keeping.  If you prepare well, you should be able to complete the lab is less than the scheduled time.  Inadequate preparation usually results in inefficient use of laboratory time!

• Spreadsheet introduction: The first week will feature an introduction to spreadsheets in general and Excel in particular.  Although this exercise will not graded, it is required and must be completed before you attempt Experiment 1.

• Labor Day: Students whose section meets on Monday must perform Exp. 0, the introduction to the spreadsheets, during an alternative section because the University is closed on Labor Day.  This exercise only takes about an hour, so please find a Tuesday-Thursday section that is compatible with your schedule and come during the second or third hour.  The first hour is reserved for those registered in that section.

• Be alert to announcements: Acts of God or Man may require adjustment of the lab schedule.

• Making up a missed lab: If you miss a lab and cannot make it up in one of the other sections, it will be necessary to sign up for a make-up during one of the scheduled make-up periods.  Failure to perform all of the labs will result in failure of the course.

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Last revised: August 29, 2006