Physics 2108 Laboratory Guide J. R. Giammanco Louisiana State University Department of Physics and Astronomy Baton Rouge, Louisiana January 2013
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PHYS 2108 Lab Schedule, Spring 2013 Text: Physics 2108 Laboratory Guide, by Giammanco Date of Lab Manual Description of Experiment Lab Meeting Reference Jan 14-18 Jan 21-25 Roll Check Explanation of lab policies and procedures No lab meetings on Monday, Jan 21 due to MLK holiday Jan 23 is the last day to drop classes without receiving a grade of W Jan 24 is the last day to add classes or change sections Jan 28 - Feb 1 I Measurement of mass, length and time - Introduction to Measurement Feb 4-8 II Measurement of mass, length and time - Propagation of Error Feb 11-15 No lab meetings this week due to Mardi Gras - LSU closed Feb 11-12 Feb 18-22 III Hooke s Law - Extension of a spring Feb 25 - Mar 1 IV Hooke s Law - The spring-mass oscillator Mar 4-8 V Uniform accelerated motion Mar 11-15 VI Elasticity and work for a rubber band Mar 18-22 VII Simple harmonic motion - The simple pendulum Mar 25-29 No lab meetings this week - Spring Break begins on Friday, Mar 29 Mar 28 is the last day to drop classes Apr 1-5 No lab meetings this week due to Spring Break Apr 8-12 VIII Simple harmonic motion - The physical pendulum Apr 15-19 IX Archimedes principle and specific gravity Apr 22-26 X Resonance and standing waves on a stretched string Apr 29 - May 3 all Lab Written Final Exam Unless instructed otherwise, lab reports for each day s experiment are to be turned in, to your instructor, before you leave the laboratory at the end of the class. Late lab reports are not accepted. i
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Department of Physics and Astronomy Louisiana State University (rev. 3 January 2012) COURSE INFORMATION FOR PHYSICS 2108 LABORATORY 1. Supplies: This manual is the only required textbook, though you will frequently wish to refer to your regular physics text. You should keep this manual for use in your next physics lab (PHYS-2109) since much of the information on measurements and data analysis is needed for that course as well. You also will need a 30.48 cm (12 in) ruler and a protractor marked off every 0.5 or 1.0 degrees. A USB memory stick will likely be useful to store copies of any data files, tables, or graphs you make in lab. You should bring a scientific calculator to all lab sessions. A calculator that will compute 2-variable statistics will be particularly helpful. Be sure to bring your ruler, protractor, memory stick, and calculator to every class and to each examination (the memory stick will not be needed for the exam). Extras will not be provided. All other equipment needed will be provided. You may be given occasional supplementary material. This may take the form of modified procedural instructions or even completely new experiments to be performed. You are responsible for reading and studying these supplements in the same fashion as your laboratory manual. 2. Laboratory Sessions: A course syllabus is printed as part of this manual. An effort is being made to coordinate these laboratories with the topics covered in the corresponding lecture course. The synchronization will be inexact, however, due to the varying lecture speeds and emphasis of the instructors of the lecture sections, as well as mismatches due to holidays and exams. You should not be dismayed if your laboratory experiments deal with material already completed, or not yet reached in the lecture course. The descriptions of the experiments in the laboratory text or on handouts must be studied before coming to class. You will probably have to carefully study the text from your lecture class, before coming to lab, to clarify some of the physical principles involved. Unless you are told otherwise, all parts of each experiment should be completed, but the laboratory manual or handout does not limit what you may do in the lab period. If you can think of something extra to do with the apparatus, you are encouraged to do so. Your laboratory instructor will usually give a short (10 minute) presentation to the entire class, not to teach you the physics involved, but to give you an overview of the measurements and analysis procedures and to note any procedural changes for the experiment. He or she will help individuals or groups as the lab progresses and may explain physical principles applicable to the experiment, but your instructors main function is to help you solve unexpected problems during the measurements and to guide you in the data analysis. The laboratory instructor s help is not to be used as a substitute for advanced preparation. In the laboratory you will be recording data measured with your lab instruments. As will be discussed more fully below, all of your data and observations are to be recorded on your data sheets from the lab manual and any additional data sheets you are instructed to make. The original (not a photocopy or rewritten copy) of your data sheet and any drawings or diagrams that form part of the data must be a part of your written report. You instructor may ask to initial your data before you leave the laboratory. iii
Academic Integrity in the Lab LSU s standards for Academic Integrity apply in the following way to the PHYS -2108/2109 Labs. You are expected to collect, while working in concert with your lab partner(s), your own individual data records during the lab period. You may divide up the duties of data collection as you wish among your lab partner(s). However, every person in the lab is expected to do some of the work of data collection and recording. The use of lab data or reports from previous years or from other groups is considered plagiarism, even if the lab data or reports are from a class you took previously. If you are found with old lab reports in your possession, it will be assumed that they are being used inappropriately - the circumstance being no different than deliberately bringing a formula sheet to a test when none is allowed. All of the data analysis, calculations, production of graphs, and answering of questions posed in the lab manual must be done ON YOUR OWN. You may NOT use the work of other students, even that of your lab partner(s). 3. Lab Reports: Lab reports will consist of a statement of purpose for each lab, a bulleted list of the basic procedures you followed, data sheets from your text, data analysis, answers to questions, and a short conclusion section. It is imperative that you learn to make exact, clear, and well organized recordings of your data and observations, and that your data be recorded in neat tabular and/or graphical form. Any observations relevant to the performance of the experiment should be recorded in clear, concise sentences with acceptable grammar. It is your responsibility to demonstrate, by your recorded data and analysis, that you have performed the experiment correctly and understand the results. It is expected that you will be able to complete the gathering of data and preparation of analyses and conclusions (the lab report) during the allotted laboratory class period. Reports are to be handed in to your instructor before you leave class. Papers are not to be slipped under office doors or placed in mailboxes. Neither your instructor nor the physics department accept any responsibility for papers turned in other than in class, when due. It is a good idea to keep a copy of all submitted work in case a paper gets mislaid. In order to complete the required work within the confines of the class period, you will have to be well prepared before coming to the lab. The data collection and recording should already be planned. You should have a fair idea of how you will analyze your data and how you will present your final results before you come to the laboratory session. To this end, you should have already written the statement of purpose and the list of procedures for the lab before lab begins. In addition, a data analysis sheet should be prepared which has on it the equations, including the appropriate form of uncertainty propagation, or least squares, to be used in the analysis. Your instructor may check your preparation of these items at the beginning of the period and points can be lost on your report grade for failure to have them prepared. Your lab partner could change from week to week. Your instructor may assign partners on some rotating basis. Include your partner s name, along with your own, on your data sheets. While you will perform the experiment together, both you and your partner will be expected to understand what you are doing, to share equally in the planning and execution of the data collection, and to individually record the data. iv
4. Report Grading: The relative importance of each part is as below: 1. Amount accomplished in lab and quality of data, including recording and observations............... 50% 2. Analysis, final results, and conclusions............ 40% 3. Organization and presentation..................... 10% 4. Failure to be prepared........................ up to 20% deduction Late lab reports WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. DO NOT MOVE EQUIPMENT from one table to another, even small items like weights or hooks. If you are missing something or a piece of equipment fails to work, have your instructor obtain one for you from the stockroom. Your laboratory report grade on laboratory techniques can be lowered if you leave your lab table and equipment in disarray at the end of the period. 5. Prelab Assignments: Each week, you will be asked a series of questions designed to test your knowledge of the material covered in the upcoming experiment. Questions will focus on the specific procedures you will follow, graphs you will create, and safety procedures that you should be aware of before you begin the lab. The prelab assignments will be available on WebAssign. You will need to create an account in WebAssign which you will log into to complete the assignments. Prelab assignments will be due thirty minutes before the start of your lab session. 6. Postlab Assignments: After your lab has been handed in each week, you will also have a postlab assignment to complete in WebAssign. The purpose of this assignment is to help you review (and make sure you understand) the major concepts of the lab you have just completed. You will often be given the chance to replicate one of the critical calculations from that week s lab. Completing the postlab assignment each week will also help you prepare for the final exam for the course, as the bulk of the questions on your final will come from the postlab assignments. 7. Final Exam: During the last regularly scheduled class meeting a 1 hour written test will be administered. You will be permitted to use your notes, returned lab reports, lab manual, and physics textbook during this test. You will not be permitted to use the computers in the lab. 8. Grade Determination: In-class work (lab reports, WebAssign assignments).................. 85% divided as follows: reports.............................. 65% (lowest dropped) prelab assignments.................. 10% (lowest dropped) postlab assignments.................. 10% (lowest dropped) Final Exam......................................................... 15% You may periodically be given a summary of your lab grades. You should be very careful to retain all of your returned papers in case there is any question about the correct recording or computation of a grade. v
9. Laboratory Instructors: Laboratory instructors will conduct the lab sessions, and will answer questions as well as offer suggestions. They are responsible for grading your laboratory reports, and they will prepare and grade your lab quizzes. Their email addresses and office room numbers are obtainable from the Physics Department office (202 Nicholson Hall) or on the Physics Department s website. Most laboratory instructors also will be available in the consulting/tutoring area (Nicholson Hall 102) one or two hours each week. A schedule will be posted outside room 102. 10. Absences: THERE ARE NO SCHEDULED MAKEUP LABORATORY SESSIONS. Since the lowest score of your report grades is to be dropped, you can miss a session without penalty. While you can miss an experiment without penalty, you will be responsible for knowing how to do this experiment (including the operation of the equipment involved) on the final exam. Do not expect to be automatically allowed to make up missed work in another lab section, even one taught by your own instructor. Most sections are full and cannot accommodate additional persons. However, in the event that you know in advance that you will miss a lab session it may be possible to attend another session performing the same experiment during that same week. You must obtain prior written permission from the lab supervisor (see below). Such permission will only be granted if there is a session which is not already at full capacity. You should understand that, if you miss two labs, you have missed about 20 percent of the course. To request to attend an alternative lab, go to the course webpage (see below) and fill out the PHYSICS LAB CHANGE FORM. You will be contacted after you have submitted the form letting you know if you have received permission to attend the lab you have requested. 11. Web Site: Point your web browser to: <http://www.phys.lsu.edu/newwebsite/academics/> and click on the link to PHYS-2108. Information about each lab sections and the link to the lab change form are located on the course webpage. Announcements and other material may also be posted there. You will need the utility Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view and print some of the documents. 12. Laboratory Supervisor: The supervisor for student affairs for the Introductory Physics Laboratory courses Dr. Ray Chastain. His office is Room 351 Nicholson Hall. See him if you have a problem which you cannot resolve by talking to your instructor. However, you should consult with your instructor first and only after this has been done come to see Dr. Chastain. vi