PHYS 2126: University Physics II Lab Spring 2012

PHYS 2126: University Physics II Lab Spring 2012 Subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances Last changes January 15, 2012 Course Description: (1 hour credit: one 4-hr lab per week) A laboratory to accompany PHYS 2326, University Physics II. Prerequisite: Credit or registration in PHYS 2326. Lab fee, $5. PHYS 2326 is described as: A continuation of University Physics I. Topics include periodic motion, sound, electric force, electric current, resistance, electric circuits, magnetism, electromagnetic induction, light, optics, and modern physics. Prerequisite: PHYS 2325 and 2125, or PHYS 1302 and 1102; credit or registration in MATH 2314. This course qualifies toward the TAMUK General Education requirements in the area of Natural Sciences, provided the corresponding lecture course, PHYS 2326, is also taken. With PHYS 2325/2125 and 2326, it completes that requirement. Meetings Lab Assistants Lab Section Time and day Room Box no. E-mail 2126.100 2:00-5:50 M H 106 2126.101 2:00-5:50 T H 106 2126.102 2:00-5:50 W H 106 2126.103 2:00-5:50 R H 106 Supervisors: Name Dr. Paul H. Cox Dr. W. Wayne Kinnison Office Hill 211 Hill 208 Office Hours MWF 10:00-10:50, 12:00-12:50 tba TR 9:30-12:15 Phone 593-2623 593-2624 E-mail phcox@tamuk.edu wayne.kinnison@tamuk.edu Webpage (Note no "www.") http://physics.tamuk.edu/~cox/ http://physics.tamuk.edu/~kinnison/ Note on Dr. Cox Office Hours: I may be elsewhere in the building during these times, but what I'm doing will usually be interruptable. Unscheduled Office Hours by appointment Informal office hours when in PHYS 2326 Lecturers: Lecture Sec. 001: Dr. Butterworth; Lecture Sec. 002: Dr. Hewett; Lecture Sec. 003: Mr. Allison Problem resolution: If you have a problem: Problems in this course are usually one of two types: problems with the underlying physics or problems with the running of the lab. If your problem is about the underlying physics, OR with data analysis, you should go to ANY of the physics faculty for help; you will probably not get as good help from a lab assistant. If your problem is about the running of the lab, you need to go first to your lab assistant, or if s/he either is the problem or can't resolve the problem, then to a supervising faculty member, not a nonsupervisor faculty member. Course objectives: Students who should pass this course will be able to: (1) Keep a valid laboratory notebook. Your grade in this course will be substantially determined by the contents of your lab notebook and the reports you base on what is in that notebook. (2) Work correctly with units in physical quantities. Treat appropriate units correctly and completely,

including mathematically correct combining of units and correct conversion of different units (whether within metric, i.e., using prefixes, or between "British" and metric). Remember, though, that this is a science lab; all results should be in metric, with units stated. (3) Work correctly with uncertainty in physical quantities. This is the area (confusingly) called error analysis. It includes correct treatment of accuracy in data, determining both the uncertainty to be assigned to your measurements and especially also the consequent uncertainty in your results. (4) Analyze electrical circuits using basic component properties and circuit relationships. (5) Have an understanding, based on some experience, of electric and magnetic effects, of waves, of optics, and of modern physics. Student learner outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: (a) conduct a suitable lab experiment, including understanding lab safety, and write a satisfactory report on it; (b) correctly handle units; (c) correctly handle experimental error; (d) correctly handle simple circuits and optics problems; as evidenced by satisfactory performance on an assessment exam. SAFETY REQUIREMENT: Procedures In connection with the University's responsibility to provide for student safety, and a University requirement that implementation of its procedures be documented, the policy indicated here is now in effect university-wide. 1. There is a 'course' set up in Blackboard concerning lab safety. It contains 13 units; each consists of a video and a 5-question assessment. The videos are no longer than 17 minutes each, some shorter. If you are taking any kind of 'lab' course, you ARE REQUIRED to complete this 'course'. 2. You are required to pass this course early in the term. At an appropriate point the administration will identify to us those students who have not met this requirement and we will be required to exclude those students from the lab. 3. It is my understanding that you may repeat a unit as many times as necessary, in any number of sessions, to complete the requirements. 4. Passing the lab safety requirement in a previous term, or in another subject, will NOT qualify you for this course UNLESS WE receive acceptable evidence. Text: Kruse, rev. Cox, Physics 2126 Lab Manual, 2005 version Required supplies: Two bound (not looseleaf nor with detachable pages) notebooks, quad ruled (for graphing). Number the sheets before you begin using them; set aside space for a table of contents. These need not be new; they must have space for at least half a semester's data and reports in each. Additional Resource: Taylor, An Introduction to Error Analysis, University Science Books Method of Evaluating Grades: (Subject to adjustment as semester progresses.) Throughout this course, numerical scores will correspond to letter grades according to the usual 90-100%=A, 80-89%=B, 70-79%=C, 60-69%=D, <59%=F scale. 8% Daily Grades: Class participation, individual performance. Recorded for each session. The normal daily score in this category is 9 out of a possible 10. 9 of 10 is A level; an award of 10 is reserved for A+ level actions, those instances where a student's actions are particularly helpful to the laboratory learning experience, above and beyond normal practice. 10% Lab Final and Supervisor's Adjustment: There will be a written lab final, counting 8%. 2% is reserved for the supervising faculty to award, or not, uniformly across a section to adjust for differences between sections in lab report grading or for perceived grade inflation. This category also allows for a penalty by the supervisor for violations of syllabus directions that the lab assistant has not penalized.

4% Lab Preview Worksheets. Eight of the twelve labs in the manual are preceded by "Preview" worksheets. These are due AT 2:00 on the day of the corresponding lab, unless announced otherwise. Reports: As in 2125, two types of finished reports are expected: formal and informal. All informal reports are to be written in the student's laboratory notebook. The student will have two lab notebooks, alternating between them each lab. All data and preliminary analysis pages are to be SIGNED and DATED by the student, AND initialed by the lab assistant, before the student leaves the lab. If you wish to leave the lab early, it must be either (a) for a reason which constitutes an officially excusable absence, which you will make up, or (b) because you have finished your lab work and are turning in your report, if it is informal. If it is formal, you must show that you have completed, in your notebook, all necessary calculations, specifically including at least one sample calculation of each type needed in the report. If the period ends before you finish the indicated work, then you are to modify your report to cover what you actually did, not the entire experiment; your lab assistant should be aware of how far you got, as indicated by his initials in your notebook, and s/he is to grade what you did and wrote up, not whether you did everything indicated by the manual. Normally, the lab notebook is to be turned in at the beginning of the next lab period. At that time the previous lab's report shall have been graded and shall be returned to the student as a notebook for the next experiment. Every experiment requires a report; it is due at the start of the next lab period. No reports at the end of the term will be accepted after the indicated deadline. A well-reasoned discussion of why your group's results differ from expectations should be worth much more than a casual report of results in excellent agreement with theory. 48% Informal Reports (11 per semester, 8 finished as informals): Your first, third, and ALL MAKEUP reports are informals. 30% Formal Reports (3 per semester): A formal report is written up separately, and includes more elements, but the lab notebook must be turned in with the formal report. The lab assistant will determine which experiments will be formal for which students, except for the first formal report (which everyone does for THEIR second lab, NOT their group's second). Except for the second lab, only one student (possibly two) per lab group is to write a formal report on a given experiment. Formal reports must be typed and turned in at the beginning of the next lab period along with the laboratory notebook containing their data, observations, and preliminary analysis (previously signed by their lab assistant). Generally, what appears in the notebook for a formal should be hard to distinguish from an informal until you get to the discussion and conclusions sections which may be missing from the notebook for a formal. The report is to be graded and returned with the notebook to the student by the following lab period. No student may do formals on consecutive labs. Penalty, 1% of possible semester grade. From the fourth lab through the last regular lab, about one-fourth of the students from each lab group will be designated by the lab assistant to do that report as a formal. If a student earns a low grade on a formal report, and if enough periods remain, the student may ask to do a fourth formal report; if approved, the low grade will then be counted as if it were for an informal. Attendance, etc.: Prompt regular attendance is important to success in every scheduled endeavor, including classes. The grade for this course is determined primarily by your lab reports, which describe what you did and observed in performing the experiment. IF YOU WERE NOT PRESENT TO DO THE EXPERIMENT, ANY REPORT IS PLAGIARISM, and you should expect it to be evaluated as such.

Absences: If a student is absent from lab: 1) The student must explain the absence to the lab assistant; the excuse must be reported by the lab assistant to the supervising faculty. Makeup labs may be scheduled only for excused absences. Absences without reason given to, and reported by, the lab assistant will score zero even if they are made up and a report is turned in. Reports on work made up after absences for reasons which do not constitute good excuses, can receive partial credit, depending on circumstances. 2) IF the absence is excused, the student must do the lab as a makeup. It is RECOMMENDED that multiple students needing makeups on the same lab should do it together; some labs go much easier with more than one pair of hands. However, this requires coordination. 3) A makeup lab may be done at any time PROVIDED the student, a lab assistant, AND THE STOCKROOM STAFF agree. 4) When a makeup is conducted, the student will normally have two current labs in the same notebook (one regular lab and the makeup). The makeup report, which must be INFORMAL, will be due at the same time as the current regular report. Makeups at the end of the term require supervisor approval. 5) If a student had been scheduled to do a formal report but is absent that day, the student must do the next lab attended as a formal; the missed lab is made up as an informal. If this creates a conflict with other rules in this syllabus, consult the lab supervisor. DROPS: The following provision (new in Fall 2007) does not apply to students with Texas public college or university credits prior to Fall 2007. The number of course drops allowed to a student is now limited. A student is allowed six drops in an undergraduate career where the course does not count in the student's GPA, represented by a QI grade; after six, the grade will be QF which counts as an F in your GPA. (Some exceptions qualify for a QE instead.) The following come from a University source: March 22: Last day to drop with an automatic QI (or Q if you are allowed that). May 3: Last day to drop on any terms, or to withdraw from the University. Lab Notebooks, Reports, and Grading: A properly-kept notebook will record, PERMANENTLY, hence in ink, everything that was done in the lab; this starts with the equipment to be used, set-up, etc.; continues with procedure, all data taken, notes on anything you noticed that will contribute to knowing what happened. Further, from when you shift from prelab learning mode to lab activity, until you are ready to leave the lab, NOTHING MAY BE WRITTEN EXCEPT IN THE NOTEBOOK. No pages may be removed from any lab notebook for any reason. From your notebook and informal reports, a third person who has access to our stockroom should be able to reconstruct exactly what you did, without referring to the lab manual. From your formal reports, such a person should have the information necessary to reconstruct exactly the same experiment using some other stockroom. If the lab notebook is not properly kept, up to 50 points (affected by significance and repetitions) may be subtracted from a report score. THIS PENALTY MAY BE ASSESSED BY THE SUPERVISOR AFTER THE NOTEBOOK HAS BEEN EVALUATED AND RETURNED BY THE LAB ASSISTANT. If the notebook content does not support a report content, other penalties may apply. If the lab assistant gives any directions concerning the keeping of notebooks or the preparation of reports that contradict corresponding instructions in this syllabus or in the lab manual, REPORT this PROMPTLY to the supervisor, unless the change is confirmed by a department faculty member. If a lab assistant gives such instructions without confirmation from the department, this is possibly grounds

for termination of the assistant. If the supervisor learns that such incidents happened and were not reported promptly, all student course grades in the section may be penalized up to 2 percentage points per incident. You should retain all graded reports that are returned to you, at least until course grades are final. If reported grades are disputed (which has happened), and the report can't be produced, the reported grade will have to stand. You may wish to check with the lab assistant and the supervisor, late in the term, that their records agree with yours. NOTICE: Physics laboratory courses have been subject to serious grade inflation, as judged by the faculty. We expect you to learn proper laboratory conduct and proper use of a lab notebook. This being the case, the following rules apply: No grade which amounts to a score of over 90%, before penalties for lateness, for the lab is final until that grade has been countersigned by the faculty supervisor. Conversely, no report grade which is below 70%, before penalties for lateness, is final until countersigned by the faculty supervisor. Component Weight in Informal Weight in Formal Abstract -- 10 Introduction -- 5 Purpose 5 5 Equipment 5 5 Procedure* 5 5 Notes, Data, Calculations, and Graphs* 20 20 Error Analysis* 20 15 Conclusions; in an appendix: answer Questions from manual 45 35 Total 100 100 *NOTE: SOME of these categories represent separate sections of a report; some do NOT. The three categories labeled Procedure; Notes, Data, Calculations, and Graphs; and Error Analysis, may be arranged as a single section which is the body of the report. They should ALWAYS be presented in a manner that makes a clear, understandable report, NOT as unlinked separated sections. Also NOTE: Error Analysis is a QUANTITATIVE aspect of your work. Qualitative discussion of error is part of Conclusions; qualitative discussion is NOT Error Analysis. Determining the discrepancy between your results and expected values is also NOT Error Analysis. Error analysis includes assessing calibration issues; it includes assigning reading uncertainty and statistical uncertainty to raw data; and it especially includes determining and reporting uncertainty in calculated results. There is now a separate link on the course webpage to a discussion of this topic. Your report is to be in YOUR words, NOT the lab manual's. Report on what YOU actually used, did, and concluded, NOT on what the lab manual said to do. Under procedure, it is reasonable to use the same words as your partners, since you were a team; under conclusions, identical wording leads to the presumption that you are using a partner's thinking instead of doing your own. When identical wording is observed under Conclusions, standard policy is to determine a value for the discussion presented, and to divide that score among those with identical wording. Penalties for late reports, unless good excuse: (Excuse MUST be recorded.) After 2:10: -5 points AND 1 point on daily participation After 3:00: -5 more points Next class-day (ignore Sat.-Sun.) afternoon: -10 more points

Add'l class days: -10 add'l points each up to total -60. Reduction of penalties may be allowed for weak excuses. Students with Disabilities, including learning disabilities, may have reasonable accommodations made if appropriate notice is given. (The student must ask; if a faculty member asks first, that is possibly discrimination.) In accordance with federal law, this normally requires registration, including appropriate documentation, with the Services for Students with Disabilities office. Misconduct: See the Student Handbook. Students should be knowledgeable about its provisions concerning misconduct. Students who engage in any form of misconduct are subject to disciplinary procedures. This includes academic misconduct which specifically includes plagiarism and all forms of cheating. The faculty reserves the right to check submitted work for plagiarism, including by the use of appropriate software. Harassment/Discrimination: Texas A&M University-Kingsville will investigate all complaints that indicate sexual harassment, harassment, or discrimination may have occurred based on the report of the complainant. Sexual harassment of anyone at Texas A&M University-Kingsville is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Any member of the university community violating this policy will be subject to disciplinary action. Safety: See section early in this syllabus. Every student is required to exercise appropriate safety precautions throughout this course. Lab Schedule: DATES EXPT. EXPERIMENT R;MTW Jan. 19-25 Lab pretest, other preliminaries R;MTW Jan. 26-Feb. 1 A Radioactivity; see handout, not manual R;MTW Feb. 2-8 B Ohm's Law and the Resistance of Wires R;MTW Feb. 9-15 C Resistance in Series, Parallel, and Combination R;MTW Feb. 16-22 D Measurement of Resistance R;MTW Feb. 23-29 E Electric Power; Kirchhoff Laws; Thevenin R;MTW Mar. 1-7 F Field and Potential R Mar. 8 G Oscilloscope M-F Mar. 15-18 Spring Break MTW Mar. 19-21 G, cont. Oscilloscope R;MTW Mar. 22-28 H AND I Magnetism & Electromagnetism AND e/m ratio and Millikan. Do one report covering both labs. R;MTW Mar. 29-Apr. 4 J Waves & Sound RF Apr. 5-6 Off due to Easter Break MTWR Apr. 9-12 K Spherical Mirrors MTWR Apr. 16-19 L Spherical Lenses MTWR Apr. 23-26 Lab Final Wed. May 2, 4:00 PM FINAL Lab scores due from assistants to supervisors. Box keys due in Physics Office. Return to PHYS 2126 course homepage.