Physics 198 Laboratory

Fall 2003

Contact Info:

Nathan Grau (http://www.shepody.physics.iastate.edu/ncgrau)

Office (Lab): Physics Addition A332

Email: ncgrau@iastate.edu

Phone: 294-3565 (Lab)

Laboratory Information:

Lab: Physics 78

Meeting Times: Thursday 2 - 4 PM (Section 1)

Friday 10 -12 PM (Section 2)

Friday 12 - 2 PM (Section 3)

Webpage: http://www.shepody.physics.iastate.edu/ncgrau/physics198/physics198.html

Grading:

Laboratory is a necessary part of any course. This is where you gain valuable, hands-on experience with concepts that are discussed in lecture. It has been shown (by people in education) that laboratories increase students’ retention of materials. That being said:

If you do not pass the lab, you will not pass the course.

And that is not in the abstract, if you fail this lab, you will automatically fail the course. But, do not fret:

If you come to lab, you will have to work hard to fail the lab.

Let me expand. Laboratory is worth 20% of your grade. I will grade a total of 140 points. Those 140 points will represent 20% of your course grade.

10 points – awarded for doing the lab

10 points – for the content of the lab

20 points total for a lab.

There are 7 labs * 20 points per lab = 140 points.

You are allowed to miss a single lab, but it will cost you 20 points. Because of this allowance, there will be no make up labs given. If you miss more than 1 laboratory, you will automatically fail.

What do I need to turn in?

You will work in pairs for each laboratory we will limit groups of three, and will never have more than 3 in a group. If you would like to keep the same partner each week that is fine, if you switch around that is also fine. In fact I would encourage people to swap partners every once in a while. You will never know what you will learn from them! Every lab session there will be a hand out for each laboratory that will guide you through what you will study today. I expect you to fill out the necessary blanks, and answer the questions in complete sentences with complete thoughts. One per group is fine with both people’s names clearly on the front. In addition each group will be required to write a lab report for each lab. The lab report will include an introduction, materials section, method section, and a results section (much like lab write-ups in a Chemistry course or in a scientific paper). These reports should be at least a page, but shouldn’t really be more than 3 pages. Most of the information will be contained in the lab handout; this just summarizes what has been done and reports on the results in a nice orderly fashion. We will also learn a little error analysis as well. This should be included.

If you are in Thursday’s lab, these are due by 5 PM Monday.

If you are in Friday’s labs, these are due by 5 PM Tuesday.

There will be a 5-point deduction for late papers.

Schedule:

Dr. Carter-Lewis and I have worked out a schedule for the labs. Unfortunately I do not have the schedule in front of me as I write. But we will make this available on the course website, so you can check any conflicts, etc.