Professor:     Scott M. LaBrake, Ph.D.                                    Course:  Physics 110 Lab          

Email:               labrakes@union.edu                                           Phone:    388-6053 & 6562

Office Hours:    M,W,F  9:30am – 11:30am                                         Office:    S&E N331 & N008B 

                        By Appointment

Web:                http://minerva.union.edu/labrakes

 

Professor:     Rebecca Koopmann, Ph.D.                                  Course:  Physics 110 Lab          

Email:               koopmanr@union.edu                                        Phone:    388-6786

Office Hours:    MF  11:45am – 12:45pm                                            Office:    S&E N316

                        W  2:00pm – 3:00pm

                        By Appointment

Web:                http://minerva.union.edu/koopmanr

 

Course: 

This course serves as an introduction to those basic concepts of physics that form the foundation of all the natural sciences.  The first of a two-course sequence in Physics for the Life Sciences, this course serves to introduce the student to the fundamental laws of classical mechanics, fluids, and thermodynamics, and are applied to a variety of simple systems including many from the biological sciences.  Throughout the course the conservation laws serve as unifying physical principles.  Mathematics, a powerful tool in the understanding of natural phenomena, assumes its natural role.

 

Attendance/Expectations: 

·              Attendance is mandatory!  It is expected that you will attend lab at your scheduled time and be present for the duration of the laboratory time.  If you cannot attend a lab class then it is your responsibility to notify the instructor a minimum of 48 hours in advance.  Do not assume that you may merely attend the other section.  The instructor reserves the right to ask you to leave and come to a make-up session at a time convenient for the instructor. 

·              In order to pass physics 110 you must obtain a passing grade in lab.  In order to do this, you need to do more than just attend the labs.  You need to hand in a written report for every laboratory exercise that you perform.  If you do not attend a lab then you cannot hand in a report.  In short you may not just “take someone else’s data.” 

·              Your participation in the completion of the laboratory will be factored into your final grade.  This means that you should not just sit idly by and let your lab partner perform the lab.  Further, it is the responsibility of the student to have with you at the start of the laboratory, a copy of the week’s laboratory exercise.  The instructor will not provide copies.

·              Make sure that you have copies of all necessary data or graphs to complete the labs before you leave the lab.  Not having the data or graphs is no excuse for not having the lab completed on time. 

·              Further it will be expected that you will have your calculator, textbook and a copy of the lab with you at every laboratory exercise. 

·              Laboratory sections will be capped at 18. 

 

Course Grade: 

Your numerical laboratory grade will be determined based on a professional judgment of your work on the following scale:

                        Abstract                      5 points

                        Introduction              10 points

                        Theory                      20 points

                        Procedure                 10 points

                        Results                      40 points

                        Conclusion               15 points

                      

 

Recitation: 

Brief outline of the theory and techniques necessary for successful completion of the lab will be given promptly at the start of the lab.  It is the responsibility of the student to be ready (know the background theory, have read the laboratory ahead of time and worked out any pre-lab materials) when the laboratory class starts.  Occasionally the start of the lab class will be used as a short lecture class.  In other words, I may use the beginning of the lab class as a time to lecture on the theory behind a topic pertaining to class, but not covered in detail in class.

 

 

Sections of the Lab Report :

Many of the labs we will do this term are recreations of experiments that were crucial to the development of physics.  For these labs you should include a section placing the experiment in its historical context.  In particular, discuss when the experiment first took place, the prevailing physics ideas related to the experiment, how the results were interpreted, and what effect the experiment had on the physics of the time.

First present the raw data. Numerical data should be listed in a table and the table referred to in the text; graphical data (for example, position vs. time plots from Science Workshop) should be presented as figures and referred to in the text. Be sure to include uncertainties in any measured quantities.

After presenting the raw data, discuss any calculations that you made from that data. If there are results of calculations that would be best presented in a table, make sure they are clearly distinguishable from the raw data, either by putting the processed data in a separate table, or by clearly labeling the columns. If there are results that would be best presented in a figure, label the figure clearly, and be sure to refer to it in the text. Be sure to label the tables and figures and to refer to them in the text by name (e.g. “Figure 1”, “Table 2”). Don't include a figure without discussing it in the text. Explain the relevance of the figure, and what it tells you about the experiment.

Discuss your errors in this section. Discuss the sources of error, both random and systematic, and how the errors affect your results. Do not put off the discussion of the error until the Conclusion section.

This is where you should discuss the implications of the comparison between experiment and theory (Does your measurement agree with the theoretical prediction? If so, what does that tell you? If not, why not?) , or between two different methods of measurement (If you measured the same quantity in two different ways, which measurement was more accurate?). Address any additional ideas you have about the experiment, such as improvements that could be made, or how the experiment relates to the material discussed in class.

 

Additional Comments:

 

Lab Schedule

 

Week 1            No Lab

Week 2            No Lab

Week 3            1-D Motion:  Velocity, Acceleration and Force (Answer questions asked in the report and turn in your answers and graphs in lab.)

Week 4            2-D Motion:  Projectile Motion                                           

Week 5            Forces:  Karate Board                           

Week 6            Forces:  Oscillations                                    

Week 7            No Lab                                         

Week 8            Momentum 

Week 9            Rotational Dynamics:  Moments of Inertia                   

Week 10          Vibrations:  Waves on a String