| Physics 105 Lab Fall 2008 |
Th 12-1:50
|
Deloach 205
|
About this Lab
We will explore how the subject of physics works when we put into action. How well do theories apply in the presence of unknown frictional effects and experimental errors? We are also learning how to make scientific measurements, record them carefully and analyze them thoughtfully. There is no set schedule. What lab we do in a particular week depends on the weather, the particular part of the textbook we are working on in class, the availability of facilities, and the instructor's whim.
Procedure
The first day, we will organize into lab groups. You will work with your lab partners throughout the semester. Each week you will be given instructions as to what you need to do to complete the lab. The instructions may be given in advance for you to read, or may not be given to you until the lab period. I may also assign reading from the textbook especially for the lab. You should do this reading before coming to lab, and may be quizzed on it at the beginning of the lab period. Please bring a calculator to lab each time.
Field Trips
Many of our labs will be held somewhere other than Deloach 205. I will announce in class on the Tuesday before where the lab will be held and follow up with a posting on the class home page. You are responsible for knowing where the lab is and showing up there on time. We may be making off-campus field trips as a part of the labs in this course. A few may require admission or other activity fees, or the purchase of supplies. Other than that, there is no lab manual to purchase.
Evaluation
For some labs I will simply take attendance and ask you to participate to the best of your abilities. For some, I will ask your group to complete some finished product, like a filled out data/calculation sheet. I may also ask you to complete some such product individually. I anticipate that each lab will be self-contained and that you will be able to complete the lab and any calculations during the lab period. However, there may be labs that take more than one lab period, or labs that require you and your group to do some additional work outside of the lab.
I will check your attendance at the beginning of lab, and check your group out at the end of lab. If you are present at the beginning and get checked out at the end, you will receive a satisfactory (1) grade for the lab. Otherwise you will get a grade of unsatisfactory (0). A zero grade is the same as being absent. DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL I HAVE TOLD YOUR ENTIRE GROUP THAT YOU ARE DONE.
There will be no make-up lab, but I will automatically excuse one absence from lab during the semester. If you are absent more often than that, you need to provide a written explanation of why you were absent from every missed lab. Permission to be excused from attending labs is at the discretion of the instructor. Students who attend every scheduled lab will get extra credit!
Any quizzes you take in lab will be counted as part of your quiz grade (see lecture syllabus) not the lab grade.
You are expected to arrive on time, at noon, wherever the lab is being held. Students who are more than 10 minutes late will be counted absent. Students who repeatedly arrive more than zero minutes late will be warned and then counted absent. You should arrive at lab each time expecting to stay until the end of the lab period, 1:50 PM, even though you may often get to leave early.
TURN CELL PHONES OFF AND PUT THEM AWAY FOR THE DURATION OF THE LAB PERIOD
Do not eat or drink in the lab. Water in a closed container is OK.
Lab computers and equipment are to be used for lab purposes only
Do not touch lab equipment until you are instructed to do so
Treat lab equipment with respect
Pay attention to safe use of equipment at all times!
The above rules apply wherever the lab may be held
FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE RULES MAY RESULT IN YOUR BEING ASKED TO LEAVE - AND ISSUED A GRADE OF ZERO FOR THAT DAY!
