Physics Intermediate Laboratory: Syllabus

Physics 3802L:
Physics Intermediate Laboratory

Fall 2001

1. General information:

Instructor:
Horst D. Wahl: office KEN 512 (phone: office 644-3509, home 386-2239,

e-mail wahl@hep.fsu.edu)
Office hours: Monday and Tuesday 8:30 to 10:00, 512 Keen Bldg. (or anytime you can get a hold of me)

    Teaching Assistant:
    NN: office: KEN 220 (phone: 644-1423,
            e-mail NN3844@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)

Class meeting times:

Monday and Wednesday 14:00 to 17:00 (2:00 to 5:00pm) UPL 206.

Text:

The Art of Experimental Physics, by Daryl W. Preston and Eric R. Dietz, John Wiley and Sons (1991)

Other Useful Books

Experiments in Modern Physics, by A. C. Melissinos, Academic Press (1966).

Statistics for nuclear and particle physicists, by Louis Lyons, Cambridge University Press (1989)

An Introduction to Error Analysis , by John R. Taylor, Oxford University Press (1982).

Introduction to the Theory of Error, by Yardley Beers, Addison-Wesley (1957).

Experimental Physics -- Modern Methods, by R.A. Dunlap, Oxford University Press (1988).

Building Scientific Apparatus, by J.H. Moore, C.C. Davis, M.A.Coplan, Addison-Wesley (1989).

Class Website:
The class Website is http://www.physics.fsu.edu/courses/fall01/phy3802L/ which has links to relevant Webpages. The Website can be reached via the Physics Department homepage (follow the links Courses -> Fall 2001 -> PHY3802L), or from my homepage (http://www.hep.fsu.edu/~wahl ) This course also uses the FSU Blackboard utility. To get to the Blackboard pages, go to http://campus.fsu.edu. You will be prompted to enter your ACNS username and password to log in. After having logged in, you will be given a list of all the courses for which you are registered and which use Blackboard. The Blackboard site will be used for announcements and for student discussion.

2. Course Objectives

To gain hands-on laboratory experience and gain familiarity with equipment used in physics laboratories.

To be able to judge what type of data should be taken and what quantity of data is needed for the purpose at hand.

To learn how to search and remedy problems in experimental setups.

To learn to evaluate the validity of data during the data-taking process.

To gain an understanding of the concept of experimental uncertainties and their importance in the design and analysis of experiments.

To learn how to determine experimental uncertainties.

To communicate experimental results through clear scientific/technical writing.

To gain a greater appreciation of theory through personal experimental investigation.

3. Course requirements:
3.1 Experiments to be performed:

Students in the Intermediate Laboratory (PHY 3802L) must complete five experiments and write a report about every one of them. Before doing an experiment, you are required to sign up for it with the graduate assistant. This will help in scheduling the experiments if more than one group wishes to do the same experiment.

The experiments in the Intermediate Laboratory have some instructions, but you are strongly encouraged to learn more about the experiments by studying the textbook or by consulting other sources. Normally you will be expected to set up the experiment. The instructor will explain the equipment and any safety precautions of an experiment before you start. This explanation will be given during the regular laboratory hours. You are required to consult the instructor or the graduate assistant before beginning an experiment. The experiment must be completed during the normal class hours, or during the additional periods arranged with the instructors.

Do not expect the experiment to work the first time. There will often be a piece of equipment that malfunctions making it necessary to repeat the measurements. Since physics involves solving problems you should try to find out the cause of the malfunction. Sometimes it may be as simple as a blown fuse. Often, a bit of everyday experience and common sense is all you need to solve the problem.

3.2 Reports

Even though you are encouraged to work in small groups (up to three), each report must represent an individual effort. Reports must satisfy the required report format. The reports are to be bound in three-hole notebooks. Please do not submit loose sheets in a folder. You must submit your report before you will be permitted to do another experiment, unless permission from the instructor is obtained. The reports must be handed to the graduate assistant or the instructor in person. Do not leave the report in the mailbox or with the secretaries. The best time to hand in the report is during the regular laboratory hours.

The instructor will go over the first report in detail with you and explain what was done correctly and things you should have taken into account. Please make a note to see the instructor either during the office hours or the laboratory hours some time after the first report was handed in.

Reports have to be handed in by the deadlines given below (at noon on the date given):

September 29....................................... first report due

October 13............................................ second report due

November 3.......................................... third report due

November 24........................................ fourth report due

December 8........................................... fifth report due
Note: You have 12 grace days you may use in any way you desire, except that not more than 5 grace days may be applied to any one experiment, and all experiments must be turned in by the last day of classes. Grace days already used may be redeemed by turning reports in early.

4. Course Grading

Every student has to hand in five reports about experiments he/she has performed. If fewer than the minimum number of reports is handed in, a grade of F will be assigned to the course. If a report is more than one week late, a grade of "F" will be assigned for the report. This means that you failed the course.

Each report will normally be read by both the instructor and the graduate assistant, and a numerical grade of a maximum of ten points will be assigned. The course grade will be mainly determined by the average of the grades on the reports, but the instructor may consider others factors such as the student's attitude toward laboratory work, care exercised in handling equipment, leaving the work area clean after use, etc. The reports should represent a consistent effort throughout the semester, and the degree of consistency will also influence your final grade.

Grade Scale:

Total Points    Letter Grade
     >45           A
     >40           B
     >35           C
     >30           D

Plus and minus grades will be assigned near boundaries between letters.

5. ADA statement:

Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should:
(a) register with, and provide documentation to, the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC); and
(b) bring me a letter from SDRC indicating your needed academic accommodations. Please do this during the first week of class.
For more information on this see the Resource Center's web site.

6. Academic honor code:

Students are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code published in The Florida State University Bulletin and in the Student Handbook. The first paragraph is:
The Academic Honor System of Florida State University is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility

to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work,

to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and

to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community.