General Physics II Lab

PHY 162L002/003 --- Fall 2009 Syllabus

Physics Department --- Mercer University

This course is the laboratory counterpart to PHY 162 General Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism, Waves, and Optics, which is the second half of the two-semester sequence PHY 161/162, a calculus-based introduction to physics. Students must be concurrently enrolled in PHY 162 and MAT 192 Calculus II, or have equivalent prior academic credit for both courses. This course is intended for physics, chemistry, math, computer science, and engineering majors, and others with good mathematical aptitude and scientific interest.

Nature behaves in predictable ways which scientists, over hundreds of years, have formulated into a set of basic physical laws. The ultimate validity of these laws always rests on experimental evidence. In this course we will illustrate, by experiment, a portion of those laws describing the behavior of electromagnetic systems, as well as properties of waves and light. We will investigate wave motion and resonance, geometric optics, electric and magnetic phenomena, and simple circuits. In the process, students will build on their knowledge of basic concepts and procedures of physics (scientific) laboratory work. They will become familiar with simple physics experimental apparatus; measure quantities such as frequency, wavelength, deflection angle, electric and magnetic fields, potential difference, current, resistance and capacitance; compute derived quantities from the data, and perform basic statistical analysis of the data and the derived quantities; and reason from this analysis to answer questions and arrive at logically sound conclusions about the physical world. They will also conduct inquiry-based labs and construct simple electromagnetic devices. This process will help them to master the concepts introduced in PHY 162, by showing them in action in the laboratory setting. Although we will investigate a number of specific physical systems, students’ goal should be to learn to think about nature and perform experiments as physicists (scientists) do. Each student will be a member of a lab group. Students may form groups as they wish each week.

Lab sessions (13 for 10% of total grade): All data collection will be performed by the group. After that, each group must work to complete all data analysis, i.e. data tables and required graphs, before leaving the lab. Often, students will have enough time to complete the entire lab procedure and the analysis during the session. Other times, there will not be enough time during the session, and it will be necessary to finish the analysis later. For each student, the grade for each session will come from the student having a) attended the entire session, b) worked successfully with the group to collect the data, and c) helped the group carry out the required analysis during the session. Each session will be worth 10 points, for a total of 130 points. Students who are late for a lab session, or who leave early without the permission of the instructor, will not receive full credit for that lab session.

Lab reports (12 for 90% of total grade): For most labs, students must submit reports containing data tables, graphs, conclusions, and answers to additional questions: For details please see "Lab Report Guidelines" handout... Reports will be prepared after the lab session and will be due on the day of the next lab session. The students in each group must either submit individual reports or a group report as they wish. For any report, each student who helped to prepare it must sign it, and everybody who signs it will receive the same grade. Depending on the amount of work involved, each report will be worth a variable number of points ranging from 50 to 100. In cases where all report elements are required, the number of points will be close to 100; data tables and graphs will account for about 20% of the grade, with the answers to questions and conclusions accounting for the remaining 80%. In cases where there are no questions to be answered and/or no formal conclusions to be drawn, the number of points will be reduced. In cases where students hand in their work at the end of the lab session the reports will also be worth close to 50 points. 

Inquiry-based (qualitative) lab reports: In inquiry-based labs students learn about physical systems by the repeated process of a) making observations, b) making qualitative predictions, and c) checking these predictions experimentally. There are not many numbers to be collected and analyzed, so the lab reports address the relevant conceptual and qualitative issues, and should normally be relatively brief. These reports will be prepared during the lab session and will be due at the end of the lab session. They will be worth close to 50 points.

Missed labs:  When a student misses a lab, they must convince the instructor that their absence was unavoidable or served a very good cause (e.g. when a student represents Mercer as part of a team), in which case their grade will be pro-rated for that lab (lab session and lab report) - i.e. their final grade will not suffer. Otherwise they will receive no credit for the lab. It is best to speak to the instructor ahead of time, or to present an official excuse from a Dean or team faculty advisor, or a doctor's excuse. Anybody who did not take part in a lab session should not sign a report for that lab, as they cannot receive any credit for that lab.  

Assessment tests: All students are required to participate in testing for assessment purposes. First session: On the first lab session, in addition to carrying out a lab procedure, students will be asked to individually complete a conceptual test on electricity and magnetism, the pre-test. To receive credit for attendance at this session, each student must complete this test to the best of their ability, and completely and accurately enter their name, student ID and other information on the answer sheet. The pre-test result will not form part of any student's grade. Last session: On the last lab session, students will not carry out a lab procedure, but they will be asked to individually complete another conceptual test, the post-test. To receive credit for attendance at this session, each student must complete this test to the best of their ability, and completely and accurately enter their name, student ID and other information on the answer sheet. The overall pre-test and post-test results will be used by the physics department in the assessment of our program success. For each student, the post-test result will be used to grant them a bonus on their final grade of up to +4%: a score of 50% or better will yield +1% bonus, 60% or better will yield +2% bonus, 70% or better will yield +3% bonus, and 80% or better will yield +4% (Bonuses are non-cumulative.).

Safety: Lab equipment may be hazardous to your health. Always follow the instructions of your lab instructor or their lab assistant, and consider the well being of your classmates as well as yourself... Think Safety First!  

Printing lab manuals:  The lab manuals (instruction sets and data tables) are viewable on computers in SEB 217 during lab sessions. And there will also be one copy of the lab instructions per lab station in the room. Printing of lab instructions in SEB 217 will not be allowed; students will only be able to print data tables, graphs and lab reports during the lab sessions. Therefore if you wish to have additional paper copies of the lab instructions, you must print them somewhere else ahead of time. 

Grading: How much each category contributes as a percent of the final grade is shown in the left table below. To covert to final letter grade, use the scale shown in the right table below.  

Miscellaneous policies:

If changes to this syllabus are necessary, they will be implemented after discussion and negotiation with the students. Note that the accompanying lab schedule is not a part of the syllabus: it is tentative and subject to revision.

There are no make-up labs. However, if a student has an official excuse for a missed lab, such as a note from a Dean's office, or a doctor’s note, their grade will not suffer. I.e., their grade for that lab will be pro-rated.

There  will be no dropped grades. All work done in the course will be counted. There will be no extra-credit work, except for the post-test.

The  College of Liberal Arts' academic misconduct policy will be followed. In addition, all students are bound by the Mercer University Honor Code.

Students are strongly encouraged to discuss with the instructors all their work during the course, regardless of their grades. Questions about point awards should be brought up as soon as possible, as all grades will be final one week after the materials are graded and returned to the students.

Students with a documented disability should inform the instructor at the close of the first class meeting or as soon as possible. If you are not registered with Disability Services, the instructor will refer you to the Student Support Services office for consultation regarding documentation of your disability and eligibility for accommodations under the ADA/504. In order to receive accommodations, eligible students must provide each instructor with a Faculty Accommodation Form from Disability Services. Students must return the completed and signed form to the Disability Services office on the 3rd floor of the Connell Student Center. Students with a documented disability who do not wish to use accommodations are strongly encouraged to register with Disability Services and complete a Faculty Accommodation Form each semester. For further information please contact Disability Services at 478-301-2778 or visit the website at http://www.mercer.edu/stu_support/swd.htm.

All requests for reasonable accommodation are welcome also in regard to absence from class for school representation (i.e., athletic or other events) or personal/family problems. Let's talk about it...