Accelerated Physics III Lab

PH 311L

Fall 2007

Room 336

8-9:15 a.m., Th

Instructor:	Dr. Rick Batman
Office:	Room 102, 1st cubicle on the right
Phone:	(318) 357-3174, ext 138
Email:	rbatman@lsmsa.edu
Website:	http://faculty.lsmsa.edu/RBatman/
Guided Study: Office Hours:	Wednesday, 4-5:30 p.m., Room 336 M 3-5, T 4-5, W 3-4, Th 1-5, F 3-5 (by appointment only)

Course Goals:

Physics III Laboratory is meant to supplement your calculus-based physics lecture class. Lab should reinforce concepts taught to you in lecture and provide an understanding of how the topics discussed in class have practical applications.

Your Grade:

In each lab, you will perform an experiment and collect data. A lab report will be submitted for this experiment the following week. Your grade will depend on these things:

1. Your attendance to the lab and your individual participation in the lab experiment.

2. The thoroughness with which you collect data (noting observations, careful planning of your experiments, laboratory technique, neatness).

3. Answers to the pre-laboratory questions.

4. Keeping and leaving your lab area clean.

If you fail the laboratory component, you automatically fail the lecture, and vice versa.

Grading Scale		Components of your lab grade
A	90-100%	Lab Reports	50%
B	80-90%	Prelabs	25%
C	70-80%	Final	15%
Failing	Below 70%	Lab Notebook	10%

If you are not in my lecture class, a number grade based on the scale above will be reported to your lecture professor and s/he will incorporate this grade into your final semester grade.

All your data taken throughout the semester must be recorded in permanent ink in a bound journal dedicated exclusively to the physics lab. This notebook will be collected periodically and graded for completeness, good organization, and legibility.

Attendance:

Attendance at the lecture and the labs is mandatory. The student is referred to the student handbook for specific school policies. In this lab, three tardies will equal one unexcused absence. If you are more than 15 minutes late to lab (by my watch, which is fairly accurate), you will be counted absent. If you sleep in class or refuse to actively participate in lab, you will be counted absent. Also, since lab is part of the class, an absence from the laboratory is combined with the absences from lecture when computing total absences per semester. Four unexcused absences results in a failing grade for the course. An unexcused absence from the lab final exam will also result in a failing grade for the course. A lab procedure or the lab final may only be made up in the event of an excused absence and must be made up within one week of the absence, or else the grade is zero. No more than two lab makeups are possible during the semester. Whether I allow a makeup is left to my own discretion, and no makeup opportunities are guaranteed.

Assignments:

1. Lab reports, pre-lab questions, and lab notebooks are due at the beginning of class, and it is your responsibility that the assignment is submitted into my hands. Do not send your assignment with a friend, or attempt to put it in my mailbox or on my desk, because it may fail to reach me, and you will receive no credit in this case. Even if it does reach me, it hasn’t been officially submitted until it is in my hands. If the assignment is submitted after the beginning of class, but within 24 hours afterward, you will lose 10% credit for lateness; if between 24 and 48 hours afterward, 30%; if more than 48 hours afterward, 100%. (This excludes weekends and holidays.) This will apply regardless of extenuating circumstances, including any difficulties you might have getting to me. Exceptions may be negotiated for excused absences, but are not guaranteed. In any case, no assignments of any kind will be accepted on or after the day that grades are due for the end of a grading period. If you know ahead of time that you will miss a lab session for any reason, it is in your best interest to submit the assignment in advance of the time it is due. No late pre-labs will be accepted under any circumstances.

2. You are responsible for keeping all your graded work in good condition throughout the semester, just in case I need it later as proof of your performance.

3. Please look over your returned exams and assignments and ask questions about your grades during my office hours (not during class) if you think there is a problem, or if you simply don’t understand what you missed.

4. You take data with your lab partner; however, your lab write-up must be your own. You may confer with your lab partner; however, other than your data, nothing else about your lab report should look the same. If you and your partner turn in the same lab, the grade the lab receives will be cut in half, with each student getting half the grade. For the second offense, both students will receive a zero for that lab. On the third offense, you will be reported to the honor court with all the previous offenses being entered into evidence against you.

5. You will earn 40% credit in your lab report grade for coming to lab on time, actively participating in the lab activity, following instructor safety precautions, and cleaning and organizing your lab area before you leave the lab. The additional 60% can be earned by turning in your lab report complete, correct, and on time.

Honor Code:

All students will be held to the honor code and must sign the honor code to their tests. The student is referred to the student handbook.

Tentative Laboratory Schedule

Number	Laboratory
1	Vector Addition
2	Measurement and Uncertainty
3	Uniform Acceleration
4	Friction
5	Conservation of Energy
6	Conservation of Momentum
7	Ballistic Pendulum
8	Torque
9	Atwood’s Machine
10	Moment of Inertia
11	Simple Harmonic Motion
12	Simple Pendulum
13	Standing Waves
14	Lab Final

Research Option

All Juniors, and any Senior who is willing, may opt to do a science project instead of taking a lab final exam. You will have semimonthly assessments of your research project. You will present your results at the LSMSA Science Fair in December. You will also be required to write a five- page, double spaced, 12 pt font paper. The grading scale is altered as follows, should you choose this option. Please see me for further details.

Grading Scale		Components of your lab grade
A	90-100%	Lab Reports	50%
B	80-90%	Prelabs/Lab Notebook	20%
C	70-80%	Monthly Project assignments	15%
Failing	Below 70%	Presentation/Paper	15%