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33-104 Experimental PhysicsSpring 2013

Blackboard Web Site: http://www.cmu.edu/blackboard

Instructor: Office Phone emailLecture 1 David Anderson DH A301B x8-1367 dra@andrew.cmu.edu Lecture 4 Kristina Woods WeH 6412 x8-9918 knwoods@cmu.edu Teaching Assistant: Office Phone emailSection A Shadab Alam DH MA328 x8-6376 shadaba@andrew.cmu.eduSection D Bai-Cian Ke WH 7314 x8-4975 baiciank@andrew.cmu.edu

Class Meeting Times:Lecture 1, Section A MW 1:30 4:20 PMLecture 4, Section D MW 6:30 9:20 PM

Course Description and Student Objectives A good subtitle for this course would be, Life Skills for Doing Research, Part I. This is the

first in a two-part series of courses on the methods of experimental physics (part 2 is 33-340Modern Physics Laboratory). It is a required course for physics majors and a prerequisite for more advanced laboratory courses in physics. Our target audience is first- or second-year undergraduates. However, students at any stage in their academic career are welcome.Student objectives for the course may be summarized as follows:

To become skilled at acquiring, recording, and analyzing data, and drawing conclusionsfrom experimental work, all of which must be documented in an organized, readableformat for future reference (or how to keep a good lab notebook ).

To understand the concept of experimental uncertainty, and its importance in research(or how to understand the statistical significance of an experimental result ).

To develop an appreciation of laboratory science as an experimental endeavor, in whichresults are not guaranteed to agree with predictions (or how to compare experimental results with predictions, and how to recognize a new result when you see one ).

To become skilled at communicating your work in a variety of formats, for an audienceof your peers (or how to prepare good abstracts, reports and posters ).

PrerequisitesThere are no formal prerequisites for this course. Our desire is to make it as easy as possiblefor any interested student in the university to learn about the art and science of experimentalresearch. Although we may introduce some calculus concepts on occasion, a workingknowledge of algebra and trigonometry are sufficient for the student to master the material of the course. We also do not assume any prior knowledge of physics. We will provide a brief introduction to the underlying physics of each experiment during the pre-lab lectures.

Attendance Attendance is required and will be taken on a frequent basis. You must attend thelecture/section for which you are registered, and you must turn in your assignments in thatsame section.

Laboratory fee A laboratory fee of $25 covers all of the supplies and materials that you need for the course,except for a pen to write your lab notes. This fee will be charged automatically to your student

http://www.cmu.edu/blackboardmailto:dra@andrew.cmu.edumailto:knwoods@cmu.edumailto:shadaba@andrew.cmu.edumailto:baiciank@andrew.cmu.eduhttp://www.cmu.edu/blackboardmailto:dra@andrew.cmu.edumailto:knwoods@cmu.edumailto:shadaba@andrew.cmu.edumailto:baiciank@andrew.cmu.edu

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account after the Semester Course-Drop Deadline has passed. A copy of the LaboratoryManual will be provided to each student at our first class meeting. A laboratory notebook willbe provided to each student at the beginning of each set of experiments.

Best Practices for success in this course: Come to class on time.

o Faithful and timely attendance will be a factor in determining your final grade. Come prepared for work and discussion.

o Read relevant sections of the Laboratory Manual before coming to class.o Complete all data analysis before the next class meeting; be prepared to discuss.

Participate in class discussion.o Helpful contributions to class discussion may result in a higher final grade,

particularly for borderline cases.o If you have any questions about anything, please do not hesitate to ask.

Pay attention in classo Do not carry on conversations during lecture or while someone is asking a

question.o

Please silence the ringer on mobile phones, and refrain from texting during class. Follow instructionso Important instructions may be given verbally and/or on paper during class, which

may not be included in the lab manual. Use lab equipment responsibly.

o Handle lab equipment carefully, and use it only for its intended purpose.o Be sure that all of the equipment for your station stays where it belongs.o Never take a piece of equipment from another lab station. (If something is

missing from your station, ask a TA or the instructor for assistance.)o If anything is broken, please report it to your instructor or your TA.o If you borrow anything from the common supplies area, please return it as soon

as you have finished with it. Record all of your data directly into the notebook provided.

o Each student must keep an independent record of all the data as it happens.o Do not copy data from another student. This constitutes plagiarism.o Do not record you data onto loose sheets of paper or into any notebook other

than the one provided. The first offense will result in a warning. The secondoffense will result in confiscation of the loose paper or other notebook.

Analyze your data before you leave the lab.o Make the most of the lab time provided. Plot each data set as soon as you

record it, to be sure things are working out as expected. Use your own words for all writing.

o Although your data and your analysis will most likely be identical to your partners, the words you write in your notebook to describe the results andconclusions must be your own words.

o Formal reports must be written by each student separately and independently.o Copying another students discussion or conclusions in the notebook, or any

portion of another students formal report constitutes plagiarism.o Cheating and Plagiarism will be dealt with in accordance with Carnegie Mellon

Universitys Policy on Cheating and Plagiarism. This document is available atthe following URL: http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/Cheating.html

http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/Cheating.htmlhttp://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/Cheating.html

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Turn in your assignments on time.o Assignments are due on the dates indicated on the attached schedule, unless

otherwise announced by the instructor.o The maximum score for each assignment is a decreasing function of time. Your

instructor will explain the penalty for late assignments.Grades

Most of your grade will be determined by the quality of your work on the following:o Laboratory Notebooks (7 @ 25 points each)o Formal Writing Assignments (2 @ 25 points each)o 1-paragraph Abstracts (5 @ 5 points each)o Poster (1 @ 25 points)o Quizzes (2 @ 12.5 points each)o Other graded work, at the discretion of your instructor

Guidelines for keeping good laboratory notes and for writing good abstracts and formalreports may be found in the Laboratory Manual, along with examples. The details willbe discussed in class. Helpful hints on preparing a poster will be provided in class.

Other factors may be taken into consideration, on a case-by-case basis.o Faithful attendance and regular (intelligent) participation in class discussion may

result in a higher final grade, particularly for those near the borderline.o Unexcused absences, chronic lateness, and disruption of class discussion may

result in a lower final grade, even if the grade to first approximation is above theborderline.

Opportunities for extra creditIn addition to performing the required experiments, you may have several opportunities duringthe semester to design your own experiment for extra credit. This is a chance to thinkcreatively, and to explore your own ideas, perhaps on the same general topic as the current

experiment, but going beyond the bounds of the instructions in the lab manual. Your instructor may award extra credit, at his/her discretion, up to 20% of the maximum score on the requirednotebook. For example, if the required experiment is marked on a scale of 25, you may obtainup to 5 extra marks, if you follow the ground rules for documenting your extra credit work.

The ground rules for earning extra credit are as follows: The extra credit portions of your lab notes must be clearly identified and easy for your

instructor to find.o Write a note on the front cover of your notebook, or on the inside of the front

cover, or in your index (if you keep one) telling the page numbers for the extracredit work. No extra credit will be given if you do not tell the instructor where tofind it.

State your hypothesis clearly.o What are you attempting to show?o What outcome do you predict?

Include a diagram of the experimental setup (or cross-reference an existing diagram inyour notes, if you are using the same type of setup as for a required experiment)

Document all of your data and analysis (same rules apply as for required experiments) Show your final results clearly, with proper units, uncertainty, and correct number of

significant digits.

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State your conclusions clearly.o Did your results support your hypothesis, or not?