Course Web Site and Preliminary Syllabus


Introductory Physics Laboratory Calculus-Based

Engineering Physics 211L (Section 1): University of Idaho: 2009 Summer

Don't Panic.
This is so cool.
Unchain your inner nerd.
In science, we are slaves to the truth---only error can set us free.

The course mottos: very reassuring I think.

Sections

  1. Instructor Information
  2. Syllabus Items
  3. Tentative Schedule I: This is for Physics 211L.
  4. Tentative Schedule II: This is for Physics 212L.
  5. University Sites of Relevance

Warning: This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. Any changes will be announced in class as well as made on this page.

M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) and Moon



  1. Instructor Information
  2. Instructor: Dr. David Jeffery, Engineering/Physics Building, Rm 315, Tel: 208-885-6099, Email: jeffery@nhn.ou.edu, Office hours: as on the
    instructor's schedule. (If you need to see the instructor for sure, make an appointment. I'm usually happy to see students at any time that I'm relatively free.)


  3. Syllabus Items
    1. Jump in with QUESTIONS? at any time, of course---this applies to the whole course.

    2. Course Web Site: The course web site URL is

      http://physics.nhn.ou.edu/~jeffery/course/c_intro/intrl.html

      which is the page you are maybe viewing right now. This page is the preliminary syllabus and includes syllabus items and the tentative schedules: Tentative Schedule I for 211L and Tentative Schedule II for 212L.

      This page is/will be/may be linked from the official physics department course web page.

    3. Place and Time:

      1. Physics 211L, Section 1: Gauss-Johnson Engineering Lab (GJ) 233, TR 3:30--5:20 pm.

      2. Physics 212L, Section 1: Gauss-Johnson Engineering Lab (GJ) 231, TR 1:30--3:20 pm.

        Both as per the Physics schedule.

    4. Tutoring Help Available: The Physics Department provides scheduled tutoring by TAs in EP 309: the schedule may still need updating for this semester.

        NO PHYSICS DEPARTMENT TUTORING FOR SUMMER CLASSES.

    5. Prerequisites/Corequisites: As specified in the online Physics Course Descriptions. Well they should be specified online.

      Let's just say:

    6. Textbook: the Lab Manual (Experiments in Laboratory Physics by Yanko Kranov).

    7. Nature of the Course: This is a lab course for intro physics calculus-based.

      We will learn some physics.

      We will learn some hands-on physics.

      We will learn some data analysis techniques: plotting, significant figures, error analysis.

      We will have fun.

        In the SUMMER COURSE, there's the mindnumbing monotony of 2 labs a week for 8 weeks with maybe a couple of days off.

        But one just accepts that and digs in for the long haul.

    8. General Lab Rules:

      1. Treat the equipment with care. Treat it as if it were fragile especially when it actually is fragile. No dropping on the floor to say the least.

      2. Treat electrical equipment, especially live surfaces (i.e., those at significant potential [i.e., voltage]), with caution. In actual fact, the lab equipment is designed to be inherently safe. The potentials are kept low or if high, then the source has a large internal resistance which prevents large current flows. It's just good practice to be cautious.

      
        Safety (Wolfson & Pasachoff, p. 687)
      
        --------------------------------------------------------------- 
      
        Current Range        Human Effect
            (mA)     
                 
        ----------------------------------------------------------------
      
        0.5--2               threshold of sensation
        10--15               involuntary muscle contraction;  can't let
                               go of source
        15--100              severe shock, loss of muscle control, 
                               difficulty breathing
        100--200             fibrillation of the heart, death within minutes
         >200                 cardiac arrest, breathing stops, severe burns
                    
        ----------------------------------------------------------------
      
        Tip:  If you are outside and your hair starts standing on end,
               get out of that place.
                      
        

    9. Lab Reports: There are reports for each lab.

      The format, grading, due dates are all at General Laboratory Policies.

      Labs themselves are described in the Lab Manual. But not fully. Additional description is pretty always needed in the lab itself. Other information can be found online below on the and the tentative schedules: Tentative Schedule I for 211L and Tentative Schedule II for 212L.

      To the General Laboratory Policies, I make some additional remarks and adjustments.

      Attendance is KEPT. No lab is done, unless you have done it. This is a participation class.

      Your mark on labs will be based on preparation for the lab, performance in lab, and on completeness, conciseness, understanding, correct analysis, and neatness of the reports.

      Introductions should be brief. The experiment is described in the Lab Manual or other sources. The introduction should say what the experiment is study: often this is to test some theory or demonstrate the behavior of equipment. The procedure of the lab should be mentioned, but not described in any length.

      Not many words are needed for data and results, but the data and results should be followable.

      Conclusions do not have to be excessively long, but you must cover what you have learnt in the experiment. You should say if the theory has been verified or not. If not, give some discussion to why not. Suggestions for further experimentation on the theory or with the equipment are recommended.

      Answer any explicit questions from the Lab Manual

      For me, lab reports do NOT have to word processed. Handwritten reports are adequate.

      No lab report is considered done, unless the student has physically done the lab.

      The instructor must initial your data sheet before you leave the lab.

        Do NOT put your equipment away before asking for initials. The instructor may ask for new measurements.

      The labs will be marked out of 20.

      The labs are due one week after completion.

      This is a lab course. Doing the lab is a vital component.

      Students are encouraged to help each other out both in the lab and in writing the reports.

      But there should be NO straight copying from each other.

      It two identical lab reports come in, there's only one mark and it's split between the two coauthors.

      The instructor is also available for help, of course.

      There will be a make-up lab period near the end of the semester.

        It is best not to miss any labs, but don't miss two.

    10. Quizzes: There may be some lab quizzes if people start coming in unprepared.

    11. Exams: There are NO lab exams, but maybe there should be.

    12. Evaluation and Grading: The grading categories, their weightings, and their drops are:
      
                lab reports               100 % or less     no drop
                lab quizzes                 0 % or more     no drop
      
            
      There are absolutely NO extra credits.

      Letter grades will be assigned per UI catalog---which allow instructors some freedom of interpretation.

      The instructor uses a curve to automatically assign letter grades during the semester---if there are enough students to make a curve meaningful---if there arn't, the instructor just decides on letter grades. There is NO fixed scale.

      The final grades are decided on by the instructor directly---the curve is NOT used, except as a guide.

      Students can always ask the instructor for their current mark record and letter grades. Queries by email are probably best for this.

      The instructor will submit MIDTERM GRADES and FINAL GRADES as scheduled in the academic calendar---which doesn't specify any midterm grade dates for summer courses.

      Remember that after an instructor has submitted FINAL GRADES, any adjustments (except for purely clerical errors) are NOT allowed by university policy.

        See Policy on Grades from the UI Catalog. Note that E-6 states that grade changes after instructor submission are only allowed for clerical corrections, not for reweighting or additional work. There is another avenue for grade emendation: the Academic Hearing Board (1640.02 C-4) can have a say on grades---but it's not very promising.

      Students should make any queries about their final grades before the instructor submits them.

      Aliens and Grades Beware of aliens bearing grades.


  4. Tentative Schedule I of Topics from the Lab Manual
  5. There are 13 labs scheduled, but we might add one more.

    Each lab has a number, except for ones not in the Lab Manual.

    The labs are NOT in order.

    The dates for labs have been/will be assigned.


  6. Tentative Schedule II of Topics from the Lab Manual
  7. There are 13 labs.

    Each lab has a number, except for the one in the Lab Manual.

    The labs are NOT done in order.

    The dates for labs have been/will be assigned.

    1. 25: Coulomb's law Date Jun16.

      1. Pasco: Coulomb's law Images, video demos, manual.
      2. A Wind Shield for the PASCO Coulomb Apparatus by Peter Anderson. With access pdf. For really accurate results one needs a wind shield. One also has to correct for the non-point nature of the charged spheres. They are conductors: all the charge is on the surface, but it won't stay spherically symmetrically distributed when they are brought together.
      3. Torsion spring This is the key component of the torsion balance.
      4. Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736--1806)

    2. 17: Electric Fields and Potential I Date Jun18.

      1. Sargent-Welch: Electrical Field Apparatus This is the experimental apparatus apparently, but there isn't much detail: no manual, no pictures.
      2. Electric field
      3. Electric potential

    3. 17: Electric Fields and Potential II Date Jun23.

      1. Radio Shack multimeters
      2. Radio Shack 22-range multimeters The ones we use I can find. Maybe they are discontinued.

    4. 16: Electronics Test Equipment Date Jun25.

      1. Heathkit Trainers

    5. 19: Capacitors and Impedence Date Jun30.

    6. 18: Voltage, Resistance and Electrical Current (Ohm's Law) Date Jul02.

      1. Radio Shack multimeters
      2. Radio Shack 22-range multimeters The ones we use I can find. Maybe they are discontinued.
      3. Heathkit Trainers
      4. Resistor color codes (by Electronix Express) See also Wikipedia: Electronic color code.

    7. 21: RC (Resistor-Capacitor) Circuits Date Jul07

      1. Pasco DataStudio Software
      2. Pasco DataStudio Software: User Resources
      3. Pasco DataStudio Software: User Resources: Starter Manual
      4. Hyperphysics: Charging a Capacitor

    8. 20: Inductors Date Jul09.

    9. 22: Diodes, Rectifiers, and Filtering Date Jul14.

    10. 23: Resonant Tuned Circuits (RLC Circuits) Date Jul16.

    11. 24: Magnetic Fields Date Jul 21.

      1. Sargent-Welch current balance No online instructions.
      2. Sargent-Welch current balance Online instructions here.
      3. Some Pivotal Thoughts on the Current Balance From the Physics Teacher, but not immediately accessible. But it's just the theory, not the practice.
      4. Pasco SF-9584B AC/DC power supply But we have the SF-9584A model. What's the dif?
      5. Gravity Anomalies in Idaho (1963) You'd think there would be something more recent, but this is all the Idaho Geological Survery has online.

    12. Signal Amplifier Date Jul23.

    13. DC Motor Date Jul28. Due by Aug07.

      1. Science First Toy Motor Kit The DC motor kit. No online instructions.
      2. Armature
      3. Electric motor
      4. Universal motor
      5. Stator Also called a field magnet or field coil when it is a coil electromagnet.

    14. Make-Up Lab Date Jul30. Due by Aug07.