33-104 Experimental Physics Spring 2013

Blackboard Web Site: http://www.cmu.edu/blackboard Instructor: Lecture 1 Lecture 4 David Anderson Kristina Woods Office DH A301B WeH 6412 Office DH MA328 WH 7314 MW MW Phone email x8-1367 dra@andrew.cmu.edu x8-9918 knwoods@cmu.edu Phone email x8-6376 shadaba@andrew.cmu.edu x8-4975 baiciank@andrew.cmu.edu

Teaching Assistant: Section A Shadab Alam Section D Bai-Cian Ke Class Meeting Times: Lecture 1, Section A Lecture 4, Section D

1:30 4:20 PM 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 33-340 Modern 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 conclusions from experimental work, all of which must be documented in an organized, readable format 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 which results 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 audience of your peers (or how to prepare good abstracts, reports and posters ). Prerequisites There are no formal prerequisites for this course. Our desire is to make it as easy as possible for any interested student in the university to learn about the art and science of experimental research. Although we may introduce some calculus concepts on occasion, a working knowledge 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 the lecture/section for which you are registered, and you must turn in your assignments in that same 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

account after the Semester Course-Drop Deadline has passed. A copy of the Laboratory Manual will be provided to each student at our first class meeting. A laboratory notebook will be 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 class o 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 instructions o 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 second offense 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 and conclusions 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 at the following URL: http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/Cheating.html

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 formal reports may be found in the Laboratory Manual, along with examples. The details will be 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 the borderline.

Opportunities for extra credit In addition to performing the required experiments, you may have several opportunities during the semester to design your own experiment for extra credit. This is a chance to think creatively, 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 required notebook. For example, if the required experiment is marked on a scale of 25, you may obtain up 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 extra credit work. No extra credit will be given if you do not tell the instructor where to find 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 in your 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.

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