| Course description: | Light, Perception, Photography and Visual Phenomena Laboratory
CORE Distributive Studies Physical Sciences Laboratory Course only when taken
with PHYS106.
Credit not applicable towards the minimum requirements for a major
in physics and astronomy.
Optional laboratory to accompany PHYS106. Laboratory experiments include geometrical optics (lenses, cameras, eye) optical instruments (telescope, binoculars) photography, perception, color phenomena and wave phenomena. |
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| Pre- or co-requisite | PHYS106 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Textbook: | PHYS107 lab manual | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Instructor |
Prof. Arthur La Porta Dept. of Physics Institute of Physical Science and Technology 1111 IPST (building #085) (301) 405 3291 (on campus x53291) alaporta 'at' umd 'dot' edu |
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| Section Information |
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| Faculty Office Hours | Monday, 1:30pm to 2:30pm Tuesday 2:30pm to 3:30pm |
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| Course Outline | The class meets once per week, and consists of 11 experiments
which are described in detail in the lab manual.
Each lab session lasts three hours, and will begin with a short discussion by the TA However you should not assume that the content of the lab will be explained in session. You are required to be familiar with the lab material before you come to lab. Typically the full lab time is required to complete the experiment, and you will not be able to finish on time if you are not already familiar with the lab material. minute discussion of the lab by the TA. The class will be based on the ELMS/Blackboard system. Each week (except the first experiment) the solutions to a set of pre-lab questions (found in the lab manual) must be uploaded before the lab can be performed. (Your TA may make other detailed arrangements for submission of pre-lab assignments, such as handing in in section.) The pre-lab questions will not be accepted for credit after the lab has begun. The lab report will be handed in at the end of the session, including data, analysis, and answers to post-lab questions. Students will work in pairs to collect data, but will submit independent reports. The data will typically be in common and discussion of results is allowed, but each student will perform analysis independently, and answer questions independently. If you must miss a session due to illness or other unavoidable circumstance you should try to arrange to attend one of the other lab sessions in the same week. If this is impossible, you can attend one of the schedule makeup sessions. There is one scheduled in the middle of the term to cover labs 1-5, and a second session at the end of the term to cover labs 6-11. It will be practically impossible to makeup more than one lab during a makeup session. |
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| Grading Policy |
With each lab report, three points will be awarded for each
distinct question in the lab report. Three points are awarded for a
correct and complete answer with partial credit awarded if an
answer is not entirely correct or complete.
The pre-lab questions will count
three points. Your score for each report will be the percentage
of points earned within the report. The total score will be the average of the percentage scores for all of the reports, after the lowest score has been dropped. (This means that labs that contain more questions do not count more toward your grad than labs with fewer questions.) The fact that the lowest score will be dropped does not mean that you can skip one of the experiments. If you have failed to complete any of the experiments you will not receive a passing grade. If circumstances make it possible to makeup missed experiments during the designated sessions, it is possible to request a grade of incomplete, which would allow you to complete the missing experiment during the following semester. |
| Week | Date | Experiment # | Experiment Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 23-26 | No meeting | - |
| 2 | January 30-February 2 | Experiment 1 | Camera Obscura |
| 3 | February 6-9 | Experiment 2 | Pinhole Camera Images are here |
| 4 | February 13-16 | Experiment 3 | Light: Reflection, Mirrors and Images |
| 5 | February 20-23 | Experiment 4 | Light: Refraction |
| 6 | February 27-March 2 | Experiment 5 | Images: Shaped Surfaces, Simple Lenses |
| 7 | March 5-8 | Experiment 6 | More Simple Lenses |
| 8 | March 12-15 | Makeup 1-6 | - |
| 9 | March 19-22 | Spring Break | no meeting |
| 10 | March 28-30 | Experiment 7 | The Digital Single Reflex Camera |
| 11 | April 2-5 | Experiment 8 | Polarized Light and Birefringence |
| 12 | April 9-12 | Experiment 9 | Light: Interference |
| 13 | April 16-19 | Experiment 10 | Light: Diffraction |
| 13 | April 23-26 | Experiment 11 | Diffraction Gratings, Color and Holography |
| 13 | April 30-May 3 | Makeup 6-11 | - |
| 13 | May 7-10 | additional make-up sessions if necessary | - |