· Course Description

Physics 261 is the laboratory part of Physics 260. This course carries one credit and the grade is folded in with the Physics 260 course grade. You must pass Physics 261 in order to pass the entire course. If you do not pass this part of the course you will be required to repeat the entire course (both 260 and 261). The scores for both courses will be combined and the grade for Physics 261 will be identical to that of Physics 260, as required by the Engineering College. Students under the CORE program requirements must take both the lecture and lab part of the course in the same semester in order to receive CORE credit.

You are required to purchase the current version of the laboratory manual: PHYSICS 261 Laboratory Manual (Fall 2006 edition). The labs meet for three hours a week. You must complete ALL of the labs, including TWO culminating labs in order to pass the course. You are expected to attend each class and will be allowed to make up labs only under exceptional circumstances.

The Physics 261 laboratory uses the Excel spreadsheet to analyze data while in the lab. You will therefore be expected to use the spreadsheet in the same manner as any other tool in the lab. You should already have been exposed to the spreadsheet in your engineering courses, but Experiment 0 offers a simple tutorial on error analysis and spreadsheets in general and on Excel specifically.

During the three hour laboratory period, you will have a brief introduction about the lab, perform the experiment, do your analysis and write-up and turn in your report. The experiment should take less than two hours to perform (including the introduction), but in order for you to complete your work in the allotted time you must read the lab write-up and answer the prelab questions before coming to class.

Our aim in this lab is to enhance the understanding of the laboratory experiments you perform while at the same time minimizing the amount of time spent on analysis and write-ups. In order for this to work we have placed more emphasis on preparation for actual laboratory work and prelab assignments. This means it is not necessary to do extensive write-ups. Overly long or padded lab reports will be penalized. Each week's lab includes a prelab assignment. The culminating labs are special labs where you will be given questions about a number of the experiments you performed during the semester. The list of possible questions is included in the manual and you should review the ones for each lab after you have completed that experiment. This will make the culminating lab much easier! More questions may be handed out during the semester.

· Faculty and Teaching Assistants

Name	Sections	Office	E-mail (@umd.edu)	Phone	Office hours
Prof. Min Ouyang	All	2334	mouyang	5-5985	Fri 10-12
Yung-Ruey Yen	101, 109	3109	yryen	5-6190	Thu 1-3
William Mcconville	102, 106, 107	3109	wmcconvi	5-6190	Fri 3:30-5:30
Rufus Philips	103, 108, 110	4223	rufusp13	(cell) 229-869-2724	Wed 4:30-6:30pm
Andrew Manning	104, 113, 114	4219	anaqreon	5-6073	Thu 3-5
Jeffrey Lee	105, 117, 118	3107	jglee	5-3306	Mon12-2
Pat Harding	111	0104	hard0923	5-8577	Thu 1:30-2:30
Chris Stark	112	4219	starkc	5-6073	Wed 2-4

· Time and Place

All sections meet in Room 3220 in the Physics Building.

The following table shows the schedule and teaching assistants for each section:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
8:00	0101: Y.R.Y		0109: Y.R.Y	0113: A.M.
9:00	0101: Y.R.Y		0109: Y.R.Y	0113: A.M.
10:00	0101: Y.R.Y	0104: A.M.	0109: Y.R.Y	0113: A.M.
11:00		0104: A.M.		0114: A.M.
12:00	0102: W.M.	0104: A.M.		0114: A.M.
13:00	0102: W.M.	0105: J.L.	0111: P.H.	0114: A.M.
14:00	0102: W.M.	0105: J.L.	0111: P.H.	0117: J.L.
15:00	0103: R.P.	0105: J.L.	0111: P.H.	0117: J.L.
16:00	0103: R.P.	0110: R.P.	0112: C.S.	0117: J.L.
17:00	0103: R.P.	0110: R.P.	0112: C.S.
18:00		0110: R.P.	0112: C.S.
19:00	0106: W.M.	0107: W.M.	0108: R.P.	0118: J.L.
20:00	0106: W.M.	0107: W.M.	0108: R.P.	0118: J.L.
21:00	0106: W.M.	0107: W.M.	0108: R.P.	0118: J.L.

*Attendance: You should make every effort to attend your regularly scheduled lab section, but if you must miss your section please contact the appropriate TA and request to attend another section, in advance if possible. We will try to accommodate such requests if space and equipment are available. Otherwise, you must sign up to perform the experiment during the designated make-up week. It is your responsibility to deliver your write-up to the TA for your registered section and to ensure that you receive credit for all lab reports.

*Late Arrival: Classes begin promptly on the hour and it is important to arrive on time to receive lab instructions and to have sufficient time to finish. If you arrive more than 10 minutes late you might not be allowed into the lab and would then have to make it up in another section or during the make-up week.

· Experiment Schedule (Preliminary)

* First Lab: The first lab will be held the week of Sept. 3-Sep.7.

* Labor Day Week: Students whose section meets on Monday (Sep.3) MUST perform Exp.0, the introduction to Data and Error Analysis with Spreadsheets, during an alternative section because the University is closed on Labor Day. This excise only takes about an hour, so please find a Tuesday – Thursday section that is compatible with your schedule.

* Be alert to announcements: Acts of God or Man may require adjustment of the lab schedule (unfortunately… J)

Week	Dates	Activity	Notes
1	Aug.29-Aug.31	No Labs
2	Sep.3-Sep.7	Exp.0: Introduction to Data and Error Analysis	Monday students: see above. No prelab.
3	Sep.10-Sep.14	Exp.1: Introduction to Error Analysis
4	Sep.17-Sep.21	Exp.2: The Pendulum
5	Sep.24-Sep.28	Exp.3: Forced Harmonic Motion
6	Oct.1-Oct.5	Exp.4: The Vibrating String
7	Oct.8-Oct.12	Make-up and Discussion	Optional, Manual P84-87
8	Oct.15-Oct.19	First Culminating Lab	Covering Exps.1-4
9	Oct.22-Oct.26	Exp.5: Position, Velocity and Acceleration
10	Oct.29-Nov.2	Exp.6: Centripetal Force and Acceleration
11	Nov.5-Nov.9	Exp.7: The Ideal Gas Law and Absolute Zero Temperature
12	Nov.12-Nov.16	Exp.8: Equipotentials and Fields
13	Nov.19-Nov.23	No Labs	Thanksgiving Week
14	Nov.26-Nov.30	Make-up and Discussion	Optional
15	Dec.3-Dec.7	Second Culminating Lab	Covering Exps.5-8
16	Dec.10-Dec.11	No Labs

· Grading Policies

The course grade of Physics 261 will be determined as follows:

70% for the eight regular labs;

30% for the two culminating labs;

* Scoring on the each regular lab:

Prelab Questions: 20% (0, 10%, 20%)

Data: 40%

Analysis: 25%

Postlab Questions: 15%

* Tips for getting good score:

Prelab Questions: the prelab questions MUST be answered and submitted through online Blackboard Academic Suite system (https://elms.umd.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp) before coming to lab and will be checked at the beginning of each lab. The prelab questions will be graded in units of 10% as follows: no attempt, 0%; feeble attempt, 10%; sincere attempt, full 20% even if partially incorrect. If you need/prefer to paper submission it is your responsibility to get permission from your TA and make sure you are credited for all prelabs.

Data and Analysis: you will work with lab partners and will share data with them. However, you will be responsible for doing your own analysis and write-up. Each person in the group will also be required to demonstrate proficiency with the spreadsheet. You will be tested on this basic skill during the lab sessions. If by the end of the second lab, you cannot demonstrate to your TA the ability to do simple tasks on the spreadsheet, your grade will be progressively reduced each week until you can. The point is: you must learn to use the spreadsheet.

Culminating Labs: culminating labs are special labs where you will be given questions about some of the labs you performed during the semester. The list of possible questions is included in the lab manual and you should review the ones for each lab after you have completed that experiment. This will make the culminating lab much easier! More questions may be handed out during the semester. The two culminating labs comprise a total of 30% of your course grade.

Missed Lab: missing a lab and not making it up will result in failure of the course. You must do and write up all labs. If you have missed a lab for an excused reason (illness, religious holiday, etc) try if possible to attend another lab that same week. Most TAs will be accommodating. If this fails, you may, with permission of the Professor, perform the lab during the make-up week for that lab. Make sure that your write-up gets to the TA of your regularly scheduled section (put your name, section number and time it meets on all sheets). Let your regular TA know when and with whom you carried out a make-up lab. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are credited for all lab reports.

Lab reports: You MUST turn your complete lab report (including data, analysis and answers to postlab questions) by uploading a single Excel spreadsheet file to online Blackboard Academic Suite system (https://elms.umd.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp) before leaving lab. You can save file for many times but you can submit only for one time. Once you submit your lab report you can not make any change. No credit will be given for late lab report.

· Course Announcements

Aug.27, 2007: No Labs for this week (Aug.29-Aug.31). First lab (Exp.0) will be in the week of Sep.3-7, which is the Introduction to Data and Error Analysis with Spreadsheet. You MUST do Exp.0, if you want to proceed with the rest of the course. However, because Sep.3 is Labor Day and the University will be closed, students whose section meets on Sep.3 MUST finish this exp during an alternative section in that week. This excise only takes about an hour, so please find a Tuesday – Thursday section that is compatible with your schedule.

Sep.04, 2007: I would like to reiterate the policy of missing a lab. According to the Undergraduate Catalog the acceptable excuse of missing lab includes: “It is the policy of the university to excuse the absences of students that result from the following causes Illness of the student, or Illness of a dependent as defined by Board of Regents policy on family and medical leave; religious observance (where the nature of the observance prevents the student from being present during the class period); participation in university activities at the request of university authorities; and compelling circumstance beyond the students control. Students claiming excused absence must apply in writing and furnish documentary support for their assertion that absence resulted from one of these causes”

You need to contact your TA to get his/her permission in advance. You MUST do the make-up in order to pass this course. We strongly suggest you do the make-up experiment by attending another section that same week. It is your responsibility to contact corresponding TA for accommodating. If this fails, you may, with permission of the Professor, perform the lab during make-up week for that lab and you need to provide written excuse documents. It is your responsibility to make sure your TA (of regularly scheduled section) gets and grades your lab report.