Physics 174 is an introductory physics lab course that meets for 1 hour and 50 minutes each week in Room 3115 of the Physics Building. In this course you will be expected to master a few basic ideas and tools which you will need for later labs, including: understanding experimental errors, using computer spreadsheets for analyzing, plotting and fitting data, and working with simple electrical circuits and electrical measuring equipment. This course is intended for, but not limited to, students who are majoring in Physics or are considering doing so.
Corequisite: Math 140 (Calculus I). You will have to know how to take derivatives of functions starting about one month into the course. It will also be helpful to have taken a high school (or college) physics course.
Books: The required texts are:
This course is intended to give you hands-on experience with measurement techniques and basic data analysis. You'll spend time in the lab (room 3115) each week doing an exercise that focuses on a particular concept, following pretty specific instructions in the Lab Manual. You'll answer a series of questions as you work through each exercise. Your professor and TA will be available to help when you need it and to check your work; you'll have a "checksheet" that we will initial as we check each task that you've completed. At the end of the lab period, you will turn in your work, normally in the form of an Excel spreadsheet that you will submit electronically using ELMS (we'll tell you how to do that during the first meeting).
Reading assignments are designed to help prepare you for the lab exercises, so that you can make the best use of your time in the lab. An hour and 50 minutes may seem like a lot of time, but it isn't. Preparing in advance by doing the reading assignment will help you finish on time.
Homework is assigned at the end of most of the labs. Depending on how quickly you've completed the in-class exercise, you may have some time left to do the homework before you leave. You must turn in your homework (usually using ELMS) by 10:00 pm on the second day after your lab session. That is, if you have lab on Wednesday, then the homework is due by 10:00 pm Friday; if you have lab on Thursday, the deadline is 10:00 pm Saturday. We will grade your spreadsheets and homework before your next lab period.
The course includes two in-class practical exams which will involve making measurements and analyzing the data you collect, much like the regular exercises. (In fact, the Lab Manual lists them with exercise numbers.) The instructions and questions for these exams will be handed out at the beginning of the lab period on the scheduled exam dates.
Course web site: Course information, the week-by-week schedule of lab exercises, and other documents are posted in the ELMS (Blackboard) system. You will use the course web site to turn in your Excel spreadsheets from the in-class exercises and homework, and will also be able to use it to view your grade on each assignment. You should be able to log in at http://elms.umd.edu, and the course should appear in the "My Courses" panel. Prof. Kim's sections have a separate web area from Prof. Shawhan's sections, but our current plan is to keep the same information in both areas.
Section | Day | Time | Instructor | Teaching Assistant |
---|---|---|---|---|
0101 | Wednesday | 9:00am-10:50am | Prof. Shawhan | Rashmish Mishra |
0301 | Wednesday | 1:00pm-2:50pm | Prof. Shawhan | Rashmish Mishra |
0201 | Wednesday | 3:00pm-4:50pm | Prof. Kim | Rashmish Mishra |
0401 | Thursday | 11:00am-12:50pm | Prof. Kim | Joyce Coppock |
0501 | Thursday | 2:00pm-3:50pm | Prof. Kim | Rashmish Mishra |
We will skip Exercise 3 in the lab manual, but do both exercises 5 and 5* (five-star) .
Note the exams on March 11/12 and May 6/7 !
Wednesdays | Thursdays | Topic |
---|---|---|
Jan 28 | Jan 29 | Exercise 1: Introduction to Excel |
Feb 4 | Feb 5 | Exercise 2: Measurement Error and Uncertainty |
Feb 11 | Feb 12 | Exercise 4: Straight Line Fits Using χ2 and Excel |
Feb 18 | Feb 19 | Exercise 5: Propagation of Errors |
Feb 25 | Feb 26 | Exercise 5*: Using χ2 to Test a Theory |
Mar 4 | Mar 5 | Exercise 6: Review of Spreadsheets and Errors |
Mar 11 | Mar 12 | Exam on Spreadsheets and Errors |
Mar 18 | Mar 19 | Spring Break - no classes |
Mar 25 | Mar 26 | Exercise 8: Resistors and Multimeters |
Apr 1 | Apr 2 | Exercise 9: Current and Voltage |
Apr 8 | Apr 9 | Exercise 10: The Digital Oscilloscope and the Function Generator |
Apr 15 | Apr 16 | Exercise 11: The Oscilloscope and AC Signals |
Apr 22 | Apr 23 | Exercise 12: Reflection of Voltage Pulses |
Apr 29 | Apr 30 | Exercise 13: Review of Circuits |
May 6 | May 7 | Exam on Circuits and Error analysis |
Prof. Peter S. Shawhan
Office: Room 4205-B
Phone: 301-405-1580
Email: pshawhan@umd.edu
Office hours: Fridays 2:00-4:00 in the lab
Teaching Assistant: Rashmish Mishra
Office: Room 4223
Email: rashmish@umd.edu
Office hours: Thursdays 4:00-6:00 in the lab
Teaching Assistant: Joyce Coppock
Office: Room 4223
Email: jec@umd.edu
Office hours: Fridays 10:00-12:00 in the lab
You can also stop by the lab during one of the other sections if you have questions about the equipment, in-class work, or homework.
Arriving late to class:
Class begins right on the hour. It is important that you
arrive at the lab on time so that you can get instructions for the lab
work and have time to finish. If you arrive more than 10 minutes late,
you will probably not be allowed to do the lab at that time
and will have to make it up during another section.
Making up missed labs:
If you must miss your regular lab section (due to illness,
a religious observance, or some other compelling reason),
then you should make up that lab. Contact your instructor as soon
as possible to arrange a make-up time.
We will generally try to schedule the make-up on Thursday or
Friday of the same week (so that the equipment for that lab is
still set up). The best times for make-ups will be
during the section 0501 period (2:00-3:50), which should have empty
seats, or during one of our office hours: Thursday 4:00-6:00,
Friday 10:00-12:00, or Friday 2:00-4:00.
In any case, you should definitely make up the lab no later than the
following Tuesday.
The homework for the lab (if any) will be due by 10:00 pm on the
second day after you make up the lab. If you know in advance
that you will need to miss a lab or need a homework extension,
e.g. for Passover in the second week of April, please tell us.
Grading:
50% Lab Spreadsheets
20% Homework
15% Test on spreadsheet, errors and
measurements
15% Test on the oscilloscope and
electrical circuits
General comments on assignments:
Finishing all the labs and homework sets is very
important. Missing a lab or a homework set will hurt your grade,
so be sure to come every week and do the best you can.
Do the homework early, so that you have time to ask questions
if something gives you trouble! Also, if you can't completely finish
a homework set, turn in what you do have before the
deadline. No credit will be given for late homework unless you
have a valid excuse (illness, a religious observance, or some other
compelling reason). When you are working on the homework sets, feel free to
discuss among yourselves to try to figure out what is going
on. However, do not use these discussions as an excuse to copy someone
else's solution to the homework, or let someone else copy your
solution. That is cheating and is strictly forbidden. It is also
self-defeating since a major part of your grade will come from
tests. The right way to discuss the homework is to first work through
a problem on your own and try to arrive at a definite answer, even if you
aren't sure it is correct. With this preparation you can then discuss
intelligently with your colleagues and see if you have missed
something essential. Of course, you can always ask one of your
instructors - that's what we get paid for!
Honor Code:
The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized
Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council.
This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all
undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible
for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important
for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication,
facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on the Code of
Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit
http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/whatis.html .
Students with disabilities:
Accommodations will be provided to enable students with disabilities
to participate fully in the course. Please discuss any needs with
your instructor at the beginning of the semester so that appropriate
arrangements can be made.
Weather and emergency closures:
If the University is closed due to weather or some emergency situation
on a day when homework is due, then that homework will be due by
noon on the next day when the University is open. If the University
is closed on the scheduled date of an exam, then the exam will
be given during your next regularly scheduled class period when the
University is open. If the University is closed on your regular class
day in any other (non-exam) week, including the "review" exercise
week before each exam, then the exam will still be given according
to the original schedule. In these or other exceptional
circumstances, we will attempt to communicate with students by email.