Course Syllabus

PHYS 2225, Physics for Scientists and Engineers II Laboratory

Spring 2015      Thursday;  1:30-4:20, 5:30-8:20      SCNCE 326 

Instructor:  Dr. Larry Smith        SCNCE 111           283-7520          Larry.Smith@snow.edu

Snow College Master Course Syllabus: https://www.snow.edu/syllabus/pdf.php?syllabus=7795

Goals: The hands-on learning of physics is a lot of fun.  The goals are to help students further understand concepts from the lecture section, give students practice using equipment and making measurements, to help students learn to analyze data, and to improve the ability of the students to communicate scientific results clearly.

Text: PHYS 2225 Experiments lab packet from Majock Books.

Other Materials:  A scientific calculator.      Recommended: your own protractor and metric ruler.

Corequisites: Concurrent enrollment in PHYS 2220.

Labs:  The labs are the main component of this course (PHYS 2225) and will give you hands-on experience to complement the book and the lecture (PHYS 2220) discussions.  You will turn in an individual write-up for each lab, even though you will work in groups (groups of 2 or 3 work best) during lab time to collect data.  Buy the lab packet from Majock Books.  Make sure your write-up is your own work, even though the data will be the same as your lab partners’.  Do not do a group write-up nor copy others’ write-ups.  Please make your write-up so clear that a layman could easily understand what you did, even so clear that you could reconstruct the lab yourself using only your write-up 2 years from now.  Neatness and clarity are at least as important as good data.  Diagrams and graphs are very useful.  Label everything (especially axes on graphs) and put units on every quantity.  The write-ups are generally due at the beginning (1:29 or 5:29) of the next lab period.  Late labs are worth 50% up to one week late; thereafter they will receive no credit; no late labs will be accepted after April 16.

Help: You are encouraged to see me during my posted office hours (MWRF 11:30–12:20, T 9:30–10:20) and at other times by appointment.  Students with medical, psychological, learning or other disabilities desiring accommodations, academic adjustments, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, room 241 Greenwood Center, phone number (435) 283-7321.  The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator in the Student Success Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of appropriate services and aids.

Participation:  Ask questions in lab, come to office hours, help other students.  Don’t just sit back and watch during the labs––actively participate.  Attend regularly; come prepared, having read the lab and associated resources on the  class website beforehand. Have a great time learning about the physical world.

Policies: Here are my policies regarding ADA, attendance, and academic dishonesty, and unofficial withdrawals. Regular class attendance is expected of every student.  

Quizzes:  Short frequent quizzes will ascertain whether you have studied the experiment before coming to lab, including the web site. You may raise a quiz score by up to 50% by watching 2 episodes of the approved videos (report form).  Video reports are due April 20 at 5:00.

Final Exam:  The final is Thursday, April 23, 1:30–4:20 p.m.  or 5:30–8:20 p.m. in SCNCE 326 (simultaneously with the last lab).

Grading:            Participation/Attitude  10%                 Quizzes           15%

                        Lab Write-Ups              60%                 Final Exam      15%