WINTHROP UNIVERSITY
Department of Chemistry, Physics, & Geology
 
Semester: Spring 2014    Course: PHYS 212L (001) - Physics with Calculus II Laboratory.

The laboratory will be held in Sims 205. Students need to register for one of the lab sections, PHYS 212L.

Lab Score: The lab score (25% of PHYS 212) will come from lab reports (90%) and post-lab activity (10%). 

LAB SCHEDULE            Conclusion Grading Rubrics                Course Syllabus

Textbook: Fundamentals of Physics; Halliday, Resnick, & Walker, HU9th EditionH, John Wiley Publishing.

Course Objectives: 

• Learn how to design and carry out introductory physics experiments.
• Learn how to use computers for data collection & analysis and graphing.
• Draw conclusions for the experiments and write laboratory reports.

Rules for the laboratory

1. You must read the web-link  and the relevant materials from the textbook before the lab period and be prepared for the laboratory.
2. Bring the textbook to the lab.
3. You will work in a group of two. Both partners should actively take part in collecting the data and in the experimental process.
4. At the end of your lab work you need to return all the laboratory equipment to the appropriate places where you took them.
5. You need to handle the equipment carefully, giving special attention when warranted.
6. When you leave the laboratory, you need to make sure the laboratory table is clean and free of any materials.
7. Do not miss any laboratory. You will receive "0" for all missed laboratories.
8. Lab reports are due at the end of the lab period.

Include the following in the same order for formal lab report:

1) Cover sheet with the following: Title of experiment, your name, partner's name, and an appropriate figure.  
2) Starting on the second page include the following in this given order:
    Purpose
    Apparatus
    Theory
    Procedure
    Data Table including analysis
    Graphs and calculations
    Conclusion
    References

3) Staple the report at the top left corner making sure nothing is hidden under the pin.
   

Even though you do the lab and collect data as a group, you should write your own conclusion. How to write a conclusion?
* Conclusion is the most important part of your report. It is a brief summary-paragraph, about half a page. You must write your own conclusion, after completing the data collection and analysis. It must be written as the last piece and attached after data tables and graphs.
* Conclusion should state things that are unique for your investigation which can be accomplished by including values of the experimentally determined physical quantities.  Just remember that you cannot write your conclusion without completing your experiments or investigations. General statements like "I have determined the densities of given solids" and "Human Error" are not acceptable.
* Start your conclusion by re-stating the purpose with appropriate changes. Then you need to briefly state (don’t repeat procedure) how you conducted the experiment and collected the data. Continue this with summarizing your results (make it unique by listing your experimental values), referring to the data tables and graphs when appropriate, and answer the purpose. Then you may discuss about some of the difficulties you had, errors and their possible causes, and suggestions for improvement. Describe your reasoning using physics terminology and principles. You should explain as completely as possible what goes through your mind that leads you to your conclusion. While we encourage you to discuss the investigations with your partners, your conclusion must be your own thought.