PHYSICS 2341 Physics I Laboratory

Fall 2024

Class Web page: https://jpastro.net/PHYS2341/syll-Phys2341.html   (this page!)

Instructor: Dr. Jason Pinkney
Office hours  in 111 Science Annex at  these times : Tues at 10am and 1 pm, Wed at 3 pm, Thurs at 9 am and 3 pm.
Email j-pinkney@onu.edu or call 419-772-2740.
Instructor's Home page: https://jpastro.net

Section CRN, Time and Place:
PHYS2341-04   CRN: 20778, Time and place:  Thur 12:00-2:45 pm, Meyer 121 (TA= Anthony Parker)

Course Description:
This is the lab associated with Physics 2311 (Physics I) and Physics 2111 (General Physics 1). The student will perform experiments in Newtonian mechanics (projectile motion, collisions, conservation of energy, etc), Oscillatory motion (the pendulum), and thermodynamics (specific heat, thermal expansion).

Prerequisites: You should, ideally, be taking PHYS 2311 (or PHYS 2111) concurrently with this lab. It is also acceptable to have already taken PHYS 2311 (or PHYS 2111).

Course Objectives: At the end of the course, students will be able to:

Lab Manual and paper: You need to buy the orange manual "Experiments in Mechanics, Waves, and Thermodynamics", the Physics I lab manual, for $15. We will provide you with the paper needed to write up your lab report . Buy your lab manual from the instructor on the first day of class. Bring cash, preferably exact change. If that fails, then find Dr Pinkney during his office hours in SciAnx 111 before the 2nd lab meeting.

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EXTRA Materials
    
Error Propagation rules.
Example of error propagation (applied to calorimetry).  In this PDF file, I have taken a student's lab measurements (top left side) and used them to calculate the specific heat of copper, CCu.
Hyperphysics A nice supplement to your textbook which can be used to review concepts and equations.
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Grading:
  Your final letter grade is determined based on the average of your lab report scores.  Each lab is scored out of 10 points. The scores are determined by your TA with guidance (a rubric) from your instructor.  The instructor will take the scores from the TA and convert them into a grade. Typically, 90% and up is an A and 80-90% is a B. However, if the class mean is very high compared to other sections, the instructor may adjust the A-B cutoff. Usually, if any change is made, the cutoff is lowered to 89 or 88. But the cut-off could be raised to 91 or even 92% in order to keep different sections consistent.
Here is a rubric showing deductions for problems with lab reports.

Course Policies

Attendance  is essential for labs.  If you miss a lab completely you get a 0 for that particular lab.  If you miss and have a valid excuse (emergencies, sports or music activities, illness) let me know, and I will try to set you up to attend another section of the lab. If that doesn't work out, I may be able to arrange to let you into the lab at non-lab times. You have to work more independently when doing a make-up lab. There are 6 other sections of this lab to allow for these make-ups.

Sides A and B . We will be dividing our lab into 2, roughly equal sides. This is because we don't have enough lab apparati for 6-8 teams of students for a few labs. For the first 5 weeks, everyone will do the same lab, but on the 6th week, side A will do experiment 5 and side B will do experiment 6. The following week, side A will do 6 and side B will do 5. (See the Schedule below.) The class may need to split again on weeks 14-15. Use the lab time to gather good data and write up the report. Your notebook is left in the lab (on a bookshelf) for your TA to find and grade.

Calculators. I encourage you to have a calculator in this lab.

Food and drink. Please do not bring food and drink into the lab. I want to avoid trash, clutter, and spills on the lab tables. A bottled drink that is stored in your backpack is acceptable.

Schedule:
 
Week of  Side A
 Side B
W1 (8/29)
Informational meeting
Informational meeting
W2 (9/5) (Exp 1) Measurements in Physics (Exp 1) Measurements in Physics
W3 (9/12) (2) Graphs and Motion (2) Graphs and Motion
W4 (9/19) (3) Acceleration of Gravity (3) Acceleration of Gravity
W5 (9/26)
(4) Projectile Motion (4) Projectile Motion
W6 (10/3) (5) Force Vectors (6) UNIFORM CIRC MOTION
W7 (10/10) (6) Uniform Circ Motion (5) FORCE VECTORS
W8 (10/17) FALL BREAK (no labs) FALL BREAK (no labs)
W9 (10/24) (7) Conservation of Energy (7) Conservation of Energy
W10 (10/31) (8) Cons of 1D Momentum (8) Cons of 1D Momentum
W11 (11/7) (9) 2D Cons of Momentum (9) 2D Cons of Momentum
W12 (11/14) (10) Oscillatory Motion (10) Oscillatory Motion
W13 (11/21) (11) Pendulum (11) Pendulum
W-- (11/25-29) Thanksgiving break Thanksgiving break
W14 (12/2,4,6) (12) Thermal Expansion (13) Specific Heat
W15 (12/9,11,13) (13) Specific Heat (12) Thermal Expansion

  

Common syllabus information. Here is common course information which applies to all courses. This includes covid Safety Policy, Grading Modes, Readmission, Repeat Policies, and more.