WKU Physics 261 - University Physics I Laboratory

Syllabus – Spring 2005

Dr. Richard Gelderman TCCW 230 (270)745-6203 e-mail:richard.gelderman@wku.edu

Office Hours: MTWRF: 8:45–10:30 URL: http://astro.wku.edu/gelderman/

Experiment Schedule

You will complete one experiment per week throughout the semester. A formal laboratory report describing your experimental results will be at the beginning of the next lab period.

Jan 10, 11	Introduction
Jan 17, 18	**** No Labs
Jan 24, 25	E-Fields 1 – tracing w. Cenco-Overbeck device
Jan 31, Feb 01	E-Fields 2 – method of relaxation w. Excel
Feb 07, 08	Ohm’s Law
Feb 14, 15	Joule’s Law
Feb 21, 22	Current Balance
Feb 28, Mar 01	Resistors in Series and Parallel
Mar 07, 08	Wheatstone Bridge
Mar 14, 15	Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity
Mar 21, 22	**** No Labs -- Spring Break
Mar 28, 29	RC & RL Circuits / Intro to Oscilliscope
April 04, 05	Power Transfer
April 11, 12	Induced EMF
April 18, 19	Non-linear Circuit Elements
April 25, 26	Lab Final

Grading Policy

Your grade for Physics 261 will be based primarily on your performance on the laboratory reports using the standard grading scale. There will also be a lab final that will have a grade value equal to 1.5 labs. The overall grade will be based on all labs done, but since making up a lab can be problematic due to the required equipment set-ups, you may skip one lab without penalty.

Laboratory Reports

For each experiment you will submit a laboratory report. Laboratory reports are to be turned in one week following the completion of the experiment, any time before I leave for the day). Thereafter lab reports will be considered late; you will lose 5% of your grade per day late. Laboratory reports must be word processed and printed.

Prior to Coming to the Laboratory

Before coming to lab it is essential that you make adequate preparations to complete the experiment in the allotted time. Each laboratory period will be no longer than about two hours. Some of the labs are long enough that is very unlikely that you will be able to walk into the laboratory without any preparation and complete the experiment in this amount of time. Therefore you are advised to carefully read the instructions for the experiment that you will be performing before coming to lab.

Collaboration and Lab Partners

During the laboratory period, while you are collecting data, you may work with one lab partner. Obviously, you and your partner will have the same data. However, each student must submit a laboratory report that is demonstrably his/her own work. Be sure that the discussion in the Results & Conclusion section is clearly in your own words.