Textbook: Modern Physics
by Bernstein, Fishbane,
& Gasiorowicz (used for Physics 214)
Note that the Physics 212 lab manual is also required and can be bought
at the college bookstore.
Lab Questions: The labs have questions in the text.
You should answer these questions and turn them in with your lab
report (or have them ready at your oral presentation). Be sure to
carefully read through each lab to see all of the questions.
Grading: For the six lab reports, you will submit the
following kinds of reports (see the Course Schedule
to see which
reports go with which labs and how many points each is worth).
- 3 Short Reports: Short reports should include descriptions
of what you did, how you did it, and what the purpose of the
experiment was. You should also discuss your results and what they
mean. It is important that you include any graphs and tables
(printouts are OK) in the report and that you answer any lab questions
from the lab. You might want to photocopy your lab notes to hand in,
but make sure everything is legible.
Short reports (and associated lab questions) are due
one week after the end of the lab.
- 1 Formal Report: The formal report should follow closely
the section in the lab manual called Advice on Written
Reports. You should aim to mimic a scientific presentation (such as a
journal paper) with this report, and therefore should include a
significant amount of detail in the background and motivation, the
experimental methods, the results, and the discussion and
interpretation of the results. Be sure to include relevant graphs,
figures, and tables in the report. The report should be typed. The
formal report (and associated lab questions) is due two weeks
after the end of the lab.
- 2 Oral Reports: For the oral reports, you will schedule an
individual appointment with the instructors to come in and discuss
what you did in the lab, what you found, and what it means. You may
also be asked other questions related to the lab in this session
including the lab questions. Oral presentations are to be scheduled
for no later than one week after the end of the lab.
Late Work:
Reports turned in or presented late will be
assessed at 90% of their value if turned in up to 1 week late, 80% of
their value if turned in between 1 and 2 weeks late, and 60% of their
value after that.
Honor Code: Although you are working in pairs on each
lab, each person must submit their own write-up of the lab. Questions
about Honor Code matters should be directed to the instructors.
