Physics 1140: Experimental Physics 1
Quick information
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Lectures: |
Thurs., Fri. 4-450 P.M. in Duane G-1B20 |
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Lecturer: |
Prof. Charles T. Rogers |
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Duane F-631 |
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(303) 492-4476 |
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Office Hours |
By appointment anytime and in the HelpRoom. |
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Lab Coordinator |
Jerry Leigh |
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Duane G-2B78A |
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(303) 492 7368 |
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Web page: |
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Physics 1140, Experimental Physics 1, is the first semester of our introductory physics laboratory courses. This is your first opportunity to get into a physics lab and actually measure something. Finally! Something Fun!
This class consists of a 1-hour lecture once a week (you are registered for either the Thursday or for the Friday lecture), and a 2-hour lab once a week. Labs are held in Duane G-2B66 and Lectures are in Duane G-1B20.
Experiment is one of our most profound ways of learning about the world around us. PHYS 1140 is intended to give you an introduction to experimental methods and some experience applying them to topics in mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and some modern physics areas. In particular, we hope to give you a chance to absorb several important lessons from the last 500 years of physics: 1) Science addresses the measured and potentially measurable properties of our universe. If it can’t be measured (at least in principle) then it’s not science. 2) If you Can measure it, how do you determine that you are measuring it properly? How do you determine how good your measurement is? 3) Theoretical arguments are only valid to the extent that they describe reality. Theory must be tested by experiment. These topics are at the center of all physical sciences and engineering and are the core of this class.
You will need a “clicker”, available at the CU bookstore for about $30. Please be sure to get one of the “doubled-eyed” or "triple-eyed" clickers, not the obsolete “one-eyed” clickers.
The text we will use is "Introduction to Error Analysis", 2nd Edition by John R. Taylor.
In addition to the required text, we will have a number of textbooks held on reserve:
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Title |
Author |
Comments |
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Experiments in Modern Physics |
Adrian C. Melissinos, Jim Napolitano |
Mostly modern physics experiments. |
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Vacuum bazookas, electric rainbow jelly, and 27 other
Saturday science projects |
Neil A. Downie ; illustrations by Jim Wilkinson |
Lots of great projects. |
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Building
Scientific Apparatus : A Practical Guide To Design And Construction |
John H. Moore, Christopher C. Davis, Michael A. Coplan ;
With A Chapter By Sandra C. Greer |
Great book on how to build experimental equipment. |
All the laboratory sections will meet during the first week of classes. You’ll concentrate on completing the Mathcad introduction. The remaining weeks are devoted to doing experiments. There are 14 laboratory experiments available, of which you should complete 6. All lab experiments take two lab sessions. Two of the labs (M1 and E1) will be done by all the students, working in pairs. Lab M1 (The Simple Pendulum) will be done in the 2nd and 3rd weeks; Lab E1(Circuits) will be done in weeks 8 and 9. That leaves you with 4 other labs to complete. Of these you choose at least 1 from Mechanics, 1 from E&M, and 1 from Other. With those restrictions, you are free to choose whichever experiments you like. For all labs, you may work individually, or in pairs. People working with partners turn in a single laboratory report with both names and partners share the lab report grade. You may work with a partner for all, none, or some of the labs. You should only work with a given partner once.
There are only 3 different stations for each experiment; therefore, to ensure that the lab you want is available, you reserve the lab by signing the reservation book in the lab.
PHYS 1140 is a 1 credit course. Therefore, we have designed the experiments so that you can complete your lab write-ups entirely in class. To help keep your lab write-ups from growing without bound, we have one major rule: Lab notebooks and diskettes may not be removed from the 1140 lab under any circumstances. All graphing and most of your data analysis will be done using Mathcad software on PC. Your completed write-up will consist of a Mathcad document and a few pages in your lab notebook.
In order to complete the experiment and the write-up during your lab periods, it is essential that you carefully study the lab instructions before coming to lab. There are pre-lab questions at the end of each set of lab instructions, and these must be completed and handed in at the start of class, before beginning the lab. Hand in the prelab questions by dropping them through the slot for your lab section in the Brown Homework cabinet near the door to the notebook room.
If you desire extra time to complete your lab, you can come into the 1140
lab at most times of the week from
There will be 4 or 5 homework assignments on error analysis. These problems will
be handed out in lecture (on Thurs and Friday). They are due the following
Wednesday at
There will be something like 6 lectures covering topics in measurement, error analysis, and understanding how uncertainty in measurements propogate through theory. After these lectures, we will bring in guest lecturers to discuss areas of research that students in the class suggest. We will have an online lecture questionnaire that students use to vote for areas of interest and where questions for the lecturer can be suggested. We should have a total of 8 or so guest lectures; this is your opportunity to vote for your favorite areas and see them presented by outstanding researchers.
Your grade will be based on the following work:
5 Homework assignments 15%
Clicker points and lecture questionnaire responses 15%.
6 completed lab write-ups 45%
Pre-lab questions 25%
No exams and no Final Exam for this course.
5 Homework assignments, worth 15% of your total grade.
The web page for Physics 1140 provides information on the class activities, homework assignments, contact information, etc. We are rapidly reaching the point where essentially all types of service, information, and products are available on the Internet. You are strongly encouraged to use the Physics 1140 web site and provide feedback on course services that you’d like to see included.
Mechanics and Waves
M1. Simple Pendulum and Measurement of g
M2. Lloyd’s Mirror and the Speed of Sound
M3. The Physical Pendulum
M4. Torsional Pendulum and Moment of Inertia
M5. Hooke’s Law and the Simple Harmonic Oscillator
M6. Doppler Effect
E&M
E1. Introduction to Circuits
E2. B-field of a Solenoid E3.
E3. Wheatstone Bridge
E4. Capacitors and the RC circuit
Other
O1. Radioactivity and Counting Statistics
O2. Variation of Atmospheric Pressure with Altitude
O3. Snell's Law
O4. Single and Multiple Slit Diffraction
If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require special accommodations, please tell us early in the semester, so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. We will need a letter from the Office of Disability Services and you may need to provide documentation of your disability to Disability Services in Willard 322 (phone 303 492-8671).
Students with religious obligations that conflict with the course schedule should see us early in the semester so that we can make appropriate accommodations.
Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In this class, please send an e-mail to the instructor in the first week of classes if you anticipate a conflict. See campus policy here.
Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which students express opinions. See policies here and here.
All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (send e-mail; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Additional information onthe Honor Code can be found here and here.