PHYS 0321: Experimental Techniques in Physics

2024-11-29 Admin 写评论

Hello, if you have any need, please feel free to consult us, this is my wechat: wx91due

PHYS 0321: Experimental Techniques in Physics: Spring 2024

v. 02/05/2024

Syllabus, Guidelines, and Schedule – PRELIMINARY

1. Course Information

PHYS0321a-S24, Course Ref. Number: 21486

Class meetings1 McCardell Bicentennial Hall (MBH) 538 – 11:00 a.m. -12:15 p.m. Tue/Thur

Lab sessions2 MBH 519, 520

1:30-4:15 p.m. Mon 321Y CRN 21487
1:30-4:15 p.m. Tue 321Z CRN 22522

This course will cover the design and execution of experiments, and the analysis and presentation of data,at an advanced level. Laboratory experiments will be chosen to illustrate the use of electronic, mechanical, and optical instruments to investigate fundamental physical phenomena, such as the properties of atoms and nuclei and the nature of radiation. Skills in computer-based data analysis and presentation will be developed and emphasized. This course satisfies the College writing requirement. (PHYS 0111 concurrent or prior or PHYS 0216, and PHYS 0201 or PHYS 0214, and PHYS 0202 or PHYS 0218)

Anne Goodsell, Associate Professor of Physics

Contact information: [email protected], office MBH 532

Office hours: tentatively Tu 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. + Th/Fri 12:30-2:00 p.m.; at other times, feel free to stop by or e-mail

Course website: go/phys0321

Readings, lab instructions, supplementary materials, and written assignments will be posted on the course website and will, generally, be available in our course’s Google Drive directory. We use Google Drive frequently to share materials (pre-lab instructions and post-lab data and analysis) or to submit documents (including lab data); you are responsible for accessing Google Drive with Middlebury credentials.

2. Texts and Materials

You will need one laboratory “Computation notebook” to start the term. For Spring 2024, the in structor will provide your first notebook. If you need a second volume, you will need to provide it. This kind of notebook can be purchased at the college bookstore; look for the Roaring Springs com putation notebooks with the red/burgundy cover. The notebook must be quad-ruled, 11.75” x 9.25 (or 9.13)”, at least 150 numbered pages (75 pages double-sided). Comparable notebooks (such as those made by Avery or National Brand) can be used.

There is no required textbook. Required and suggested readings will be provided by the instructor throughout the course. Several will be drawn from primary texts [?, ?, ?, ?] which you are encouraged to explore more.

3. Health and COVID-19

In-person attendance is expected when you feel well, but we want to maximize our chances for a healthy semester that is uninterrupted by illness. We ask you to be cautious about preventing transmission of COVID-19 or other illness within our course community and campus.

If you experience symptoms or are exposed to or diagnosed with COVID-19, consult the Middlebury College guidelines online3 and contact the instructor to determine how to safely continue your coursework.

4. Lab and Experimentation

Laboratory experiments are the heart of this course, and your paper notebooks will be the primary record of your lab and analysis work on which your lab grade is based.

Objectives of lab work:

– Apply (and revise) your understanding of classical and quantum-mechanical physics.
– Identify, create, and revise models of the theoretical physics and experimental systems we use.
– Improve verbal and mathematical skills as well as physical reasoning.
– Develop skills for handling equipment, making observations, and troubleshooting.
– Become thorough, accurate, and organized in documenting experimental work.
– Do cognitive processing alone and with others.

Arrive promptly for lab; there will be critical directions and safety instructions conveyed at the beginning of each session. Be prepared to use the entire scheduled time when experiments are taking place; occasionally we will need extra time, dependent on student pacing and experiment conditions. In our calendar, some lab sessions for data analysis and writing tasks have been designated, and you are expected to use these opportunities productively even if hands-on experiments are not scheduled. Please keep track of the PDF calendar available – and updated – on the course website.

The preliminary calendar is also included at the end of this document.

Labs cannot be easily made up if they are missed. We have two work stations which can be used by two students at a time, so this constrains our schedule, and as each lab ends we often need to remove equipment or reconfigure the space to set up the next experiment. In extenuating circumstances, contact the instructor as soon as possible; the sooner you can make contact, the more likely it may be to consider arrangements for rescheduling.

Submit an electronic scan or photoscan (PDF format) of your lab notebook contents documenting your data collection process for in-lab work and any steps of analysis marked as “preliminary pro- cessing” (PP), no later than 11:59 p.m. one day after your lab section. This will be graded as you work on analysis.

Typically you have some choice about the submission deadline for analysis and for assignments:

see section on ‘Graded Work’.

5. Assessment and Graded Work

This is a course in which you must go beyond simply “following the directions” in order to earn a high grade. Strive for contemplation of physics, preparation in advance, anticipation of possible problems, creativity in approach, persistence, and interest in extensions to the scheduled lab experiments.

Objectives of writing-based work:

– Apply (and revise) your understanding of classical and quantum-mechanical physics.
– When analyzing and writing, do work that is more detailed/thorough/extensive than class or lab time allows.
– Become more cognizant of your strengths, challenges, and preferences as a writer.
– Be correct and thorough in referring to sources in your writing.
– Practice technical skills of writing to develop competency for any form of structured writing.

– Practice the style of informative and interesting writing to write engagingly in future contexts.

All assessed work (including notebook entries and written assignments) is graded for overall quality, comprehensible organization, completion of tasks, accuracy, thoughtfulness and clarity of reasoning, well-justified conclusions and appropriate presentation. The approximate weighting for graded material, below, is based on a combination of the time allotted for completion of assignments/labs and how much the work can reflect your individual achievement of the course goals.

There are three graded elements in the course:

• L1 - L10: Lab work (handwritten in-lab documentation in your lab notebook, analysis in python in a Jupyter notebook with narration), for which in-lab documentation and post-lab analysis each receive a grade;
• A1 - A7: Assignments (writing or a combination of writing and calculation), which are exercises and intermediate tasks typically graded on a 5-pt or 10-pt scale;
• F1 - F4: Formal reports (and corresponding drafts).

Your overall course grade is determined by these three elements with the following weightings:

Lab/Analysis Documentation 40%
Assignments 10%
Report Drafts and Final Formal Reports 50%.

Each week typically ends with two tasks due: an assignment (A1, A2, ...) and lab analysis (L1, L2, 3...). One item must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. You may choose which one has the deadline on Thursday. The second item has a deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Friday.4

As a basic deterrent to getting far behind schedule, late submission impacts your course grade. For late submission of labs and assignments, there is a ‘grace’ period of 12 hours for which no penalty applies, followed by a period of 12 hours when there is a 5% penalty. You do not need to notify me about using that grace period, but be aware that I might not be available to field questions during that time.

Drafts of formal reports typically have a 24-hour grace period without penalty. Final versions typically 12 hours for which no penalty applies, followed by a period of 12 hours when there is a 5% penalty, except for the final formal (F4) for which there is no grace period of any kind.

Beyond 24 hours, late submission of labs, assignments, or formal reports incurs a penalty of 20% of the value for 24 to 48 hours and 40% between 48 and 72 hours, with no credit after 3 days.

No partial or full credit for substantially late work will be admitted beyond 3 days except under extenuating circumstances (typically in communication with your student life dean).

6. Collaboration and Academic Integrity

As you explore interesting or difficult material, you may confer responsibly with your classmates and faculty under most circumstances. You will be collaborating regularly with lab mates to conduct measurements and collect data.

When you seek conversation, collaboration, or help from others, please abide by these principles:

– F You take responsibility for the material and your work represents your present abilities.
– You recognize that assigned work is your opportunity to practice the skills for this course.
– Consultation is voluntary and mutual, and falls within the permitted realm of collaboration.
– Conversation about grades or achievement is respectful and conducted only in mutual consent.

Your data analysis and your writing must be you own individual products, generated from your own electronic files unless the instructor has provided a template, sample or other form of shared material.

You may have conversations with others about ideas, interpretations of data, and methods of coding or typesetting, but your submitted work must represent your own original achievement.

When completing assignments, you may use resources and references of your choosing, provided that the following conditions are satisfied:

– In all ways, your actions support an equitable and non-threatening educational environment for yourself and others, to the best of your intention and ability.

– Your actions are aligned with the academic policies of this institution and the principle of fun damental fairness in educational opportunity for all students.

– In all your work, you give appropriate credit for ideas, information, or results that are not your own (cite sources such as book, article, classmate(s), experts, tutors, website, etc). You might be ask for additional details about sources.

– You do not read materials that were submitted in previous years of this course or from any other comparable source unless instructors provide such materials directly.

In an effort to have you genuinely practice the critical skills for this course and receive feedback on work you authentically do, the use of generative AI is prohibited for your work in this specific course.

For example, AI should not be used to generate code on which you base your analysis in python, generate outlines or text on which you base your writing, or generate explanations on which you base your descriptions.

All conduct should comply with the Honor Code. Please ask whenever you have questions.

7. Participation and Instructional Methodology

I welcome your insights and contributions. Participation in class and in lab is critical. What you do in lab, and your engagement in the lab experiments, forms the basis of learning in this course. Class meetings supplement this. Active participation during class meetings is expected and encouraged. Class meetings consist primarily of a mixture of “lecture”-style instruction and activities that you complete with other students, guided by the instructor. Come to class. You engage directly in the learning experience, and your insights and contributions are valuable. If you do not attend a class meeting, your next-best chance for successful learning is to access the notes and slides, and talk to classmates, but these resources cannot reproduce the in-person learning.

Lab sessions consist primarily of students working in pairs or sometimes individually, with a mixture of experiments prepared by the instructor and more self-directed explorations for which the student contributes more to the experimental design.

Electronic devices must be used for immediate class or lab purposes only, with silent settings.

Engage with this course: think about PHYS 0321 as you walk toward the building; set aside your cell phone; ask questions; wonder; be curious. Be present. Speak up about things you know and things you don’t know yet.

8. Access and Community

We each have distinct credos and individual experiences. Our values might differ, or overlap. I will be open to listen to you, to support and challenge you learning physics, and to get to know you as you are this semester.

I hold core values of intellectual inquiry and respect for the dignity of each of us – of all of us – and I ask for the same commitment from you in this course.

As a colleague of mine says, “We all have varying abilities, and contexts strongly shape how we engage with our world. Each of us carries various strengths and weaknesses.” With or without ‘documentation’ of each strength and weakness, it is my intent to make material, resources, and support accessible in this course. Some accommodations are (or could be) best determined in coordination with the Disability Resource Center (DRC). Students who already have Letters of Accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact me as early in the semester as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. For those without Letters of Accommodation, assistance is available to eligible students through the DRC. Please reach out to me and to the DRC at [email protected] for more information. All discussions will remain confidential.

Please check in with me if any aspect of this course feels inaccessible or discouraging to you.

9. Calendar

Accompanying this syllabus is the calendar displaying the course overview for the Spring 2024 term. The syllabus and guidelines, and the calendar, are also available online at the course website.

I anticipate some small revisions and perhaps even some large changes of our plans for the course, depending on our progress with labs and on the health and well-being of instructors and you. I will try to keep you abreast of potential changes and the reasoning behind them, and I welcome your input about what is working and what is not. There may be unanticipated changes if lab equipment fails (or is repaired) sooner than expected. You will be informed of rescheduled dates.

10. Remarks

When all is said and done, this course is about tackling some hard and interesting tasks in ex perimentation, physical modeling, data analysis, writing, and making strong scientific arguments. I hope that your achievement will reflect your best ability under the given circumstances. I also hope that the lasting benefit of the course will go beyond the end of the term. You may find yourself using oscilloscopes and the fine structure constant daily, or not at all, in ten years’ time, depending on what paths you seek beyond Middlebury. Regardless, I hope you find yourself remembering techniques, explanations, emotions, ideas, people, and moments of insight from this course. Welcome to Experimental Physics.

发表评论

电子邮件地址不会被公开。 必填项已用*标注