Professor: F. Skiff 504 Van Allen Hall 335-0564 frederick-skiff@uiowa.edu Office Hours
T.A. Feng Chu
Class time:
Goal: The goal of this course is to train students in the art of experimental physics. There will be some lectures, reading, and exercises on error analysis, but the main emphasis is on learning how to learn physics through doing experiments.
Required Texts:
Experiments in Modern Physics, second edtion, Adrian C. Melissinos and Jim Napolitano,
Academic Press, 2003.
A lab manual giving details on specific labs
is available on the web.
A Practical Guide To Data Analysis for Physical Science Students Louis Lyons,
Homework: In some lectures, homework problems will be assigned. They are designed to help teach the types of data analysis
that will be required for every lab. HW is due the following Thursday at
Presentation: At the end of the semester there will be a miniconference, during the class time, where each student will give a short (15 minute) presentation (talk) on one of the labs. This talk will be graded on clarity, organization, and understanding of the material.
Collaboration: Normally students will work in groups of two and collaborate on taking data. Thus, for a given group the students will have the same data. However, each student must individually write their own lab report and perform their own analysis calculations to obtain credit for laboratory work.
Lab Reports: Students need to complete four labs during the semester. Due dates are shown on the schedule below.
Lab Work Schedule
Week
|
Dates
|
Lab
|
Note
|
1 |
Aug 29 |
1 |
- |
2 |
Sept 5 |
1 |
- |
3 |
Sept 12 |
1 |
- |
4 |
Sept 19 |
1 |
- |
5 |
Sept 26 |
2 |
Lab1 due |
6 |
Oct 3 |
2 |
- |
7 |
Oct 10 |
2 |
- |
8 |
Oct 17 |
3 |
Lab 2 due |
9 |
Oct 24 |
3 |
- |
10 |
Oct 31 |
3 |
- |
11 |
Nov 7 |
3 |
Lab3 due |
12 |
Nov 14 |
4 |
- |
13 |
Nov 21 |
4 |
- |
14 |
Nov 28 |
|
Thanksgiving |
15 |
Dec 5 |
4 |
- |
16 |
Dec 12 |
|
Lab 4 due |
Course Grade: Labs 20% each , HW 15% total, Presentation 5%. Plus/minus grading will be used. There are no exams in this course.
Administrative Home
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the administrative home of this course and governs matters such as the add/drop deadlines, the second-grade-only option, and other related issues. Different colleges may have different policies. Questions may be addressed to 120 Schaeffer Hall, or see the CLAS Student Academic Handbook.
Electronic Communication
University policy specifies that students are responsible for all official correspondences sent to their University of Iowa e-mail address (@uiowa.edu). Faculty and students should use this account for correspondences. (Operations Manual, III.15.2. Scroll down to k.11.)
Accommodations for Disabilities
A student seeking academic accommodations should first register with Student Disability Services and then meet privately with the course instructor to make particular arrangements. See www.uiowa.edu/~sds/ for more information.
Academic Fraud
Plagiarism and any other activities when students present work that is not their own are academic fraud. Academic fraud is a serious matter and is reported to the departmental DEO and to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum. Instructors and DEOs decide on appropriate consequences at the departmental level while the Associate Dean enforces additional consequences at the collegiate level. See the CLAS Academic Fraud section of the Student Academic Handbook.
CLAS Final Examination Policies
Final exams may be offered only during finals week. No exams of any kind are allowed during the last week of classes. Students should not ask their instructor to reschedule a final exam since the College does not permit rescheduling of a final exam once the semester has begun. Questions should be addressed to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum.
Making a Suggestion or a Complaint
Students with a suggestion or complaint should first visit the instructor, then the course supervisor, and then the departmental DEO. Complaints must be made within six months of the incident. See the CLAS Student Academic Handbook.
Understanding Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment subverts the mission of the University and threatens the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. All members of the UI community have a responsibility to uphold this mission and to contribute to a safe environment that enhances learning. Incidents of sexual harassment should be reported immediately. See the UI Comprehensive Guide on Sexual Harassment for assistance, definitions, and the full University policy.
Reacting Safely to Severe Weather
In severe weather, class members should seek appropriate shelter immediately, leaving the classroom if necessary. The class will continue if possible when the event is over. For more information on Hawk Alert and the siren warning system, visit the Public Safety web site.
*These CLAS policy and procedural statements have been summarized from the web pages of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and The University of Iowa Operations Manual.