Physics 2CL - Physics Laboratory:  Electricity and Magnetism, Waves and Optics

Spring Quarter 2003

 

Instructor:                  D.N. Bassov

                                    3130 Mayer Hall

                                    (858) 822-1211, dbasov@physics.ucsd.edu

 

Office Hours:  Mondays, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

 

TAs:                TA list will be emailed to all enrolled students the first week of the quarter.                   

 

Lectures:        Monday 12:00-12:50 pm, WLH 2001

 

Topics:  Measurements and errors; RLC circuits; propagation of uncertainties; statistical analysis of random errors; normal distribution; least square fitting; probability distributions; -squared text for a distribution.

 

Homework:  3, 7, 3.11, 3.40, 3.48, 4.14, 4.18, 4.20, 5.12, 5.20, 5.22, 6.1, 6.6, 7.3, 7.5, 8.5, 8.7, 8.10.

 

Laboratory:    WLH 2217

 

Text (required):          John R. Taylor

                                    An Introduction to Error Analysis, 2nd Ed., 1997

 

Laboratory Manual:  http://physics.ucsd.edu/students/courses/winter2003/physics2cl/

 

Notebooks (lab):        Two 7-7/8 x 10 1/8 quadrille ruled notebooks.  Label them 1 and 2 (with your name).  You will work with one notebook while the other one is being graded.

 

Calculator:      A scientific calculator with a simple statistical analysis package (mean, standard deviation, and linear regression) is required.

 

Final Exam:    The final exam will be Monday, 6/2 from 12:00-12:50 a.m. in WLH 2001.    The final will cover the material in the lectures, homework problems, and the laboratory experiments. 

 

Grading Policy:

Lab Work        65%

Final Exam       25%

Formal Report  10%

 

Please read the section entitled "UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship" located in the 2002-2003 General Catalog.  The rules on academic dishonesty will be strictly enforced.

 

LAB WORK:

 

Each student will do experiments 0,1,2,3 (in order) during weeks 2,3,4,5.  Starting in week 5, a sign-up sheet will allow students to select 3 additional experiments (from exps 4-10 in the lab manual excluding 8) to be performed in any order during weeks 6,7,8,9.

 

You should prepare for the experiment in advance by reviewing the relevant material in Halliday, Resnick and Walker, and by reading the written description in the lab manual.

Each experiment is performed by two students together (as lab partners).

 

For each lab, you will take data, make plots, analyze it for its accuracy, and draw conclusions from your work.  Prior to leaving the lab, your TA will sign it if you have completed all necessary work.  In most cases, this should include computer printouts of plots of your data and curves that you have fit to it.

 

The lab report is due at your lab section 1 week after doing the experiment.

 

All labs except the last are to be reported in a "brief format" which includes only a description of your analysis of the data and a statement of your conclusions about the results.  These brief reports must be written in the lab book.  Do not exceed two handwritten pages of text after the signature of the TA.  Word-processing is not desired here.  Consult the handout  "How to ACE your 2CL lab reports".

 

A "formal report" is required only for the last experiment of the four you select from Experiments 4-10.  More information regarding the report will be given later.

 

Consult the section "How to ACE the Formal Report."

 

LAB NOTEBOOK:

 

1.         All data and notes should be entered into the lab notebook. No loose pages will be accepted.  Any additions should be permanently attached to the pages of the  notebook (stable or tape).  It is OK to photocopy a data set and attach it to your notebook after you leave the lab.

 

2.                  Data which is tabulated should include units and uncertainties. It is much easier to grade your notebook if you also present an analysis table.  For example:

 

Suppose you measured a voltage V (with error) and a distance r (with error) and tabulated them in your data table.  Next, you decide to plot V**2 versus 1/r**2.  You should extend the table to show V**2 and 1/r**2 (with the propagated uncertainties) before actually making the plot.  Also, a sample calculation is requested to demonstrate how you obtained the table entries (one is sufficient).

 

In most cases, graphs and preliminary analysis can be completed while "in the lab" using the computers and software (Origin) that are available at lab stations.  You may also find it convenient to make graphs by hand, directly on the lab notebook grid.

 

3.                  If you are making a least-squares fit, you should start by writing the predicted functional relation and identifying the various coefficients which are to be determined by your "fit".  The output of a least-squares analysis should contain both coefficients and their uncertainties. Finally, show the "fit" on the graph with your data for comparison.

 

4.                  All results should be compared with the accepted (or theoretical) values whenever possible, and any discrepancies should be noted and discussed in your concluding remarks.