Physics 261 - General Physics Lab:
Vibrations, Waves, Heat, Electricity and Magnetism
Spring 2012 Syllabus
Last Modification 11/10/12

1. Purchase the Mastering Physics access code at www.masteringphysics.com for $60.50 (new price). This is what you will need to do if you purchased a used book or an unbundled volume.
2. Buy textbook bundles with Mastering Physics directly from the publisher. Only one volume needs to be bundled with Mastering Physics, other volumes can be bought unbundled.

Table of A Sections that meet weeks (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14):

Table of B Sections that meet weeks (3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15):

	M	Tu	W	Th	F
8:00 AM	0101 Patra	0126 Shipley	0109 Patra
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
11:00 AM				0118 Gupta
12:00 PM	0102 Shipley
1:00 PM		0115 Gupta	0111 Shipley
2:00 PM				0119 Patra
3:00 PM	0103 Shin				TA Prep
4:00 PM		0110 Shibeshi	0112 Shin
5:00 PM				0127 Shin
6:00 PM
7:00 PM	0106 Gupta	0121 Maunu	0108 Shibeshi
8:00 PM
9:00 PM

YOU MUST ATTEND YOUR ASSIGNED SECTION AT THE SCHEDULED MEETING TIME!

You will generally attend lab every two weeks. There are no meetings during the first week because it is a short week but you must complete Experiment 0 found online. This is an Excel practice lab that you can work through and must turn in to the Physics 261 site on ELMS Blackboard. Group A meets the second week (the week of Labor Day, which is OK because there are no Group A sections on Monday), Group B meets the third week, followed by group A the fourth week, etc. See the Schedule below.

There is one introductory lab (Lab 0), five main experiments (Labs I, II, III, V, VII), a practice lab for the Culminating Lab, the Culminating Lab itself, and one week to make up missed labs.

Each lab session lasts three hours, and will begin with a 10 minute discussion of the lab by the TA. Don't be late. Each week you must turn in answers to the Prelab Questions by putting your solutions into Mastering Physics before the start of your lab period. The prelab questions are found in the lab manual.

At the end of your lab session, you need to turn in a lab report. This report is to be turned in to the Physics 261 area in ELMS Blackboard. The report itself consists of an Excel spreadsheet that will contain all data taken, as well as an analysis and a discussion -- answers to the post lab questions. The report is expected to be a succinct summary of data, analysis and conclusions without redundant or superfluous discussion. The spreadsheet itself must be turned in at the end of the lab session (upload it to the Physics 261 site on ELMS Blackboard). Lab reports turned in after the end of a lab but less than an hour late will have 10% of the total possible score deducted. Lab reports turned in more than one hour late will lose all credit for the lab. The key point is to turn in a copy of your report before you leave. In fact, it is best if you upload copies regularly to Blackboard as you are working on the experiment so that there is no chance of getting a zero for a lab you completed.

Each individual lab will be graded as follows:

prelab questions (due before your lab session starts!)	15%
data (due at the end of your lab session!)	40%
analysis (due at the end of your lab session!)	30%
post lab questions (due at the end of your lab session!)	15%

About the course: Physics 261 is the lab for the second semester of the three-semester 161/260/270 sequence in introductory physics intended for engineering students. You must also be enrolled in the Physics 260 in order to pass Physics 261. Physics 260/261 is a CORE physical science course with a lab. Students are responsible for all assigned material, including reading, homework and labs.

Exams: There is one exam in the class, the Culminating Lab, which constitute a practical test of what you have learned in the lab. If you cannot attend the exam at the scheduled time, see Professor Hill before the exam! If you miss the exam with a valid excuse, a makeup exam will be given and it is your responsibility to arrange this in a timely fashion with the instructor. Students are responsible for all material in the lab and homework.

Excuses: Turning in a late lab report, or missing a lab or exam is not allowed without a valid documented excuse as defined by the University (medical problem, religious holiday, or serious family crisis). In all cases, a makeup lab or exam must be completed in a reasonable amount of time or you will receive a score of zero. The makeup exam or lab, and the due date, must be arranged by consulting with Professor Hill as soon as possible after it becomes apparent that an exam or assignment due date will be missed. If you are going to miss a lab or exam because of a religious holiday, it is your responsibility to inform the instructor in advance so that suitable arrangements can be made.

Getting started on electronic submission of Prelab Questions: In order to turn in answers to the prelab questions, you will need to register at the Mastering Physics website http://www.masteringphysics.com/. To register, you need two things - an access number and the class ID. The access number will be packaged with new copies of the Knight text book. In other words, when you buy your textbook you need to get a new copy that comes packaged with an access number. The class ID for the Physics 261 Lab is MPHILL86499.

The site is best accessed with a current version of Windows Explorer. If you run into problems check the system requirements. If you have not used Mastering Physics before then you should log on to the site and try the practice set before attempting any of the real prelab sets. Note that the software may randomize the numbers on a problem, so be careful and remember that other students working on exactly the same problems may have different numbers! The best way to do physics problems is first to work out carefully a general solution and then plug in the numbers at the end. This is especially true if the numbers are being randomized each time so everyone has different numbers. For calculating complicated expressions, I strongly recommend using an electronic spreadsheet, such as Excel, rather than a calculator.

Academic honesty: I expect you to get together in small groups and discuss the labs. However, do not use these discussions as an excuse to copy someone else's data, prelab answers or solutions to the homework or let someone else copy your solution. That is cheating. The right way to proceed is first to read through the lab, then do the prelab, and then take a look at the homework. With this preparation you can then discuss with others and see if you have missed something. All work you submit must be your own and should reflect your own understanding. Academic dishonesty, including copying homework, Googling for solutions on the web, or cheating on an exam, is a very serious offense which may result in suspension or expulsion from the University. Don’t do it. Details on the policy can be found at www.testudo.umd.edu/soc/dishonesty.html.

Help with understanding the material: Learning physics and engineering is a cumulative process; the knowledge learned at each stage builds upon previous knowledge and skills. If you find that you are falling behind, seek help early, rather than waiting until just before an exam. Help can be obtained by:
• Regularly attending lecture and discussion sections.
• Visiting the Slawsky Clinic, in room 1140 Physics Building.
• Going to the office hours of Professor Hill or your TA.
• The Learning Assistance Service (2201 Schoemaker Bldg., 301-314-7693) helps students with time management, reading, note taking, and exam preparation skills.

If you find that you are having more general academic problems, or are having trouble figuring out what you want to do, I recommend that you stop by Room 1120 Physics and talk to Tom Gleason, the Physics Coordinator of Student Services. Tom graduated from Maryland and also used to be an advisor in Letters and Science (undeclared majors). He is now the advisor for physics majors, but he knows all the University rules and is a great person to talk to because of his perspective on Physics and other programs at the University.