(updated
|
Lab Director |
Gordon Johnson |
|
Office |
WEBS 348 |
|
Phone |
335-3398 |
|
|
What the physics lab is designed to do:
· Attend your regularly scheduled lab section every week. If you do miss or= will miss your regular lab due to sickness or another valid reason, refer to the= Requests for Make-up Labs section of t= his syllabus for more details.
· Adhere to the University “Standards of Conduct for Students.” = This includes being on time and listening while the teaching assistant is introducing the lab. Violatio= ns of this policy will affect your lab grade.
· Make sure that all submitted work is your own. Academic dishonesty is n= ot tolerated and is grounds for failing the course.
·
=
DO NOT
BRING FOOD, TOBACCO, OR BEVERAGES INTO A LAB ROOM.
· Before each lab period read the lab manual a= nd related course material, particularly if the material has not already been covered in lecture. Though ev= ery effort is made to have the lectures and labs well coordinated, we are not always successful.
· Bring your lab manual, calculator, course textbook, pen and pencil, pad of engineering paper, scratch paper, ruler and protractor to lab each week.
· Come prepared to perform mathematical calcul= ations based on the level of math (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus [= for PHYS 201, 2]) appropriate for the course.
COMPONENTS OF THE LAB GRADES
The l= ab grading is as follows:
|
Lab Reports (and Any Tutorials) |
80% |
|
Lab Exam |
20% |
NOTE: Co= nsult the lecture instructor for the weight given to the lab grade in the total course grade.
·
Lab reports are short papers describing in
detail what data-taking procedures you used in the lab, the reasons for tak=
ing
the data that you did, the data analysis using graphs and other calculation=
s,
and your summary and conclusions. Even
though you may work in a group, each individual must submit a laboratory
report. Although the data for=
lab
partners is necessarily the same, it is expected that the data analysis,
discussion of results, and the conclusions will be individual work. For more information regarding lab
reports refer to the Physics Lab Report Details document immediately follow=
ing
this syllabus. Have
the teaching assistant sign and date your unfinished report BEFORE you leave
the lab each week!
· Lab exams are given during the regularly scheduled lab periods during Closed Week, or Dead Week (the last week of regular classes for the semester). The exam may include experimental techniques, methods of data analys= is, and/or concepts covered during the semester. All of your graded lab reports = for the semester and the lab manual are open for reference during the exam. Textbooks are not open during the exam. Work on the exam is ind= ividual. BE SURE TO BRING YOUR CALCULATOR!<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Look for more information about the exams, including sample problems, on the website for your physics lecture section.
· All laboratory exercises are important so no scores will be dropped at the end of the semester.
Questions reg= arding grades on lab reports need to be discussed within two weeks of the student receiving the graded material (earlier at the end of the semester!). Your lab grade is reported to the = course instructor at the end of the semester and is incorporated into your overall physics course grade as defined on the instructor’s syllabus. Final lab percentages should be po= sted on the bulletin board on the 3rd floor of Webster by Wednesday of Final Exam week. Any changes/questions need to be made by Friday morning of Final Exam week, sin= ce final lab grades are then submitted to the instructors.
THE LAB GRADI=
NG SCALE
RELATIVE TO THE LECTURE
&=
nbsp; The
laboratory component of your class grade most likely uses a different gradi=
ng
scale from that used in the lecture part of the class. For the laboratory the following
guidelines are used to convert percentages into letter grades:
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; A =
- &=
nbsp; (90
– 100%)
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; B =
- &=
nbsp; (80
– 89.99%)
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; C =
- &=
nbsp; (70
– 79.99%)
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; D =
- &=
nbsp; (60
– 69.99%)
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; F &=
nbsp; - &=
nbsp; (less than 59.99%)
Note: Plus and minus grades are included=
at
the tops and bottoms of the letter grade ranges.
&=
nbsp; The
lecture and laboratory grades are then weighted appropriately and put toget=
her
to give the final course grade. By Physics and Astronomy Department
policy a student earning a lab percentage less than 50% will receive an F g=
rade
for the class, irrespective of his/her performance in the lecture portion of
the course. On the other hand=
a
student who fails the class, but had a laboratory percentage of at least 80=
%,
may choose to “carry over” this score when the class is
retaken. To take advantage of=
this
option a student must notify the lab director no later than the first week =
of
the semester that the class is being repeated. Be aware that 100-level labs will =
not
count in place of 200-level labs.
LAB REPORT GR=
ADING
GUIDELINES
General
Considerations:
1) If you let any person with a physi= cs background equivalent to your own read through an “A” level rep= ort, she/he should be able to read through the report understanding what the experiment was, how it was performed, how the data was obtained, how the da= ta was analyzed, whether the results were expected, and why they were expected. In short this person should be able to reproduce your experiment (assuming familiarity with the equipment) just the way that you performed it based on your report.
2) A “B” level report lac= ks at least one of the important characteristics listed in paragraph 1) just abov= e or is simply weak in several aspects, and a “C” level report lacks= at least two of these important characteristics or is very weak in several aspects.
3) Simply copying text from the lab manual or the internet into your report is never acceptable and at a very minimum will be totally disregarded in the evaluat= ion of the report.
Grading Detai= ls:
&nbs= p; Physics lab reports are much like English research papers where the evaluation is q= uite subjective. Thus the possible grades (on a scale of 0-100 points) assigned to the reports will usually be limited to:
&nbs= p; 100, 95, 90, 85, 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, ….=
[Note:
&nbs= p; The teaching assistant (TA) will read through your report marking strengths and weaknesses. At the end it sho= uld be clear to the TA in which letter grade range the report belongs. For example if it is determined to= be in the “B” range, then a score of 80, 85, or 90 is assigned depend= ing on whether it is a weak, solid, or strong B. You will not see where each point = is deducted. The final score ref= lects both the content details and the overall organization of the final product.=
Automatic Gra=
de
Deductions:
1) Late reports are subject to a pena= lty deduction of 10 pts/day for each day after the prescribed deadline. Late tut= orial homework is subject to a similar deduction based on the total points possib= le for the assignment.
2) Reports placed in the wrong lab se= ction slot in the large wooden cabinet located in the hall on the 3rd floor of the Webster Physical Sciences Building are subject to a 5 pt deduction. For your convenien= ce a list of all physics lab sections by course number, time of day, and name of= the TA is posted on the inside of the left hand cabinet door.
3) Tutorial exercises submitted witho= ut your participation during the lab time will receive at most 50% of the poin= ts possible for that assignment.
EQUALIZATION =
OF LAB
GRADES
At the end of the semester =
the
average percentage score achieved by all of the students in a lab section w=
ill
differ somewhat from lab section to section. This is inevitable and expected.
LAB REPORT AND TUTORIAL SUBMISS=
ION
POLICIES
&=
nbsp; LAB
REPORTS ARE DUE BY
&nbs= p; Some tutorials will be completed during the lab time and are due before you leave the lab room. Others will fol= low the normal schedule for lab report submissions as stated in the previous paragraph. The teaching assis= tant in your lab will let you know when each tutorial is to be submitted.
·
If you missed your regularly scheduled lab (=
or know
that you will miss one) with a valid reason, notify your teaching assistant
(TA) by email and submit a “makeup request” to the lab director=
via
email at physlabs@wsu.edu. For valid reasons you may be able =
to
perform a particular lab earlier or later in the week than your regularly
scheduled lab time subject to availability of space, so make your requests =
as early
as possible. You can check
alternate lab times by looking at the Schedule =
of
Classes on the university website.&nbs=
p;
Such an arrangement avoids the necessity of arranging a special make=
-up
lab. This is easier for both =
you
and us. Look up your class (P=
HYS
101, etc.) on the Physics Department web site and click on the link “=
Lab ma=
keup
policies and schedules” to find what information needs to be incl=
uded
in your request. If you are authorized to make up the lab in another lab
section with a different TA from your own, it is your responsibility to =
make
sure that your report is submitted promptly to your regular TA for grading =
and
recording purposes. The r=
eport
is still due before
·
Ma=
ke-up
labs not following this procedure won’t be accepted for credit.
·
Any make-up lab must be completed and
submitted no later than
· The physics labs close the Friday before Clo= sed Week (Dead Week) so that lab exams may be set up. No make-up labs can be done after = this date, and all work must be submitted to the laboratory teaching assistants prior to this date to be considered for credit.
“
(as quoted from the Preamble to the Washington State University Standards of Conduct for Students) The detailed rules, regulations, and policies can be found in the Standards of Conduct for Students available through the Office of Student Conduct= .
Reasona= ble accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify the instructor or TA during the first week of class of any accommodations needed for the course. Late notification may cause the requested accommodations to= be unavailable. All accommodatio= ns must be approved through the Disability Resource Center (DRC) in Administra= tion Annex 205 (phone 335-1566).