Syllabus

Physics 103-Basic Physics Laboratory

Section 1T, 7:30-10:20, Tuesday

Beauregard 141

Fall, 2007

Instructor:Dr. Chad Young

Office: 121 Beauregard Hall

Office hours: 7:00-7:30 & 8:25-10:35 am MWF; 10:00-Noon TR

Phone: 985-448-4879 (work)

E-mail:

Website:

Catalog Description: Phys 103. Basic Physics Laboratory. 1-0-3. Laboratory experiments in mechanics, heat, and sound.

Prerequisite: Credit or registration in PHYS 101.

Required Text:“Selected Experiments in Physics” by NSU Physics Staff. This text is available for purchase at Big Worm Books on Saint Mary Street, next to Rite Aid and Rouses.

Student Outcome Objectives:

  • The student will explore and encounter physical examples of the topics mastered in Basic Physics, PHYS 101.
  • The student will become proficient in laboratory procedures, which include attention to safety, observations, and documentation.

Guidelines:

  1. The lab report is due at the end of each lab and is worth 10 points. In the event that the lab requires the full 3 hour period, the lab report will be turned in at the beginning of the next lab meeting.
  2. Each student, although a member of a collaborative group, is to write her own lab report.
  3. A lab report should be concise and well-documented. The student will record the background information, procedures, data, analysis, and conclusions. These reports are to be kept together in a binder that is submitted to the professor at the end of each lab period. A separate document, available on Blackboard, gives more detailed expectations for these reports.
  4. All work stations must be left in proper order, and all broken equipment must be reported to the instructor.

Course Content:

Outline of Topics

Experiments #1:Measurement

2Graphical Interpretation of Experimental Information

3The Acceleration Due to Gravity

4Projectile Motion

5Vector Addition and Subtraction

6Work and Energy

7Centripetal Force

8Moment of Force. Static Equilibrium

9 The Simple Harmonic Motion of a Spring

10Densities of Solids and Liquids

11Coefficient of Linear Expansion

12Specific Heat of Solids

Grading: There are a total of 120 points. Each lab report is worth 10 points. The grading scale is percentage-based with A (90-100%), B (80-89%), C (70-79%), D (60-69%), and F (0-59%) grades being assigned at the end of the semester.

For example, a student might receive these grades:

Lab Reports: 10, 10, 8, 8, 10, 8, 9, 6, 9, 10, 8, 8

This student’s final grade would be the total of these points divided by 120, or 93% (A).

Opportunities for extra credit will be offered periodically throughout the semester.

Make-up Policy: Make-ups for labs will be determined by the instructor on a case-by-case basis.

Academic Honesty Policy: Dishonesty, in the form of copying another student’s report, will follow the guidelines set in the “Code of Student Conduct” manual. However, students are expected to collaborate within their group and even with other groups. The final report should be the work of each student. Participation in the lab is required; attempts to submit a lab report without having attended the lab will be considered as a violation of academic honesty.

Plagiarism

By taking this course, students agree that all assignments are subject to submission to Turnitin.com, an online plagiarism prevention and detection service. All work submitted to Turnitin.com will be added to its database of papers. Turnitin's privacy policy and a description of the service are available at Specifically, this service compares your paper with Internet webpages, articles in databases, and all papers previously submitted from this university or any other. Turnitin then either confirms the originality of your work or gives the source of plagiarism. In cases of detected plagiarism, the paper and supporting evidence will be handled in compliance with the Student Code of Conduct (

Attendance Policy: Attendance is essential and mandatory. Because group participation is important to the class, tardiness will carry consequences. If a student is tardy more than five minutes to class, 1 point will be deducted from that student’s lab report. If a student is tardy more than 20 minutes to class, the student will not be allowed to participate in the lab experiment and will be considered absent.

Drop Date: Friday, 27 October 2006, is the final date to receive an automatic “W” when dropping a course or resigning from NichollsStateUniversity.

Disabled Students: If you have a disability that requires assistance, please let me know. Also, you will need to register with the Office of Disability Services for coordination of your academic accommodations. The Office of Disability Services is located in Peltier Hall, Room 100-A. The phone number is 985-448-4430 (TDD 449-7002).

Academic Grievances:
The proper procedure for filing grade appeals or grievances related to academic matters is listed in Section 5 of the Code of Student Conduct and at the following link:

Continued Learning following an Extreme Emergency:
In order to make continued learning possible following an extreme emergency, students are responsible for:
● reading regular emergency notifications on the NSU website
● knowing how to use and access Blackboard (or university designated electronic delivery system)
● being familiar with emergency guidelines
● evacuating textbooks and other course materials
● knowing their Blackboard (or designated system) student login and password
● contacting faculty regarding their intentions for completing the course
Faculty are responsible for:
● their development in the use of the Blackboard (or designated) software
● having a plan for continuing their courses using only Blackboard and email
● continuing their course in whatever way suits the completion of the course best, and being creative in the continuation of these courses
● making adjustments or compensations to a student’s progress in special programs with labs, clinical sequences or the like only in the immediate semester following the emergency.