Here you will find information for the undergraduate physics laboratories taught at the University of Rochester Department of Physics and Astronomy.

The calendar on the right shows A- and B-weeks; there are NO labs during the shaded periods.

• Afternoon Labs are from 2:00PM to 4:40PM.
• Evening Labs are from 4:50PM to 7:30PM.
• Labs are held in B&L 267 (for PHY 113, 121, and 181), B&L 268 (for PHY 114, 122, 142, 182, and 184), and B&L 165 (for PHY 123, 143, and 183).

Who to Contact

If you have any questions about lab policies, or have complaints or praise about the TAs, the experiments, or anything of that nature, you should read the FAQ then email the Lab Administrator (physlabs@pas.rochester.edu). You should also email physlabs if you have missed a lab or know you will miss a lab (illness, personal emergencies, etc.).

Contents

General Info: general remarks about the labs and grading

Lab Manuals: lab manuals for all sections

FAQ: answers to frequently asked questions (read this before you email physlabs!)

A note about this webpage: it utilizes internal and external CSS (cascading style sheets). If something seems fishy, please make sure CSS options are enabled in your browser, and/or download the latest version of said browser.

General Remarks

In order to complete any of the Introductory Physics courses (PHY 113, 114, 121-123, 141-143, 181-184), you must complete all five of the associated labatory exercises. These labs provide a hands-on realization of a sample of the topics that are covered in the parent course.

Before you attend lab, you must download and print the lab manual, and complete the "prelab" section of the exercise. The prelab section will be collected at the beginning of the lab session. The worksheets in the lab manual (which you will fill out as you complete the lab) will be collected at the end of the lab session. Lab manuals may be downloaded from this website by visiting the lab manuals page.

You will need your completed prelab, a copy of the lab manual, a calculator, and a pen or pencil for each lab. You are also allowed to have your course textbook at your lab bench if you need it, but anything else (backpacks, etc.) must be put along the sides of the room or the back wall.

These laboratories can be interesting and educational if you arrive well prepared. Because your completed lab write-up is due at the end of the laboratory session, it is vital that you have read over the manual before coming to lab. If you haven't read the manual beforehand, you will lose time during the lab period that should be used for the lab itself, and may find yourself pressed for time at the end of the period.

In general, students work in small teams (two or three students) however each student must prepare their own report. It is recognized that students in a team will collectively discuss the experiment and the interpretation of the data, however students are not permitted to copy each other's write-ups.

A Week and B Week Rotations

You should have signed up for a lab section when you registered for your physics course. Early in the semester you will be assigned to either an A week or a B week rotation; you will only have lab on those weeks (see the calendar). You may only attend the lab section for which you registered. If you must miss a lab, due to illness, personal emergency, etc., please email the lab admin (physlabs@pas.rochester.edu) as soon as possible.

Grading

After all sections have completed a lab exercise (including both A and B rotations), the Teaching Assistants (TAs) for that experiment will jointly grade all the students' pre- and post-laboratory work. This assures that grading is uniform across all sections. At the end of the semester, the course instructor is provided with all student grades including full grade distributions so that accurate curving will be possible. It is up to the instructors to decide how the laboratory grade will be counted toward the final course grade.

Grading Questions

You will receive an email after each lab is graded with all your lab grades to date. If you are missing a grade for a lab you completed, please email the Lab Admin (physlabs@pas.rochester.edu). If you have a question about a grade and want to see your graded lab, contact Prof. McFarland, the faculty member in charge of the lab program. Please include what class and lab section you attend.

Lab Manuals

Here you may download the lab manuals for your physics course. Please bring a printed copy with you to your lab session; the TA will not have extra copies. The prelab, the first page of the lab, will be collected at the start of the lab session. It is an easy two points out of the twenty the lab is worth -- do not forget to do this section!

Phys 113, 121, 141, 181: Mechanics & General Physics I

Experiment 01: Statistics	Experiment 01.pdf
Experiment 02: Acceleration of Gravity	Experiment 02.pdf
Experiment 03: Conservation of Momentum and Energy	Experiment 03.pdf
Experiment 04: Moment of Inertia and Oscillations	Experiment 04.pdf
Experiment 05: The Mechanical Equivalent of Heat	Experiment 05.pdf

Phys 114, 184: General Physics II

Experiment 06: Coulomb's Law	Experiment 06.pdf
Experiment 08: Electron Beams	Experiment 08.pdf
Experiment 09: Superconductivity and Ohm's Law	Experiment 09.pdf
Experiment 12: Geometrical Optics	Experiment 12.pdf
Experiment 13: The Wave Nature of the Electromagnetic Spectrum	Experiment 13.pdf

Phys 122, 142, 182: Electricity and Magnetism

Experiment 06: Coulomb's Law	Experiment 06.pdf
Experiment 07: Absolute Volt & Electrostatic Potential	Experiment 07.pdf
Experiment 08: Electron Beams	Experiment 08.pdf
Experiment 09: Superconductivity and Ohm's Law	Experiment 09.pdf
Experiment 10: Electronic Circuits	Experiment 10.pdf

Phys 123, 143, 183: Modern Physics

Experiment 11: Velocity of Waves	Experiment 11.pdf
Experiment 12: Geometrical Optics	Experiment 12.pdf
Experiment 13: The Wave Nature of the Electromagnetic Spectrum	Experiment 13.pdf
Experiment 14: The Atomic Spectrum of Hydrogen	Experiment 14.pdf
Experiment 15: The Millikan Oil Drop Experiment	Experiment 15.pdf

Appendices

Appendix B: Error Analysis

Appendix B

FAQ

• Can I change my lab time?

  You should have signed up for a lab when you registered for the course. If you need to change your lab time, you should use the online registration system, or visit the registrar's office, whichever is appropriate. You may need to fill out an add/drop form. If you have difficulties, please email physlabs. If this is a one time change, see the next question.

• I'm going to miss my lab next week. Can I make it up?

  There will be an opportunity at the end of the semester to make up a limited number of labs. Please email physlabs to let him/her know that you will be absent.

• I was sick, or had an emergency, and missed my lab. Can I make it up?

  It is a good idea to email physlabs as soon as possible. As for making up the lab, there will be an opportunity at the end of the semester to make up a limited number of labs.

• I missed (or will miss) lab because of my fraternity/sorority/sporting/music event. Can't I just come tomorrow, or next week?

  Unlike other departments, the physics department doesn't allow students who missed lab to simply attend other weeks or other times. We do not have enough equipment for the extra students. However, there will be an opportunity at the end of the semester to make up a limited number of labs.

• I emailed physlabs yesterday, and I didn't get an answer!

  Please be patient. The Physics Lab Adminstrator receives a large number of student emails per day, especially during the begining and end of the terms. Some questions (if they involve checking records or changing schedules) require extra time to answer. If you are afraid your email was lost, though, feel free to send a polite reminder.

• There is not enough time to finish the lab.

  Often there really is, but it can be difficult. However, if you have a complaint about a lab, including about the time, please email physlabs. We do consider comments, and make changes to the lab manuals based on student feedback. To reassure you: Remember that every student in your class is doing the same labs with the same time constraints, and will be graded the same way.

• OMG! Teh fizic labs sux0rs! (based on actual emails)

  Please do not send me emails like this. Please.

• The physics labs for this class are horrible, especially lab number X. I think this lab would be better if you left out the part about the second widgit, and replaced some of the standard error calculations with some more interesting interpretive questions. It also would help if you included photographs of the equipment in the lab manuals. The hand-drawn sketches currently in the lab manual look nothing like the equipment we used.

  Though opinions of course vary, we're glad to hear yours. We especially like the way you've given some specific examples of what your complaints are and even offered some suggestions. When the labs are updated, we refer to your ideas.