Spring 2001

Physics 516 / 616 - Intermediate / Advanced Physics Laboratory
Course Syllabus

1. Course Staff:	Office	Phone	E-mail
   Professor: K.K. Gan	4058 Smith	2-4124	gan@mps.ohio-state.edu
   Demonstrator: Margie Farrell	3011 Smith	2-5764/2-5315	farrell@mps.ohio-state.edu

2. Lab Rooms: Smith Lab 3011, 3012, 3017 and 3018

3. Course Requirements:
   Each student is expected to complete 3 laboratory experiments during the quarter. A formal laboratory report is required for each experiment. A lab notebook is also required. For the first experiment, the student's laboratory notebook, complete with raw data, calculations and conclusions, must be submitted in addition to the formal laboratory report. For the second and third experiments, only the laboratory report needs to be turned in. Details on the form and content expected of a laboratory report are given in one of the other handouts.

4. Due Dates:
   Laboratory reports are due on the following dates:
   Tuesday April 17 (4th week) Lab Notebook and Lab Report, Experiment 1
   Tuesday May 15 (8th week) Lab Report, Experiment 2
   Tuesday May 29 (10th week) Lab Report, Exp. 3 - GRADUATING SENIORS
   Tuesday June 5 (finals week) Lab Report, Exp. 3 - OTHER STUDENTS
   

5. Course Grading:
   Each experiment will count for 1/3 of the grade. Once a laboratory is completed, all borrowed apparatus and written materials must be returned to receive a grade. The base grade is 80 points. Points are then given for extra efforts, making corrections in the data not discussed in the special notes, possible improvements to the experiment, etc. Points are deducted for failing to estimate the errors on the measurements, incorrect answers, etc. The penalty for late reports is 5 points per day.

6. Textbooks:
   An Introduction to Error Analysis, 2nd ed., by John R. Taylor
   Statistics by R.J. Barlow (optional)
   Data Reduction and Error Analysis by Bevington (optional)
   Practical Physics by G.L. Squires (optional)
   Experiments in Modern Physics by A. Melissinos (optional)
   

   Additional reference books, available in the Physics 616 Library (Room 3011) and the Science and Engineering Library, are listed in an accompanying handout.