(Wenning, 1994-95)
REQUIRED MATERIALS: Laboratory outline and data sheet (provided), scientific calculator, notebook or loose-leaf paper, pencil, and eraser.
LABORATORY POLICIES: Laboratory experiments worth 10 points each. The single lowest lab score will be dropped each grading period. If one lab is missed, that is the score that will be dropped. The student will receive a score of zero for each subsequent missed lab if not made up.
Students are required to submit a written report following selected laboratory exercises. These formal lab reports, when required, normally are due in class two school days following the lab activity. For instance, if a lab is conducted on Tuesday, the lab report is due on Thursday. If a lab is conducted on Thursday, the lab report is due on Monday.
Three points will be deducted from each lab report turned in one school day late; an additional point will be deducted for each additional school day thereafter. In no case will a lab report be accepted more than five school days late or after the last day of a grading period.
Lab reports must be the work of the individual. Copying of lab reports or creation of "group reports" is not permitted. Individuals may, however, work together to understand fully the experiment and analysis.
Lab reports will not be accepted from individuals who did not participate in the lab activity itself.
LABORATORY OPERATIONS: Read through and attempt to understand the assigned lab before attending the lab session.
Leave the laboratory setup the way you found it at the beginning of the lab session; this greatly assists the lab instructor when he checks for any missing equipment at the end of the lab session.
Lab activities will serve as the basis for some exam questions. It is important that you fully participate in and understand all lab sessions.
LABORATORY SAFETY: The physics laboratory can be a dangerous place. For instance, you may work with glass instruments and open flames. Projectiles and electrical equipment, if handled improperly, can be quite dangerous -- even deadly. The course instructor has prepared laboratory safety procedures which must be followed to the letter. These procedures will be gone over in class, each student will receive a copy, and a copy will be posted in the laboratory itself. Students failing to follow safety procedures may be removed from the laboratory setting.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Select ONE lab partner and stick with him or her throughout the school year. Likewise, pick out one lab bench and stick with it throughout the school year. This will reduce confusion and save time at the beginning of each lab session.
Laboratory sessions generally begin with a short lecture which will consist of an overview and explicit instructions or examples. A follow-up discussion will take place the day following the completion of the lab exercise. This may provide insights for your lab report.
Lab exercises are designed to work best when students are working in pairs. Only in the case where there is an odd number of persons in a lab session will three persons be allowed to work together.
Always use pencil for your lab work. Write lightly when collecting data. Any and all erasures should be thorough.
Use only 8 1/2 x 11 clean-cut paper. Do not use spiral notebook paper for your analysis or any part of your lab report. Write only on one side of the paper.
When your lab report is returned to you, you will find that it may contain a grade sheet which will show how the instructor evaluated your work.
Return to Labs & Demonstrations.
LABORATORY PERFORMANCE CONTRACT
(Mr. Wenning, UHS Physics, 1994-95)
By signing my name in the place below, I acknowledge that I have received a copy of and read, discussed, and understood the Laboratory Safety Procedures for participation in physics laboratories at University High School. I agree to follow all the safety procedures. I understand that I may be removed from the laboratory for failure to follow the procedures outlined in the Laboratory Safety Procedures document.
Signature Date