2- Physics

PHY1** UH Physics Laboratory Syllabus Fall 2022
Physics Lab
Course Course CRN Lab Instructor Name Lab Instructor Contact
Weekly Lab Meeting Time: _________________________
Course Information
The goal of the physics laboratory is to provide learning experiences that connect the classroom material to experimental
physics. The skills gained during the laboratory course will be directly applicable to future practices.
Attendance Policy
It is expected that you attend the lab at your scheduled time. Absences are only permitted per the University of Hartford’s
acceptable absence policies. Any other absences will result in a ‘0’ being recorded for that lab without a chance for
makeup. Upon an acceptable absence you must provide the lab instructor with proper documentation of your absence.
The Lab Instructor will work with you to perform a makeup of the missed lab.
The Lab officially begins when the Lab Instructor has started their presentation of the material. The Lab Instructor will
have closed the door to the lab room no more admittance will be permitted. If you are not in the room when the lab
begins, you will be marked absent without exception.
Participation Policy
After an introduction from the Lab Instructor, you are expected to complete the lab procedure and data collection during
the scheduled time. The Lab Instructor is available to help in collection of data and in completion of the labs. For successful
completion of the lab, you must show the Lab Instructor your individually collected data and an example of any necessary
calculations. The Lab Instructor will put their signature on that paper or document. It is expected that the data in the
report matches the data collected in lab. Your signed data sheet data and calculations must be attached to the final lab
report that is turned into your Lab Instructor to receive full credit for the data portion of the lab (40 points).
During your participation in the course, you will abide the Academic Honesty Policy of the University copied at the end of
this syllabus. As a Department of Physics policy, two (2) Academic Honesty infractions during the same course is an
immediate failure of the lab.
COVID-19 Policies
All guidelines found in the Keeping Hawks Healthy* section of the university website must be followed in the lab space.
* Masks may be required per your Lab Instructor
* NO Food or Drink in the lab
Quarantine
In the event you are in placed in University Quarantine, you must contact your TA immediately if there is an anticipated
loss of lab. Your lab submission remains due at the due date. Your TA will instruct you whether you will attend the lab in
person or make up the lab at a later date. This policy applies only to those students who have an official quarantine from
the University. A self-quarantine is not applicable. All absences must be accompanied by a note from Health Services or
other to be accepted as excuse.
PHY1** UH Physics Laboratory Syllabus Fall 2022
Lab Analysis Submission
Upon completion of the lab activity, each student will write their own post-lab analysis. This analysis along with your
signed collected data is due submitted to Blackboard at the start of the next lab meeting. The analysis must be submitted
through the proper Blackboard Assignment in pdf or docx format for use in the SafeAssign tool. Lab submissions that are
not uploaded in an acceptable format, pdf or docx, or those which cannot be submitted for analysis by the SafeAssign
(submitted as all images without text) uniqueness tool will be given a ‘0’ until the problem is rectified. No late lab reports
will be accepted, no exceptions. Late is defined as the paper copy or digital copy not turned into your Lab Instructor at the
start of the lab period in which it is due.
SafeAssign Protocol
The SafeAssign tool is used to help you determine if you have submitted unique work. Its purpose is to determine how
similar your work is to the lab manual & instructions, resources available on the web, and other student work that has
been submitted University of Hartford and other Universities. Generally, well done labs have a SafeAssign readout of 5%
or less. In rare cases the percentage can increase substantially, but still be completely your own work. You will have the
ability to view the SafeAssign Report of your submission. If your SafeAssign number is below 20%, your Lab Instructor will
grade your report as normal. If the SafeAssign score is above 20%, your Lab Instructor may escalate it to the Lab Director
for further review. If you are unable to find your SafeAssign score, please contact Dr. Ritacco or your Lab Instructor.
The SafeAssign tool is used to help improve your writing. This is especially true for the first few submitted labs. It is likely
that you may not be penalized for work that does not meet the specified SafeAssign criteria. At their discretion, your Lab
Instructor may ask you to re-write your report and resubmit it.
As the student, you have access to the SafeAssign report for each submission. If your submission doesn’t meet the quality
guidelines above, you can edit and submit a new report until the SafeAssign value reaches an acceptable level up before
the due date of that report. The Lab Instructor will grade only the most recent submission. Please note, precious
submissions may be viewed by the Lab Instructor. If a student submits a report that is not their work and only performs
minor edits to bring down the SafeAssign percentage, the Lab Instructor reserves the right to penalize the student.
Students should also be reminded that University’s Academic Honesty Policy allows for a penalty to be given both the
student who submitted the report and the student whose report was plagiarized. See part ‘H’ of the policy below.
Grading Policies
Your lab reports are all equally worth 100 points(40 points for the data submission and 60 points for the post-lab analysis).
Your final average will be calculated as the cumulative total of your submitted lab submissions. Your percentage grade will
be provided by the Lab Instructor to your Lecture Instructor for incorporation into your lecture grade at the end of the
semester.
Your submitted lab reports will be graded with feedback either on paper or in the Rubric on Blackboard. It is expected that
you will review the feedback from your lab instructor to improve your submissions in the future. It is your responsibility
to ask for help if you cannot find the feedback that has been given.
The deadline for all work including makeups to due to illness or absence is Noon on Friday Dec 2, 2022.
A failing grade in the laboratory is considered below a 75% average. As a Department Policy If you fail the laboratory
course, your Lecture Instructor will by default give you a failing grade for the lecture class. Accruing three ‘0’s scores over
the semester is an immediate failure of the lab course.
PHY1** UH Physics Laboratory Syllabus Fall 2022
Writing your Lab Analysis
Your lab analysis will be limited to a discussion of lab’s purpose and what was accomplished. Your report should not include
the background information of the lab or a full procedure. Your report should start with your name, date, lecture
instructor’s name, lab instructor’s name, and title of the lab. Do NOT include a formal cover page. Your analysis should
include any graphs, tables, and figures presented clearly. These items should have legends and be labeled appropriately
with a caption explaining their purpose. Reports that include background theory, procedure, or a cover page are subject
to a 5-point penalty.
Your analysis is a narrative that uses vocabulary and dialogue from class to explain how the experiment is an example of
a physical law or concept. These labs are not designed to prove any part of physics but rather give you experience in
exploring, collecting, and presenting data to show a how particular concept applies to a scenario.
The analysis must answer any questions written in the lab activity and specific questions written at the end of each lab.
There should not be a list of questions and their answers. Submissions that are question/answer will be marked off 20-
points even if the answers to the questions are correct. The emphasis is on writing a quality explanation of the lab’s
relation to the experimental techniques and applicable physics concepts. Some laboratory exercises require a significant
number of calculations, and it is acceptable to present a table of the final values only after one example as provided to
your Lab Instructor during the lab period.
Lab Report Structure
All lab reports should consist of the following sections in order:
• Title information (name, date, title, etc. as described above) – DO NOT INCLUDE A COVER PAGE
• Only for PHY112/113
o A Brief Abstract that explains:
Purpose of the Lab
Type of Data Collected
Presents major conclusion of the lab
• Data
o Attached to the end of your paper report is your handwritten signed data sheet
o Present all data neatly in charts, graphs, tables as fits the data
o Appropriate Uncertainties are provided for all data in their respective location
o Labels for all tables, charts, graphs, pictures
o A caption that briefly describes where the item came from. This one sentence is the only procedure that
should be in your report.
• Results
o Calculations
All calculations that must have ONE example formally presented in the report. It is then
acceptable for the other values to be listed in a table
After collected data has been modified, i.e. a calculation, it’s no longer data it has become a result
o Discussion of data and calculations which includes:
Answers to all questions presented during the lab instructions
Graphs that were created from your calculations/data
Explain data using any of the relevant equations
PHY1** UH Physics Laboratory Syllabus Fall 2022
• Conclusion
o State specific results that relate the purpose of the experiment
o Compare measured results to expected values when possible
o Present qualitative analysis of data as it relates to real life situations
Data, Results, and Conclusion headings should be clearly present in your written submission.
The analysis section of your lab is worth 60 points of the grade. The following rubric will be used in grading your lab analysis
submissions:
TOPIC GOAL UNACCEPTABLE
0%
BEGINNING
20%
DEVELOPING
75%
ACCOMPLISHED
85%
EXEMPLARY
100%
DATA
(40 POINTS)
Successfully
Complete the lab
data collections
Signed
Handwritten Data
Not Attached
N/A N/A N/A
Signed
Handwritten
Data Attached
UNCERTAINTY IN
DATA
(10 POINTS)
Appropriate choice
and use of
uncertainty for
collected data and
calculated values
No uncertainties
present in data
presentation
Uncertainties
present but not
correctly
used/incorrect.
Uncertainties
given for data
but not carried
through
calculations
Uncertainties
correct for either
data or as it
applies to
calculations but
not both.
Correct
application of
Uncertainties to
both data and
use in
calculations
CALCULATIONS
(10 POINTS)
Properly display an
example calculation
for each calculation
required in the lab.
No formally
presented
example
calculations
Missing or
incorrect
calculations
A combination
of missing
calculations and
correct
calculations
All calculations are
present, but there
may be errors in
their use
No errors in
calculations and
not missing any
calculations
QUESTIONS
(10 POINTS)
Answer in your
narrative the
questions posed in
the lab material
clearly and correctly
0 – 20 % of the lab
questions are
answered
correctly
20 – 40 % of the
lab questions
are answered
correctly
40 – 60 % of the
lab questions
are answered
correctly
60 – 80 % of the
lab questions are
answered correctly
80 – 100 % of
the lab
questions are
answered
correctly
RESULTS
(10 POINTS)
Correctly state the
relevant calculated
values, and give an
accurate
comparison to
expected results
using the
appropriate
scientific analysis
from your course
Not present, too
poorly written to
evaluate, not in
paragraph form, or
is irrelevant to the
specified activity
States the
relevant
physical results
but does not
include analysis
of data
States the
relevant
physical results,
but the
scientific
analysis is either
incomplete or
has any major
errors
States the relevant
physical results
and gives a
complete
comparison of the
data, but with
some minor errors
States the
relevant physical
results from the
presented data
and gives a
complete and
accurate
analysis with no
errors
CONCLUSION
(10 POINTS)
Compare the
calculated results
with accepted or
other values and
draw a plausible and
physically consistent
conclusion
Not present, too
poorly written to
evaluate, not in
paragraph form, or
is irrelevant to the
specified activity
Comparison is
present, but no
physical
conclusion is
drawn from the
experimental
data
Comparison is
inaccurate, and
the conclusion
drawn is not
physically
consistent with
the
experimental
data
Comparison is
accurate, but the
conclusion drawn
is not physically
consistent with the
experimental data
Comparison is
accurate, and
the conclusion
drawn is
physically
consistent with
the
experimental
data
PHY1** UH Physics Laboratory Syllabus Fall 2022
ATTRACTIVENESS
(5 POINTS)
All information is in
a well-organized and
easily readable
format,
graphs/charts/tables
are appropriately
labeled, etc
Hand-written work
that is
disorganized or
difficult to read
Hand-written
work that is
organized,
properly
formatted, and
readable
Typed work that
is disorganized
or difficult to
read
Typed work that is
organized, mostly
properly
formatted, and
readable
Typed work that
is neat,
professional,
well organized
easily readable
STANDARD
ENGLISH
(5 POINTS)
Proper use of
standard English
(punctuation,
grammar, and
spelling) is used
throughout
Unacceptable use
of English that
contains many
major errors
Poor use of
English that
contains a
major error and
many minor
errors
Acceptable use
of English that
contains no
major errors,
but many minor
errors
Good use of
English that
contains no major
errors, and very
few minor errors
English that
contains no
noticeable
errors in
punctuation,
grammar, or
spelling
For PHY112/PHY113 Only
ABSTRACT
Write an abstract
that briefly
summarizes the
purpose of the lab
and presents any
conclusions.
No abstract.
Abstract written
but misses the
point, by either
being too short
or too long.
Doesn’t display
mastery of the
experiment.
Abstract is
present but is
missing 2 of the
following:
connections to
the data,
purpose of the
lab, or major
conclusion.
Abstract present
but is missing 1 of
the following:
connections to the
data, purpose of
the lab, or major
conclusion.
Abstract is
present. Explains
the purpose of
the lab and
presents data.
*Adapted from http://www.usm.edu
PHY1** UH Physics Laboratory Syllabus Fall 2022
STUDENT ACADEMIC CONDUCT
Academic Honesty Policy
A university is a community of learners. Learners at the University of Hartford consist of students, faculty and staff, seeking academic
and personal advancement. Academic and personal advancement is based on honest intellectual endeavors and the resulting creative
achievement. Integrity in those endeavors is the foundation upon which that advancement is built. While inspiration and insight spring
forth from the work of others, the work product must always be one’s own. One’s sense of integrity requires that proper credit be
given where credit is due.
The purpose of the academic honesty policy is to provide a clear statement to students and faculty of the University’s expectations
regarding academic honesty and to set forth procedures for the enforcement of that policy. The items listed in the policy below are
exemplar and not intended to be exhaustive. The procedures in this Academic Honesty Policy are administrative functions and are not
subject to the same rules as in criminal or civil proceedings.
Throughout the following policy, the term “college” refers to any one of the schools or colleges of the University. The term “Universitywide program” refers to programs such as Multi Media Web Design and Development or the Bachelor of University Studies that do
not reside in a college. The term “department chair” refers to a department chair or, in the case of colleges that do not have
departments, the equivalent to a department chair.
Policy
A. All students are expected to observe generally accepted principles of scholarly writing in all examinations, compositions,
papers, essays, tests, quizzes, reports and dissertations whether written in the classroom or outside. Sources of information
used by a student in the preparation of work submitted as a basis for credit, or for a grade, or to satisfy graduate or
undergraduate thesis requirements shall be clearly indicated in some conventional manner, such as by the use of quotation
marks, footnotes, and bibliography. Students are forbidden to falsify or misrepresent any information or citation.
B. Students are forbidden to submit as their own any project, papers, or creative work that is in whole or part the work of
another.
C. Students are forbidden to use equipment, software or devices unauthorized by the instructor, including but not limited to
calculators, computers, smartphones, smartwatches, on homework, quizzes, project assignments or examinations.
D. The use of a term paper writing service, is prohibited. Also prohibited is the use of term papers obtained from the Internet,
in whole or in part.
E. All examinations and quizzes are to be completed without reference to books or notes, except when the instructor of a
course shall have given explicit authorization for an “open book examination” or some other specified sort of assistance.
Except as authorized by the instructor, no student is to give or receive assistance in the completion of an examination or a
quiz.
F. Students are forbidden to use any portion of a paper or project to fulfill the requirements of more than one course unless
with instructors’ written permission to do so.
G. Other examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, the falsification of graded assignments, exams,
projects, academic documents such as transcripts, registration materials, withdrawal forms, or grade reports, as well as the
unauthorized reading, removing, or copying of any academic document or record maintained by any member of the faculty
or administration.
H. Students are forbidden to facilitate, help, or attempt to help another student commit an act of academic dishonesty
described here in A-G.