This is the organizational page for the Physics Introductory Labs portion of PHY 121 for Fall 2024.

The scope of the introductory labs is to give an understanding of basic experimental methods applied in physical sciences. The experiments performed during the lab sessions are closely related to the topics covered in the lecture.

Instructors	Director of UG Laboratory	Teaching Assistants
R. Lefferts	B. Nielsen	To be announced    e-mail of TBA

Over the semester you will perform ten (10) experiments as indicated in the Manuals and Course Schedule section. You have 1 hr 50 min time to complete the measurements, by yourself or with a lab partner. Each experiment will come with a manual that you can access below.

For each lab, your perfomance will be evaluated by your teaching assistant based on the following components (left-click the blue bar to expand):

Grading for each experiment (left click to expand)

The pre-lab quiz will always be due on the same day that the lab is performed. All other components will generally be due by the start of the subsequent lab class, with possible exceptions to be specified by your TA.

Reports are to be done individually (including data collection - you and your partner should independently record all data). Although collaboration is allowed, your work should be your own. Work that is duplicated between reports will be punished severely.

Your final score will be an average from your ten lab grades (all ten, none dropped) scaled by a factor that will be determined at the end of the semester. This final lab score will contribute 25% to your grade in PHY 121. You will receive a single final grade for PHY 121.

The first lab sessions will take place in the week starting from Tuesday, September 5

August 26 - August 29: No lab classes.

September 02: Labor Day. No classes.

• Lab 0 (September 3 - September 5): Introduction to Labs
• Lab 1 (September 09 - September 12): Geometry (Data Sheet)
  Monday Sept 9 sections do Lab 0 and Lab 1 (L01-04)
• Lab 2 (September 16 - September 19): Acceleration (Data Sheet)

September 23 - September 27: Make-up Lab Week for Labs 1 - 2. No lab classes.

• Lab 3 (September 30 - October 03): Atwood Machine (Data Sheet)
• Lab 4 (October 7 - October 10): Projectile Motion (Data Sheet)

October 14- 15: Fall Break. No classes.
October 16 -17: Make-up Lab Days for Labs 3-4. No lab classes.

• Lab 5 (October 21 - October 24): Centripetal Force (Data Sheet)
• Lab 6 (October 28 - October 31): Conservation of Energy (Data Sheet)
• Lab 7 (November 6 - November 9): Statics (Data Sheet)
  PHY 121 Midterm 2 on Nov 5
• Lab 8 (November 13 - November 16): Conservation of Momentum (Data Sheet)
• Lab 9 (November 20 - November 23): Simple Harmonic Motion (Data Sheet)

November 25 - November 26: Make-up Lab Days for Labs 5 - 9. No lab classes.

November 27 - November 29: Thanksgiving Break. No classes.

• Lab 10 (December 2 - December 5): Standing Waves (Data Sheet)

December 09: Make-up Lab Day for Labs 8 - 10. No lab classes.

Link to All Data Sheets

Here are some documents you will find helpful. You can find more information via links on the Reference Documents Page.

Lab Report Expectations

Guide to Uncertainty and Error Analysis (Quick Reference)

Google Sheets Tutorial

Guide to Making and Using Plots

Here is a link to the plotting tool we will use to make our graphs in this class:

PHY121/122 Plotting Tool

TA assignments will be available August 26, 2024. See official rooms and times in Solar .

Section	When	Where	Teaching Assistant
PHY121 L01	Mo 8:00 - 9:50am	A-121
PHY121 L02	Mo 10:00am - 11:50pm	A-121
PHY121 L03	Mo 2:00pm - 3:50pm	A-121
PHY121 L04	Mo 4:00 - 5:50pm	A-121
PHY121 L05	Tu 11:00 - 12:50am	A-121
PHY121 L06	Tu 2:00 - 3:50pm	A-121
PHY121 L07	We 8:00am - 9:50pm	A-121
PHY121 L08	We 2:00 - 3:50pm	A-121

You are responsible for keeping track of deadlines for your lab reports. A list of deadlines (and return dates for work) is available here: Due Dates

Be alert to announcements about changes to this schedule from your TA or via Blackboard.

Any lab report submitted after the deadline will not be considered and receive zero points for the lab experiment.

Exceptions for partial credit may be granted by a TA or the course instructor, with suitably documented reasons.

If you need to be absent for a lab experiment you will have to provide written documentation for a significant reason to be absent, e.g., a medical note from your doctor or a written document about jury duty.

With such documentation, you will have the opportunity to make up the lab experiment in the dedicated make-up week. Under such circumstances, please submit a make-up request via the PHY121 Make-Up Request Form.

If you are absent for a non-excusable reason your lab grade for that particular experiment will be Zero (0) points! If you are absent for a non-excusable reason for more than one lab you will fail PHY 121.

There are three ways to ask questions or report problems:

• To contact your TA, use the e-mail addresses provided at the top of this page. This is the best option for lab-specific questions, such as checking requirements.
• To contact all TAs, use PHY121_lab@stonybrook.edu. This is the best option for general physics questions. If you cannot get in touch with your own TA and have a question on how to do a calculation (or why numbers look weird), this is also a reasonable place to contact.
• For administrative concerns, contact the course instructor, Richard Lefferts, at phy_introlabs@stonybrook.edu or in Office Hours, 1-3pm Thursday, in the Help Room