This is the organizational page for the Physics Introductory Labs portion of PHY 121 for Fall 2020.

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.

You will perform each week an experiment as indicated in the Manuals and Course Schedule section. You have 1 hr 50 min time to perform each experiment, 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:

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 single lab grades 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 Monday, August 31

• Lab 0 (August 31 - September 03): Introduction to Labs
  Monday, August 31 sections do Lab 0 and Lab 1

• Lab 1 (September 08 - September 10): Geometry (Data Sheet)
• Lab 2 (September 14 - September 17): Acceleration (Data Sheet)
• Lab 3 (September 21 - September 24): Projectile Motion (Data Sheet)
• Lab 4 (September 28 - October 01): Atwood Machine (Data Sheet)
• Lab 5 (October 05 - October 08): Centripetal Force (Data Sheet)

• Lab 6 (October 19 - October 22): Conservation of Energy (Data Sheet)
• Lab 7 (October 26 - October 29): Conservation of Momentum (Data Sheet)
• Lab 8 (November 02 - November 05): Simple Harmonic Motion (Data Sheet)
• Lab 9 (November 09 - November 12): Standing Waves (Data Sheet)    Field Trip! A-121 → A-120, A-119 → A-118
• Lab 10 (November 16 - November 19): Buoyancy (Data Sheet)

November 23 - November 27: Thanksgiving Break. No classes.

November 30 - December 07: On-line instruction only. No lab classes.
        Make-up Lab Week for Labs 6 - 10 by arrangement with instructor.

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)

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

Assignments as of August 28

Section Assignments for Teaching Assistants (left click to expand)

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 Virtual Help