PHYS 3605 -- Proposed New Course

Tue Jan 31 10:28:52 2017

Back to Proposal List
Approvals Received:
Department
on 01-18-17
by Jennifer Kroschel
(jkrosche@umn.edu)
Approvals Pending: College/Dean  > Provost > WI > Catalog > PeopleSoft Manual Entry
Effective Status: Active
Effective Term: 1179 - Fall 2017
Course: PHYS  3605
Institution:
Campus:		 UMNTC - Twin Cities/Rochester
UMNTC - Twin Cities
Career: UGRD
College: TIOT - College of Science and Engineering
Department: 11140 - Physics & Astronomy, Sch of
General
Course Title Short: Modern Phys Lab
Course Title Long: Modern Physics Laboratory
Max-Min Credits
for Course: 		3.0 to 3.0 credit(s)
Catalog
Description: 		Laboratory experiments in atomic, solid state, and nuclear physics.   Introduction to data analysis techniques as well as the communication of scientific results through maintaining a logbook and writing papers.

Prerequisites:  completion (or concurrent registration) in PHYS 2503 or 2503H.
Print in Catalog?: Yes
Grading Basis: Stdnt Opt
Topics Course: No
Honors Course: No
Online Course: No
Freshman Seminar: No
Is any portion of this course taught
outside of the United States?: 		No
Community Engaged Learning (CEL) : None
Instructor
Contact Hours: 		4.0 hours per week
Course Typically Offered: Every Fall & Spring
Component 1 : LEC (with final exam)
Component 2 : LAB (no final exam)
Auto-Enroll
Course: 		Yes
Graded
Component: 		LAB
Academic
Progress Units: 		Not allowed to bypass limits.
3.0 credit(s)
Financial Aid
Progress Units: 		Not allowed to bypass limits.
3.0 credit(s)
Repetition of
Course: 		Repetition not allowed.
Course
Prerequisites
for Catalog: 		<no text provided>
Course
Equivalency: 		PHYS 2605/3605W
Cross-listings: No cross-listings
Add Consent
Requirement: 		No required consent
Drop Consent
Requirement: 		No required consent
Enforced
Prerequisites:
(course-based or
non-course-based) 		No prerequisites
Editor Comments: doing as a new course to avoid possible future problems with a renumber.
Proposal Changes: <no text provided>
History Information: Course proposed to change 2605 to 3605W to reflect rigor and heavy writing content in course 1/17 jbk
Faculty
Sponsor Name: 		Paul Crowell
Faculty
Sponsor E-mail Address: 		crowell@umn.edu
Student Learning Outcomes
Student Learning Outcomes: * Student in the course:

- Can identify, define, and solve problems

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

In this laboratory course, students will repeat some of the very important physics experiments that changed our view of the world, using modern equipment so that results come more easily and, perhaps, more accurately.

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

log books will record progress and be graded regularly, along with scientific pepers

- Have mastered a body of knowledge and a mode of inquiry

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

Lectures cover basic concepts of physics, statistics, data analysis, and some of the physics behind the various detectors and sensors that students will use in lab. The laboratory experience will teach students how to obtain the maximum information from a particular piece of apparatus. Students will need to perform a variety of data analysis tasks to complete assignments.

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

Lab notebooks will be reviewed and graded regularly, there will be one in-class quiz and students will complete two scientific papers during the class.

- Can communicate effectively

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

Students will need to share data with lab partners utilizing department computing resources. During the term students will complete two scientific papers, allowing them to practice data analysis skills as well as distilling larger bodies of information into a concise, standardized written format, including use of graphics and mathematical formulae.

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

Successful communication with lab partners will be evident in lab results. Lab notebooks require strong organization of information to be useful, and will be evaluated regularly. The scientific papers show evidence of growth in technical communication skills.

Liberal Education
Requirement
this course fulfills: 		None
Other requirement
this course fulfills: 		None
Criteria for
Core Courses: 		Describe how the course meets the specific bullet points for the proposed core requirement. Give concrete and detailed examples for the course syllabus, detailed outline, laboratory material, student projects, or other instructional materials or method.

Core courses must meet the following requirements:

  • They explicitly help students understand what liberal education is, how the content and the substance of this course enhance a liberal education, and what this means for them as students and as citizens.
  • They employ teaching and learning strategies that engage students with doing the work of the field, not just reading about it.
  • They include small group experiences (such as discussion sections or labs) and use writing as appropriate to the discipline to help students learn and reflect on their learning.
  • They do not (except in rare and clearly justified cases) have prerequisites beyond the University's entrance requirements.
  • They are offered on a regular schedule.
  • They are taught by regular faculty or under exceptional circumstances by instructors on continuing appointments. Departments proposing instructors other than regular faculty must provide documentation of how such instructors will be trained and supervised to ensure consistency and continuity in courses.

<no text provided>
Criteria for
Theme Courses: 		Describe how the course meets the specific bullet points for the proposed theme requirement. Give concrete and detailed examples for the course syllabus, detailed outline, laboratory material, student projects, or other instructional materials or methods.

Theme courses have the common goal of cultivating in students a number of habits of mind:
  • thinking ethically about important challenges facing our society and world;
  • reflecting on the shared sense of responsibility required to build and maintain community;
  • connecting knowledge and practice;
  • fostering a stronger sense of our roles as historical agents.


 <no text provided>
LE Recertification-Reflection Statement:
(for LE courses being re-certified only) 		<no text provided>
Statement of Certification: This course is certified for a Core, effective as of 
This course is certified for a Theme, effective as of 
Writing Intensive
Propose this course
as Writing Intensive
curriculum: 		Yes
Question 1 (see CWB Requirement 1): How do writing assignments and writing instruction further the learning objectives of this course and how is writing integrated into the course? Note that the syllabus must reflect the critical role that writing plays in the course.

 The main learning objectives of PHYS 3605W are a) the basic principles of experimental physics, b) elementary data analysis techniques, including the proper treatment of experimental errors, and c) recording and communicating scientific results. The last of these objectives is fulfilled through the requirement for students to maintain a laboratory logbook and to complete two papers. Approximately 70% of the course grade is based on the 2 papers (30%) and laboratory logbook (40%). The syllabus states that communicating results through both the logbook and formal papers is the basis for evaluation in this class.  Expectations for both logbooks and papers are outlined briefly in the syllabus and in greater detail in handouts.

This class has one lecture period per week, and one lecture each is devoted to explaining the expectations for maintaining a proper lab notebook as well as for the scientific papers. At least one lecture period is devoted to peer reviews of each of the two papers. Students are required to revise the first paper in response to feedback from their peers as well as the instructor. The final version of that paper is graded. The second paper is also read by two peers as well as the instructor. The instructor incorporates the peer review into his or her own feedback and determines the final grade.
Question 2 (see CWB Requirement 2): What types of writing (e.g., research papers, problem sets, presentations, technical documents, lab reports, essays, journaling etc.) will be assigned? Explain how these assignments meet the requirement that writing be a significant part of the course work, including details about multi-authored assignments, if any. Include the required length for each writing assignment and demonstrate how the 2,500 minimum word count (or its equivalent) for finished writing will be met.

 Each student maintains a lab logbook and completes two papers. Each paper, which is based on one of the five experiments completed over the course of the semester, is expected to be approximately 5 - 7 double-spaced pages. The papers alone therefore meet the length requirement, but there is also a significant amount of writing required in the logbooks. Although the students work in pairs to complete the experiments, each student maintains his or her own lab logbook and is graded individually. Both papers are also written individually. Grading of lab logbooks has a significant technical component, in that the grade depends in part on the successful execution of the experiment and answering questions posed in the lab manual. The students receive feedback on the logbooks before writing the paper on a given experiment. As a result, the evaluation of the papers is more focused on the quality of the writing and other aspects of technical communication, such as the preparation of graphs and the proper discussion of experimental uncertainty.
Question 3 (see CWB Requirement 3): How will students' final course grade depend on their writing performance? What percentage of the course grade will depend on the quality and level of the student's writing compared to the percentage of the grade that depends on the course content? Note that this information must also be on the syllabus.

 As stated in the syllabus, 30% of the grade is based on the two papers and 40% of the grade is based on the logbooks. The grading of logbooks is more focused on the technical content, while the grading of the papers is focused on the quality of the writing, assuming that the students have incorporated all of the technical feedback received during the grading of the logbooks.
Question 4 (see CWB Requirement 4): Indicate which assignment(s) students will be required to revise and resubmit after feedback from the instructor. Indicate who will be providing the feedback. Include an example of the assignment instructions you are likely to use for this assignment or assignments.

 The students are required to revise and resubmit the first paper assigned. Feedback is provided by both the instructor (in practice the faculty member in charge of the class reads each paper) and at least 2 classmates. TA?s may provide feedback if they have been properly trained. The rubric used for peer review was prepared under the Writing-Enriched Curriculum program.

The handout used for assignment of the papers in this class is available at:

http://www.physics.umn.edu/classes/2016/fall/Phys%202605.001/post.html#404131
Question 5 (see CWB Requirement 5): What types of writing instruction will be experienced by students? How much class time will be devoted to explicit writing instruction and at what points in the semester? What types of writing support and resources will be provided to students?

 A full class period at the beginning of the semester is devoted to discussing expectations for lab logbooks and a second lecture (at week 4 or 5) is devoted to expectations for papers. At least one full lecture is dedicated to the discussion of peer reviews.

The guidelines for papers that are provided to the students are available at

http://www.physics.umn.edu/classes/2016/fall/Phys%202605.001/post.html#404131

This 18-page guide reviews the goals of the paper as well as each of the sections. Both ?good? and ?bad? examples are discussed. The guide also covers expectations for graphs, tables, and drawings of apparatus.

The students have access to the instructor through office hours as well as the regular lab period. Students are also referred to the Center of Writing for additional support.  
Question 6 (see CWB Requirement 6): If teaching assistants will participate in writing assessment and writing instruction, explain how will they be trained (e.g. in how to review, grade and respond to student writing) and how will they be supervised. If the course is taught in multiple sections with multiple faculty (e.g. a capstone directed studies course), explain how every faculty mentor will ensure that their students will receive a writing intensive experience.

 The course does use teaching assistants, but their primary responsibility is to supervise the laboratories and grade the laboratory logbooks. The grading of the logbooks follows a standard rubric, which can be followed by all TAs. All TAs have received the same training used for our introductory writing intensive classes. Note, however, that each of the two scientific papers is read by a faculty member. As noted above, feedback from that faculty member (and two peers) is incorporated into the revised version of the first paper.  The faculty member determines the final grades on both papers.
Statement of Certification: This course is certified as Writing Internsive effective  as of 
Course Syllabus
Course Syllabus:

For new courses and courses in which changes in content and/or description and/or credits are proposed, please provide a syllabus that includes the following information: course goals and description; format; structure of the course (proposed number of instructor contact hours per week, student workload effort per week, etc.); topics to be covered; scope and nature of assigned readings (text, authors, frequency, amount per week); required course assignments; nature of any student projects; and how students will be evaluated.

Please limit text to about 12 pages. Text copied and pasted from other sources will not retain formatting and special characters might not copy properly. The University "Syllabi Policy" can be found here

Any syllabus older than two years should be replaced with a current version when making ECAS updates.



University of Minnesota     01/04/17
School of Physics and Astronomy

Physics 3605W,Fall 201X: Modern Physics Laboratory 3cr
1 hour lecture, 3 hours lab per week

Syllabus

Instructor:
Office:  
Email:  
Office Hours:     
Teaching Assistant:  
Lecture/workshop:     T:  12:20 p.m. to 1:10 p.m.
Lab sections:     T:   1:30 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.
    Th:   11:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
The goals of this course are to introduce students to:
?     Quantitative experimentation and the making of measurements.
?     The concept of experimental uncertainty and probability
?     Keeping a concise, but detailed logbook
?     Scientific report writing (through the completion of two papers)
Note that the documentation and communication of results in writing is an essential part of being a scientist.    For this reason, the laboratory logbook and the two papers represent a very large fraction of the graded work in this class.  
General information
The laboratory is located in Room 364 in the Physics and Nanotechnology building (PAN).  Students will work individually or in pairs.  The experimental equipment will be assigned to a group for a two-week or three-week period, after which it will be reassigned. All data taking must be accomplished within this period.  You will carry out 5 of the available experiments. There is no make-up at the end of the semester.
There will be one classroom meeting per week. The class meetings will not be used for lectures ? all lecture material will be posted in video form online.  A suggestion for when each video should be viewed is given in the course calendar.  Most of the class meetings will be interactive workshops for developing understanding of the concepts and techniques of data analysis techniques. One class will be devoted to outlining expectations for the logbooks and one lecture will also be devoted to providing guidelines for scientific papers.  For many of the workshops, you are expected to bring you a computer for carrying out the data analysis exercises.  If you do not have a laptop, please contact the instructor before September 13th.  You will also be assigned preparatory online homework due before each workshop.
A written guide to the same material is also posted on the course website.   There will be two in-class mid-semester tests based on the lecture material.
Weekly attendance is required.  Absences must be discussed with the instructor in advance.
Software and texts used in this course
This course will make use of linear-algebra software for data analysis and fitting.  This work can be completed using either MATLAB? or GNU Octave.  MATLAB is a commercial product for which all CSE students have access through the college.  Octave is a ?clone? of MATLAB which is available for free download (https://www.gnu.org/software/octave/download.html) for Windows, Mac, and Linux.  
Lab logbooks
All raw data, calculations, and conclusions are to be recorded in a lab logbook, which must be presented for grading one week after you complete the experiment. The lab book must be a bound notebook containing quadrille ruled paper.   Due to the grading schedule, you will need to buy TWO logbooks dedicated to this course alone.   You will be working in one while the professor or TA is grading the other. Lined logbooks or scraps of paper are not allowed.  You will paste in data, computer generated graphs, etc. when they are taken.  
You should never tear out pages from your logbook! Whenever you make a mistake (we all do!), just neatly cross out that section of your logbook.  Make sure that it is still possible to read whatever is under the cross-out; it is quite common to find out later that what is there is not actually wrong, or includes useful information.    
This logbook is very important. It should contain enough information so that, after a period of, say, 6 months, you would be able to completely reconstruct all the steps you took during the experiment.  All raw data must be included somehow.  For smaller datasets, it is recommended that you write it in your logbook by hand.  However, long computer-generated output and fitted graphs can stored in an accessible website (e.g. Moodle), but must be clearly named and referred to in the logbook at the relevant point.  All equipment, settings of instruments, etc., must be included.  This does not mean copying what is already in your lab manual, but noting details that are not there, such as voltages or error specs.  All axes and tables should be carefully labeled with the correct units; words of explanation should be present wherever necessary, and sources of errors must be noted and estimates of their sizes included. There should be a careful analysis of results with derivations of final uncertainties.
The technique of keeping a good lab notebook is a very useful skill to develop.  In many companies, such logbooks become the property of the company. Obviously, tidiness and clear writing are essential attributes; it is possible that others may also need to be able to decipher what you?ve done in your experiment.   Note that a ruler and pens of a couple of different colors will help you keep a well-organized lab book.    A pair of scissors and a roll of tape will also be useful for cutting out graphs and tables from printouts for insertion into your lab book.  A simple hand calculator is also useful.
The logbook must be a bound notebook containing quadrille ruled paper so that you can make graphs as you are taking data. This is an important technique to learn; you must be able to identify errant data points as soon as they are taken, not later, after your experiment is finished.  An example of such a situation is shown below.  It is not very obvious from the table of data that there may be one erroneous data point - often due to a misreading of a scale, or simply a wrong number being written down. (In this case the value of y for the fifth data point should have been 26.1, not 36.1 cm).  In contrast, the problem is immediately apparent from the graph of the data. In other words, a table of your data without an associated graph is insufficient!



DO NOT LOSE YOUR LAB BOOK!



Scientific Papers
The communication of scientific results and analysis in writing is an essential part of the practice of experimental physics.  You will therefore complete two papers during this semester.  Each paper of approximately 5- 7 double-spaced pages will be based on one of the experiments that you will have completed.  Together the two papers will account for 30% of your final course grade, and you must complete both papers in order to pass the course.  A draft of the first paper will be due in class during the week of October **.  As will be discussed in detail, that draft will be read by both the instructor and two of your classmates.  You will then incorporate the feedback from those reviews into a final draft of the paper, which will be due on October **.  The second paper will be due during the week of December **.   That paper will be also be read by two peers as well as the instructor, who will read the peer reviews when formulating a grade.  
You will be provided with a detailed list of guidelines for the papers as well as examples of the key components of a good paper.  Expectations for the for peer review process will also be discussed in class, and a rubric will be provided to assist you with your peer reviews.  Note that full participation in the peer review process is essential, and therefore a fraction of your own grade will be based  on the quality of the reviews that your provide for others.

Grading
Your final grade will be based on several quantities, weighted as follows:
    Lab notebooks     40% of total score
    2 Scientific Papers     30%
    Homework Assignments     10%
    2 in-class exams     20%     

You must complete all five labs and both scientific papers in order to pass this course.   There are absolutely no exceptions to this requirement. ?Incompletes? will be assigned only in cases where serious illness or another documented emergency has prevented you from completing the course requirements.  To receive a grade of incomplete, you and the instructor must draw up a signed agreement describing the work to be completed and the time frame for its completion.     
Statement on Academic Honesty
The University has a clear policy on student conduct, including cheating and plagiarism.  You can find the guidelines at http://www.oscai.umn.edu/conduct/student/index.html
Here is a specific interpretation for this course:  

1.  All data reported in your lab book and the Scientific Paper must be your own.  They must be taken by you in the 2605 laboratory.  In particular, if you miss a lab period, you must come in to take your own data.  Under no circumstances can you use data obtained by someone else.  Sharing data in violation of this policy will be considered academic misconduct by both parties.  The minimum penalty will be an automatic F in this course.  
   
While it is understood that you are working with a lab partner, you may only use data taken in your presence. That common data taken by both of you can certainly be shared and a memory stick is sometimes a useful mechanism to allow both of you to do your own analysis on the same data later on.

2.  Fabrication refers to the wholesale creation of data.  For example, if you believe that y depends quadratically on x and create a set of points obeying that relation and then claim those points are experimental data, you would be guilty of data fabrication.  This is the most heinous crime that one can commit as an experimentalist.  The minimum penalty will be an automatic F in this course.  
   Data manipulation refers to the use of systematic bias in data taking or analysis to obtain a desired result.   This can range from outright dishonesty (eliminating all data points that don?t fit your favorite theory) to more subtle cases in which the bias may not be readily apparent.  We will discuss this issue in class.

3.  All written work must be your own.  Each of you will have your own lab-book, carry out your own analysis, and prepare your own papers.  Using text or figures prepared by others in a lab-book or written paper without appropriate citation is plagiarism, for which the minimum penalty will be an F in this course.  Some collaboration on analysis is expected and encouraged, as long as it is bilateral.   

4.  You will be consulting external sources, such as textbooks, reference books, journal articles, and web-sites.  All external sources, including web sites, must be cited in your lab-book and paper.


Preliminary Course Schedule
Week -- Date     Suggested Video Lectures     Workshop topic     Lab
1. (Sept 6-9)     (1), (2), (3), (4)     Keeping a lab notebook     (no lab)
2. (Sept 12-16)     Propagating uncertainties     Conduct first lab
3. (Sept 19-23)     (5)     Working with data in Matlab/Octave     
4. (Sept 26-30)     (6), (7), (8)     Linear fitting     Conduct second lab
5. (Oct 3-7)     Scientific communication     
6. (Oct 10-14)     (9)     Fitting for more-complex cases     Conduct third lab,
write first paper, draft due Oct 23, 5pm Moodle
7. (Oct 17-21)     First quiz     
8. (Oct 24-28)     Peer review of first paper     Paper due (Oct 30 5pm Moodle)
9. (Oct 31- Nov 4)     (10), (11),(12)     Hypothesis-testing with Poisson and Exponential     

Conduct fourth lab

10. (Nov 7-11)     (13)     Monte Carlo techniques and the Gaussian distribution     
11. (Nov 14-18)     [No class meeting]     
12. (Nov 21-25)     Advanced plotting techniques     Thanksgiving
(no lab session)
13. (Nov 28-Dec 2)     (14)     Noise: White, Pink, and More     Conduct fifth lab

Draft of second paper due (Dec 9)
14. (Dec 5-9)     Second quiz     
15. (Dec 12-16)     Peer review of second paper draft     


Video Lectures
1.     Introduction to experimental data analysis
2.     Significant figures and scientific notation
3.     Making multiple measurements of a single quantity: histograms, mean, median, mode, and variance
4.     Calculating a quantity from different measurements: propagation of uncertainties
5.     Optimal combination of multiple measurements: the weighted mean
6.     A controlled experiment: varying a control parameter to measure a quantity
7.     Linear fitting
8.     Interpreting the results of a fit: chi2 analysis and outliers
9.     Non-linear fitting
10.     Probability distributions: Poisson and Exponential
11.     Probability distributions: The Gaussian and the Central Limit Theorem
12.     Hypothesis testing
13.     Monte Carlo Techniques
14.     Introduction to Noise
DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES
ATHLETES must provide their official University of Minnesota athletic letter containing the approved competition schedule to their instructor and the staff in Tate 148. Away exams will be arranged with the athletic adviser traveling with the team. Accommodations will be made for official university sports only (i.e. no accommodations will be made for intramurals, club sports, etc.)
DISABILITY SERVICES: If you have accommodations for this course, please provide the staff in Tate 148 with a copy of your accommodation letter for the current semester. Exams will be arranged according to accommodations and sent to the testing center for administration.
MANDATORY POLICY INFORMATION [REFERENCES/LINKS VERSION FOLLOWS]
?     Student conduct code
    http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/Code_of_Conduct.pdf
?     Scholastic Dishonesty
    See student conduct code
?     Disability Accommodations
    http://ds.umn.edu/student-services.html
?     Use of Personal Electronic Devices in the Classroom
http://www.policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/STUDENTRESP.html
?     Appropriate Student Use of Class Notes and Course Materials
    http://www.policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/STUDENTRESP.html
?     Makeup Work for Legitimate Absences
    http://policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/MAKEUPWORK.html
?     Grading and Transcripts
    http://policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/GRADINGTRANSCRIPTS.html
?     Sexual Harassment
    http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/SexHarassment.pdf
?     Equity, Diversity, Equal Opportunity, and Affirmative Action
    http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/Equity_Diversity_EO_AA.pdf
?     Mental Health and Stress Management
    http://www.mentalhealth.umn.edu
MANDATORY POLICY INFORMATION [FULL TEXT VERSION FOLLOWS]
Student Conduct Code
The University seeks an environment that promotes academic achievement and integrity, that is protective of free inquiry, and that serves the educational mission of the University. Similarly, the University seeks a community that is free from violence, threats, and intimidation; that is respectful of the rights, opportunities, and welfare of students, faculty, staff, and guests of the University; and that does not threaten the physical or mental health or safety of members of the University community.
As a student at the University you are expected adhere to Board of Regents Policy: Student Conduct Code. To review the Student Conduct Code, please see: http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/Student_Conduct_Code.pdf.
Note that the conduct code specifically addresses disruptive classroom conduct, which means "engaging in behavior that substantially or repeatedly interrupts either the instructor's ability to teach or student learning. The classroom extends to any setting where a student is engaged in work toward academic credit or satisfaction of program-based requirements or related activities."

Disability Accommodations
The University of Minnesota is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities for all students. Disability Services (DS) is the campus office that collaborates with students who have disabilities to provide and/or arrange reasonable accommodations.
If you have, or think you may have, a disability (e.g., mental health, attentional, learning, chronic health, sensory, or physical), please contact DS at 612-626-1333 to arrange a confidential discussion regarding equitable access and reasonable accommodations.
If you are registered with DS and have a current letter requesting reasonable accommodations, please contact your instructor as early in the semester as possible to discuss how the accommodations will be applied in the course.
For more information, please see the DS website, https://diversity.umn.edu/disability/.

Use of Personal Electronic Devices in the Classroom
Using personal electronic devices in the classroom setting can hinder instruction and learning, not only for the student using the device but also for other students in the class. To this end, the University establishes the right of each faculty member to determine if and how personal electronic devices are allowed to be used in the classroom. For complete information, please reference: http://policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/STUDENTRESP.html.
Makeup Work for Legitimate Absences
Students will not be penalized for absence during the semester due to unavoidable or legitimate circumstances. Such circumstances include verified illness, participation in intercollegiate athletic events, subpoenas, jury duty, military service, bereavement, and religious observances. Such circumstances do not include voting in local, state, or national elections. For complete information, please see: http://policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/MAKEUPWORK.html.
Appropriate Student Use of Class Notes and Course Materials
Taking notes is a means of recording information but more importantly of personally absorbing and integrating the educational experience. However, broadly disseminating class notes beyond the classroom community or accepting compensation for taking and distributing classroom notes undermines instructor interests in their intellectual work product while not substantially furthering instructor and student interests in effective learning. Such actions violate shared norms and standards of the academic community. For additional information, please see: http://policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/STUDENTRESP.html.
Grading and Transcripts
The University utilizes plus and minus grading on a 4.000 cumulative grade point scale in accordance with the following:
A     4.000 - Represents achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements
A-     3.667
B+     3.333
B     3.000 - Represents achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements
B-     2.667
C+     2.333
C     2.000 - Represents achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect
C-     1.667
D+     1.333
D     1.000 - Represents achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements
For additional information, please refer to: http://policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/GRADINGTRANSCRIPTS.html.

Sexual Harassment
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Equity, Diversity, Equal Opportunity, and Affirmative Action
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Old: Physics 2605: Modern Physics Laboratory
3 credits: One hour lecture, three hours lab per week
Physics is an experimental subject. Physics 2605 is a real laboratory course in which you will not only observe some of the phenomena of the quantum world, but also make measurements of them. You will repeat some of the very important experiments that changed our view of the world, using modern equipment so that your results come more easily and, perhaps, more accurately.
Some of the equipment that you will use is sophisticated, some basic. Part of the art in doing experimental physics is learning how to obtain the maximum information from a particular piece of apparatus. By doing a variety of experiments we hope that you will begin to appreciate this art. At the same time, we hope to instill in you a ?feel? for experimental uncertainty ? How well can we measure things? What are the principal sources of errors in a measurement? (This is the main emphasis of paper #1.) How might the precision of a measurement be improved in a future experiment?
Of course, you will generally not be able to measure the fundamental constants to the limit of the accepted uncertainties, but with care, you should be able to make some measurements to a precision of &#61566;1 part in 104. (Currently, Planck?s constant h is known to about 4.4 x 10-8, while G, the gravitational constant, is only known to about 1.2 x 10-4)
Along with your lab work, there will be lectures covering some basic concepts of physics, statistics, data analysis, and some of the physics behind the various detectors and sensors that you will use. We hope that this hands-on experience will give you a sense of what it is like to do experimental physics, and that both the frustrations as well as the victories will be teaching moments.
The goals of this course are to introduce students to:
&#61623; Quantitative experimentation and the making of measurements.
&#61623; The concept of experimental uncertainty and probability
&#61623; Keeping a concise, but detailed logbook
&#61623; Scientific report writing
General information
The laboratory is located in Room 364 of the Physics and Nanotechnology Building. Students will work in pairs or groups of three. During the first six weeks of the semester, each student will be assigned to a new group and experiment every two weeks. This first half of the course will serve as an introductory period for becoming familiar with different types of experimental work and data analysis. The last six weeks will have the same format, but with three-week periods for each experiment rotation. During this last half of the course, the student will be expected to carry out more extensive analyses, similar to how one would approach a project in research. All data taking must be accomplished within the given rotation period. You will carry out 5 of the available experiments in total. There is no make-up at the end of the semester.
Attendance is required on several particular dates (see the class schedule for details), in particular, the first week of the course for a one-hour orientation at the beginning of your regularly scheduled lab section. Those of you with a Monday Section will have to come to one of the other sections for the first week only (that Monday is a university holiday). The experiments themselves will begin in the second week of the semester. Upon completing the first set of three experiments (6 week period), you should start to write the first paper on the week of 2/29. On the week of 3/7, there is no lab, you must complete your first draft of the paper for peer review and then revised the paper accordingly. See class schedule.
The last week of classes will also be a no-lab week in which you should complete your second scientific paper. The format of these papers is described in the class lab manual and will be discussed further in class. Experiments will be assigned the week before you start them; you must be sure to have read the relevant write-ups before coming to the laboratory so that you are prepared to begin your experiment. You cannot afford to use laboratory time for this preparatory work.
This preparation includes a ?Pre-Lab Writeup? which should be submitted to the Moodle website before noon on the day of starting your new lab. In most cases, this will be your first experience with the experimental topic. Thus ?Pre-Lab Writeup? is extremely critical.
Lectures
There will be one lecture per week. Most of the lectures will be devoted to basic physics concepts, data analysis techniques, with special attention to statistical and error analysis. The appendix to this manual is your reading for the lectures. Two lectures are reserved for you to conduct peer-review of another student?s report in class. Attendance is mandatory on these two lecture dates. Later lectures may cover the physics of some of the experiments, general experimental techniques, particle detection, etc. There will be one in-class quiz based on the lecture material. Some practice homework problems will be made available.
Lab logbooks
All raw data, calculations, and conclusions are to be recorded in a lab logbook, which must be presented for grading one week after you complete the experiment. Special grading procedure will be implemented for the first two sets of labs. The lab book must be a bound notebook containing quadrille ruled paper (graph paper). Due to the grading schedule, you will need to buy TWO logbooks dedicated to this course alone. You will be working in one while the TA is grading the other. Lined logbooks or scraps of paper are not allowed. You will paste in data, computer generated graphs, etc. when they are taken.
You should never tear out pages from your logbook! Whenever you make a mistake (we all do!), just neatly cross out that section of your logbook. Make sure that it is still possible to read whatever is under the cross-out; it is quite common to find out later that what is there is not actually wrong, or includes useful information.
This logbook is very important. It should contain enough information so that, after
a period of, say, 6 months, you would be able to completely reconstruct all the steps
you took during the experiment. All raw data must be included somehow. For smaller
datasets, it is recommended that you write it in your logbook by hand. However, long
computer-generated output and fitted graphs can stored in an accessible website (e.g.
Moodle), but must be clearly named and referred to in the logbook at the relevant point.
All equipment, settings of instruments, etc., must be included. This does not mean
copying what is already in your lab manual, but noting details that are not there, such
as voltages or error specs. All axes and tables should be carefully labeled with the
correct units; words of explanation should be present wherever necessary, and
sources of errors must be noted and estimates of their sizes included. There
should be a careful analysis of results with derivations of final uncertainties.
The technique of keeping a good lab notebook is a very useful skill to develop. In
many companies, such logbooks become the property of the company. Obviously,
tidiness and clear writing are essential attributes; it is possible that others may also
need to be able to decipher what you?ve done in your experiment. Note that a ruler and
pens of a couple of different colors will help you keep a well-organized lab book. A pair
of scissors and a roll of tape will also be useful for cutting out graphs and tables from
printouts for insertion into your lab book. A simple hand calculator is also useful.
The logbook must be a bound notebook containing quadrille ruled paper so that
you can make graphs as you are taking data. This is an important technique to learn;
you must be able to identify errant data points as soon as they are taken, not later,
after your experiment is finished. An example of such a situation is shown below. It is
not very obvious from the table of data that there may be one erroneous data point -
often due to a misreading of a scale, or simply a wrong number being written down. (In
this case the value of y for the fifth data point should have been 26.1, not 36.1 cm). In
contrast, the problem is immediately apparent from the graph of the data. In other
words, a table of your data without an associated graph is insufficient!
DO NOT LOSE YOUR LAB BOOK!
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0 5 10
time t in seconds
distance y in cm
t(sec) y(cm) &#61555;y(cm)
1 1.1 0.6
2 3.4 0.8
3 8.7 1.0
4 16.5 1.5
5 36.1 2.3
6 34.2 3.1
7 46.5 4.8
8 64.1 6.5
Computing
There are a number of Windows-7 computers associated with the experiments in Room 364 of the Physics and Nanotechnology Building, as well as a few that are for general use. They are all linked to the MPL domain. Students enrolled in Physics 2605 can login using their X500 user name and password. You will find your personal folder already there under ?computer? in the sidebar; click on the MXPUSER subdirectory. This is where all your files should go. You can also use your personal laptop, but you should maintain copies of all of your work on the lab computers, which are backed up daily.
You will need to be able to share data with your lab partners. Although it is possible to set up sharing for folders in your account, this has caused software problems in the past. It is recommended that you share data by either use of a USB memory stick or by emailing the files to your lab partner(s).
You will be required to perform a variety of data analysis tasks. Excel is available on the lab computers for this purpose. You must learn to use Excel?s basic analysis and graphics functions. In particular, everyone must be familiar with the least-squares fitting programs available in the \pub_MPL\Statistics folder on all the computers. They are provided with a help feature, and the underlying principles will be discussed in the lectures. Do not hesitate to ask an instructor for assistance when you first use them. (Excel?s internal fitting program is not adequate for this course!). Please consult with an instructor if you intend to use other graphics or analysis packages.
Your scientific papers must be prepared using a word processor. You will be required to include graphics and mathematical formulae. The computers in the lab give you access to MS Office2010 (word-processing and spreadsheets).
Grading
Your final grade will be based on several quantities, weighted as follows:
Lab notebooks 50% of total score
2 Scientific Papers 36%
1 in-class quiz 14%
All sources of errors of the given experiment should be identified in the first paper. Detailed data analyses will be required in the second paper.
Key note: If you report your experimental results along with errors having more than three significant figures in paper #2, your best final grade will be ?C?.
You must complete all five labs and both scientific papers in order to pass this course. There are absolutely no exceptions to this requirement.
?Incompletes? will be assigned only in cases where serious illness or another documented emergency has prevented you from completing the course requirements. To receive a grade of incomplete, you and the instructor must draw up a signed agreement describing the work to be completed and the time frame for its completion
Strategic Objectives & Consultation
Name of Department Chair
Approver: 		Ron Poling
Strategic Objectives -
Curricular Objectives: 		How does adding this course improve the overall curricular objectives ofthe unit?

 This is a revision of an existing course, not a new course
Strategic Objectives - Core
Curriculum: 		Does the unit consider this course to be part of its core curriculum?

 yes
Strategic Objectives -
Consultation with Other
Units: 		Before submitting a new course proposal in ECAS, circulate the proposed syllabus to department chairs in relevant units and copy affiliated associate dean(s). Consultation prevents course overlap and informs other departments of new course offerings. If you determine that consultation with units in external college(s) is unnecessary, include a description of the steps taken to reach that conclusion (e.g., catalog key word search, conversation with collegiate curriculum committee, knowledge of current curriculum in related units, etc.). Include documentation of all consultation here, to be referenced during CCC review. If email correspondence is too long to fit in the space provided, paraphrase it here and send the full transcript to the CCC staff person. Please also send a Word or PDF version of the proposed syllabus to the CCC staff person.

N/A - existing course PHYS 2605W
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