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Textbook: Optics, 3rd edition by Eugene
Hecht |
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Although attendance is not
recorded, successful physics students rarely miss class. Exams: Two midterm exams will be given in class on
the dates listed in the adjacent table. Please contact the instructor in
advance if you need to schedule an alternate exam time. During the examinations, you may refer to a
mathematical handbook; however, you may not use your textbook, notes, or
homework solutions. The final exam is
an oral presentation on one of the laboratories assigned to you by the
instructor. Homework: Homework assignments will be announced in
class. Since detailed solutions to
assigned problems are provided at the time the assignments are collected, late
homework will not be accepted.
Homework must be turned in promptly at the start of class on the day
it is due. In other words, missing
part of lecture to finish your homework is unacceptable. Grades: Grades are based on the total number of points earned on homework assignments, exams, and lab reports. Although changes may be made during the semester, it is anticipated that the points will be distributed roughly as shown in the table on the right side of this page. Letter grades are determined by dividing the total points earned by the total points possible, rounding this percentage to three significant figures, and then using the adjacent table. For example, if a student earns 134 out of 150 points, the grade is: 134/150 = 89.3% = B. Labs: During the last eight weeks of the semester
students will be working on laboratories instead of attending lectures. Laboratory grades are based on lab reports
(notebooks) turned in after completion of each lab. Each lab report is worth a maximum of 10
points. Lab reports from the previous
week are due on Tuesdays at Group Conduct: You may not share your graded notebooks with other students who are working on labs you have already completed. However, you may give advice to other students, if they ask. The instructor will also provide assistance, and will rotate through the various lab groups during the lab periods. Although the labs are performed in groups of two students, each student is responsible for understanding and contributing equally to each lab. Oral Presentation: The final exam for the course will consist
of a 12-minute oral presentation for one of the labs assigned to each lab
group by the instructor. Students must
use PowerPoint and the computer projector to give their presentation. The presentations will be graded on clarity,
presentation style, and content. The
presentation should be given so that most physics majors could understand it
even if they have never taken an optics class. Although each presentation will be given by
a pair of students, each of the students must talk for approximately half of
the presentation. There are 20 points
possible for the presentation. The
presentations will be given during the final examination period on Thursday,
May 13th from |
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Notebooks: |
A laboratory notebook is a complete record of what is done in the laboratory. Keeping a detailed and up-to-date lab notebook is an important skill needed for performing scientific research. Thus, students will record their lab work for this class in lab notebooks. Make all notebook entries in ink and neatly cross out any mistakes. Each lab group will need two lab notebooks, so that one of the notebooks can be used while the other is being graded. For each experiment you should include the following in your notebook: |
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Date: |
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Title: |
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Purpose: |
This is a one or two sentence summary of what you hope to accomplish in the lab. |
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Procedures: |
Detailed procedures will be given to you for most of the labs; therefore, you do not need to copy these instructions into your lab notebook. Instead, you should include in your notebook details of the procedure not listed in the lab handouts. Also, where appropriate you should indicate unique features of your setup or parts of the procedure that were difficult. You should strive to provide enough details that you could repeat the experiment several years later just by using the information you have recorded in your notebook and the lab handouts. |
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Data: |
Record all relevant data including the corresponding units. If you think you have entered some invalid data, neatly cross them out or just make a note next to these data. This way if you need these data at a later time, you will still have them. Provide appropriate labels for all of the data, so you (and the instructor grading the lab) will know what they are. |
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Analysis: |
This section will include graphs and calculations. Since these are often done on a computer, you should paste printouts into your notebook and make sure that you specify the appropriate file names for future reference. Keep computer files on your own disks or in your personal folder. If calculations were performed by a computer (for example in an Excel spreadsheet), be sure to include the equations you used in your lab notebook—not just the results of the calculations. |
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Questions: |
You should provide answers to any questions asked in the lab instructions. |
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Discussion: |
In this section you will discuss the main points and results of the experiment. You should state whether the goals of the experiment were achieved and describe any difficulties encountered. You should also discuss possible sources of error. The discussion should be written in a manner that conveys your understanding of the underlying principles of the lab. This section must be typed in double-spaced Times or Times New Roman 12 point font. Limit the discussion to a single page. Tape or past the finished draft into your notebook. A large portion of the grade for each lab report is based on the discussion section. |
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Last Updated: March 11, 2004