Course Information
Physics 241 -- Introduction to
Research-- Spring
2023
Homework Set #1: Ch 2 #28, 29, 30, 32; Ch 3 #12, 19, 28, 43, 53, 55
(3rd ed.)
(2nd ed. Ch 2 #26, 27,
28, 30; Ch 3 #10, 15, 18, 24, 39, 47)
Homework Set #2: Ch 4 #8, 16, 20, 24, 28, 30; Ch 5 #24, 27,
32, 40 (3rd ed.)
(2nd ed. Ch 4 #6, 14, 18,
22, 26, 28; Ch 5 #20, 23, 28, 36)
Homework Set #3: Ch 6 #4, 7; Ch 7 #6, 8; Ch 8 #5, 9, 12, 16; Ch 9 #5,
16 (3rd ed.)
(2nd ed. Ch 6 #4, 7; Ch 7
#6, 8; Ch 8 #5, 8, 9, 12, 16; Ch 9 #5, 7, 16)
Homework Set #4: Ch 10 #15, 17, 20, 22; Ch 11 #6, 11, 12, 22
(2nd ed. Ch 10 #15, 17,
20, 22; Ch 11 #6, 9, 10, 20)
Shop
Project drawing
Course Description:
Modern science provides our
most certain knowledge
about nature, but this knowledge is based ultimately on
experiments. And
as we will see, real experiments can be a rather messy and uncertain
business. In this course, we will explore how uncertain
experimental data
is analyzed and interpreted, as well as some practical issues in
designing,
setting up, and carrying out experiments.
A major theme of the course
will be the analysis of
experimental uncertainties. We will ask questions like: Given
that the
experimental value was x, what is the probable range in which the true
value
lies? If one experimenter gets x and another gets x +
dx, are the values
consistent (within the
uncertainties of the measurements), or do they disagree?
Given data that
is uncertain (to a known extent), how much confidence can we have
(quantitatively) that a particular hypothesis is or is not consistent
with the
data? From the nature of these questions, it is clear that
statistics and
probability are going to be important; in fact, the theory of
statistics
provides the crucial connecting link between experimental data and a
theoretical model. The text for the course, most of which we
will cover
during the first two weeks, covers the basic theory we will need.
Goals for the Course
This course is unlike any
other in the Physics
Department. For one thing, there are few tests and no final
exam.
The course content does not cover a particular branch of physics
theory.
Instead, the course is about learning to do experiments, which
encompasses a
wide, maybe even daunting, range of skills--from understanding the
underlying
physics theory (yes, this does turn out to be pretty helpful), to
constructing parts and
apparatus in the machine shop, interfacing electronic sensors or
instruments with computers, analyzing data and estimating experimental
uncertainties, and giving clear presentations of your findings in oral,
poster,
and written form. The goal of this course is to give you at least the
rudiments
most of these
skills,
and the course is organized so
we will cover most of the list. The first 3 weeks will
consist mostly of
traditional lectures on how to treat experimental
uncertainties. Then,
we'll have a week-long crash course on using the machine shop to make
apparatus. In the second half of the course, you get to
design and carry
out your own experiments--no lab manual! I'll provide a list
of ideas,
some experiments that have been done before (and ways you might modify
or
extend them), and some ideas for experiments that have not been tried
before at
Knox, and which might not even be possible! Of course, I'll
be available
to answer questions--I expect you to have plenty of them. Two
very
important and useful skills we will work on during the second half of
the
course is learning how to give clear presentations of your research
results,
both verbally and in writing.
Grade
Weighting:
|
Homework
|
12%
|
|
Short Lab
Exercises
|
10%
|
|
Three Experiments
|
20% each
|
|
Class
participation/Shop Project
|
8%
|
|
Statistics exam
|
10%
|
Experiment 1, 3 grades are weighted 40% oral presentation, 60%
paper.
Honor Code:
You may work together in groups to discuss and solve problems related
to the homework problems and lab reports. In writing up your
problem sets and lab reports, each person must do his or her own
work. Duplicate problem sets or lab reports are not allowed,
even by lab partners. You may share data with your lab
partner only if both of you were present in the lab together collecting
the data. The use of online homework aids or solution manuals
is prohibited. Unless you are given permission by me, looking
at course materials of former Physics 241 students is also prohibited.
Course Schedule:
Week 1-2 Lectures on Taylor,
Ch. 1 -
5 Pendulum
Mini-Experiment
Week 2-3
Lectures on Taylor, Ch. 6 - 9
Video Analysis
Mini-Experiment
Week 4
Lectures on Taylor, Ch 10-11
Week 4
Machine shop
Weeks 5, 6 Experiment 1
Weeks 7, 8 Experiment 2
Weeks 9, 10 Experiment 3
Week 1
Wed.
3/22
Fri. 3/24 Lecture Ch 1, 2
Week
2
Mon.
3/27 Lecture Ch 3, 4
HW #1 due
Wed. 3/29 Lecture Ch 4,
5
Fri. 3/31 Lecture Ch 5,
6 Mini-Experiment #1 (Pendulum) due
Week
3
Mon. 4/3
Lecture Ch 7, 8 HW #2 due
Wed. 4/5 Lecture Ch 8,
9
Fri. 4/7 Lecture Ch 9,
10 Mini-Experiment #2 (Air-track) due
Week
4
Mon. 4/10
Lecture Ch 10, 11 HW #3
due
Wed. 4/12 Lecture: Machine shop basics;
Machine shop
Fri. 4/14 Machine shop
Week
5
Mon. 4/17
Experiment 1 advice HW #4 due
Wed. 4/19 Statistics exam
Fri. 2 4/21 Experiment 1: Present
preliminary results Machine shop project
due
Week
6
Mon. 4/24
Mini-lecture: Guidelines for oral presentations and written
reports
Wed. 4/26 Experiment 1: Oral presentations
Fri. 4/28 Experiment 1: Written report due
Week
7
Mon. 5/1
Wed. 5/3
Fri. 5/5 Experiment 2: Present
preliminary results
Week
8
Mon. 5/8
Wed. 5/10 Experiment 2: Oral presentations
Fri. 5/12 Experiment 2: Written report due
Week
9
Mon. 5/15
Wed. 5/17
Fri. 5/19 Experiment 3: Present
preliminary results
Week
10
Mon. 5/22
Wed. 5/24 Experiment 3: Oral
presentations
Finals Experiment 3: Written report due
Links about
Abstracts: (numerous
others exist!)
Link1
Link2
This page was last modified
on: 3-22-2023