PHY 3802L Intermediate Physics Lab Fall 2018 (Monday)

Instructor information:

Dr. Lei Guo
Email:
leguo@fiu.edu, Office phone: 305-348-0234
Class Times: Mon 11:00 AM -- 13: 45PM (at CP251)

Office Hours  (subject to change):

            Mon/Tuesday: 2-3pm

           Wednesday/Thursday 4-5:00PM (or by appointment) CP 212

Learning Assistants:

        Elvis Hernandez (ehern286@fiu.edu) and Jennifer Russo (jruss045@fiu.edu)

         LA hours: Tuesday 2-4pm and Friday 11am-2pm (at CP251)    


Class Websites:


All sessions of the PHY 3802L Intermediate Physics Lab for the Fall 2018 semester are using the same website maintained by Dr. Boeglin, for lab manuals and software (Python) tutorials


For the Monday session, the information below is needed for turning in lab report on turnitin.com:


class ID:18761552

class name:PHY3802LFall18Monday

enrollment key: LG2018Fall



The lab manual, software tutorials, etc, are  located at the link below:



PHY 3802L Class Website (For both Monday and Wednesday Sessions)



PHY3802L_Cheat_Sheet.pdf

PHY3802L Syllabus:

Overview/Goals

This is not your easy breezy intro labs. A minimum of 9 hours dedicated to this class (outside the class) is needed to pass the class. You must spend 1-2 hrs prior to the class preparing, such as reading the manual, understanding the concepts, familiar yourself with the setup. In the actual lab session, you will be introduced to various modern experimental techniques, many of them still widely used in sophisticated experiments by researchers around the world.

Performing the actual measurements in the lab is just the beginning. You will be trained, and expected to become proficient in the following areas:

  1. 1.Programming in Python. For those of you who do not have programming experience, please remember it’s called “programming language” for a reason -- you first need to learn the rules, and must practice by repeating examples yourself. The more you practice, the better you become.

  2. 2.Using Python to perform various calculations, data analysis, and determine the uncertainties of various quantities, which are either directly measured, or calculated from your measurements. For these, you must not only understand the physics relations between various quantities, but also be able to use multi-variable calculus to make proper uncertainty estimation.

  3. 3.Using python to make various plots. All plotted quantities must be properly labeled, and with uncertainty shown. Please never, ever, use the difference between your measurements of a quantity and the “known” value,  and call that as your uncertainty. We will emphasize this over the whole semester.

Grading:


Your grades will consist three parts: Lab Attendance (1/3), Lab reports (1/3), and Final presentation (1/3).

Lab attendance: You are allowed one unannounced missed session. If you miss two labs without approval from me in advance, you will fail the class.

Lab Reports:


In general, your reports should include: Purpose/principle, Experimental setup, Data taking, Data analysis, Calculation of the final results as well as the uncertainties, Discussion (e.g., are they consistent with what you expect. If not, why? etc.)  You should also submit your python routine so that I could run it. It must be the same routine that produced your figure in the report.


For reference, you can see an example report excellently written by a previous student:


Sample Report


Prelab questions might also graded, and a maximum of 5% could be awarded as extra points to your corresponding lab reports.


Final Presentation:

You will be assigned a specific experiment as your topic. The presentation will take place during the finals week. The scheduled time is December 3rd (Monday)12-2pm. Your presentation should be 10min+5min(Q/A). Your presentation should show clear understanding of the experiment (principle and setup), the uncertainty of your measurements, and your conclusion should be clearly stated. The style of the presentation will be graded as well. This presentation is one third of your grade, and it is important that you spend sufficient time (days, not just half an hour!) for that. Redoing the corresponding analysis is frequently necessary. If there is time conflict, it must be addresed in advance.

Lab Groups:


Group 1: Andres Gomez + Chelsea Mateu

Group 2: Kavan Bastian + Miguel Rodgiguez

Group 3: Leonardo Gutierrez + Matthew Klein

Group 4: Osnel Oliva + Yamel Thomas

Group 5: Arlenys Serrano + Alexa Gerts


The full schedule is below. Please find your schedule according to the grouping above(TBA)

Lab1 (August 20th, 2018): Python Examples:

Topics addressed in the sample programs include, and are not limited to, the following:

a. How to obtain fitting results (parameters, uncertainties)

  1. b.How to specify significant digits

  2. c.How to plot the fitting results on the figure

  3. d.How to put texts in the figure

  4. e.How to print statements with multiple variables in specific formats


Fitting Example files:


The examples.data are made-up data/numbers.

There are two .py file addressing linear/polynomial fits, and fitting data with more complicated user-defined functions


Plot fitting examples:

examples.data

FittingExamples.pdf

genFittingExamples.pdf


Histogram Fitting examples:

histoFitting.data

histoFitting.pdf





Assignements/Lab Reports:

    Week 1 (Due Aug 27th 11:00AM)

A. You actually have already typed in the examples.data and FittingExamples.pdf in class. In additon, you need also to actually folow the suggestions in the "comments" parts, and modify the programs accordingly and show how the plots will change. You also are required to modify the program to also include you name/patherID on the plot the program produces.

B. In addition to that task, please also type in the additional programs as shown in the link above: “genFittingExamples.pdf”, and "histoFitting.pdf". The typed programs, as well as the output plots must be saved and combined into a single pdf file to submit on turnitin.com.

(You need to save the examples.data in the same directory of these programs. These programs that you will type in must be saved as .py files, not .pdf files)

    Week 2 (Due September 7th 14:00PM)

A. Follow the lab manual for analysis report.

B. In addition, you get 5 bonus points if you derive the magnetic field for a Helmholtz coil at the axis and center between the coils. Include that in the report if you want the extra points.

C. You also get 5 bonus points if you write the introduction part to the next lab (in this assignment, it would be the counting statistics), as well as the expected data files (formats, columns defined, etc) for the next lab. Include them at the end of the e/m ration lab report for the bonus points.

D. You also need to discuss whether the electrons we used in teh experiments are moving relastivisticly or not. This part is not a bonus point but a requirement.