Supervisor: Dr. Doug R. Ingram
Office: SWR 368
Hours: MTWRF 1:15-2:15 & by appointment
Phone: 257-7313 (less reliable)
Email: d.ingram@tcu.edu (more reliable)
WWW: http://personal.tcu.edu/~dingram/phys20073

Please see the Fall 2009 Lab Announcement for information about:

• Required lab equipment
• Attendance policy
• Make-up lab policy

This syllabus is meant to describe what you'll be doing in an individual lab section. Overall course policies are in the lab announcement handout. If you do not have a copy of this handout, please be sure to get one off the World Wide Web (see URL above) or from your TA. It contains important information not found in this syllabus.

Structure of the Lab

The laboratory sections last 2 hours. Each lab is more or less self-paced. There will be a brief 5-minute introduction to the material at the beginning of each section, usually. The notes in the lab manual provide detailed instructions on exactly what is expected from each lab, so read and follow them carefully!

There are two parts to each lab (the essay is described in detail below). The first part consists of the experiment or exercise. Here you will be required to answer the questions in the student notes. Follow along in the student notes and ask your Lab TA for help, if necessary.

Teamwork

Although 2 or 3 students may work together during the lab session, it is required that each student contribute to the work. Each student must write his or her own lab report and his or her own essay. Those students who are unwilling to do a fair share of the work of their group will not receive credit for the lab exercise and will need to schedule a make-up lab. It is up to the Lab TA to determine whether or not students are not doing their fair share of the work. "Cheating" is defined as verbatim (or mostly verbatim, in the judgement of the Lab TA) copying of any part of another student's lab exercise or essay.

Any student who cheats will not receive credit for the lab exercise and is subject to disciplinary action by the university. Copying data or lab reports from students in other labs is also considered cheating. In all instances of cheating, a letter detailing the incident will be automatically sent to the Dean of Campus Life and placed in the student's permanent file. Such students will also be required to work by themselves for the remainder of the semester.

Lab Reports (two parts)

Lab reports should be turned in at the end of the lab section before you leave the classroom. The following elements should appear in all lab reports:

• Your name and the name of your "home" TA (who records all your grades).

• Completion of the preprinted worksheet passed out at the beginning of class. This structured report involves recording of data, calculations and responses to specific questions about the experiment. Value: 50 points

• A brief written report (approximately 1-2 written pages) covering aspects of the experiment you have performed. Detailed instructions about the essay will be provided in the student notes. Value: 50 points

The essay is to be written in clear, concise English, using complete sentences. This portion will be graded for both content and style. Points will be deducted for errors in grammar, spelling or sentence construction up to a maximum of 50. Your essay should be concise and readable. In other words, you shouldn't repeat yourself or discuss material that is irrelevant to the exercise. You'll lose points if you do.

Occasionally, this will require a lot of creativity on your part. That's a large part of the purpose of this course: to ensure you have the skills to communicate scientific information and the results of your own research to others. In virtually any career you eventually choose, writing reports that analyze and summarize your own work, however trivial or complex, is certain to be crucial. Lab TA's have been instructed to grade essays with this in mind, so don't be surprised if a half-hearted effort results in a low grade.

Lab Schedule (Tentative)

Week of Mon Aug 31 - The Sun and the Constellations

Week of Mon Sep 7 - No Labs all week (due to Labor Day)

Week of Mon Sep 14 - The Celestial Sphere (Computer)

Week of Mon Sep 21 - The Precautionary Principle

Week of Mon Sep 28 - Alternative Sources of Energy

Week of Mon Oct 5 - The Orbit of the Moon (Computer)

Week of Mon Oct 12 - No Lab all week (due to Fall Break)

Week of Mon Oct 19 - Kepler's 3rd Law

Week of Mon Oct 26 - Searching for Extrasolar Planets

Week of Mon Nov 2 - The Moons of the Outer Planets (Computer)

Week of Mon Nov 9 - Saturn and Its Rings

Week of Mon Nov 16 - Impact Craters

Week of Mon Nov 23 - No Lab all week (due to Thanksgiving holiday)

(Makeup) Week of Mon Nov 30 - Make-Up Lab (to be announced)