Physics 123 Waves & Optics Lab

Spring Quarter 2012

Instructors:
David Pengra
Email: dbpengra@uw.edu

Office: PAB B256
Office Hours: By appointment; please email
Telephone: 206-543-4783
Prof. Bob van Dyck
Email: vandyck@phys.washington.edu

Office: PAB C511
Office Hours: by appointment; please email or phone
Telephone: 206-685-1097

Meeting Times and Locations

The Waves & Optics Lab meets in Rooms B123 and B125. To find the specific information for your section, consult your MyUW time schedule, your WebAssign lab section page, or the official UW registrar's time schedule:

Spring Quarter 2012 Time Schedule, Physics 123 labs

Required Lab Manual

The lab course requires the in-class use of a custom lab manual:

Physics 123: Waves & Optics Laboratory, Spring 2012 by the University of Washington Department of Physics. It may be purchased at the University Bookstore for about $10.

Because you will record your experimental results in the manual, you must have an unused copy of the current manual to participate in the class.

Schedule

Week/Dates Lab Title
1: March 27-30 No lab meeting. Do Pre-Lab 1*
2: April 3-6 1 Simple pendulum
3: April 10-13 2 Resonance & Standing waves
4: April 17-20 3 Waves, Phase & Speed of sound
5: April 24-27 4 Light rays & Law of reflection
6: May 1-4 5 Mirrors
7: May 8-11 6 Lenses
8: May 15-18 7 Diffraction & Interference
9: May 22-25 8 Diffraction spectra & Planck's constant
10: May 29 - June 1 Make-up week. One missed lab only.

*Labs do not meet the first (partial) week of the term. But the first Pre-Lab is due on WebAssign before the first meeting.

Lab Section/T.A. Info

Contact information for your TA and to find other TAs and sections. Look here if you need to email your TA or find another section to attend a make-up lab.

WebAssign

WebAssign is used for pre-labs and post-lab assignments. Look here for information about getting on to WebAssign and what to do if you are having trouble with WebAssign access or need to contact someone to solve a WebAssign use problem.

Connect to WebAssign: http://webassign.net/washington/login.html.

Course Structure

The lab course has three parts: online pre-labs, in-class sessions, and online post-labs. This link describes the course structure in detail.

Grades

Please be aware that there is a strict minimum requirement for passing the course:

Unless, at the end of the term, a student has (1) completed at least 6 in-class sessions (either as regularly scheduled or as make-up), and (2) achieved a score of at least 60% of the total possible points from online work and class participation, the grade for the entire 5 credit Physics 121, 122 or 123 course (lecture+lab+tutorial) will be 0.0.

All labs are graded and count toward your final grade. This link gives the details.

Due Dates

This link explains the due dates for pre-labs, in-class work, and post-labs.

Make-up Work

Different policies apply to making up missed work:

In some cases, missed work may be excused. This link explains the policies.

Email Policy

You may send the lab instructor in charge of the labs an email. But, only some kinds of mail will get answered. This link will help you write a message that will get a useful response.