CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

• Reinforce the concepts of physics through conceptual and experiential learning.

• Understand the role of direct observation as the basis for knowledge in physics.
• Appreciate scientific inquiry into exploring creatively how the world works.
• Facilitate communication skills through informative, succinct written reports.
• Develop collaborative learning skills through cooperative work.

1.2 Calculus vs Non-Calculus Based Physics

The same set of experiments are given to students in both calculus-based and algebra-based
physics courses. The work in this laboratory is designed to be independent of calculus, but
it is natural that students with more math background can better appreciate the subtleties
of the physics probed in these experiments. Calculus is never required in this course, and
your grading will not be affected by your knowledge of calculus (or lack thereof).
For completeness the physical laws and principles will be presented in their most general
form and that typically does require calculus; however, the student will receive the same
grade if he simply ignores these derivations and goes directly to the solutions while keeping
necessary assumptions and approximations in mind. These solutions frequently contain
algebra and trigonometry but they can always be understood intuitively without resorting
to calculus.

1.3 What to Bring to the Laboratory

You should bring the following items to each lab session, including the first session of the
course. There is no additional textbook.

1) A bound quadrille ruled lab notebook. You must have your own, and you cannot
share with your lab partner. A suitable version is sold by the Society of Physics
Students in Dearborn B6. This lab notebook can be reused for future physics labs
or salvaged by SPS. A scientist’s notebook is his most reliable long-term memory,
his evidence that he performed the work and when, and his instructions for how to
reproduce the work.
2) This Physics Laboratory 1st Quarter lab manual. A printed copy of each relevant
experiment must be brought to class each week; but the student may choose to print
it himself or to purchase the printed copy from the Norris bookstore. The cost of ink
and paper is commensurate with the manual’s purchase price.
3) A scientific calculator.
4) An ink pen.
5) You will need to transfer electronic data files and figures from lab to your lab
reports. The lab’s computers are designed to use ‘box’ for this purpose; however this

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

can be done by email, another cloud storage account, or a USB drive.

6) Periodically, hard documents need digitized. Each lab has a document scanner
that also can utilize the students’ box accounts, but students with phone cameras
might prefer to use those. TAs require signed data to accompany each report.

1.4 Lab Reports

You will write lab reports and submit them electronically. The purpose of this exercise is
both to demonstrate your work in lab and to guide you to think a bit more deeply about
what you are doing. The act of technical writing also helps improve your communication
skills, which are broadly relevant far beyond the physics lab.
Appendix E of this lab manual provides some guidance on how best to prepare these
reports. You should keep in mind that these are not publishable manuscripts, but concise
and clear descriptions of your experiments. They will follow a clear format to communicate
your work best. They are not meant to be long. In the past, similar reports were written in
class in about 30 minutes. . . these at-home reports are a bit more involved than that, but not
by much, and the electronic format allows the students to begin utilizing word processors for
technical writing. Students should walk out of the lab with Data and Analysis sections mostly
complete and several ideas and details to incorporate into their Purpose, Procedure, and
Conclusions. One additional hour should flesh out these skeletons into report submissions.
In addition to background material, details of apparatus function, and instructions for
gathering data, each chapter of this lab manual suggests ideas you should consider while
assembling your reports. Be certain to read each chapter carefully up to the Procedures
before class. You will be tasked with taking an online quiz about this material before class
and prior knowledge will help you perform efficiently and correctly while in the laboratory.
It is also a good idea to scan the Procedures and to examine the Analysis and Conclusions
for the kinds of physics good data will demonstrate.

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

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Chapter 2

Understanding Errors and Uncertain-

ties in the Physics Laboratory

2.1 Introduction
We begin with a review of general properties of measurements and how measurements affect
what we, as scientists, choose to believe and to teach our students. Later we narrow our
scope and dwell on particular strategies for estimating what we know, how well we know it,
and what else we might learn from it. We learn to use statistics to distinguish which ideas
are consistent with our observations and our data.

2.1.1 Measurements, Observations, and Progress in Physics

Physics, like all natural sciences, is a discipline driven by observation. The concepts and
methodologies that you learn about in your lectures are not taught because they were first
envisioned by famous people, but because they have been observed always to describe the
world. For these claims to withstand the test of time (and repeated testing in future scientific
work), we must have some idea of how well theory agrees with experiment, or how well
measurements agree with each other. Models and theories can be invalidated by conflicting
data; making the decision of whether or not to do so requires understanding how strongly
data and theory agree or disagree. Measurement, observation, and data analysis are key
components of physics, equal with theory and conceptualization.
Despite this intimate relationship, the skills and tools for quantifying the quality of
observations are distinct from those used in studying the theoretical concepts. This brief
introduction to errors and uncertainty represents a summary of key introductory ideas for
understanding the quality of measurement. Of course, a deeper study of statistics would
enable a more quantitative background, but the outline here represents what everyone who
has studied physics at the introductory level should know.
Based on this overview of uncertainty, you will perhaps better appreciate how we have
come to trust scientific measurement and analysis above other forms of knowledge acquisition,
precisely because we can quantify what we know and how well we know it.

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