PHYS 1402 Lab

Tanzid Sultan
About Me?
Tanzid Sultan

Physics PhD Student

Email: sulta055@umn.edu

Office Hours: Wednesday 10:00-11:00 a.m. @ Tate B82

If you can’t make it to my office hours, email me to schedule an appointment (may

not be possible during some weeks).
Lab Grades
- 50% of grade comes from notebooks
- 50% of grade comes from reports
- Historical Average ~90%.
- >70% needed to pass
- Failing Lab?
- I will always let you know if your lab grade is cause for concern.
- I’ve never had a student fail if they turned in a good attempt for every assignment. Students
who skip lab assignments / reports are the ones prone to failing.
- Email me if you want to know your current, un-curved lab grade.
What to expect each week:
- Read lab manual entry for the week
- Complete Lab Notebook Entry
- Complete Pre-lab: Answer the following questions in your lab notebook-
1. What is the primary objective of the lab? (to measure certain quantities and verify a
prediction...)
2. How will you experimentally achieve this objective? (very brief outline of how those
quantities are going to be measured...)
(should be no more than 5-10 lines)

Purpose of the pre-lab is to demonstrate that you’ve come prepared.

Lab schedule is included in the syllabus.

Policies
- If you have a problem just talk to me.
- Example: I forgot my pre-lab on my desk.
- Late Policy:
- I don’t accept late work except for very good reasons.
- Late to lab:
- <15 minutes: don’t make a habit of it.
- >15 minutes: I can’t let you participate with your group. I’ll let you do the lab alone.
- Missing lab due to illness:
- Let me know ASAP! I need a doctor’s note, but I can work with you. Health is more important
than this class. Cannot be made up after Thursday of the same week.
Lab Notebook Expectations
1) Intro: Goal of experiment, w/ sketch of setup

2) Procedure: Steps required for executing the experiment, noteworthy

observations

3) Data: Raw Data (preferably tabulated) and plots. Needs to be presented nicely.

4) Analysis & Conclusion: Discussion of theoretical predictions including

derivations of necessary equations, error propagation, discussion of data/plots
and whether it supports/contradicts theory. Factors that were not accounted for,
which may have influenced data.
Lab Notebook Expectations: Summary
Overall:

- Experiment goal
- Rudimentary sketch of setup
- A few tables of values
- Plots of most crucial deliverable (and any supplementary plots)
- Derivation of theory equation
- Error Propagation
- Does experiment support/refute theory
Lab Notebook Extras
- Make sure that you own 2 separate lab notebooks.

(Each week, you hand in the previous-weeks notebook write-up for grading at the
beginning of the lab session.)
Lab 1.2: Standing Waves of Sound
Overview
● You will be provided with three tubes, each filled with an “unknown” gas.
● You will take measurement that will enable you to calculate the speed of
sound and molar mass, which can be used to establish the identity of each
gas.

? ? ?

Gas 1 Gas 2 Gas 3

Theoretical Predictions

● Speed of sound waves:

A resonance occurs when a standing wave forms inside the tube (think
constructive interference) 𝑓

𝑁
where is the “mode number”.
Theoretical Predictions

● To relate the molar mass of the gas to the sound speed, can use the
following:

√
= pressure
𝛾𝑝 = density
𝑣=
𝜌 = heat capacity ratio (5/3 for monoatomic, 7/5 for diatomic gas)

𝑝𝑉 =𝑛 𝑅 𝑇 = number of moles
= total volume
= temperature

● Derive an equation for the molar mass () in terms of and .

Setup & Measurements

Function Generator Ossciloscope

TTL Output
CH1 CH2

Gas Tube
 Setup & Measurements

Function Generator Ossciloscope

TTL Output
CH1 CH2

Function Oscilloscope
generator drives allows you to look
sinusoidal sound at the function
wave inside the generator signal
tube. The and the sound
amplitude and Gas Tube waves inside the
frequency can be tube.
controlled.
Tasks:
For each tube,
● Measure at least 10 resonance frequencies (estimate uncertainties).
● Plot frequency vs. mode number.
● Calculate sound speed and molar mass (for both values of ). Use error
propagation to find the uncertainties in these derived quantities.
● Compare with known values and identify the gas.

Possible Gases: Noble gases, diatomic atmospheric gases (, , , , etc.)