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For many of you, this may be your first lab and can be overwhelming. This page is to get you up to speed on what to expect. Most likely, you will be given two weeks to prepare for your first lab. On the first day of lab, your TA will likely introduce you to the syllabus and course schedule before providing you with materials you will need for lab and giving you a mini lecture over the experiment for that day. You will then begin the experiment with your partner.
SYllabus & course schedule
Your TA will go over the syllabus/regulations and course schedule with you on the first day of lab, both of which are provided on Dr. Wood’s (head instructor) website. It is highly advised that you read the regulations on your own and pay attention to what is mentioned for future reference. Some points to note are: the YouTube videos that demo the experiments, final grade breakdown, rules for attendance, guesting, drop grades, and copying, and the brief overview of the final exam.
As for the course schedule, note that the beginning and end dates refer to the week in which all sections will perform the same experiment on their respective lab day, not that each section will perform the experiment on the listed date, or have a week to perform and finish the experiment. All experiments and corresponding lab reports in PHYS 1101 are expected to be finished and turned into the TA by the end of each lab period every week. Furthermore, notice that the schedule does not list the experiments to be done in numerical order. Pay attention to which experiment is scheduled for each week. Finally, there are 5 quizzes that you will be given every other week throughout the semester. Note that the first quiz is not given on the first day of lab and that each quiz corresponds to a particular experiment that you will be quizzed over, also not listed in numerical order.
Materials
On the first day, it is not yet expected for you to already have your lab manual, which is why experiment 1 is the only experiment provided on the website. You are expected to print out the first experiment and bring it to lab if you do not already have your lab manual. After the first week, you must have purchased the lab manual from the campus bookstore in order to proceed. As mentioned in the course regulations, all lab reports must be the original copy, not a photocopy or a copy from previous semesters. There is no need to purchase a 3-ring binder for your lab manual since this will be provided for you by your TA on the first day. Aside from this, all other materials needed for lab (i.e. apparatuses, rulers, graph paper, etc.) will be provided for you in each lab period. You are only expected to bring your own writing utensil, lab manual, and a completed pre-lab to each lab period. Bringing your own eraser and calculator would be helpful, but not mandatory. Lab coats, goggles, locks, etc. will not be needed in PHYS 1101.
mini lecture
Finally, your TA will give a mini lecture over the experiment before you begin. This lecture is meant to supplement your preparation for the experiment. Your TA may mention changes to the lab procedure, give hints and tips, and explain the concepts or theory and their application more thoroughly. Therefore, it may help to pay attention and take notes if needed during the lecture. After the lecture is finished, you will begin performing the experiment and work with your partner (the person sitting next to you) to obtain the data.