Course Outline

Physics is an experimental science; that is, the nature and validity of the theoretical framework that physicists use is informed by the outcomes of experiments which can be performed repeatably.

Phys 112L is the laboratory accompanying Phys 112. In this course you will conduct experiments and make observation on various physical systems.

Course Structure

Class will meet once during each of the weeks listed in the schedule on the last page. During each meeting you will be given specific laboratory activities, tasks and assignments. Some of the laboratories consist of traditional experiments; in these you will set up an apparatus, gather and analyze data and reach conclusions about the underlying physics based on your analysis. In other laboratories you will conduct qualitative, computational or ``thought'' experiments; these are accompanied by a worksheet consisting of a series of questions that you will answer.

Laboratory Schedule

Lab Date Lab Materials
1 30 - 31 January Electric Charges
2 6 - 7 February Electric Potential
3 13 - 14 February Electric Potential Mapping
4 20 - 21 February Electric Circuits
5 27 - 28 February Currents and Magnetic Fields
6 6 - 7 March Moving Charges and Magnetic Fields
7 13 - 14 March Induction and Faraday's Law
8 27 - 28 March Polarization of Light
9 3 - 4 April Interference of Light
10 10 - 11 April Reflection and Refraction
11 17 - 18 April Image Formation by Lenses
12 24 - 25 April Optical Instruments
13 1 - 2 May Radioactive Dice