Welcome to Physics 1BL Lab!

INTRODUCTION ________________________________________________________________________ 2
WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING TO EACH LAB (REQUIRED). _____________________________ 2
TEXTBOOK AND REQUIRED READING ________________________________________________ 2
PRE-LAB ASSIGNMENTS & QUIZ ______________________________________________________ 3
IN-LAB PROCEDURES - OVERVIEW ___________________________________________________ 3
LAB REPORT (LAB CONCLUSIONS) ___________________________________________________ 3
Writing your report ___________________________________________________________________________ 3
Submitting your report _______________________________________________________________________ 3
Eligibility to submit __________________________________________________________________________ 4
GRADING ______________________________________________________________________________ 4
Deduction(s) to avoid. _______________________________________________________________________ 4
Grade posting and appeals __________________________________________________________________ 4
ATTENDANCE, if you miss a lab. _______________________________________________________ 5
Accommodation for unforeseen circumstances ______________________________________________ 5
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY ________________________________________________________________ 5
OFFICE HOURS ________________________________________________________________________ 6
CONTACTS ____________________________________________________________________________ 6
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT ________________________________________________________________ 6
IN-LAB PROCEDURES – DETAILS______________________________________________________ 7
In-class pre-lab quiz _________________________________________________________________________ 7
Being late to lab______________________________________________________________________________ 7
In-lab conduct _______________________________________________________________________________ 7
In-lab checkpoints ___________________________________________________________________________ 8
Lab logbook guidelines ______________________________________________________________________ 8
LAB RELATED ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES ______________________________________________ 9
Lab safety____________________________________________________________________________________ 9
Policies for Lab Section Changes, Late Adds, Wait Lists, and Drops _________________________ 9
Public health _________________________________________________________________________________ 9
INTRODUCTION
The Physics 1 series lab curriculum has been developed with the following goals:
(1) To concentrate on the fundamental concepts of measurements and basics of data analysis.
(2) To create relevant and useful labs for non-physics majors.
(3) To foster skills in accurate, concise scientific communication.

NOTE: PHYS 1 lectures and labs are separate courses, taught by separate instructors. Different
physics instructors teach the material using slightly different schedules, so there may be times that
the material covered in lab will not match what is covered in lecture. Every effort is made to avoid
this, however, when the lab material is ahead of the lecture material, you will be expected to read
ahead in the text. Each lab manual will ask you to read the relevant sections in the text. Sometimes
the lectures will help you do the lab, and sometimes the lab will help you understand the lectures.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING TO EACH LAB (REQUIRED).

• An internet connected device such as: laptop, or a tablet (minimum size 5” x 7”). You will use
this device to take the pre-lab quiz at the beginning of the lab session.
▪ If you do not have such a device, you must inform your TA at least 24 hours in advance
so that a computer station can be provided to you.
• You will NOT need to purchase a Lab Manual
▪ The lab manual will be provided for you as a PDF file on Canvas.
▪ Do not use older copies of the lab manual, using older copies of the lab manual will result
in a zero grade for the assignment in question.
• Your lab logbook. To be purchased in the UCSD bookstore.
▪ item’s name: Environotes Quad Ruled 5 x 5 notebook.
(this will be referred to as your Lab Logbook)
▪ You must purchase one of these lab notebooks – it can be used for all three quarters.
(do not use other brands/styles of notebook)
• Pen(s), a pencil, and scientific calculator.

TEXTBOOK AND REQUIRED READING

Each lab in your Lab manual has a section called “Required Reading”. It contains pointers to the
Online textbook at: www.kudu.com (see instructions on course website for access to the lab version of
the text). Because Kudu is a professor-editable digital text, the version you are provided by your
lecture professor may differ in chapter order or numbering – be sure to use the free lab version of
the Kudu text when referencing the Required Reading section pointers.

Performing these assigned readings as well as completing the pre-lab assignments is important
preparation for being able to understand the experiments, answer the pre-lab quiz questions, and
writing an appropriate lab conclusion.

2
PRE-LAB ASSIGNMENTS & QUIZ
Pre-Lab assignments should be done at home before the lab, but the Pre-Lab Quiz on Canvas will be
administered as an IN-LAB QUIZ under TA supervision at the start of each lab. The pre-lab preparation
is not graded but is essential preparation for the pre-lab quiz and successful completion of the lab work.

You must NOT access the quiz EXCEPT when you are in your lab section and asked by your TA to
do so. A violation will result in a zero for the quiz, will be considered a violation of academic
integrity, and subject to the appropriate penalties and reporting.

IN-LAB PROCEDURES - OVERVIEW

At the start of each lab a 15-minute-long quiz will be administered by the TA.
Attendance and timely participation are required.
After 15 minutes, lab activities will start, and the TA will:
• Go through: the required checkpoints.
• Check recorded data.
• Provide signature at the end of the lab.
Detailed procedure can be found on pages 7-8 of this document.

LAB REPORT (LAB CONCLUSIONS)

At home, working on your own, you are expected to use a word-processor program to type the
answers to the Conclusion Questions for the lab you just completed. The answers to these
Conclusion Questions constitutes your “Lab Report”. You must always show your work for all
calculations. This can be done by utilizing the “Equation Editor” tool in the word processor or writing out
the calculations by hand on paper and inserting a clear photograph of that work into the document.

Writing your report

The “Lab Report” is not a full, traditional lab report (i.e., no abstract, introduction, conclusion, etc.).
You must simply compile the answers to the Conclusion Questions as your lab report. But your
answers should be written in complete sentences with sufficient context given for the reader to
understand what information you are trying to convey by answering the question. Your answers must
always have appropriate units, uncertainties, explanations, and labels (for figures and graphs). See
the Student Success Guide for more details. Partial credit will be given on lab reports, so it is in your
interest to attempt all problems and explain your work.

Submitting your report

The conclusion (lab report) must be submitted before the deadline indicated in the course calendar.
Late submissions will result in points deducted for tardiness, as detailed in the Grading section below.
You must upload a PDF file to Gradescope for grading. Be sure to tag the page(s) for each question in
the submission process for Gradescope!

Note: Conclusion Question #1 of every lab report asks you to submit photographs of all your raw
data pages. For legibility, photograph or scan one side of a single page of your lab notebook per
image and insert that image as a full-sized image on its own page. Be sure all images are upright,

3
that the first page contains the FULL names of your lab partners, and that the last page clearly
shows the TA’s signature.

Eligibility to submit
You must have attended the lab and participated in the data collection to be eligible to turn in the
associated conclusion. Submitting data that you did not take is a violation of Academic Integrity.
Lab conclusions must represent your individual effort to answer conclusion questions and must be
based on the data you and your lab partners obtained during the lab.

GRADING
The pre-lab quiz is worth 10 points, and the conclusion (lab report) is worth 10 points. Lab and quiz
scores will be added together (no weighting) to determine the grade.
The pre-lab preparation is not graded but is essential preparation for the pre-lab quiz and successful
completion of the lab work.
It is important and necessary for you to always explain all your answers and to show all your work for
any calculation-based questions, this includes showing your work when calculating averages or
uncertainties.

Deduction(s) to avoid.
• 2-point in-class penalty applied to lab report for policy violations or inappropriate behavior*.
• Progressive penalty for not having the specified lab logbook.
o 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, & 5- point deduction for occurrence during Labs 1,2,3,4, & 5, respectively.
• 0.5-point deduction for failing to assign/tag all page numbers to each conclusion question when
uploading your report to Gradescope.
• No credit for any portion of your report that is illegible.
• 20% deduction on any portion of your lab report that is difficult-to-read / barely legible.
• Penatlties for Late Report Submission
o 1-point penalty for 0-24 hours late; 2-point penalty for 24-48 hours late.
o No credit for reports submitted more than 48 hours late.

GRADING SCALEThe grading is based on the following fixed scale (no curving):A+ ≥ 95.00%,
A ≥ 90.00%, A- ≥ 85.00% , B+ ≥ 80.00%, B ≥ 75.00% , B- ≥ 70.00% ,
C+ ≥ 65.00% , C ≥ 60.00% , C- ≥ 55.00%, D ≥ 50.00%

Grade posting and appeals

Quiz scores will be posted to Canvas. Lab scores will be posted first to Gradescope and then
intermittently synched to Canvas. It is your responsibility to check both systems regularly to make
sure your grades are correct. If there are any errors suspected, you must contact your LTAC to resolve
the problem. All posted scores become final one week after they are first posted.

Regrade requests should be submitted through Gradescope. Be aware that a grade appeal can trigger
a regrade of the entire lab - so your score could potentially go down. Only use a grade appeal if you are

4
confident your grade does not adequately reflect the quality of your lab writeup; and can give specific
details as to why and where you see a discrepancy in your appeal.

ATTENDANCE, if you miss a lab.

Make-up labs are not possible due to logistical constraints.

You must attend the lab section in which you are enrolled - switching labs is not allowed.
Missing the lab section in which you are enrolled will result in a score of zero for that lab as
you cannot submit a lab report without collecting the data yourself.

If you do miss a lab, it is your responsibility to turn in your previous lab report in through Gradescope
on time. If your absence is due to circumstances that also prevent you from an on-time submission of
your previous report, it is your responsibility to contact the professors immediately to be considered
for a potential late penalty waiver/extension.

Accommodation for unforeseen circumstances

To allow for illness, unforeseen scheduling conflicts, or any other issues, a single lab report and a single
quiz will be dropped from the final grade calculation. Students with extreme extenuating circumstances
(e.g, extended illness, or family emergencies) must contact the professors as soon as possible.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
During in-lab experimentation, we encourage you to share and discuss ideas with your classmates.
However, all written work that you submit for a grade (reading quizzes, in-lab notes, calculations, and
conclusions) must be your own. Be sure to show your work for all calculations and answer questions
in your own words. Answers without the proper display of work may not receive credit. The sharing
of answers to lab conclusion questions is considered a violation of academic integrity.
Usage of online resources is discouraged as it significantly increases the chance of violating
the academic integrity policy.
If you need help to complete your assignments, please see the section titled Help, below.
Any case of a student suspected of academic dishonesty will be submitted to the University’s
Academic Integrity Office, and consequences may include failing the course, receiving a permanent
mark on the student's transcript, or expulsion from the University of California. Examples of academic
dishonesty include copying assignments from an online source, including ChatGPT and the like,
fellow or past students, or submitting work done by anyone other than yourself. Please see the
university policy on academic integrity in the general catalog or at: http://senate.ucsd.edu/Operating-
Procedures/Senate-Manual/Appendices/2

5
OFFICE HOURS
Office hours will be held by members of the instructional team throughout the week. Some office hours
will be held in person while others will be held via Zoom.
A full schedule of times and locations (Zoom links) is posted on Canvas.

These office hours are an opportunity for you to:

1) Get help with any of the pre-lab preparations for the upcoming lab.
2) Get clarification about the conclusion questions for the lab report you are working on.
3) Ask to see what got right or wrong on a previous pre-lab quiz.
4) Understand why you were marked off on a previous lab report.
Note that questions of general interest will be prioritized over personal questions which will generally
be addressed at the end.

CONTACTS
Contact your Lab TA Coordinator (LTAC) for questions your TA can’t answer and complaints about TA
performance or behavior. Your Lab TA Coordinators are:

Ramaprasad, Varun [email protected]

Lu, Sam [email protected]
Wong, Thomas [email protected]

If you have already tried to resolve your issue with your TA and then your LTACs and been
unsuccessful, or if your issue involves sensitive personal information, you may reach out to the course
instructors directly at:

Avi Yagil [email protected]

Philbert Tsai [email protected]

NOTE: Do not expect quick responses from your TA, the LTACs, or the instructors when emailing after
hours or over Holidays or weekends. Plan ahead and do not leave things to the last minute to avoid
such situations.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
Additionally, Academic support is provided to you (the student) each week during the quarter by the
Teaching and Learning Commons (Academic Achievement Hub), via either Supplemental Instruction
and/or online Tutoring. Please see the schedules by program and course. All academic support is
free; no registration or appointment required.

Stress and anxiety are not uncommon for students, even under the best of conditions and many
students are facing increased mental health struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are

6
struggling psychologically / emotionally, we encourage you to seek help via UCSD’s Counseling and
Psychological Services (CAPS): CAPS
IN-LAB PROCEDURES – DETAILS
In-class pre-lab quiz
During the first 15 minutes of your lab section, you will take a quiz based on the information in the lab
procedure, the pre-lab material, and associated reading. Your first quiz of the quarter will also contain
one or more questions based on the syllabus – so be sure to read it carefully!

You will take your quiz on your own laptop or tablet (“iPad mini” / 8”-diagonal screen or larger; no cell
phones allowed). The quiz is closed book, but you are allowed a double-sided 4” x 6” (index card size)
hand-written “cheat sheet”. The cheat sheet MUST be hand-written (no printing allowed).
You must bring a stand-alone scientific calculator to use for your quiz (no phone-based calculators
allowed).

You must stay on the Canvas Quiz page on your screen throughout the duration of the quiz.
Any change of computer focus from the Canvas Quiz page is recorded by Canvas and doing so will
result in an automatic zero for the quiz and considered an AI violation.

Being late to lab

Being late to lab is extremely disruptive for the other students and the TA. As the quiz is administered
during the first 15 minutes of the lab, being late will reduce the time you will have to complete it. No
extension will be allowed. TA’s will start the experimental portion of the lab after 15 minutes and all
students must stop work on quizzes at that time regardless of their state of progress on their quiz.

Five (5) points will be taken off your lab score if you are late (0.1-15 minutes) to the lab.. Students
who are more than 15 minutes late will not be allowed to take the quiz and will be given a zero for that
quiz. Students who arrive more than 30 minutes late will not be permitted to do the lab and will be given
a zero for that lab.

In-lab conduct
During lab, all students have a responsibility to their lab partners to be fully engaged and participating
in the lab process at all times. To minimize distractions, the use of any personal electronics during
lab is prohibited without prior permission from the TA – except when being used as a necessary
measuring device (e.g., as a stopwatch for an experiment).

After the quiz is completed, paper copies of the lab instructions and conclusion questions will
be provided to each lab bench, and notes must be taken directly into your log notebook in pen;
therefore, the use of a laptops or tablets is not allowed during the lab. Any notes you feel you need
during the experiment should be printed/written out on paper ahead-of-time and brought with
you. If you have special circumstance which make this policy an undue burden, please contact the
Office of Students with Disability (OSD) and/or the instructors ASAP to request an appropriate
accommodation.

7
In-lab checkpoints
Included in the lab manual are 3-4 checkpoints that will help guide you through the lab. These must be
completed and shown to the TA. Up to 1 point may be deducted for each incomplete checkpoint.
These missing-checkpoint deductions will be combined with point deductions for tardiness and/or lack
of active participation and subtracted from your conclusions score in Canvas.
• Each student is responsible for having a FULL copy of all necessary data in their notebook before
they leave the lab.
• Each student is responsible for obtaining their TA’s signature at the end of their data before they
leave the lab.
Please note that labs are only 110 minutes long, and the schedule does not permit students to stay late
to complete a lab.

Lab logbook guidelines

The in-lab experiments will contain both quantitative and qualitative procedures. Notes and observation
on in-lab procedures should be made in your Lab Logbook. Experiments requiring quantitative data and
calculations must be clearly recorded in your Lab Logbook.
• The in-lab notes must be hand-written in pen in your lab logbook.
• ALL your notes should be made directly into the logbook.
• Record your data neatly, make your graphs, and work out the quantities needed during the lab.
• The raw data and notes in your lab logbook should be legible and complete, so that at a later
date you can recreate and understand what you did in the lab.
• It is your responsibility to be sure you have all the data in your Lab Logbook before you
leave the lab. Do NOT count on getting any data from a lab partner later.

8
LAB RELATED ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES
Lab safety
All students are asked to wear closed toe/heel shoes to the lab. Please do not wear clothes or
jewelry that may interfere with lab equipment (loose long sleeves, dangling bracelets, etc.) or
that would prohibit you from participating in lab activities (standing on chairs or skateboards
or kneeling on the floor). Do not wear anything that you value in the lab. All other safety
equipment (goggles, gloves, etc.) will be provided in the lab. Horseplay is dangerous in a
laboratory setting and students who are acting in a manner that is not safe will be asked to
leave the lab and will be given zero credit for the lab.
It is important to keep the lab a safe, clean environment.
Always keep the equipment and the lab tables organized. Leave your lab table as clean as you
found it. If you litter in the lab or leave your table in disarray, everyone at your lab table will
lose points from your lab grade.

Policies for Lab Section Changes, Late Adds, Wait Lists, and Drops
All section changes must be handled via WebReg http://tritonlink.ucsd.edu.
Late adds are not permitted.
Waitlist students must attend and complete all assignments by the regular deadlines while they wait
for an enrollment opening. There are no late makeups of any kind for students who enroll late.
Do not enroll in a section unless you are available that section every week.
Do not attend a section you are not enrolled or waitlisted in.
Please follow directions for wait listing in http://tritonlink.ucsd.edu via WebReg.

NOTE: Neither the instructor nor LTACs have any control over course enrollment issues!
For questions regarding any enrollment issues please contact the Physics Department via the Virtual
Advising Center (VAC) - http://vac.ucsd.edu

Public health
There is absolutely no tolerance for violations of UCSD’s health policies. Any student found in
violation of any of them will be dismissed and receive a 0 for that lab. The incident will be reported to
the Office of Student Conduct with an Incident Report.
https://blink.ucsd.edu/instructors/advising/misconduct.html