PHYS 401 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Class Policy
Physics 401 is a one semester course intended to give students an introduction to basic laboratory techniques in the context of classical mechanics and electromagnetism. The course consists of a one-hour lecture and a 4-hour lab-period per week.
Before you come to the lab
- Study the laboratory handout carefully (linked from the schedule). Your learning experience (and experimental success!) critically depends on being well-prepared prior to the laboratory sessions. Solid preparation will save significant amount of time in carrying out the analysis and writing laboratory reports.
- You will have one lab partner for each experiment. It is preferred that you rotate partners intermittently for new experiments.
Lab notebooks
- Keep two laboratory notebooks. Your laboratory notebook is your record of your work in the lab. Use one notebook for the odd-numbered labs (first, third, fifth etc.) and the other for the even-numbered labs (second, fourth, sixth etc.). While your laboratory instructor has one notebook to grade you will use the other for your work during the lab.
- Any ruled notebook (bound or spiral) will do fine as a lab notebook, as long as you keep it neat and in one piece. Bound notebooks are more durable.
Lab reports
- All of your reports must be individually written. You are encouraged to share data with your partner and to discuss the lab, but the individual reports must be your own work (we will notice!).
- The laboratory report is due the midnight after your following laboratory session. It will be graded and returned to you the following week. Thus, you have one week to write a laboratory report following the last session of a given lab.
Attendance: Don't miss laboratories or lectures!
- Given the nature of this course, it is extremely difficult to usefully make up a missed lab activity. Please do your best to make it to lecture and lab!
- If you somehow miss a laboratory, consult with your laboratory instructor immediately to do the lab in another laboratory session during the same week. Makeups are generally difficult to arrange, but we can sometimes staff a makeup session Friday morning during our TA office hours (if worked out in advance). We swap out lab setups Monday mornings, so it is generally not possible to arrange makeups after then.
- Consult with your instructors for any problems regarding your reports, laboratory schedule, etc. You may email, call and/or drop in to resolve your problems as soon as possible.
- Excused absences follow the same criteria as in Physics 10x and 2xx. In some cases it may be possible to triple-up a lab group, with permission of the instructor and the lab TA.
- COVID-19 introduces the possibility for absences due to quarantine, isolation, or loss of building access. The former two are handled similarly to excused absences, while loss of building access will not generally be excused. Please contact your instructor as soon as possible if one of these things happens. In some cases (e.g. quarantine without illness during a multi-week lab activity) it may be possible to arrange Zoom attendance.
Late assignments
- Late lab reports can be handed in for reduced credit (up to 10% deduction).
- Unless otherwise specified, all reports except the final are due by one week later after the experiment was done.
Adapting to COVID-19
Following University policy, all students are required to engage in appropriate behavior to protect the health and safety of the community. Students are also required to follow the campus COVID-19 protocols, which currently include face coverings.
- Students who feel ill must not come to class. In addition, students who test positive for COVID-19 or have had an exposure that requires testing and/or quarantine must not attend class. The University will provide information to the instructor, in a manner that complies with privacy laws, about students in these latter categories. These students are judged to have excused absences for the class period and should contact the instructor via email about making up the work.
- All students, faculty, staff, and visitors are required to wear face coverings in classrooms and university spaces. This is in accordance with CDC guidance and University policy and expected in both lecture and laboratory. Please refer to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s COVID-19 website for further information on face coverings. Thank you for respecting all of our well-being so we can learn and interact together productively.
- Students who fail to abide by these rules will first be asked to comply; if they refuse, they will be required to leave the classroom immediately. If a student is asked to leave the classroom, the non-compliant student will be judged to have an unexcused absence and reported to the Office for Student Conflict Resolution for disciplinary action. Accumulation of non-compliance complaints against a student may result in dismissal from the University.
Above all, I hope that all of us in Physics 401 -- students, faculty, and TAs -- can remember to show patience and kindness with one another as we navigate the challenges of this strange era. Please don't hesitate to ask questions of Professor Filippini and the other course staff! We want to know if there are things that are not working or could be improved.
Academic and Community Standards
Academic Integrity
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Student Code should also be considered as a part of this syllabus. Students should pay particular attention to Article 1, Part 4: Academic Integrity. Read the Code at the following URL: http://studentcode.illinois.edu/.
Academic dishonesty may result in a failing grade. Every student is expected to review and abide by the Academic Integrity Policy: https://studentcode.illinois.edu/article1/part4/1-401/. Ignorance is not an excuse for any academic dishonesty. It is your responsibility to read this policy to avoid any misunderstanding. Do not hesitate to ask the instructor(s) if you are ever in doubt about what constitutes plagiarism, cheating, or any other breach of academic integrity.
Disability-Related Accommodations
To obtain disability-related academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the course instructor and the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) as soon as possible. To contact DRES, you may visit 1207 S. Oak St., Champaign, call 333-4603, e-mail disability@illinois.edu or go to https://www.disability.illinois.edu. If you are concerned you have a disability-related condition that is impacting your academic progress, there are academic screening appointments available that can help diagnosis a previously undiagnosed disability. You may access these by visiting the DRES website and selecting “Request an Academic Screening” at the bottom of the page.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Any student who has suppressed their directory information pursuant to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) should self-identify to the instructor to ensure protection of the privacy of their attendance in this course. See https://registrar.illinois.edu/academic-records/ferpa/ for more information on FERPA.
Sexual Misconduct Reporting Obligation
The University of Illinois is committed to combating sexual misconduct. Faculty and staff members are required to report any instances of sexual misconduct to the University’s Title IX Office. In turn, an individual with the Title IX Office will provide information about rights and options, including accommodations, support services, the campus disciplinary process, and law enforcement options.
A list of the designated University employees who, as counselors, confidential advisors, and medical professionals, do not have this reporting responsibility and can maintain confidentiality, can be found here: wecare.illinois.edu/resources/students/#confidential.
Other information about resources and reporting is available here: wecare.illinois.edu.
Anti-Racism and Inclusivity
The Grainger College of Engineering is committed to the creation of an anti-racist, inclusive community that welcomes diversity along a number of dimensions, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity and national origins, gender and gender identity, sexuality, disability status, class, age, or religious beliefs. The College recognizes that we are learning together in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, that Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous voices and contributions have largely either been excluded from, or not recognized in, science and engineering, and that both overt racism and micro-aggressions threaten the well-being of our students and our university community.
The effectiveness of this course is dependent upon each of us to create a safe and encouraging learning environment that allows for the open exchange of ideas while also ensuring equitable opportunities and respect for all of us. Everyone is expected to help establish and maintain an environment where students, staff, and faculty can contribute without fear of personal ridicule, or intolerant or offensive language. If you witness or experience racism, discrimination, micro-aggressions, or other offensive behavior, you are encouraged to bring this to the attention of the course director if you feel comfortable. You can also report these behaviors to the Bias Assessment and Response Team (BART) (https://bart.illinois.edu/). Based on your report, BART members will follow up and reach out to students to make sure they have the support they need to be healthy and safe. If the reported behavior also violates university policy, staff in the Office for Student Conflict Resolution may respond as well and will take appropriate action.