NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Metro-Manila

Course
Credit
Course Description
Course Objectives
Course Goals

Course
Requirements

Important Dates

PHYSICS 71.1, 1st Semester AY 2015-2016

1 unit
Elementary Physics Laboratory I
Develop basic skills in taking and reporting scientific observation and relating it to a theory or
model.
To develop basic skills in taking and reporting scientific observation
To value the role of direct observation to the development of theory and vice versa
To develop collaborative learning skills
To gain better understanding of the concepts of classical mechanics
Prelab Activities
10%
Experiment Worksheets
60 %
Practical Examination
20 %
Lab performance, Attendance and Quizzes
10 %
Practical Examination
November 24-27, 2015 (Tue- Fri, class hours)
Deadline for Dropping of Subjects
October 30, 2015
Deadline for Filing LOA
November 13, 2015
End of Classes
November 28, 2015
Submission of Grades
December 18, 2015

Lab Instructor: Noel M. Lamsen

Consultation Room: A101
Consultation Schedule: Mon & Wed 8-11:30am, Tue 1-4pm
Email: nlamsen@nip.upd.edu.ph
COURSE POLICIES
A. General Guidelines

Grading System

1. There are eleven experiments, with each experiment to be completed in one class meeting. In
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1.00
case classes are suspended for any valid reason, the schedule of experiments shall be moved
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1.25
by an amount equal to that which is lost due to the suspension.
2. There is a corresponding manual for each experiment. The manual consists of six parts: prelab
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1.50
activity; introduction; materials; procedure; data sheet; and questions.
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1.75
3. All experimental procedures are performed by group, except for the Measurement, Uncertainty,
and Deviation experiment which must be done individually. Each group consists of three
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2.00
members. Members of the group are expected to read all parts of the manual before coming to
class. The Instructor can demand the group to repeat all procedures if the experiment is not
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2.25
conducted properly. However, no extension will be granted if the experiment is not finished on
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2.50
time due to members negligence.
4. Each student must have a copy of the manual on the scheduled experiment.
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2.75
5. There is one practical examination at the end of all experiments to test the understanding of
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3.00
each student about the course.
6. Absences are considered excused only if there is a valid reason. Valid reasons include but are
[ 50 , 60 )
4.00
not limited to the following: illness, death in the immediate family, or official UP duty. The
student should present on the first lab meeting he/she is able to come back, a medical
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5.00
certificate from the UP Health Service in case of illness or a letter from a parent/guardian in
case of a family members death or an official endorsement in case of official UP duty.
7. University rules apply for cheating. Any form of cheating in examinations or any act of dishonesty in relation to studies,
such as plagiarism, shall be subject to disciplinary action.

B. Laboratory Protocol
1. Materials for each experiment are borrowed in room F107. Each group must leave one members identification card (ID)
and a list of all the members when borrowing materials.
2. Materials for each experiment must be handled with care at all times. Putting specific marks (permanent or not) on
certain materials are strictly prohibited.
3. Each member of the group is responsible for knowing the proper operation of any apparatus/equipment assigned to
his/her group. If one of the group members damaged or defaced any apparatus/equipment, the entire group shall be
liable for the corresponding repair, or in case of irreparable damage, shall replace the apparatus. Failure to do so will be
grounds for ineligibility to enroll in the next semester(s).
4. Cleanliness must be maintained in the designated group table. All unnecessary things (e.g. bags, personal items, etc.)
must be placed inside the cabinet located in the room.
5. All borrowed materials must be properly returned in room F107 after use.
6. Eating, drinking, smoking, and horse playing inside the laboratory are forbidden. The elementary laboratories are
equipped with CCTV cameras. Anyone caught behaving inappropriately shall immediately be subjected to disciplinary
actions.

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C. Prelab Activity Guidelines

1. The prelab activity must be accomplished individually before the scheduled experiment.
2. The prelab activity is due right before the start of the corresponding experiment.
3. A student who failed to submit the prelab activity before the start of experiment will automatically get zero.

D. List of Activities and Experiments

EXPERIMENTS
Measurement,
Uncertainty, and
Deviation

Objectives

Determine the uncertainty of measured or calculated data from observables.

Report correctly the measured or calculated data.
Determine if the measured data is acceptable.
Show that the sum of forces acting on a system in static equilibrium is zero.
Addition of Vectors
Obtain the equilibrant of two or more forces.
Obtain the orthogonal components of a force.
Determine the least count and uncertainty of different measuring devices.
Measure the dimensions of an object using a ruler, a Vernier caliper, and a micrometer caliper.
Measuring Devices
Measure the mass of an object using a weighing scale.
Calculate the density of different materials.
Measure the acceleration of a freely falling body, g, to better than 0.5% precision using a
Free Fall
Picket Fence and a Photogate.
Use graphical analysis to calculate the acceleration of a free falling body.
Verify that in projectile motion, horizontal and vertical motions are independent of each other.
Measure the launch speed of a ball using a Vernier Projectile Launcher
Apply concepts from two-dimensional kinematics to predict the impact point of a ball in
Projectile Motion
projectile motion.
Take into account trial-to-trial variations in the speed measurement when calculating the
impact point.
Determine the moment of inertia of a cylinder
Physical Pendulum
Obtain the period of oscillation of a physical pendulum
Calculate the net torque for a disk that is rotating horizontally about its center.
Rotation
Calculate the net work done on a disk that is rotating horizontally about its center.
Verify the conservation of energy and angular momentum for a rotating disk.
Measure how long it takes sound to travel down and back in a long tube.
Determine the speed of sound experimentally and compare it with accepted value.
Sound
Measure the frequency and period of sound waves from tuning forks.
Measure the beat frequency produced by the sound from two tuning forks.
Calculate and add torques applied on a rigid body.
Torque and
Use the concept of equilibrium in determining unknown masses.
Equilibrium
Construct a simple beam balance to measure the mass of small objects.
Obtain the density of fluids using the buoyant force experienced by an object computed using
Buoyancy
its apparent weight while suspended in air and in water.
Calculate the density of irregularly shaped solid objects using the buoyant force.
Differentiate the coefficient of static friction from the coefficient of kinetic friction.
Obtainthe coefficient of friction via two methods.
Friction*
Determine the dependence of the coefficient of friction to the type of materials and the area of
contact.
Marked by (*) means the experiment will only be done if time permits.

E. Schedule of Experiments
Due to limited number of apparatus/equipment, parallel sections cannot perform the same experiment on the same day.
Below is the list of experiments according to the laboratory room:
Meeting
Room F106
Room F108
1
Orientation
Orientation
2
Measurement, Uncertainty, and
Measurement, Uncertainty, and
Deviation
Deviation
3
Addition of Vectors
Measuring Devices
4
Measuring Devices
Free Fall
5
Postlab Activity
Sound
6
Free Fall
Postlab Activity
7
Projectile Motion
Addition of Vectors
8
Physical Pendulum
Buoyancy
9
Rotation
Torque and Equilibrium
10
Postlab Activity
Projectile Motion
11
Sound
Postlab Activity
12
Torque and Equilibrium
Rotation
13
Buoyancy
Physical Pendulum
14
Friction*
Friction*
15
Assessment and Reflection
Assessment and Reflection
16
Departmental Exam
Departmental Exam
Marked by (*) means the experiment will only be done if time permits.

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Measurement, Uncertainty, and Deviation worksheet shall be done individually.

F. W orksheet Guidelines
1. Raw data, calculations and analysis must be legibly written in the worksheets. Erasures should be minimized.
2. Raw data and most calculations are checked at the end of every meeting. The Instructor can demand the group to
repeat all procedures if raw data are erroneous or largely deviates with the expected results.
3. The worksheet grades (60%) will come from the data (40%) and the analysis questions (20%). The grades may be
adjusted by the results of peer-evaluation.
4. Fabrication of experimental data/results and copying another persons worksheet (except for raw data, in the case of
group activity) is strictly prohibited. Anyone caught violating this rule shall immediately be subjected to disciplinary
actions.
5. Worksheets are due before the start of every experiment. A group may not start a new experiment until the worksheet
for the previous one is submitted. Worksheets submitted after the official class time will be considered late. Late
worksheets will receive a 50% deduction for every week late.
6. All prelab activities and data and worksheets must be returned to the Instructor on the day of the practical examination.
Students who will not surrender all their prelab activities and worksheets will be given a grade of INC.

G. Practical Examination Guidelines

1. The practical examination is a 27-item multiple-choice type of exam conducted during class hours a week before the
end of classes.
2. The practical exam consists of 9 different stations. A student is given 6 minutes to answer all questions per station.
3. Each station consists of 3 questions regarding certain experiments. Each question has 4 possible choices and can be
answered by following the instructions stated in each station.
4. Instructions in each station are not limited to procedures introduced in class. It may be a modification of experiments
performed in class or it may be an entirely new experiment that is not performed in class but directly applies the
concepts/skills learned in class.

H. Grading System
1. A student is given a grade of 5.0 if the accumulated absences reach three (20%), at least two of which are unexcused.
For the case of three absences, 2 of which are excused, the student is advised to drop the course. It is the responsibility
of the student to undergo the dropping procedure. If the student misses the deadline of dropping upon being advised,
he/she will be given a grade of 5.0.
2. A student who missed an experiment due to valid reason(s) will be given a make-up experiment only after he/she
presents a valid excuse slip/letter on the first lab meeting he/she is able to come back. Make-up experiments should be
done during the day scheduled for Assessment and Reflection.
3. A student who missed an experiment and its corresponding make-up will automatically be given a grade zero for that
experiment.
4. A student who missed an experiment without valid reason(s) will automatically be given a grade of zero for that
experiment.
5. A student who missed the practical exam due to valid reason(s) can take a make-up practical exam. If the student
missed the make-up practical exam, he/she will be given a grade of INC only if his/her class standing (assuming a zero
score in the departmental exam) is at least 4.0.
6. A grade of INC can be removed by completing the missed requirement within one academic year. A student must be
enrolled during the semester he/she completes the missed requirement. The grade of INC will be converted to a
numerical final grade upon re-calculation of the grade including the requirements completed.
7. The Instructor will only give a grade of DRP upon the students completion of the dropping module.
8. A student granted a leave of absence (LOA) would only be given a grade of either DRP or 5.0. A grade of 5.0 is given if
the LOA is granted after of the semester has lapsed and the student's standing is failing; otherwise DRP is given.
9. The student must re-take the course when a grade of 4.0 is incurred. There is NO removal exam.

I.

Student Conduct and discipline

1. Observe courtesy during class hours and exams by putting all electronic devices into silent mode. Using
unnecessary electronic devices inside the laboratory is not allowed.
2. Any form of vandalism is strictly prohibited in the NIP building. A student who is found guilty shall immediately be
subjected to disciplinary actions.
3. CCTV cameras are set-up at different places inside and outside the NIP building that monitors and records any
untoward incidents 24/7.
4. Wear your IDs at all times inside the premises of NIP.

J.

Group mates Contact Information

Names

Contact Numbers

E-mail Address

Copy the text below on a one-fourth sheet of yellow pad paper, affix your signature below it, and submit it to your
Instructor:

I, <write your name>, upon reading its entirety and understanding its contents, hereby agree to abide to
and respect all the course policies stated in the Physics 71.1 Syllabus.

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