tough+stuff

=Things to Remember:=

How to do well:

 * You will find it very helpful to prepare well, i.e. read and study the materials for the laboratories before you come to class. Being prepared before you come to your lab session will enable you to finish on time, enjoy the lab more and help you get a higher grade.
 * During the first 5 minutes of every lab period an open book quiz will be given aimed at testing your readiness to perform that day's experiment and your understanding of the previous experiment. Please arrive on time to all laboratories or you will miss the quiz and the credit. The quiz can't be started when there is less than a minute to go in the 5 minutes allotted. Be on time!
 * All the materials to be graded (your lab report including data sheets, graphs, answers to questions, etc.) must be completed during your lab period and handed in to the instructor before you leave the lab; there will be ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTIONS.
 * Using the computer and lab printer, the lab report consists of any spreadsheets (data & formula views), and plots requested. A sample calculation is required for each formula entered into a spreadsheet to verify it was done correctly. At the bottom of any plot must be a statement of what is being plotted, and if a straight line fit is done, a quote of its parameters (e.g., slope and its uncertainty). In addition, any worksheets containing questions to be answered should be turned in with your data.

Absences:

 * If you must miss a session, you should contact your instructor before the session and arrange for an alternate time.
 * It is only possible to make-up a lab during the week it is offered since the equipment is changed weekly. Please provide suitable documentation for your absence.
 * If you miss a lab without a valid reason or without prior notification, it will be counted as zero and will not count towards the dropped grade: it will be a zero.
 * Alternately, if you miss a lab for an unanticipated reason, such as illness, you must contact your instructor no more than 24 hours after the missed lab and provide some documentation confirming your condition in order to have it not count as your dropped lab. Otherwise it will be treated as a zero and not count toward the dropped grade.
 * Arrangements will be made for you to find an open lab slot for an excused absence. **Do not just show up at another section without making prior arrangements or you will not be admitted.**
 * If, in the case of a valid absence, a suitable makeup lab cannot be found, then the missed grade **will** count towards your dropped score.
 * Your instructor is in charge of all aspects of laboratory policies and should be consulted for most problems. If there are issues that your instructor cannot address, you should contact Professor Raymond Brock. His office is in 3210 BPS. Please set up an appointment by email: brock@pa.msu.edu

Goes without saying, but it's said anyway:

 * Plagiarism or copying will not be tolerated.
 * Lab partners are expected to turn in copies of the same Excel data sheets and graphs.
 * Answers to the questions, however, are not to be copied, word for word, from the course pack material.
 * Also, lab partners turning in identical or slightly modified versions for the answers to questions, will both have their labs graded on a 50% scale.

//Last updated: August 27, 2013//