Laboratories will involve making challenging experiments. You will receive a lab kit with necessary equipment. Note: you will need to return the lab kit to your instructor with all equipment in good working condition upon completion of this class. The content of the kit is listed here.

Lab grade consists of Prelab assignment (10%) and a report (90%). Prelab assignment is due at 3pm the day of the lab. Lab report is due at noon on Monday preceding the next Lab.

• We will not have labs on the first and the second weeks of classes.
• You will not have to submit a report for Lab 1, there will be no grade for this lab.
• You will have one week to work on Lab 1 and Lab 6. You will have two weeks to complete each of the remaining labs.

Labs are challenging and important part of this class. I have made an effort to make lab descriptions as detailed and thorough as possible, so you may start making experiments on your own. But this does not mean you may skip assigned time in hope to catch up later. If you would like to start making experiments on your own prior to the scheduled lab time you are welcome! But please show up at regular time and show us your progress. If you are doing fine and do not need our help you may leave.

Each lab has detailed description on this site.  Most lab has several sections:

• List of equipment.
• Introduction. This is a brief summary of the theory that is relevant to the experiments in the lab. I hope you will find it quite useful, but you will not see anything in this section that was not covered in the class and not mentioned in the textbook.
• Models. Most labs have “Models”section. In this section a theoretical model for the experiment in the lab is built.  Such model makes certain approximations and builds mathematical framework that allows you to study a particular phenomenon and make calculations to determine certain properties/parameters. Such models are derived specifically for our experiments and you are unlikely to find them elsewhere. One of the main goals of this course and, in particular, labs, is to make you capable to construct such models for phenomena you study. Therefore, it is important to read and understand all models presented before you start your experiments. Understanding models is integral to the calculations made during experiments and will help you to answer questions asked in the Prelab and Experimental sections.
• Prelab. A theoretical question(s)/assignment pertaining to the lab. I recommend reading Introduction and Models before you attempt Prelab. This assignment (10% of the lab grade) is due at 3pm the day of the lab. Write your solution on a clear paper, scan into pdf and submit to Canvas.
• Experiments. This section contains description of your measurements. All labs have several experiments. There are questions and instructions on what to include in the report. Some labs also have video tutorials designed to explain certain challenging parts of the experiments or the model. These tutorials complement the written descriptions but not replace them.
• Challenge. This section contains additional (bonus) questions/assignments. Please only work on Challenge sections if you have time and you have finished all the required lab assignments. You may include your Challenge answers/solution/experimental results in your report – if your work is correct you will earn extra credit.