Lab procedure 9 July 2008

Today is our first real lab period. Exciting, isn't it?

The plan for Wed 9 July and Thurs 10 July is for you to spend 2 days in groups researching and writing a small paper about a recent scientific development. Here is the writeup [pdf]; print out one copy per group when you arrive for the lab (329 Gallalee, 3:30pm TODAY).

Basically, you will have to:

• find a recent scientific development covered in the popular media (online)
• assess its importance
• assess the quality of the article (do you buy it? is it really a big deal?)
• relate it to physics/chemistry/biology courses you have taken
• relate it to your field of study

The thing is only supposed to be two pages long, so I think you can come up with something nice in two lab periods. Beware, however, that group writing is not always easier than going it alone: you will have to be organized and efficient.

And, yes, grade-wise this will count as two labs.

Submitting your papers

Some of you will choose to submit your papers electronically - which is fine. I have no problem accepting papers by email, it is actually far more convenient. However, make it easier on me, if you would:

1. Include your last name in the filename somewhere, preferably first.
2. Include 'ph102' in the filename.
3. Remember that I will have >50 papers in the end ...

For example, "smith_ph102.pdf" is good. I know which paper is which right away, alphabetical sorting will work, and I know this is related to ph102.

These silly little things help a lot in the end - having 55 files named 'physics-paper.pdf' or something similar is extremely frustrating.

How to write a physics paper

Physical Review Letters' editorial board tells you how to write a good 'letter.'

By 'letter,' of course they mean 'short paper suitable for a general physics audience,' not something of the 'Dear John' variety.

Of particular note: I am not alone in being deeply confused by scientists' love for the passive voice. From the article:

The issue of sentence-level construction is less critical, and it will not surprise me if some writers still take comfort in the passive-voice style described above. Frankly, this comfort is a mystery to me.

In all, the article is useful advice from one of the top physics journals around. And I'm not saying that just because we have the same initials.

Paper topics

Paper topics are due tomorrow. What I want from you is a 1-2 sentence description of what your topic is, ideally with a preliminary source.

Full paper details are here, scroll down to page 9.

PAPER TOPICS

Reminder:

Your paper topics are due by Friday. I need a trackable source (email/facebook notification is fine) - reference, URL, etc.

Additional note:

I will post midterm grades Wednesday morning for all students. For midterm grades, I will drop 1 quiz grade and 1 lab grade. Inquire tomorrow during the lab period or after class if you would like a heads-up.

Nascar Physics

If one were interested in NASCAR, and had a physics paper to write, this might be interesting.

NY Times, free registration required.

[Reminder: paper topics are due Feb 29th.]

Exam III solutions

Right now, you are still busy taking the exam ... its not so bad, is it?

Here are the solutions, and here is the exams folder to see all 3 exams and solutions.

I should be able to hand back the exams as well as your papers this coming Tuesday in class (in which I will give a lecture on how hard disks and flash memory work).

Papers due tomorrow ...

Just a friendly reminder that your 5 page papers are due tomorrow ...

Sending me a PDF is the preferred form of submission. Other file formats are fine (e.g., MS Word ) if you aren't sure how to generate a PDF. Of course, hard copies are fine too, if you want to go that route.

Homework this week

You have no regular homework for this week. Don't get too excited though.

Your homework assignment for this week, due by midnight Friday, is to turn in a proposed source for your 5 page paper, due after thanksgiving. Recall the rules for the paper here.

By Friday, you must submit a source for your paper. Again, the source can be a book, magazine article, etc., see the original requirements linked above. You do not need to have the source and topic approved by Friday, merely submitted. Your submission should include:

• A complete reference for me to find said work.
• A few sentences on why you think it is interesting and/or appropriate, with regards to the paper criteria.
  

Submissions by email are preferred, though any reasonable medium will be accepted. An acceptable book reference might be an amazon.com link or a full citation. An acceptable magazine reference should include year, issue, and page number, or a link if the magazine is online. Use your judgment, but please provide me with some easy way to verify the existence and appropriateness of your source.

A "few sentences" means just that - you need not write more than a very tiny paragraph. It can be informal and very short, just justify why the source seems interesting to you and why it meets the criteria.