Welcome to the Physics Labs page! If you're here, you're probably an undergrad taking one of the department lab courses this semester. This site is your go-to resource for any and all lab documents and schedules. If you're a TA or TI, welcome to your resource hub for teaching materials and information. In either case, make sure to bookmark for future reference.
General Info
A/B Lab Structure
When you registered for your physics course you signed up for a lab section containing a Lab A or Lab B in the title. This letter is the lab week which you will attend; check out the calendar to the right. You MUST attend the lab section for which you are registered because each can only accommodate 20 students. Attending any other session without explicit permission from your TA and will result in an incomplete (IS) grade for that lab. If you know you will miss a lab (illness, personal emergencies, etc.) see the FAQ for what to do.
Working Together
You will work in small teams (two or three students), however you must prepare your own postlab. You're going to discuss the experiment and the interpretation of the data with your partners, however your write-ups need to be your own words.
Lab Documentation
In course materials you will find printable labs for your course; each one consists of a prelab, manual, and postlab. Read the manual and do the prelab before coming to lab. Bring a printed copy to every lab — TAs will not have extras. TAs will collect the prelab at the start of the lab, and verify you have the manual and postlab. The manual will instruct you how to do the lab; asking questions that are answered in the manual will cost you points. You will fill out the postlab during the lab, and turn it in at the end. Each lab has been refined over decades to be completed in under three hours.
For additional brief notes, see Blackboard.
What to bring to Lab
Aside from printed copies of the prelab, postlab, and manual, don't forget to bring a pen or pencil to write with. For computations bring a calculator or laptop; Desmos Scientific Calculator is a great free online option.
FAQ
Can I change my lab time?
Look bruh, you signed up for a lab when you registered for the course, and it wasn't here. If you need to change your lab time, what makes you think this site can magically undo what you did there? Use the online registration system. If classes have already started, you may need to fill out an add/drop form (contact Lysa Wade lwade3@ur.rochester.edu). If this is a one time change, see the next question.
I'm going to miss my lab because INSERT PROBLEM. Can I make it up?
I mean, anything is possible. Do what any adult does, and leave a paper trail. Email your TA well in advance to let them know that you will be absent. Email the TA of the lab you want to attend and ask super nicely is you can go to it. There's not always enough equipment for extra students (maximum of 20 students per session). Graduate students are insanely busy, so if you don't hear back then attend the section that is marked makeups (during week B). If even that is not possible, then there will be an opportunity at the end of the semester to make up a single lab.
I emailed my lab yesterday, and I didn't get an answer!
Patience is a virtue, don't be cringe. The lab coordinator receives a large number of student emails per day, especially during the beginning and end of the terms. Questions involving checking records or changing schedules require extra time to answer. If you three days have passed with no answer, send a polite reminder.
There is not enough time to finish the lab!
Welcome to University, where you're going to have to push yourself. Literally thousands of students have done these labs before you, they all had the same amount of time, and finished. Did you do the prelab? Did you read the manual before coming to lab? One of the most important skills you will learn in college is time management, and this is a great opportunity to practice it. However, if you have a complaint about a lab, please email the lab administrator for that lab. Small changes to labs happen all the time based on legitamite feedback. To reassure you: Remember that every student in your class is doing the same labs with the same time constraints, and will be graded the same way.
OMG! Teh fizic labs sux0rs! (based on actual emails)
If you send an email like this, it's going up on reddit.
My TA looks really tired all the time. What can I do to help?
Graduate students subsist on coffee and free food. If you bring them snacks and/or caffeine, you will be their favorite student and make their day.