Each quarter, students will attend a series of lectures or workshops offered by the lab staff and the faculty instructor for the course. Attendance at lectures is expected (unless prior arrangements have been made with the course instructors), and there will often be assignments associated with these sessions. Assignments may include pre-lecture reading or writing prompts, post-lecture reflections, participation in activities at the lecture, or short exercises or problems.

Lectures are held in KPTC 120 on Mondays from 3:30-4:20 pm.

Each quarter, students will work on two 3-week long experiment projects. In-lab work is done during scheduled 4-hour lab periods, but there will also be substantial out-of-lab work required (in the form of preparation, meetings with TAs and/or group members, analysis, and writing).

Students will work in pairs when possible. Lab partners will share data and are welcome to talk and share ideas, but are expected to do independent analysis and submit independent assignments.

Each project will have the following outline:

• Pre-lab: Look over your assigned experiment wiki page, and read any suggested material (e.g. the “Theory” section).
  • Each lab includes a prelab exercise that must be submitted before the start of their lab section. Late assignments will not be accepted!
  • These assignments will be graded simply as “complete” or “incomplete”. Feedback will be given in-person at the start of lab. There are no opportunities to resubmit or correct the prelab exercises.
  • Students may need to do research beyond what is provided on the wiki page.
• In-lab Work (Days 1, 2, and 3): Groups will meet three times in the lab (once per week for three weeks) for a 4-hour session.
  • Students are expected to arrive on time and stay the full period (unless they have made prior arrangements with the instructors and with their partner).
  • Students must keep a lab notebook.
    • A bound, paper notebook is standard, but a digital lab notebook is allowed (so long as it allows a student to record notes, calculations, drawings, figures, etc… just as one can do on paper).
      • Excel and Google Docs are useful tools, but they are NOT digital notebooks and cannot be used in place of a paper notebook.
    • While the notebook will not be graded on its own, many of the in-lab assignments will require students to show work from the notebook in order to get credit.
  • Students should not wait until the end of the experiment to start doing the analysis!
    • Students should begin analyzing the data (and even formatting and working on the out-of-lab assignments) as soon as possible, and may want to reach out to their TA with an update between sessions if they have questions.
• In-lab Exercises: There will be a number of in-lab exercises that students must complete and talk about with the instructors or TAs.
  • These assignments will be graded simply as “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory”. Feedback will be given on the spot.
  • If a particular exercise is deemed unsatisfactory, students may continue working on the exercise and ask to be evaluated again (with as many opportunities as time allows).
  • At the end of Day 3, all in-lab exercises which have not been deemed satisfactory will be given zero points.
• Out-of-lab Assignments: There will be a number of out-of-lab assignments (which instructors will sometimes refer to collectively as the “report”, even though that's not a great description) which will be due 1 week after the last day in lab.
  • Assignments must be submitted by 5:00 pm on the due date.
    • Late assignments will be given a penalty. (See below for details).
  • These assignments will be graded on the quality of the work and the argument.
    • If a student has questions about the expectation(s), they should reach out to the TA for clarification.
  • TAs will not regrade assignments. Students are expected to submit their best work the first time.

Lab sessions are held in KPTC 005/009. Groups meeting on Wednesday or Friday meet from 1:30 to 5:20 pm. Groups meeting on Tuesday or Thursday meet from 2:00 to 5:50 pm. (See course calendar for specific dates.)

Each experiment will be graded out of a total of 100 points, meaning that (for two experiments per quarter) there are 200 points total available for the course.

In Autumn Quarter, the breakdown is as follows:

• Experiment 1 (prelab and in-lab): 30 points
• Experiment 1 (Python and LaTeX tutorial): 10 points
• Experiment 1 (out-of-lab): 60 points
• Experiment 2 (prelab and in-lab): 25 points
• Experiment 2 (out-of-lab): 75 points

Note that the first experiment's out-of-lab assignment is weighted a little bit less than the second experiment's. That is to help students ease into the expectations of this course.

In Winter and Spring Quarter, the breakdown is as follows:

• Experiment 1 (in-lab): 25 points
• Experiment 1 (prelab and in-lab): 75 points
• Experiment 2 (in-lab): 25 points
• Experiment 2 (prelab and in-lab): 75 points

Prelab assignments are graded as “complete/incomplete” and must be submitted prior to the start of the first day in lab. In-lab assignments are graded as “satisfactory/unsatisfactory” and can be attempted up until the end of the third day in lab. Out-of-lab assignments are graded on quality.

Students should ask to have all in-lab exercises evaluated by lab instructors before the end of the third day in lab. Any exercise which is not deemed “satisfactory” by that time will be graded as a zero.

In-lab exercises will not be accepted late.

Out-of-lab assignments are due one week after the end of the third day in lab. Work will be accepted late, but will receive a penalty of 5% per day (up to a maximum of 3 days, or 15%). After 3 days, students must meet with lab instructors to discuss the situation before continuing with the course.

If a student needs extra time to complete their out-of-lab assignment, they may use grace days to extend their deadline.

• Students are given 2 grace days per quarter.
• A grace day is one, indivisible 24-hour period, starting at the due time.
• Unused grace days DO NOT roll over from one quarter to the next.

All coursework must be submitted before the start of Finals Week in order to allow TAs to complete grading without interfering with their own class and final exam schedules. Work will not be accepted after this date without prior arrangement. If you believe you have extenuating circumstances and will require additional time, contact the lab staff and course instructor as soon as reasonably possible; do not wait until the end of the quarter.

We value diversity and inclusion. We are committed to a climate of mutual respect and full participation. Our goal is to create learning environments that are usable, equitable, inclusive, and welcoming. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion, achievement, or the accurate assessment of your learning, please notify the instructor and lab staff as soon as possible.

The University of Chicago is committed to ensuring equitable access to our academic programs and services. Students with disabilities who have been approved for the use of academic accommodations by Student Disability Services (SDS) and need a reasonable accommodation(s) to participate fully in this course should follow the procedures established by SDS for using accommodations. Timely notifications are required to ensure that your accommodations can be implemented. Please meet with the course instructor to discuss your access needs in this class after you have completed the SDS procedures for requesting accommodations.

You can reach SDS through the following means:

• Phone: 773-702-6000
• Email: disabilities@uchicago.edu
• Website: https://disabilities.uchicago.edu/

Acting with academic integrity means, in brief, not submitting the statements, work, or ideas of others as one’s own. Consult with the instructor or lab staff before completing assignments if you have concerns about the correct way to reference the work of others or if you are in doubt about what constitutes academic dishonesty. More generally, please familiarize yourself with the University’s policy on academic honesty and the relevant sections of the Student Handbook. Also, see our own page regarding plagiarism and academic honesty.

Failure to maintain academic integrity on an assignment will result in a penalty befitting the violation, up to and including failing the course and further University sanctions. In the event that any concerns do arise regarding this matter, we will forward all related materials to the College Dean of Students for further review and action.