UChicago Instructional Physics Laboratories

Note, this schedule is subject to change. It was last updated on March 9, 2021.

The course has the following several parts:

• An introductory experiment – Gamma Cross Sections – which all students do. This runs from Week 2 to Week 3, and you are expected to complete a short report at the end.
• A longer individual project, with each student doing a different experiment. This runs from Weeks 3 to 9, and is broken (roughly) into two parts:
  • Part 1 will be a fairly guided exercise to understand the apparatus, physics, or model. This will be followed by a student-instructor meeting and a presentation to the class.
  • Part 2 will be a more open-ended extension on the project. This will be followed by another student-instructor meeting and presentation, and also a final report (covering both Parts 1 and 2). 

Per University policy, the class will run fully remote during Week 1 of the quarter. There will be a welcome lecture (via Zoom) in order to introduce the class, and there will be several optional introductory tutorials during Week 1 for students who need/want to learn about error analysis, Python programming, and/or LaTeX typesetting.  

Experiments will be conducted individually in-lab.

• Each student will be assigned to a group which meets on alternate days:
  • Group A meets in-lab only on Tuesdays and Thursdays
  • Group B meets in-lab only on Wednesdays and Fridays.
• Each student will be given an individual room for their experiment. This is the room where they will complete both the introductory experiment and the project. No one else will use this room during the quarter.
• Students will be required to schedule time in lab at least 24 hours in advance and track their time into and out of the lab.
• Whenever possible, questions and interactions with the lab staff and instructors will be handled via Zoom or email. At least one lab staff member will be in the building during lab hours in case of emergency.