PHY4802L - LABORATORY ELECTRONICS - SPRING 2013

Grading

  • Lab Reports: 60%
  • Weekly In-Class quiz: 20%
  • Final Project: 20%
Please check with your instructor if you have questions about the grading scale.
On the day of the final, once all presentations are complete, you must clean up your project and bench area. Anyone not doing so will receive an Incomplete in this course.

Weekly Quizzes

In-class quizzes will be given in the first 20-30 minutes of class on the first Thursday of each lab until probably end of March. The quiz starts promptly on time. These are closed book quizzes. No make-up in-class quizzes will be offered. The quiz is based on what I think you should know at the day of the quiz. The basics are covered in the minimal reading assignments and the lectures. But you have to be able to apply those principles and that requires practice. The textbook and the student manual have many practical examples which I might modify for quiz questions.

Lab Reports

Lab reports are due by the start of class on the dates listed on the schedule. Late lab reports will incur a severe penalty of up to 15% off per day late. After 4 days late the maximum grade for the assignment (assuming perfect work) will be 50%.

Assignment due dates will be strictly followed.

I accept hard copies and electronic copies in pdf format assuming I can read them. Electronic copies might be returned electronically. A hard-copy of the lab reports is due on the dates shown on the Class Schedule prior to the start of the lab. While you will work in teams of 2 for building the circuits and recording data, the lab reports are to be individual efforts. Discussion with and help from your peers is encouraged, but copying of work is not. Both of the members in a group should participate in taking data and analyses. Exclusively sharing the duty of lab work is not allowed. Lab partners will be rotated based on the instructor's preference.


Final Project

The final project will consist of a circuit devised or selected from the literature, by each team of two students, that will be built and demonstrated for the class (including a description of its operation). It will be judged on a combination of complexity, execution, and comprehension. Students are responsible for ordering and purchasing any parts needed for their project that are not already in the lab. Students wishing to keep their final project are required to purchase their own breadboard. Students will choose their own partner for the final project.

Laboratory Access

If you wish to put in more time, the laboratory (Room 1249) is accessible during off-hours. A combination locked box on the door contains the key to the room. You will be given the combination in class. Be sure that the box with the key and the room are locked when you leave. This access is intended for make-up and for when simply more time is needed. For safety reasons, no student should be working in the lab alone at any time. If you are found working alone in the lab you will be given an automatic failure for that week's lab. This does not mean you with a friend. You should always be evenly splitting the lab work with your partner. Any after hours work must be done with your partner.