Policies | Grading | Lab Handouts | NIU Department of Physics
Policies and Procedures
- A quadrille ruled laboratory notebook and a USB flash drive are required.
- A laboratory score of at least 60% of the total possible points is required to obtain a passing final course grade as well as completing at least 5 labs.
- Students will fail both the lab (the 1 unit course) and the lecture (the 3 unit course) if their final total lab score is less than 60% of the total possible amount of points.
- Students are expected to follow all safety procedures and safety instructions. Students who purposely defeat safety mechanisms or repeatedly ignore safety instructions will be asked to leave for the remainder of the experiment, and a grade of zero will be recorded for that experiment.
- Students must ensure that their equipment and workspace are neat and organized before they leave for the day. This will count as part of the grade (see grading below).
- Unless authorized by the instructor, students are to work in groups of two.
- Attendance is required and is part of the grade (see grading below).
- In the spirit of personal responsibility, there is no accommodation for labs missed due to unexcused absences. If an absence is expected, please make arrangements with the instructor prior to the absence.
- All laboratory reports are due one week from the date the experiment is performed. They will be collected at the beginning of the student's regularly scheduled laboratory period, unless extended by the instructor. Reports will be accepted up to three weeks late at a penalty of 3% per day. No lab reports will be accepted after the grace period.
- No reports will be accepted after the last week of classes.
- Incidents of academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, copying another student's work, etc.) will result in a zero being recorded for that experiment for all involved parties, and the physics department administration will be notified. Students must follow Northern Illinois University's Student Code of Conduct. Please click on this link and read it carefully.
- For students repeating the course, labs taken in a previous semester can be waived for scores of 60% or higher. A student must schedule an office meeting with their Instructor in order to have any labs waived.
Grading
Individual Experiments
Your instructor will evaluate both your performance in the classroom and on the laboratory report. You will be responsible for bringing a printed copy of the lab handout instructions with you to the lab. Reading it over before coming to the lab will ensure basic familiarity with the lab to be performed that day.
Lab Report Grading Scheme
- 50 pnts: PreLab = 10 pnts, Attendance & Participation (for lab & recitation sections) = 40 pnts. 5 points are deducted for not bringing your quadrille ruled lab notebook or USB flash drive.
- 100 pnts: Lab write-up; the TA will provide information regarding what aspects of the lab write-up will be graded most closely. In general, half of your score will assess your ability to collect data (and the capacity to communicate this information to others) while the other half will assess your capacity to make careful observations about the experiment (and your ability to grasp the concepts of the experiment).
- If you have questions regarding your score on a Lab write-up, first talk to your lab TA. The lab TA can often explain what you are missing. The lab TA will be your lab grader.
Course Grade
At the end of the semester, your lab TA will report your laboratory score to your lecture instructor. Your lecture instructor will then combine the score you received in lecture with the score you received in lab to determine your final grade. A laboratory score of at least 60% of the total possible amount of points is required to obtain a passing final course grade. Only the final grade that your lecture instructor assigns will be recorded on your transcript. Please refer to the information provided by your lecture instructor if you have any questions on how to calculate your final grade.
You will be advised of your laboratory score periodically during the semester by your TA. Check with your lecturer to find out how you are doing in the lecture.
Lab Write-up Guidelines
Sample lab report: Sample Lab (note: this was from an advanced NIU lab. Use this lab for examples of how to make data tables and graphs)
Laboratories