Advanced Physics Lab

PHY 335Z
Spring 2026
Lecture: Tuesday 1:30PM - 2:25PM, PH 129
Lab Sections: Thursday 1:30PM - 4:15PM, PH 328

Prof. Kevin H. Knuth kknuth@albany.edu
Physics Department
University at Albany
Albany NY USA
 

Work Schedule

ALL LABS and HOMEWORK are to be submitted by email to kknuth@albany.edu

There are NO EXAMS for the course.
Note that after THU April 16, the lab will be closed.
The last day of lecture will be on TUE, May 5.

Website

You should check our class website for updates to the schedule, location or for special announcements. http://knuthlab.org/courses/2026/AdvancedPhysicsLab/pmwiki.php/

Contact

To reach the instructor, please send an email to

Our TA can be reached at her email address:

ALL LABS and HOMEWORK are to be submitted by email to kknuth@albany.edu

Introduction

This course consists of one lecture (in PH 129)
and
three hours of laboratory time (in PH 328) per week.
Attendance during the Tuesday lecture will be taken. Those whose attendance exceeds 80% will have 2 percentage points added to their final score.

In addition to assigned Homework, you will perform 5 advanced physics experiments during the semester. Each experiment is expected to take two weeks (at least two lab sessions) to complete. Plan to acquaint yourself with the equipment and take practice measurements during the first week, and then take careful measurements the second week.

You should choose to work with a lab partner (group of two people - three only if necessary).

For four of the experiments, you will get to choose which experiment you and your lab partner want to do. There will be an online sign-up sheet where you will sign up and reserve equipment for an experiment for a lab session of your choice.

The 'Z' in APHY 335Z stands for writing emphasis. For this reason, much of the focus of this class is on learning how to write a scientific paper, which we will refer to as a lab report.

Each Lab Report and Homework Assignment must be emailed to kknuth@albany.edu before 11:59pm on the due date along with a '''completed CHECKLIST [ docx ][ pdf ].

I am offering 5pts extra credit for attending any SPS meeting (every other Tuesday night at 6:30pm in PH 129), 5pts extra credit for attending any Tuesday Seminar (Tue. 3:pm PH 129), and 5 pts extra credit for attending any Physics Colloquium (Fridays, 3pm, PH 129) for a maximum of 20 points. To obtain credit, you must fill out this Extra-Credit Form, have it signed by the talk organizer, and submit it to Prof. Knuth.

Please sign up for labs using the EXPERIMENT SIGN UP SHEET. There is one lab session per week.

You will be able to select lab partners during the first day of lecture or so. You will be able to change partners with my permission. If you have ANY problems with your lab partner, please let me know.

The work schedule for the semester is:

Work Schedule

MUST READ:
How to Write an Abstract
Constructing a Nature Summary Paragraph
Tips on Scientific Writing (Morrison)
Writing Tips (Knuth)
Lab#1 Writing Example
Citation Help
Plagiarism 101

Working with Probability
Uncertainty

Important Downloads:
MSWord Template File (docx format)(doc format)
LaTeX Template File
AIP Style Guide
Lab Writing Guidelines
AIP Preparing a Scientific Paper


Technical Reports can be written using your favorite word processor. However, they should be submitted in pdf format.
Latex or Revtex papers will be accepted with extra credit.

Syllabus

Course Description: Introduction to the techniques of experimental research in modern physics. Measurement technique and error analysis are emphasized, as is technical report writing, research presentations, and independence in the laboratory.
3 credits.
Prerequisite(s): A grade of B or better, or concurrent enrollment, in APHY 250 or permission of instructor

Expectations
In this class, you will be expected to perform five laboratory experiments over the course of the semester (see the section below on Experiments). These experiments can be performed alone or preferably in pairs. Each student is expected to write his/her own technical report describing each of the six experiments (see the section below on Technical Reports). It is expected that each student will attend the Lectures (see the section below on Lectures).

Website
This course has a website that you can check for updates to the schedule or for special announcements. http://knuthlab.org/courses/2026/AdvancedPhysicsLab/pmwiki.php/

Lecture
A brief lecture (~1hr) will be held on Tuesdays from 1:30pm through 2:25pm. I will lecture on useful techniques for data analysis, laboratory techniques, report writing, and preparing for a career in physics. Attendance will be taken. Those whose attendance exceeds 80% will have 2 percentage points added to their final score.

Laboratory Experiments
There will be five Laboratory Experiments (Exp 1 through Exp 5).
Completion of ALL homework and laboratory experiments is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for receiving a passing grade.

The students are responsible for THOROUGHLY researching the experiment prior to coming to the laboratory. This means checking out the lab equipment prior to your reserved slot, reading the relevant manuals beforehand, if available, or performing a literature search on the topic and reading the relevant papers. Anyone who is found to be unprepared will be turned away from the laboratory.

There is one Lab Session each week. Any group of two can sign up for any slot (regardless of what you registered for):

Once signed up for a slot, all students in the group are expected to attend. In case, of extreme circumstances, students are required to notify (email) the supervising TA BEFORE meeting time. Students not doing so will have 10 points deducted from that laboratory experiment. Failure to show up without prior notice three times or more will result in an E for the course. Exemptions will be granted only with a signed doctor's excuse or an excuse from the Dean's office. https://www.albany.edu/health_center/medicalexcuse.shtml

Each laboratory experiment is to be written up as a technical report (see details below).

New experiments requiring both design and construction can be attempted for groups with the permission of the instructor. These will count as two experiments (which will give you a month to perform). These are challenging in that the group members themselves will be responsible for setting up the experiment (from scratch) with *some* (minimal) assistance from the TA or the instructor. Groups may suggest experiments to consider. Examples include getting an old experiment back up and running, or conceiving of a new experiment subject to the professor's approval. A new experiment can be performed only once per student---and not for Lab#5 due to time constraints.

Technical Reports
A technical report is to be written for each experiment. Even though you may work in pairs, each student is to write his or her own technical report. The student writing the report is first author and the lab partners are to be co-authors in alphabetical order. Any reviewers are to be acknowledged in an Acknowledgements section.

Reports can be written using your favorite word processor (eg. MSWord). Technical reports will be written in accordance to the American Institute of Physics (AIP) guidelines. Students may opt to use LaTeX for extra credit (5 points extra for the first lab, 3 points extra for subsequent labs).

Reports will be graded according to each of the following attributes in equal part (20 pts each):
Clarity of Writing
Technical Mastery
Quality of Analysis
Accuracy of Results
Adherence to the AIP Format

Each Technical Report can be turned in by the end of the day 11:59 pm of the Submission Date for 100 points. The Technical Report can be turned in from 1-3 days after the Submission Date for 90 points. The Technical Report can be turned in from 4-7 days after the Submission Date for 80 points. Technical Reports turned in more than 7 days after the Submission Date will receive 0 points. Please do not request extra time to complete a lab report, as the conditions for taking extra time are listed above.

Each report must be emailed to knuthclass@gmail.com before the time at which it is due along with a completed Checklist.

Reviews and Editing
It is strongly encouraged that lab partners review each other's lab reports before submission and that the student edits the report according to the review. Submissions consisting of:

• the original report
• the review of the original report
• the author rebuttal statement responding to the reviewer comments
• the revised report

will earn 2.5 points for both the author and the reviewer (for a maximum of 5 points each for a given experiment). You must give your lab partner at least two days to complete the review. Lab partners must not feel compelled to carefully review a very poorly written lab report. Ignoring reviewer comments in the rebuttal will cost you severely when the report is graded. Treat this process very seriously and you will do well.

Accommodations
Reasonable accommodations will be provided for students with documented physical, sensory, systemic, medical, cognitive, learning and mental health (psychiatric) disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring accommodation in this class, please notify the Disability Resource Center (drc@albany.edu , 518-442-5501). Upon verification and after the registration process is complete, the DRC will provide you with a letter that informs the course instructor that you are a student with a disability registered with the DRC and list the recommended reasonable accommodations.

Academic Integrity
Students are encouraged to work in pairs on a given experiment. However, each student is to write his or her own technical report. Note that COPYING IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Submitting the work of another person as your own is plagiarism and will be treated seriously by assigning an E for the course. Please consult the university's standards on Academic Integrity.
Practicing Academic Integrity

Exams
There will be no exams for this class.

Grading (A-E)
Grades will be computed by taking an average of the grades of the homework and the technical reports for the five experiments, along with earned attendance points and extra credit.

Note that all labs and homeworks must be completed and submitted to receive better than an E in this class.

Overwhelmed?
Are you overwhelmed by class or things beyond class?
Might you need some sort of help/counseling?
Please don't ignore this!

• If you think it's an emergency, call 911, or go to this link (http://www.albany.edu/counseling_center/emergency.shtml).
• If you think it is serious, but not an emergency you should get in touch with University Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS):
  518-442-5800
  consultation@albany.edu
  http://www.albany.edu/counseling_center/index.shtml
  They're very good, and they're absolutely confidential.
• If you think you might need help/support and it's not too serious, send me an email at kknuth@albany.edu and I will find a time for us to meet. If you find it easier to contact the TA first, then please do so.
  We are here to help you succeed!