The Introductory Physics Laboratory at Lawrence University supports several courses, including a two-term algebra-based introductory course (Physics 120, 130 as described elsewhere in this site), a two-term calculus-based introductory course (Physics 150, 160), and various outreach courses such as Physics of Music (Physics 107) and Astronomy (Physics 110). Physically, the laboratory contains eight large laboratory tables and can be easily and quite effectively darkened for spectroscopic and optical experiments.
In 1989, influenced by considerable activity at other colleges (and particularly at Dickinson College) designed to introduce ``discovery-based'' instruction in the introductory physics courses, the Department of Physics at Lawrence successfully sought support amounting to about $50,000 from the National Science Foundation (matched with $50,000 from Lawrence) to introduce microcomputer-based laboratories in introductory laboratory program. The goals of this project were (1) to enhance the learning experience of all introductory physics students by engaging them actively in doing laboratory physics without enormous amounts of prior knowledge either in physical theory or in computing, (2) to interest more students in the sciences and particularly in physics, and (3) to reach out more effectively to non-majors. The first goal allows new students to learn by doing -- always more effective than passive experiences. The second goal speaks to the growing national shortage of qualified scientists. Finally, the third goal is driven by the knowledge that we must constantly strive to teach humanists and other non-majors the spirit of physics so that they may be informed, scientifically literate citizens.
Using sonic rangers and software to display graphs of position versus time, velocity versus time, acceleration versus time, position versus velocity (phase plane), etc., this project has introduced new, computer-based experiments to help students appreciate kinematics intuitively. Using force probes in connection with the sonic ranger, we have introduced experiments that help students appreciate the essential conceptual basis of Newton's laws of dynamics. Using the software package Interactive Physics, students build models of complicated systems and examine their behavior. Using Kaleidagraph, they examine computer-acquired data in a variety of graphical representations. Using EXCEL, they perform statistical analyses and curve fitting and even respond to assignments given in the lecture portion of the course requiring them to simulate simple physical systems through use of Euler's method and selected more complicated algorithms. Beyond the immediate benefits of enhanced intuition, these inclusions in our introductory courses provide an initial exposure both to uses of computational resources and to several experimental techniques, thereby preparing introductory students for the more sophisticated expectations associated with their later use of the Computational Physics Laboratory, the Laser Palace, and the resources of our advanced laboratory.
The initial computing equipment in this laboratory consisted of Macintosh SE30 hardware, including a server, eight or so computers, and a laser printer. This equipment supported the above described activities and served us well for several years. In the fall of 1996, however, the Department sought support from the National Science Foundation to reconfigure this laboratory so that it could support the introduction of a full laboratory in a course in the physics of music. Among other experiments, that laboratory was to offer the capability for students to make digital recordings of their own musical instruments for Fourier analysis -- a capability not possessed by the existing equipment. The proposal submitted in the fall of 1996 was funded in the spring of 1997, and the course in physics of music with laboratory was offered for the first time in the spring of 1998. By then the laboratory had been added to the campus-wide ethernet network and the original computing equipment had been replaced with Macintosh equipment with the capacity to support the new uses. In the summer of 2004, motivated by the slowness of the Macintosh equipment and with support from Lawrence University, the laboratory was fully upgraded yet again, this time with Intel-based PCs as listed in the table below.
The typical size of a laboratory section is sixteen students, who work as eight teams of two.