The IPLS physics recitation and labs use biological examples to teach the same – or more – physics that you would have learned in the “traditional” or “modern” flavors of intro physics. We expect it to be more interesting, more relevant and (we hope) more fun for life-sciences people. Fair warning: it will also be more chaotic – at least in this, our inaugural year.
- General information (course policies, logistics, jokes, etc.)
- Technical and scientific information (software, hardware, actual biology and physics)
Week-by-week specifics will be posted in the table below as the semester progresses. Quizzes and Recitations are posted on T-Square.
| Date | Pre-reading | Lab Instructions | Writeup due | Notes |
| Week 1 Th, Jan 12 |
none | none | ||
| Week 2 Th, Jan 19 |
none | Coin flip statistics spreadsheet Lab 6: Hagen-Poiseuille flow |
see below | |
| Week 3 Th, Jan 26 |
none | (continued from previous week) | By next lab (2/2) |
Teams and writeups |
| Week 4 Th, Feb 2 |
Viscosity | Lab 7: Electrophoresis and charge screening | ||
| Week 5 Th, Feb 9 |
Zeta potential and screening | (continued from previous week) | By next lab (2/16) | |
| Week 6 Th, Feb 16 |
none | Lab 8: Nerve Transmission | ||
| Week 7 Th, Feb 23 |
none | (continued from previous week) | By next Sunday (3/5) | |
| Week 8 Th, Mar 2 |
none | Lab 8a: Circuits | in class | |
| Week 9 Th, Mar 9 |
none | Lab 9: Lenses | ||
| Week 10 Th, Mar 16 |
Light, lenses and the thin lens equation | (continued from previous week) | Sunday 4/2 | |
| Week 11 Th, Mar 23 |
– | Spring break | – | – |
| Week 12 Th, Mar 30 |
Using our spectrometer | Lab 10: Spectroscopy | see below | |
| Week 13 Th, Apr 6 |
Photon energy Bohr atom Fluorescence |
(continued from previous week) | see below | |
| Week 14 Th, Apr 13 |
none | (none, unless you need it to complete Lab 10) | Sunday 4/16 | |
| Week 15 Th, Apr 20 |
none | Lab X2 | Sunday 4/23 |