General Grading Policies

• A total of 10 experiments will be carried out. Each experiment counts equally toward your overall lab grade in the course. 
• Your prompt attendance at the laboratories is required. If you have a legitimate excuse then it is your responsibility to contact the instructor prior to the lab in order to work out arrangements to make up the lab. An unexcused absence will result in a grade of zero for the experiment. Three zero grades will result in an automatic failure for the course. 
• The grade in the laboratory counts 25% toward your overall grade for the course. 
• A passing grade must be obtained in the laboratory in order to pass the course.

Grading of Experiments

Each experiment is graded on the basis of 100 points. The grade for the experiment is the composite of the five separate items below.

• Lab Report - 50 pts. Lab reports in this course will generally take the form of report sheets that you and your team will work together to complete. They will be graded primarily on the degree to which they demonstrate a good understanding of the experiment. The correctness of the answers to the questions, the correctness of the calculations, and your interpretations of the data and observations as shown in the results summary tables are all critical to obtaining a good grade on the lab report. The neatness, completeness, spelling, and grammar usage of your answers will also be factored into the grade for the report. Lab reports are due one week after completion of each experiment. Late lab reports will be penalized. 
• Data/Observations Sheet - 10 pts.  Each lab handout includes a data/observations sheet to be filled out when actually carrying out the experiment during the lab period. Make sure you give units where required and obey significant figure rules when recording data. Also record all observations completely and in detail. Omission of a key observation or piece of data will lead to deductions to your score on this part of the lab. Get the instructor or TA to initial your D/O sheet before leaving the lab each week. 
• Quality of Lab Work - 10 pts.  You may be penalized for poor results, incomplete results, failure to follow directions, excessive glassware breakage, failure to follow safety rules, or poor housekeeping.
• Pre-Lab Assignment - 10 pts. It is important that all students come to lab fully prepared to do the required experiment. Each lab handout includes a pre-lab assignment of 2-5 questions.
  
• Post-Lab Quiz - 20 pts. A lab quiz on each experiment will be given shortly after the reports for that lab have been turned in for grading.
  

Lab Teams

• You will work in instructor-assigned teams of four for the labs in this course. 
• You may want to delegate assignments both during the actual laboratory periods as well as outside of lab when writing reports. However, just as it would not be permissible for only one team member to carry out all of the experimental procedures during the lab, it is equally not permissible for only one team member to be involved in the preparation of the lab report. It is expected that all team members work together on the report for each experiment. 
• To ensure fairness of lab grading, all lab teams will be switched around after experiments #3 and #7. In other words you will work with three different teams throughout the semester.
  

Team Contribution Surveys

• When turning in the lab report for each experiment each team member must also submit a team contribution survey (TCS).
• A TCS for each experiment will be made available electronically on the course D2L site after completion of each experiment. You will receive an email inviting you to take the survey.
  
• The TCS ask you to rate yourself and your teammates on your participation both in carrying out the experiment during the lab and in writing up the report post-lab.
  
• You will be penalized 5 points for every rating of 3 or less in any of the individual phases of the experiment. In other words, if you don't help with a lab report and at least one of your teammates is honest about it and rates you a 3 or less on the prelab, then you lose 5 points. (Ratings of 1 or 2 will cost even more points). Same thing goes for the in-lab work, the report, and the meetings participation.
• TCS penalties will be applied at the end of the semester, not as we go along. In other words, you will not find out about any penalties that were assessed until the end of the semester. I am doing this so that people can feel more free about rating the other people on their team honestly, without fear of any kind of reprisal.
• If you do rank one of your teammates at 3 or less for any of the phases of an experiment, then you should follow up with an email to the instructor that explains your rationale for doing so. This should ensure that poor ratings are not arbitrary, malicious or without good reasons to back them up.
• Not submitting a TCS for any experiment incurs a five point penalty.