Course materials
Lab notebook and
report guidelines
Introduction to LaTeX: watch beginning at 26:45.
Introduction to Python plotting: watch beginning at 45:59.
Probability distributions and nonuniform random numbers
The error function and integer histograms
Slides
Probability distributions
All lab reports must be PDF files created with LaTeX, as described in the guidelines handout above. They may be no larger than 11 MB (Megabytes) each. Scale down any images you intend to use in your report so that the number of pixels in the horizontal direction is no more than 1024. For your notebooks, scan or photograph the pages and use LaTeX or some other software to combine them into a single PDF file. The notebook file may be no larger than 17 MB, so you may need to scale the images before combining them. Make sure your notebook images are readable! You will lose credit if the TAs cannot read what you submit.
Please include your perm number, your last name, and the assignment in the filename for everything you turn in. For example, fermi_1602177_notebook1.pdf or fermi_1602177_report1.pdf . Do not use spaces in your filenames. You may use underscores instead.
It is a good idea to compute and save the MD5 checksum of each file you submit. Use Google to find out how to do this on your computer. Upload the checksum to Gradescope as a separate text file along with each notebook or report. That way if you forget the attachment or the file is corrupted, the file can be sent later and the TA will know it was completed on time.
You will submit your lab notebooks and reports as two separate PDF files using Gradescope: https://www.gradescope.com.
Prepare the PDF files as instructed below and in the Lab Notebook and Report Guidelines above. Click on the Log In button at the top right of the Gradescope home page. Select School Credentials at the lower left of the popup window and use your browser to search for “barb” in the list of schools to find UCSB NetID. Then log in.
Select this class and submit one PDF file for each Gradescope assignment.
If you do not see our class, an account has probably already been created for you using an email different from the one I did (I used the one ending in @ucsb.edu without umail.) In that case, merge your accounts according to the instructions here.
You must turn in all 4 lab notebooks and 3 reports to pass this class. Assignments turned in late will have 10% of the possible remaining credit deducted for each 24-hour period past the deadline.
By Thursday, July 6, at noon, fill out the experiment request form (see Experiments above).
By Monday, July 10, read chapters 1–3 in An Introduction to Error Analysis by John Taylor (“Taylor”).
By Wednesday, July 12, read the Lab Notebook and Report Guidelines handout.
By Friday, July 14, watch the lecture videos on LaTeX and Python plotting.
By Friday, July 14, read chapters 4, 5, and 11 in Taylor.
By Saturday, July 15, at 11:55 PM, submit your notebook for the soldering lab.
By Friday, July 21, read chapters 7, 8, and 10 in Taylor.
By Saturday, July 22, at 11:55 PM, submit your notebook and report for the Counting Nuclear Radiation lab.
By Friday, July 28, read chapters 9 and 12 in Taylor.
By Saturday, July 29, at 11:55 PM, submit your notebook and report for lab 1.
By Saturday, August 5, at 11:55 PM, submit your notebook and report for lab 2.
Overleaf (set up free account to use)
Overleaf example
Copy Overleaf project
LaTeX example source
LaTeX example figure
LaTeX example PDF output file
Python plotting script:
simple_plot.py
Sample data file
Integer histogram script:
inthist.py
Contents
Tutorial
Library Reference
Matplotlib
Kinder and Nelson Python book
Williams graphic design book
