Instead of writing an individual term paper, you may request permission to work on and submit a term project. That term project will fulfill the same coursework requirement as the term paper and the grade you receive on that project will be treated in the same way as the grade on a term paper when determining your semester grade.

The overall goal of a term project is very similar to that of a normal term paper: you are expected to examine and write about the physics involved in a particular object. However, in the project format, you will actually design, develop, and/or study experimentally the object itself as part of the project. The work that you will submit will consist of (1) the object, (2) a poster presentation of the physics in that object and/or in its design and development, and (3) an electronic submission of the poster's textual contents via the EClass web site. The poster portion of a term project should not be more than 1750 words in length and must meet the same requirements of originality and citation as the text of a term paper. Figures, images, and the object itself do not count against that word length. There is no minimum length for the text of a term project's poster, but it should do a thorough job of examine the physics in the project. Very short posters are unlikely to achieve that result. The posters themselves should not be larger than 4' x 6' unless you get permission of the instructor.

The best way to clarify the term project concept may be to offer three examples. You might build a musical instrument, discuss the physics behind your design choices and construction, and further anaylze the physics that makes that instrument work. Or you might study a window structure, looking at its thermal and solar properties and design criteria in terms of physics. Or you might disassemble a lawn mower and examine the physics of its engine, drive system, starter, and so on.

In support of these Term Projects, we will hold a "laboratory session" in Room 11 of the Physics Building (a portion of Lou Bloomfield's research laboratory). TA Peter Gee will supervise this laboratory period, which will be held from 4pm until 5pm on Wednesdays. That time may change and/or expand, depending on how much activity develops.

It is my sincere hope that the hands-on character of a term project will make it even more rewarding and interesting than a term paper, particularly for those of you who enjoy working with real materials and objects. The concept of a term project grows out of a relationship between this course and the School of Architecture, wherein we are trying to connect the physics in this course with the physics of structures and architectural issues. I hope that many of you in architecture will consider working on a term project and I encourage you to discuss possible topics with Kirk Martini and Bill Sherman, both of whom have expressed strong interest in this sort of activity. Successful projects completed by architecture students may well be placed on display in the Architecture School. For those of you not in architecture, I hope that some of you will also find this possibility intriguing and will talk with me about possible topics.

If you would like to work on a Term Project, please contact the instructor (Lou Bloomfield) at the earliest possible time because the number of such projects we can handle is limited and they will be permitted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Final note: Group projects involving two or three students are permitted, though they also require the permission of the instructor. The length and size expectations are double that of the individual project.