| Module Identifier |
PX34010 |
| Module Title |
DATA HANDLING AND STATISTICS |
| Academic Year |
2003/2004 |
| Co-ordinator |
Professor Geraint Vaughan |
| Semester |
Semester 1 |
| Pre-Requisite |
Core Physics Modules at Level 1 |
| Course delivery |
Lecture | 8 lectures (first half of semester) |
| |
Practical | 36 Hours Laboratory. 12 laboratory sessions (3 hours each) |
| Assessment |
| Assessment Type | Assessment Length/Details | Proportion |
|---|
| Semester Exam | 1 Hours End of semester examination | 20% |
| Semester Assessment | Course Work: Young's Modulus experiment | 30% |
| Semester Assessment | Course Work: Photometry Experiment | 30% |
| Semester Assessment | Course Work: MathCad exercises | 10% |
| Semester Assessment | Course Work: Theory Exercises | 10% |
|
Learning outcomes
After taking this module students should be able to:
-
explain the nature of random error in experimental data
-
use the Gaussian distribution and appreciate why it applies in so many cases
-
calculate the mean and standard deviation of data following a simple, unbiased Gaussian
-
recognise the effect of inter-dependence of measurements and extreme values on data sets
-
combine several different errors to derive a final error
-
identify the most important source of error in an experiment and concentrate on reducing that error
-
fit a straight line to experimental data and evaluate the standard error in the slopeand intercept.
-
write a simple MathCad program to model a physical system.
Brief description
This module is a laboratory-based course where the handling of data in selected experiments is treated in parallel with a course on the theory of measurement, the nature of experimental errors, random and systematic. The course provides an introduction to the basic statistics encountered in Physics, including the Binomial, Poisson and Normal distributions, and simple least-squares regression. The estimate of standard error, the combination of errors and the optimum design of experiments to reduce the final error in the most efficient way are covered. Applications of these concepts will be made through practical work and computational work using MathCad.
Content
Use of MathCad for statistical problems
Theory of measurement
Random and systematic errors
Accuracy and Precision
Mean and standard deviation
Gaussian, Poisson and Binomial distributions
Combining uncertainties
The Least Square Principle, graphing data and fitting a straight line to data
Experiments:
1. Photometry experiment. Determine the temperature of an incandescent filament by optical measurements.
2. Young's Modulus experiment - Determination of Young's Modulus, with special care taken to estimate the random uncertainty in the final result. Identification of the parameter contributing most to the final error.
Transferable skills
Use or STOMP CAL package
Simple modelling using MathCad
Reading Lists
Books
** Recommended Text
Roger Barlow Statistics
Wiley ISBN 0 471 92295 1
** Reference Text
P M Morse (theory of Young's Modulus Experiment) Vibration and Sound
R. Larsen Introduction to Mathcad 2000
Prentice Hall ISBN 0-13-020007-7
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6