PH05010 - LABORATORY PHYSICS 1

Module Identifier

PH05010

Module Title

LABORATORY PHYSICS 1

Academic Year

2007/2008

Co-ordinator

Professor Andrew Evans

Semester

Semester 1

Other staff

Professor Keith Birkinshaw

Pre-Requisite

GCSE Mathematics or equivalent

Co-Requisite

None

Mutually Exclusive

Not available to students on 3 year BSc (Hons) or 4 year MPhys schemes

Course delivery

Practical

11 x 3 hours

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	Laboratory Diary	40%
Semester Assessment	Written assignment	20%
Semester Assessment	Formal Reports	40%
Supplementary Exam	As determined by departmental examination board	100%

Learning outcomes

After taking this module students should be able to:

perform simple experiments in basic physics and apply basic error analysis to the results obtained in order to draw appropriate conclusions.
keep a laboratory diary
write formal reports

Brief description

This module on Laboratory Physics is an introduction to experimental physics. Emphasis is placed on the training of students to use basic instruments, perform simple error calculations and critically assess results in order to draw reliable conclusions. Experiments are designed to reflect theoretical topics covered in other modules - hence experiments cover properties of matter, forces and mechanics as well as other realms of basic physics.

Content

A number of experiments are available. These are divided into four blocks. Students will be expected to carry out two experiments in each group. Students will record their measurements in a diary that will be marked. They will also be required to produce two formal reports.

The experiment blocks are as follows:
1. Electricity and magnetism.
2. Oscillations and waves.
3. Mechanics and forces.
4. Properties of matter.

Transferable skills

Writing formal reports.

Reading Lists

Books
** General Text
A handbook will be issued at the beginning of the module

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 3