PH05010 - LABORATORY PHYSICS 1

Module Identifier	PH05010
Module Title	LABORATORY PHYSICS 1
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Dr Andrew Evans
Semester	Semester 1
Other staff	Dr Philip Cadman
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	Course work	Two error workshops (20%) and and eight experiments (80%)

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.

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.

Additional learning activities

Each student is expected to give a five minute talk on one of the experiments that has been carried out.

Outline syllabus

A number of experiments are available. These are divided into four blocks. Students will be expected to carry out two experiments in both groups 3 and 4 and a minimum of two experiments in any other group to be chosen by the individual students. At the end of each experiment, students will produce a laboratory diary and report which will be marked and returned as soon as possible to provide suitable feedback.

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

Reading Lists

Books
A department handbook will be issued at the beginning of the module.