Module Identifier PH24010  
Module Title DATA HANDLING AND STATISTICS  
Academic Year 2004/2005  
Co-ordinator Professor Geraint Vaughan  
Semester Semester 1  
Other staff Dr Sian A Jones  
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 TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam1.5 Hours End of Semester Examinations  20%
Semester Assessment Course Work: MathCad exercises  10%
Semester Assessment Course Work: Young's Modulus experiment  30%
Semester Assessment Course Work: Photometry experiment  30%
Semester Assessment Course Work: Theory exercises  10%

Learning outcomes

After taking this module student should be able to:

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 distribtions
Combining uncertainties
The Least Squares 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

Applying basic statistical principles.
Simple modelling using MathCad.
Writing lab reports.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Roger Barlow Statistics Wiley ISBN 0-471-92295-1
** Reference Text
R. Larsen Introduction to Mathcad 2000 Prentice Hall ISBN 0-13-020007-7
P.M. Morse Vibration and Sound

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5