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Outline:

This module aims to provide students with developing confidence and skills in practical physics, through a selection of guided experiments and observations that are appropriate to our degree streams and core physics. These tasks provide experience in practical techniques, including experiment planning and execution, risk assessment, laboratory notebooks demonstrating good experimental practice, recording and critical analysis of results including analysis of errors and uncertainties, and report writing.

Aims:

All practical modules within the Department contribute to a continuing development of students’ scientific, technical and transferable skills, extending throughout their degree programmes. Collectively, these modules have the overall aim of equipping the student with those practical skills which employers expect to find in physics-related graduates, whether they are employed in scientific research or development, or in a wider context. PHAS0008 builds on the foundations of PHAS0007 Practical Physics and Computing I, and by further practice in experimental physics reinforces and extends and develops practical and investigative skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module students should:
• have extended the range of basic items of laboratory equipment with which they are familiar
• have acquired increased skill and confidence in the acquisition and analysis of experimental data through the performance of experiments at an introductory level
• have improved ability to record work concisely and precisely as it is done, including analysis of errors and uncertainties,
through repeated practice in recording experiments in a laboratory notebook, guided by frequent feedback from staff
• be further practiced in using computational techniques (for example, Python-based) for data analysis
• have an increased understanding and ability in applying the principles of data and uncertainty analysis, introduced in lectures, to experiments
• have increased conceptual understanding of topics in the theoretical part of the degree via the performance of linked experiments
• have increased ability to condense the information in their personal lab book record of an experiment into a concise, but precise and complete, formal report of the experiment in word processed form
• have developed their ability to plan and execute experiments and to report and
the results and conclusions of their work
• have gained the confidence to modify experiments under the guidance of demonstrators
• have consolidated the skills and attributes of an autonomous scientific professional that they started to develop in previous modules

Teaching and Learning Methodology:

In the practical sessions, students work by following guidance scripts. Great emphasis is placed on the formation of good habits in the keeping of a notebook for which students are given detailed advice. Demonstrators not only help students understand the experiments and observations and overcome difficulties as they arise, but also inspect students’ notebooks to provide formative feedback to help develop good practices.

Students will conduct experiments and observations that will emphasize the need for to develop critical and analytical thought processes and creativity within a physics context.

Self-study: In addition to timetabled hours it is expected that you engage in self-study in order to master the material. This can take the form of studying the material, practicing analysis, preparing for laboratory sessions, writing up reports and further reading in textbooks and online.

Indicative Topics:

Experiments:
• practical sessions Ìýspent performing experiments of First Year standard, some of which illustrate principles encountered in the lecture curriculum.
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