Department of Physics, Unit Catalogue 2006/07

PH10012 Laboratory & information skills 1B

Credits: 6

Level: Certificate

Semester: 2

Assessment: PR 100%

Requisites:

Before taking this unit you must take PH10003 and take PH10011

Aims: The aim of this unit is to build on the basic laboratory skills developed in PH10011, extending the scope of the demonstrations and project work. Two additional aims are to introduce the use of computer software to simulate electrical circuits, and to give students experience of presenting their work in the form of a poster.
Learning Outcomes:
While taking this unit the student should be able to:
* build simple electronic circuits involving, for example, operational amplifiers;
* correctly follow written instructions for setting up and carrying out experimental demonstrations related to level 1, semester 2 physics units;
* plan, design and carry out a physics project consisting of a small-scale experimental investigation of a slightly more challenging nature than that carried out in PH10011;
* design and make a poster based on the physics project, and present this at an open poster presentation;
* use a computer software package to simulate the operation of passive electronic networks and compare the results with the measured behaviour.
Skills:
Written Communication T/F A, Numeracy T/F A, Data Acquisition, Handling, and Analysis T/F A, Information Technology T/F A, Problem Solving T/F A, Working as part of a group T/F A, Practical laboratory skills T/F A, Project planning/management T/F A.
Content:

Techniques: Examples include operational amplifiers, geometrical optics, introduction to computer data acquisition.
Demonstrations: Examples include ultrasonic waves in air, the Michelson interferometer, vibrations of strings, photoelectric determination of Planck's constant.
Electronics: Operational amplifiers. Combinatorial and sequential logic circuits.
Project: A second independent project, similar in nature to that in PH10011. The students' second project is reported in writing and in the form of a poster presentation, in the style similar to that of conference posters. This will be judged by staff and students at an open presentation.
PC laboratory sessions: Computer packages for circuit simulation. Standard computer software is used to simulate the behaviour of simple, passive, electrical circuits. The simulation is tested against measured behaviour.

University | Catalogues for 2006/07