Welcome to the PHY-103 Scientific Measurement Home Page

Course Organisers

Dr. Eram Rizvi 

Dr. Alston J. Misquitta

To register for your lab days you must have completed your module selection on MySiS first. Then click here and login with your QMUL ID and password. Instructions for registration are given under the "Experiments" tab above.

Course Information

This course is in Year 1, Semester 1, at level 1;  It is worth 1.0 course units.

Prerequisites: None.

Examination: No written paper; assessment entirely by coursework and *all* coursework must be handed in.

There are 2 long and 6 short reports plus 2 homework exercises.

Lectures: about 8 in total at 2 per week. Lectures are given by Dr Rizvi on Tuesdays 12pm and Fridays 9am from 28th Sept.

Practical work: From 2-5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday depending on your schedule, in the Physics 2nd floor laboratory. Lab technicians are: Peter Crew and Saqib Qureshi (room 205A, Physics). Demonstrators in the laboratory are: Dr Eram Rizvi, Dr Alston Misquitta, Ms Elisa Piccaro with the help of postgraduate Teaching Assistants. Consult the course schedule linked above for details.

Special requirements: Attendance at both the lectures and the laboratory sessions is compulsory and will be monitored. 

Aims and Objectives

The main aims of Scientific Measurement are to teach laboratory techniques and skills to be used in later courses, and to train students to think critically about experimental data (and other numerical information) and their precision.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students are expected to accomplish the following:

• Be able to use everyday physics laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes and other electrical equipment, optical instruments, and high-precision measuring devices
• Demonstrate how to tabulate data and display it in the form of histograms, or linear or logarithmic graphs. 
• Demonstrate how to draw sensible curves through plotted data and how to derive results from, for instance, the gradients of such curves.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals of statistical analysis of data, and especially the importance of experimental errors.
• Demonstrate how to estimate and compound experimental errors, and demonstrate an understanding of their importance in the interpretation of results.
• Keep adequate laboratory records of their work.
• Use basic word processing and data presentation and fitting techniques using personal computers to present their work in formal reports.
• Organise their time efficiently so as to finish the experiments and write up their reports on time.

SCM Syllabus

• Fundamentals of statistical data analysis. Physics quantities, Uncertainties and representation, Repeatable measurements and Graphical representation, Indirect measurements and Error Propagation, Probability and Probability Distribution Functions, Binomial, Poisson and Gaussian distributions, Estimators, Hypothesis testing and Fitting data.
• Optical measurements. Observation of optical interference and its use in precision measurements.
• Electrical measurements. Construction of simple electronic circuits and measurement of their properties.
• Linear and non-linear behaviour. Investigation of non-linear behaviour using low and high precision measurement techniques.
• Nucleonic measurements. Use of radioactive isotopes to study the properties of the Poisson distribution and to demonstrate the absorption of gamma rays.
• Digital thermometry. Construction of a digital thermometer and its use in a short project to study the cooling of coffee.
• Oscilloscope. Introduction to the oscilloscope and its use in experimental measurements.
• Measurements of wave velocity. Measurements of the velocity of sound waves in air or water or the study of vibrations in a copper rod.

• Students then carry out a short project in one of the following five areas:
  • Astronomy: The angular resolution of telescopes. Line spectra, chromatic resolution and Doppler shifts. The expansion of the universe.
  • Light and other electromagnetic waves: Refraction of light. Velocity of light. X-ray diffraction.
  • Fundamental and subatomic physics: The charge to mass ratio of the electron. Kinematics on a linear air track. The decay of the pi meson.
  • Digital and analogue electronics: Counter, decoder and LED display. Operational amplifiers. Analogue-to-digital converter.
  • Computing and computer control: Visual BASIC. Interfacing to devices. Computer control of temperature.
  • Thermal Efficiency: Heat Engines - efficiency and performance.

Recommended books

The books listed below are available on loan for use in the laboratory from the technicians as well as in the main library. You might decide to purchase one or more for your own reference, but do try them first. (Prices may have risen.)

• An Introduction to Error Analysis – J.R. Taylor, University Science Books (2nd edition, 1997). Very good statistics reference.
• Practical Physics – G.L. Squires, Cambridge Univ. Press (4th edition, 2001). Recommended as a guide to good laboratory practice.
• Writing for Science – H. Silyn-Roberts, Longman (1996). Describes how to write scientific documents; more computer-oriented than Squires.
• Statistics – R. Barlow, Wiley (1989). An excellent reference book, goes far beyond what is covered in this course.

Coursework

There are 2 long (experiment 4, and one experiment to choose from the list 6-12), and 4 short reports to be handed in plus 2 homework exercises on statistical data analysis.

Laboratory report worksheets

All your measurements, calculations, graphical work and conclusions for laboratory exercises 1–3,5 must be entered directly onto the separate lab report worksheets. These worksheets have been designed to accommodate all the graphs, calculations, and answers that you are expected to produce for these exercises. They are also designed to show you how to keep a laboratory log, record data, and present results.

The worksheets should not take too long to complete – two or three hours at most. The deadline for handing them in is your lab session the following week. Hand in to the lab technicians. Work will be marked and returned as quickly as possible, so you can learn from what you did badly or wrong.

On these worksheets, you should try to record data and do calculations neatly enough to be handed in as is. We are not demanding fanatical neatness, just legibility and clarity, but if you make a complete mess of a worksheet we can provide another copy.

Formal laboratory reports

The course also requires you to produce two formal reports. The first is for exercise 4, and the second is for one of exercises 6–12 that you select to do towards the end of the semester. These reports must be typed using a word processor. As a general rule they should contain the following sections:

• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Theory
• Experimental details
• Results and Discussion
• Conclusions
• References

Instructions on how to write your report can be find downloading the following templates ExampleReport.pdf and ExampleReport.docx. Please read these before writing up your own reports. There is also a good example of such a report in exercise 4, and you can use this as a guide for your own report (but note that yours will be much shorter). Writing reports will be covered in the lectures. It is also useful to read Squires, Chapter 13 ("Writing a Paper") or Silyn-Roberts. The reports must be put into simple plastic binders, available at cost from the technicians.

Laboratory logbooks

We require that you keep a laboratory notebook. This is the complete record of what you do in the lab, and for preliminary graphs, calculations and observations.  The recommended notebook is an A4-size softback notebook of 80 pages, with quadrille rulings (a 5 mm grid) on all pages, available from the college bookshop. The quadrille ruling is ideal for sketching apparatus, writing notes, tabulating readings, and drawing graphs as you go along. Graphs that you need to draw on other graph paper, as well as output from computer programs, must be stuck in with clear tape or an adhesive such as Pritt Stick. Do not spend money on a 'standard' laboratory notebook with alternate ruled and graph pages; these are more expensive but less useful (and a waste of good graph paper).

There is a lot of good sense on notebooks and how to use them in Chapter 10 of the book by Squires. The golden rule is to say what you are doing: write a sentence or two when you make measurements, put labels on graphs, captions on sketches, headings (with units!) on tables, etc. You should be able to reconstruct what happened that day in the lab. Only by writing things down systematically can you hope to do this - do not trust your memory!

Teamwork vs. plagiarism

Worksheets and formal reports that you hand in must be your own work. Do not copy from other students. You will work in pairs for some exercises, and this means that you do the measurements as a team. However, you must write your own laboratory worksheets and reports. Submission of reports that are very similar, or that have parts that look as if they were copied from someone else, will be treated as possible plagiarism and may result in serious disciplinary action. See also the regulations for writing essays and reports in the Student Handbook.

SCM Computing and Tools

Use of student PCs

PCs running under Microsoft Windows are available in the laboratory for your use in this and other courses. There are additional PCs elsewhere in the College running the same system. A wide variety of software, both commercial and locally-written, is available. You should feel free to use these computers at any time. There are laser printers available for making paper copies.

Graphing and Histogramming

At various times you will need to use the computers to plot data as graphs or histograms, and to do line or curve fitting. There are a number of application programs available to you. You can use the following Windows programs:

• PhysPlot was written in the Physics Department with this course in mind. It produces suitable graphs and histograms, and provides line and curve fitting. It is straightforward to use but has a few limitations. PhysPlot can be found in the Physics Applications program group. You can download a copy of PhysPlot for use on your own computer from: http://pprc.qmul.ac.uk/~lloyd/physplot/
• Microsoft Excel is a very powerful spreadsheet program which has extensive calculational, graphing and analysis capability. However, it has much more flexibility but is more complicated, and is also less oriented towards scientific graphs than PhysPlot. In particular it does not hanlde easily uncertainties, therefore we discourage its use. Excel is found in the Microsoft Office program group, in the Start menu.

You should try out these programs, or any others, and use whichever you feel happy with. However note that we will require full use and display of experimental uncertainties on graphs.

Word Processing

An essential part of the course is to write two formal reports. These must be prepared using a word processor.

• Microsoft Word is the recommended application to use for word processing. You will find it in the Microsoft Office program group, in the Start menu. Like Excel it is fairly easy to use at a simple level, but there are many sophisticated and subtle features, some of which can save you a great deal of time and effort and are definitely worth learning about if you use it a lot. However, you are free to use any word processing application that you are happy with.
• Instructions on how to write your report can be find downloading the following templates ExampleReport.pdf and ExampleReport.docx. Please read these before writing up your own reports.

E-mail and the web

The course home page on this website will be used for transmitting news of any changes of arrangements, etc. As homework is marked and returned, the web will also be used for posting solutions. You should look at the home page regularly, about once per week.

Individual contact between students and the course organisers is often most efficiently done by e-mail. You will be notified if you are in danger through not attending the course or not handing in work on time, and you can use e-mail to inform us of what might be causing such problems. We are very aware that e-mail is not a subtle medium and is often no substitute for face-to-face discussion, but it is sometimes an effective way to convey simple facts and queries.

General comments on computing

Do not be afraid to experiment - the worst that can happen is that you lose the data you have typed in (though saving it frequently will help to prevent that).

Always protect against losing files by backing them up to either floppy or Zip disks. Loss of files will not be considered a valid excuse for not handing in work, and can cause a lot of needlessly duplicated effort.

Weekly Schedule

SCM Deadlines

Laboratory reports

You may only start the next exercise once you have handed in the previous one. This means that "short" experiments must be handed in by the time of your laboratory session the following week.

You should have finished experiments 1 to 3 by Friday 19th October. Your two formal laboratory reports (one on experiment 4, the other on one of experiments 6 to 12) should be handed in to a laboratory technician and a receipt obtained. The first report must be handed in by Monday 12th November for Formative assessment in the lab, and then by Monday 19th for marking. The second formal report is due by Friday 11th January. 

In order to pass the course, students must complete and hand in ALL exercises and reports.

Summary of laboratory reports deadlines

To be handed in to a technician in the laboratory:

• Friday 19th October: Laboratory experiments 1 to 3 should be completed
• 12th-16th November: Bring your formal report (experiment 4) for formative assessment / feedback in your booked time slot
• Monday 12th November at 3pm: Due date for experiment 5
• Monday 19th November at 3pm: Due date for first formal report (experiment 4) for final marking
• Friday 11th January: Due date for second formal report (one of experiments 6 to 12)

Homework on Statistics

Homework problem solutions should be placed in the box labelled "SCM" on the 1st floor by:

• Homework 1: Friday 19th October at 14:00 
• Homework 2: Monday 12th November at 14:00

Late marking penalties will be strictly enforced.

20% of marks will be lost for late work <24 hours late, 50% for 1-3 days late and 100% for >3 days late. If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent you submitting work on time (eg illness or bereavement) you must notify the course organisers as soon as possible and submit the relevant paperwork to the departmental office.

SCM Marking Scheme

Homework on Statistics

Problem sheets 1 and 2 (must do all) are worth  10% each Total 20%.

Laboratory Experiments

• Experiments 1 to 3 do not contribute to the final course mark but MUST all be submitted as a requirement to pass this course.
• Experiment 4 (long report) is 25%
• Experiment 5 is 15%
• Experiment 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 (choose one) is 40%

Formal Reports

An indicative marking scheme for the long formal reports (experiment 4 and one of experiments 6-12) is given here along with many hints and tips on what to look out for when writing these documents. The information is available here.

Here is some general feedback on the first formal report (lab 4).

SCM Experiments

READ THIS CAREFULL BEFORE REGISTERING

To register for your lab days you must have completed your module selection on MySiS first. Then click here and login with your QMUL ID and password. If your name does not appear on the list please ensure that your MySiS registration is complete. If you still have trouble contact Pete/Saqib in the lab on Monday morning 9am-12pm.

There are no laboratory classes in week 1.   During week 1 you will receive an email containing a link to an online registration which must be completed by the end of the week.  Registration is simple and straightforward and it only takes two steps and a few minutes.

 STEP 1.  You must register for one of four available afternoons. The afternoons will be listed on the form.  Simply click on the one you would prefer. In weeks 2, 3 and 4 you must attend the afternoon for which you have registered. On registering, you will automatically be assigned a second afternoon which you must attend from week from week 5 onwards in addition to the afternoon you registered for. The following table shows the second afternoon which you will automatically be assigned to:

Registered Afternoon Additional Afternoon

Monday Tuesday

Tuesday Monday

Thursday Friday

Friday Thursday

Before registering you must make sure that you will be available for both afternoons.  The system works on the first come first served principle, and the number of available places on each day is limited.  The number of available places are indicated on the registration form.  The registering system will automatically pair you with another student, and assign you an experiment for each week. It may be possible to change this if you wish to work with someone else.

STEP 2.    You will choose an experiment to work on from weeks 9 through to 11. You will see a list of experiments on the registration form. Simply click on the one you would prefer. You do not have to make this choice immediately but please keep in mind that:

1. You will not be able to progress beyond week six unless you have completed the second step.  This must be completed by 28^th September.
2. The more you wait, the less likely you are to get the experiment you want. Remember: first come first serve, and the number of available places in each of the experiments is limited.  The number of available places are indicated on the form.

If you have any problems then please see either Peter Crew or Saqib Qureshi.

List of Experiments

1. Electrical Measurements (pdf)
2. Linear and Non-Linear Behaviour (pdf)
3. Nucleonic Measurements (pdf)
4. Digital Thermometry (pdf, coffee cooling paper)
   1. Making the digital thermometer
   2. The cooling of coffee
5. The Oscilloscope (pdf, using the oscilloscope)
   1. Frequency measurement and the XY display
   2. Time constants and RC circuits

Choose ONE of the following:

1. Measurements of Wave Velocity (do any two parts) (pdf)
   1. Sound waves in air
   2. Optical measurements
   3. The vibrations of a copper rod
2. Measurements in Astronomy (pdf)
   1. The angular resolution of telescopes
   2. Line spectra, chromatic resolution and Doppler shifts
   3. The expansion of the universe 
3. Light and Other Electromagnetic Waves (pdf)
   1. ​Refraction of light
   2. The velocity of light
   3. X-ray diffraction
4. Fundamental and Subatomic Physics (pdf)
   1. ​The charge-to-mass ratio of the electron, e/m
   2. Kinematics on a linear air track
   3. The decay of the pi meson
5. Digital and Analogue Electronics (pdf)
   1. ​A counter, decoder and LED display
   2. Operational amplifiers
   3. A simple digital-to-analogue converter
6. Computing and Computer Control (pdf)
   1. ​Visual BASIC
   2. Interfacing to devices
   3. Computer control of temperature
7. Thermal Efficiency (pdf)
   1. ​Heat Engine Efficiency
   2. Heat Pump coefficient of performance
   3. Load for optimum performance

For PDF files of the individual experiments use the links above The complere manual with all experiments included can be found in the laboratory manual.

SCM Homework Problems

Homework problems based on the lectures and will form 20% of the final course mark. The problem sheets will be posted here when issued .

Your solutions should be posted in the box provided  in the 1st floor. See the Deadlines link above for hand-in deadlines.

1st Homework Problem Due 19th October, 2pm

Example solutions for 1st Homework. The first homework scripts have now been marked and are available for collection from the pigeon holes outside the physics office (marks out of 20).

2nd Homework Problem Due 2nd November 2pm

Example solutions for 2nd Homework. 

Links to homework solutions and comments will appear on this page after they are marked and handed back. Late marking penalties will be strictly enforced.

20% of marks will be lost for late work <24 hours late, 50% for 1-3 days late and 100% for >3 days late. If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent you submitting work on time (eg illness or bereavement) you must notify the course organisers as soon as possible and submit the relevant paperwork to the departmental office.

SCM Lectures

• Lecture 1: Introduction         [video]
• Lecture 2: Graph Plotting      [video]
• Lecture 3: Errors                     [video]
• Lecture 4: Propagation of Errors   [video]
• Lecture 5: Statistics I              [video]
• Lecture 6: Statistics II             [video]
• Lecture 7: Fitting Data             [video lectures 7 & 8]      
• Lecture 8: Examples

SCM Re-sit Material

For the SCM re-sit you will not have access to the laboratory and so you are being provided with the raw measurements for the long experiment 8 which normally would take four weeks to complete. For the re-sit you are expected to use and analyse the data provided as if you had taken the observations yourself. Follow the procedure given in the SCM booklet and write up the experiment as a complete lab report including an abstract, introduction, theory section, as well as results and conclusions.

The submission deadline is 4pm Friday 2nd August. All reports must be handed in to the student administrators on the first floor as paper copies. Emailed reports will not be accepted.

The data for parts A and B are available for download here. For part C you will need to take measurements yourself from a copy of a photograph. This will normally be mailed to you at the address at which your results have been posted, but you could also collect in person from the Admnistrator's Office on the 1st floor of the Physics building. If you have not received it please contact Lucie Bone (l.bone@qmul.ac.uk) and Jessica Henry (j.henry@qmul.ac.uk) and ask them to mail a copy to your current address (please specify the address). Note that you parts A and B can be started as soon as you have downloaded the material from the link above. You do not need to wait for the photograph before starting to prepare the report.