Scientific Measurement (SCM | SPA4103)

Please consult QMPlus for the authoritative information on this module.

Year: 1 | Semester: A | Level: 4 | Credits: 15

Prerequisites: none
Lectures: 10 | Lab: 114 115 116 117 214 215 216 217 414 415 416 417 514 515 516 517 Lec: 210 511 (notation)
Exam: no written paper; assessment entirely by coursework.
Practical work: 16 x 3 hours | Ancillary teaching: weekly exercises and training in computer skills

Course organiser: Prof David Dunstan | Course deputy:

Synopsis:

Practical work in the laboratory serves to illustrate basic concepts in physics, and the processes of carrying out experiments and interpreting their results. Students are taught techniques of measurement and the use of instruments and computers. There are some lectures on statistics and data analysis which are applied to the laboratory measurements. There is no final examination. All assessment is by coursework and laboratory reports.

Aims:

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.

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.

Recommended books:

There are no required books. A number of books are recommended 
and are available to borrow from the Teaching Laboratories and the 
Main Library Short Loan Collection, the most useful being:

Squires, G.L.
Practical Physics
CUP, (2001)
ISBN 0-521-77940-5

Silyn-Roberts, H.
Writing for Science
Longman (1996)
ISBN 0-582-87816-0

Barlow, R.J.
Statistics
Wiley (1989)
ISBN 0-471-92295-1

Taylor, J.R.
An Introduction to Error Analysis
University Science Books (1997)
ISBN 0-935702-75-X