Honours Practical Work
Physics
The aims of laboratory work at honours level are:
- to familiarise students with a wide range of experimental techniques and equipment,
- to strengthen understanding of important physical concepts,
- to develop sound practice in planning of experiments, risk assessment, record keeping, data handling and evaluation, error analysis, drawing evidence-based conclusions, and identifying future work.
PH3101 Physics Laboratory 1 and PH4105 Physics Laboratory 2 are divided into five sub-modules and consist of experiments and demonstrations illustrating a particular aspect of experimental physics. The laboratory classes run in the afternoons. The assessment mechanism can vary between sub-modules, but will be drawn from material in the lab notebook, written reports on the demonstrations and on the experiments, presentations, and short tests. Details are given in the lab handbook. One of the lab modules will also include an assessed formal report in the style of a scientific journal paper.
Astrophysics
The aims of the astrophysics "laboratory" modules are to equip students with skills in the field of observation, measurement, data analysis, computer programming and modelling, and report writing. All students take AS3013 Computational Astrophysics in the second semester of JH, and may take AS4025 Observational Astrophysics in the first semester of SH. Essential supervision and assistance are provided, but students are encouraged to work independently.
Theoretical Physics
Students on the theoretical physics programmes are not required to take laboratory modules, but, subject to the permission of their adviser and the timetable, may do so if they wish.