Aims

To gain experience in experimental physics methods: planning and conducting
experiments, recording and analyzing data, and treatment of errors and uncertainties.

To improve presentation skills through the preparation and writing of Formal Reports
of experiments.

To provide a solid grounding in the most important techniques used in computer-
based measurements.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the module, students should:

be able to use and develop the handling of systematic and random experimental
errors and to express final results in the light of these uncertainties,

have developed their ability to record their actions and experimental observations in
a clear way in a laboratory notebook,

be capable to construct Matlab programs to control physics experiments, and to
acquire and analyse data using a computer.

Students will be expected to:

research the background to their experiments,

plan their experimental work,

set up equipment and software to carry out experiments,

accurately record their experiments,

make meaningful measurements and estimates of errors,

analyse data and extract information to produce useful results with acceptable
uncertainties,

discuss their experiment and make sensible conclusions,

present their experiment formally in written form.