Module overview
The PHYS2022 Physics from Evidence I module consists of three parts: Teaching Lab, Computing Module and Student Conference. The Teaching Lab and Computing Modules run through the first 10 weeks of the semester and the Student Conference is in week 12.
Linked modules
Pre-requisites: PHYS1017 AND PHYS1019
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Handle data analysis and error propagation. Gain experience with experimental techniques and data collection.
- Write computer programs for the solution of physics problems and simulations of physical systems.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Gain knowledge in data collection, handling and analysis by using commercial software and computational codes written by the students.
- Develop skills in the oral presentation of experimental results.
- Define core principles of physics through a series of laboratory experiments.
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Gain practical experience in the oral presentation of scientific results.
- Practice methods of recording laboratory work and experimental data.
- Examine methods for handling experimental data: data collection, plot and curve fitting, estimation of uncertainties and significance testing, comparison to theory.
- Hands-on experience in experiments involving different techniques (optical, electrical, acoustic measurements).
- Development of computational skills (programming in Python) and their applications to data analysis.
Syllabus
The course will consist of Laboratory and Computing sections. In the Laboratory section of the course students will perform and record a selection of experiments from the list below and make a short presentation on one of the experiments.
- Normal Modes
- Black Body Radiation
- Semiconductors to p-n junctions and photoconduction
- Atomic Excitation Potentials
- Gamma Ray Spectroscopy
- Diffraction and Interference of Light
- Speed of Electromagnetic Waves
The Computing section will cover basic ideas in programming and applications to physics covering functions, arrays, series and sums, graph plotting, numerical integration, random numbers, data fitting and differential equations.
Learning and Teaching
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Supervised time in studio/workshop | 12 |
| Wider reading or practice | 45 |
| Completion of assessment task | 93 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Assessment
Assessment strategy
For the Laboratory part of the course, each experiment will be assessed in the following way. The preparation before the start of each experiment, including answers to set prelim questions and the understanding of the relevant, background physics will count for 15% of the final mark for the practical. The remaining 85% of the mark will come from the assessment of the quality of work, data presentation and analysis. Lab books have to be submitted on time for marking; no late submissions will be accepted and the practical will get a mark of zero. Students have to arrive punctually for the lab sessions; the attendance list is taken down at 10:15 am and students arriving after that will not be allowed to start a practical and will receive zero marks for this experiment.
Referral:
There are no referrals or deferrals for the LAB or CONFERENCE components of this module in the Summer Supplementary Examination period. If you fail in this module (or are deferred), the normal referral (deferral) procedure is to take the module again at the next opportunity in the following academic year as an internal student. Depending on circumstances, this may be as part of a full internal repeat, or as an internal candidate for just this module.
For the COMPUTING MODULE only, referral is possible by mean of a special one-day session during the summer break. Sections 1-8 will be marked and contribute to the average determining the final mark.
Files have to be submitted within deadlines. No late submissions will be accepted.
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Laboratory | 55% |
| Oral presentation | 10% |
| Exercise | 35% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Exercise | 35% |
| Lab Marks carried forward | 65% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Lab Marks carried forward | 65% |
| Exercise | 35% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External