PHS3000 - Experimental physics - 2019

6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Science

Organisational Unit

School of Physics and Astronomy

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Alexis Bishop

Coordinator(s)

Dr Alexis Bishop

Unit guides

Offered

Clayton

  • First semester 2019 (On-campus)
  • Second semester 2019 (On-campus)

Prerequisites

PHS2061 and PHS2062 and one of MTH2032 or MTH2040

Recommended: PHS2081

Prohibitions

PHS3031, PHS3051, PHS3042, PHS3062

Synopsis

In this unit, students perform advanced laboratory experiments designed to broaden their experimental skills and physics knowledge.

Tuition is provided for the following skills: writing research-grade laboratory notebooks, preparing concise scientific reports, fitting models to data, uncertainty analysis, signal processing. Students complete a series of experiments of their choice and present their findings in laboratory reports.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

  1. Write a research-grade laboratory record of an experiment session.
  2. Write reports in a similar format to a standard research journal article on the findings of a laboratory experiment.
  3. Analyse experimental data using numerical modelling and other computational techniques.
  4. Demonstrate awareness of scientific computing methods and visualisation.
  5. Demonstrate an ability to work in teams and to communicate and discuss physics concepts.

Assessment

In semester assessment: 100%

Workload requirements

The workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours spread across the semester (approximately 12 hours per week) - approximately an even mixture of attendance at scheduled activities and self-scheduled study time. Learning activities comprise a mixture of instructor directed and self-directed learning.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study