PVB203 Experimental Physics
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | PVB203 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | (MXB105 or PVB200 or MXB106 or PVB202) and (PVB105 or PVB103 or PVB101 or PVB102 or EGB113 or EGB102) |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $1,118 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $4,680 |
| International unit fee | $5,244 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Gardens Point, Internal
| Unit code: | PVB203 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | PVB101 or EGB113 or PVB102 of PVB103 |
| Equivalent: | PQB451 |
| Coordinator: | Deepak Dubal | deepak.dubal@qut.edu.au |
Overview
This unit aims to develop your skills in experimental methods, from the design and execution of your work to data treatment, fitting, and statistical analysis of errors.
It provides you with an opportunity to build, practice and provide evidence of your analysis and problem-solving skills for physics, as well as to build your scientific report writing skills and presentation of results. It also provides you with a working knowledge of instrument design and the principles of circuit theory and electronics that underlie instrumentation.
This unit is in the developmental stage of your course and builds on the work of previous experimental units. This unit also links to further self-managed experimental and project work in your final year.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Collection and analysis of data using scientific equipment during practical experiments in laboratory settings
- Analysis, design and construction of physics experiments
- Critical and creative reasoning and problem solving techniques (using data acquired or provided) to evaluate results
- Communicating scientific arguments relevant to professional practice by producing written scientific reports or presentations incorporating visual representations of scientific concepts and numeric data, including the generation of graphs.
Content
In the experimental component of this unit, you will complete a number of tasks designed to develop skill in experimental techniques and data analysis. You will be introduced to the statistical analysis of the data with a set of practical experiments. You will apply this knowledge to measure fundamental physical constants like electron charge and electron mass, evaluating the statistical and systematical measurement errors.
The instrumentation component of the unit is designed to give you a working knowledge of the physics of electrical circuits, starting from the more simple elements, and learning how to use multimeters and oscilloscopes.
You will apply this knowledge to measure fundamental physical constants like electron charge and electron mass, evaluating the statistical and systematical measurement errors. In the final part of the unit you will undertake a group project which will demonstrate your achievements.
Learning Approaches
In this laboratory based unit you will work as groups and individually to complete experiments. Lectures and tutorials both on campus and online will introduce the theory needed to perform the successful lab experiments. You will also be required to present some aspects of your work to the larger group and to provide peer review of other students work. The reporting, which forms the assessment, will be of the style typically used by professional scientists and thus continuous guidance and feedback are provided to develop your skills in scientific reporting.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You will receive feedback on your progress throughout the unit, through the following mechanisms:
Individual and timely oral and written feedback as part of the grading of the assessment items.
Feedback on formative (ungraded) assessment tasks as part of the development process
Peer to peer feedback with colleagues.
Assessment
Overview
The assessment in this unit will be through scientific reporting of the activities undertaken, either with written reports or presentations.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Report
Written scientific report.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Assessment: Demonstration
Demonstration of an item(s)
A demonstration of an experiment prepared by the group.
This is not an assignment for the purpose of an extension. The presentation must occur at a specific date with all the groups and in front of the teaching team.
Assessment: Examination
- A set of questions on physics and statistics related to the experiments and the theory behind, including questions about the data recorded in the lab book and their analysis.
- Only the personal student's lab book will be allowed during examination.
- Exam may be carried electronically via the Learning Platform by using suitable software.
This is not an assignment for the purpose of an extension.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.
Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Suggested texts:
Resource Materials
Recommended text(s)
Floyd, Electronic devices: conventional current version. 2018 (Pearson) Available online as e-text
Kirkup L (1994) Experimental Methods: An introduction to the analysis and presentation of data, Wiley
Sears and Zemansky's university physics: with modern physics by Young, Hugh D; Freedman, Roger A; Ford, A. Lewis; Pearson 2016
Taylor R (1997) An Introduction to Error Analysis: The Study of Uncertainties in Physical Measurements 2nd ed. University Science Books
Risk Assessment Statement
Attention will be drawn to relevant workplace health and safety issues in lectures and practicals. Laboratory safety rules will be published on the first year physics laboratory website. There are no other out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.