Course Overview
Instructor: Dr. Stefan Reinsberg
Term: 2019/2020 WT2
Course Objectives
- Scientific communication: We have the choice of 3 projects, and the deliverables are a poster (lab1), scientific paper (lab2), a scientific talk (lab3).
- Documentation: A thorough electronic lab notebook is required for all labs.
- Error analysis: to be performed on acquired fata
- Experimental setup
Marking Scheme and Deadline
| Task | Marks (%) | Date |
|---|
| Poster v1.0 for Lab #1 ready for review by Prof/TA | 5 | Jan 28 |
| Poster v2.0 for Lab #1- final and presented | 10 | Feb 04 |
| Lab notebook for Lab #1 | 10 | Feb 04 |
| Paper v1.0 for Lab #2 ready for review by Prof/TA | 5 | Feb 25 |
| Paper v2.0 for Lab #2 ready for review by peer | 5 | Mar 03 |
| Peer review of someone's paper for Lab #2 | 5 | Mar 10 |
| Paper v2.1 for Lab #2 - final | 15 | Mar 17 |
| Lab notebook for Lab #2 | 10 | Mar 03 |
| Presentation v1.0 for Lab #3 ready for review by Prof/TA | 5 | Mar 17 |
| Oral Presentation v2.0 for Lab #3 | 10 | Mar 24 |
| Lab notebook for Lab #3 | 15 | Mar 24 |
| Lab citizenship | 5 | Always |
General Schedule
Each lab will have 3 weeks of allotted time. A strategy for how to use this time:
Before week 1: Study background of the experiment.
- Study lab manual. Prepare procedure, anticipated analysis, read up on equipment usage.
- Write background notes on the physics
- Write the introduction and objective sections for the lab
Week 1: Get comfortable with lab setup.
- Work through components of the procedure.
- Estimate time needed for each step.
- Get preliminary data to set up analysis software.
Before week 2: Perform preliminary analysis.
- Analyze results to determine steps that will need to be redone.
- Determine holes in understanding.
Week 2: Do experiment from start to finish.
- Try to be as detailed as possible.
- Record what sections need to be redone.
Before week 3: Complete analysis.
- Assemble draft of the presentation.
- Determine what data needs to be recollected.
Week 3: Wrap up.
- Go to lab prepared to discuss draft with instructor or TA.
- Repeat experiments identified.
- Complete presentation.