Project Laboratory
Projektpraktikum
The project laboratory course is an alternative to the second part of the basic laboratory course (GP-2). The requirement to participate is the successful completion of the first portion of the basic laboratory course (GP-1). The project laboratory course offers narrower topics of investigation, which can be chosen by students themselves and will be completed on an independent schedule.
This course is meant to have students to develop and evaluate experiments on a more independent basis. In addition to the physical knowledge gained, participants develop their ability to do their own scientific work and construct their own experiments. In the end, it will help to meet the requirements of subsequent research activity, including the Bachelor thesis and later on the Master thesis.
Over the course of the semester, students should complete four projects. The first two have an introductory character and last about two weeks. The final two are larger projects which last four weeks each. The four projects must span at least three areas of physics (ex. mechanics, optics, thermodynamics). In the beginning phase, groups will be supported with the selection of projects more suited to their level.
The laboratory rooms are comprised of one conference room and various experimental rooms. One of the rooms is able to get rid of all light for appropriate experiments. Two storage rooms contain a large selection of experimental materials out of all areas of physics. For smaller projects, students have a workshop available. Measurements are mostly taken by computers. Software for the evaluation and presentation of measuring data, as well as documentation for the experiments, are also available.
Participants will work in teams comprised of six students. In these teams, pending tasks are defined, split and the individual results are brought back together in the end. Assigned to each of the groups is a tutor to help efficiently structure the process. There can be a maximum of 7 participating groups per semester. Should there be more interested than the seats available, it will be decided on a case by case basis.
The amount of time dedicated to the projects is expected to be two afternoons per week, including preparation and follow-up. Recommended use of the two afternoon dates:
All group members must be present at the weekly group meetings with the tutor. When experimenting, is the group will be left alone. For safety reasons, at all times of the experiment, there must be at least two students present in case of an accident for effective first aid.
Each group must submit their collective report one week later at the latest after the completion of an experiment. It should contain the following:
- Description of the idea for the experiment
- Brief summary of the fundamental theory being applied
- Description of the selected experiment construction with reasoning (including dead ends)
- Description of how the experiment was performed with measurement data
- Evaluation of the results and a discussion of source of error
At a closing event at the end of the semester, each group will present their projects to an audience of all fellow laboratory course participants. One of the projects will be discussed in deeper detail.
The grades for the course will be determined by the tutors of the course, as they evaluate the submitted reports. For a certificate of completion, the completion of all four projects is necessary. If a project cannot be completed as planned (which can also happen in the daily life of the laboratory), then the evaluation should include a detailed discussion of the possible reasons.
Building B2
Staudtstr. 7 (Physicum)