FYS155 Laboratory Course in Physics

Credits (ECTS):5

Course responsible:Mareile Astrid Wolff

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Norsk

Limits of class size:60

Course frequency:Annually

Nominal workload:125 hours: 5 hours preparatory assignments and 5 hours in the laboratory each week for 11 weeks, in addition to excursion, exam and preparation for the exam. 15 hours self-study.

Teaching and exam period:This course starts in autumn parallel. This course has teaching/evaluation in autumn parallel, .

About this course

The course consists of about 11 laboratory exercises in mechanics, electromagnetism and thermal physics. In addition, there may be arranged an excursion. Students, working in pairs, are required to prepare for every laboratory exercise by reviewing the relevant theory and problems before the actual laboratory day. The laboratory day starts with a joint introductory seminar, where the equipment, method and theory are discussed. After that the pairs of students will perform the experiments of the exercise in the laboratory. The exercise and report are completed in the same session, and the report is handed in before students leave the laboratory.

Learning outcome

To understand and be able to use ideas and basic principles of physics in practical laboratory work. To understand and be able to use scientific methods. To gain practical knowledge of and skills in the ideas and principles of laboratory work. To understand how simple principles can be used to describe complicated phenomena in nature.

Students are to be able to conduct and explain experiments and exercises in physics on topics selected from the academic contents of FYS101 and FYS102. The students should especially be able to:

  • keep an exact and clearly set out journal for the laboratory work
  • work in a structured and planned manner
  • keep the laboratory tidy, also when conducting experiments or exercises
  • cooperate and communicate with the students in the lab group
  • use logging equipment for collecting data
  • use statistics programs, graph-plotting programs and similar for processing and presenting data and results.

Students are to understand why basic knowledge in physics is necessary to understand and describe nature and to understand, use and develop technology. The students are also to understand that physics and science are man-made tools that we use to explore nature and that nature itself is always the key to an answer.

  • GROUP WORK in pairs, to review theory relevant for the experiments, and to plan how to conduct experiments.

    JOINT SEMINARS with the supervisor, where the equipment, theory and methods of the experiment are discussed.

    LABORATORY SESSIONS where the experiments are performed and logged, data are processed and reports/presentations are made.

  • Canvas will be used. By appointment, students will be able to meet the supervisor and the assistant teachers outside the structured teaching time.
  • FYS101, MATH111, MATH112. MATH113 and FYS102 taken in parallel with FYS155.
  • Final exam is 3 hours, assessed as pass/fail. Student can use their own laboratory journal during exam. All laboratory exercises have to be done and the journal must be approved in order to pass the course.
  • The external and internal examiner jointly prepare the exam questions and the correction manual. The external examiner reviews the internal examiner's examination results by correcting a random sample of candidate's exams as a calibration according to the Department's guidelines for examination markings.
  • In order to participate in the laboratory exercises, the preparatory assignments for the exercises must be completed and reported on in the journal.

    Participation in laboratory exercises and journal writing are compulsory.

    The journal must be approved in order to pass the course.

  • Group work and discussion to solve the preparatory assignments (11 x 5): 55 hours. Laboratory seminars an laboratory exercises (11 x 5): 55 hours. Excursion: 15 hours. Test, with time for preparation (7 + 3): 10 hours.
  • Ranking:

    1. students who have the course as mandatory in their study plan

    2. students on the following study programmes: M-LUR, M-MF, B-EMF

    3. students with most ECTS credits

    It there are not enough slots in group one the students will be ranked by their ECTS credits.

    Students taking the course for the first time have lab priority.

  • Passed / Not Passed
  • Special requirements in Science