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| Students investigating electrical concepts |
The freshman
labs complement the undergraduate Physics program courses
117/197 and 118/198. The freshman labs contain a total current repertoire
of 30 individual experiments describing general physics principles covering
a range of topics from
mechanics and
light and optics to
electricity.
The "freshman labs" consists of three individual laboratories located
in Crow Hall. Experiments are set up daily by special technicians whose
jobs are specifically and exclusively dedicated to this task as well
as investigating, designing, and constructing new experiments chosen
by the faculty.
Each of the labs contain a bank of computers
for analysis and computation of experimental data by the students.
The computers are serviced and upgraded regularly to maintain efficiency
and compatibility with current computer program standards.
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| Students
conferring on experiment data |
The lab sessions
are monitored by doctoral candidate graduate students who are present
throughout the session to instruct and advise the students who work in
teams at several work-stations. Typically the instructor briefs the students
on the details of the experiment for the day's session and then breaks
the group up into teams and attends to each group in turn as assistance
is required. The instructor to student ratio varies per session but a
ratio of 1 to 10 - 15 is common. The lab program is supervised by the
faculty and a lab director. The Physics Department solicits evaluations
from students regarding the quality of instruction and experimental equipment
in an effort to maintain the highest possible instruction standards.
