How to do labs

[/0]

I thought that last year labs were pretty ok since the experiments weren't that hard and the demonstrator was being extra nice to the UMEP kids

But man, wow, this year the experiments are so long and there are simply so many factors to take into account, so many unspoken things to discuss. Writing a log book feels a bit like writing an essay, an essay where you're sure of nothing. After the lab my logbook looks like a dog's breakfast, not only because I have to keep crossing things out and changing my mind, but because it's so hard to logically order what I'm trying to say. There's also mountains of data, uncertainty analysis etc. -.-
And then there's the time limit. Wow... the first 2 hours go like a breeze, and suddenly in the 3rd hour you're going ballistic trying to finish off the experiment.

What are people's tips on coping with experiments?

[appianway]

I'm not sure if I can actually be much help, but I did OK in the olympiad labs (which are 1st year content but are really harshly marked and probably require more lab skills than 1st year... and are also long and usually impossible to finish).  Here's what I did - I'm not sure if it's applicable, but it might work. It's probably more useful for younger students though.

+ Don't spend too much time on the theory components. Make sure you explain why your equation works, but don't write 3 pages about why it occurs. Trust me. I did that once, and I had the comment of "too much theory".
+ If you're not sure what to do, play around with the equipment for a while. You can write down what you're doing with this and what it tells you. This is really useful if you need to make approximations (which won't be mentioned in the lab information). You might also gain an understanding of how things work and what variables you need to consider.
+ If you're struggling thinking of what to do, work backwards. What do you need to find? What can you manipulate to give you this relation? How can you use something to measure this? It sounds pretty obvious, but this is how I worked out one of our olympiad labs... most people obviously didn't take a similar approach because only 2 or 3 people actually had any idea what to do.
+ Write down what you do as you go. Why did you choose to measure with that device? What uncertainty does this have? This'll also help you to keep track of your errors. You could also mention any practical problems with the measurements. Try and make it concise though. As you go, write down any factors that you might have to consider and briefly examine how they influence the experiment.
+ Leave time for your graphs/analysis. To tell the truth, you don't actually need too many data points - don't go overboard with 30 if you're doing a linear graph (although it's better to have more if you don't have a linear graph). If you're running out of time, stop taking measurements and draw your graph. You probably want to have at least 15 minutes for error calculations and other computations after drawing the graph... this time is even more important if your graph isn't linear or you have a lot of outliers (you'll need to discuss these).
+Experimental diagrams and free body diagrams (for mechanics) can prove to be very, very useful.

[/0]

Cool thx appianway
I think maybe I spend too much time on details

[QuantumJG]

The labs change as you go further.

In first year you have 3 hours and that is it. So you should probably leave the aim and theory to last, write down your procedure as you go labelling all the things you do and even saying where things haven't gone your way. With your results also dicuss what you see, where your results look 'weird'.

In second year we can take the lab book home and it can take me 6 hours to write up the report to a manner I like.

Finally when I had a lab we had PhD students working in that area, they were there atleast an hour before we started and were still going when our 3 hours were up.

So in first year just bite the bullet and do your labs to the best of your ability and then as you go further you aren't as rushed.