GENERAL LABORATORY INFORMATION

The general purpose of the laboratory component of the course is to:

• teach basic laboratory techniques
• provide a "hands on" learning environment
• allow for discovery based learning
• allow for inquiry based learning
• improve laboratory practical skills
• improve general problem solving skills  
• improve analysis and scientific writing skills

Advice :

• Treat the laboratory component and the other course components as a single entity, don't treat the components as being separate.
• They all inter-relate.  Some material is covered in the lecture alone, the CAL alone or the laboratory alone, but most of the material is relevant to all components. This can be called "blended learning", it is not new, we have been running the course this way for decades.
• If you don't see the relation, then come talk to us!  Some students poor marks relate to this.
  
• In particular, it is therefore important that you consider the laboratory work in relation to the material covered in lecture.
•  Work carefully and precisely and think about what you are doing.

One of the thrills of science lies in carrying out an experiment where you don't know the answer beforehand and then being able to take your results and realising that you can explain them.