There is a computing course and everybody follows an experimental course in the teaching Laboratory. Physics involves observing nature and identifying the relatively few universal laws which govern its behaviour. The course on Mechanics illustrates this well. The laws of mechanics were deduced by Newton after studying observations of planetary motion. They govern nearly all systems familiar from everyday life as well as many of the phenomena observed in stars and the other planets, some of which are also discussed in the course on The Solar System .
Measurement is central to physics and nearly all discoveries involve experiment.
Time spent in the Teaching Laboratory develops the skills for measurement and the reliable interpretation of results. We actively encourage students to explore outside the field of physics. As well as exposing students to alternative ways of thinking, outside courses can help set physics into the context of science as a whole. The tutorials involve smaller groups with a lecturer or postgraduate student. The idea is to work through examples sheets handed out in the lectures and to discuss any problems with the material.