Discussion of Introductory Physics Laboratory Goals Goal 1. Students completing the introductory laboratory should understand that physics is an experimental science and that observation and experimentation are as important as concepts and theories. A conscious distinction should be made between laboratory exercises and lecture demonstrations on the one hand, and laboratory experiments on the other hand. Laboratory investigations should encourage students to add some of their own ideas to experiments and their interpretation. Laboratory investigations should engage students in the process of formulating and asking an interesting question of nature.
Students then select the methods and apparatus needed to make progress toward finding an answer.
A portion of each laboratory course can be reserved for student-designed projects. With guidance and monitoring by faculty and teaching assistants, these projects can provide a creative climax to a laboratory course. Careful planning can make this a viable option even in large laboratory sections and programs. The laboratory should help the student develop a broad array of basic skills and tools of experimental physics and data analysis. While it is imperative that students have a broad experience with techniques using laboratory equipment, it is impossible to prescribe precisely which equipment should be used in all introductory laboratory courses.