PHY1108 IT Skills for Physicists

2007-2008

Aims

All students require some information technology (IT) skills, e.g. e-mail and use of the Internet. It is now a basic life-skill. Physicists require computer literacy to enable them to write technical reports which include technical drawings and equations, to analyse experimental data, and to use computers for problem solving. In addition, physicists in the workplace need to be able to use modelling packages, to access and manipulate the information available in databases and also to make full use of the Internet.

The second half of this module introduces the Student to the powerful and widely-used MATLAB package. The skills developed in this section will be applied and developed further in other modules.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• send and receive e-mail and use the "Internet";
• use a word-processing application to type letters, produce scientific reports which include diagrams and mathematical equations;
• transfer information between a PC and an Apple Mac;
• manipulate experimental data in both a statistical and graphical way;
• use a database to extract data;
• solve equations using the matrix method;
• design a simple Web page using HTML.

Transferable Skills

IT skills, self-study, problem solving, time management, information retrieval, communication skills.

Learning and Teaching Methods

The module is practically based. Comprehensive work sheets have been produced for each session and demonstrators are present to answer any queries that may arise during the organised sessions. Students are encouraged to work at their own speed depending on their previous computer experience. This means that students with next to no computer experience will require to spend more time than their more experienced counterparts outside the class sessions to complete the assignments contained in the work sheets. The students' assignments are marked during the sessions by the demonstrators who are there to discuss with individual students any questions that arise from the marking exercise.

Assignments

Worksheets to be completed at a rate of approximately one per week.

Assessment

Class and home assignments (60% ) and two class tests (40% )

Syllabus Plan and Content

Part A: Generic Applications

1. The Macintosh Graphical User Interface
   the mouse, creating and deleting folders, formatting a disk, finding a file (folder), copying a file onto a disk, ejecting a disk, starting-up and shutting-down the system
2. Setting up a private account on the file-server
3. Word processing using Microsoft Word
   the keyboard, ribbon and ruler, selecting text, copying and embedding one document in another, symbols and equations, getting help, tables, drawing, style, letters.
4. Transferring files between PCs and Macs
5. Spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel
   graph plotting, linear regression analysis, statistical analysis, bar charts, histograms, simple modelling, Binomial, Poisson and Gaussian distributions, solution of linear equations using matrix inversion
6. Electronic mail
7. Databases
   creating and sorting, searching and extracting records
8. Use of the Internet
9. Writing a simple Web page using HTML.

Part B: MATLAB

1. Introduction
   range of applications, platform and implementation specific differences, MATLAB-like alternatives, e.g. Octave.
2. Fundamentals
   user interface, definitions, data structure, commands and functions, matrix operations, 'help' system.
3. Input/Output and analysis
   creating files and loading data, working with data, basic plotting, saving workspace ('*.mat' files).
4. Fitting
   the least-squares criterion, fitting polynomial and exponential functions, "polyfit" and "polyval", fitting data with a linear function, extracting polynomial coefficients, plotting the fitting function, errors.
5. Programming
   scripts and functions, creating and executing '*.m' files, basic programming: using 'for' and 'while' loops, conditional statements 'if'. 3-D graphics.

Core Text

Supplementary Text(s)

Formative Mechanisms

Feedback occurs during the practical session via demonstrators and students are able to monitor their own learning by attempting the assignments and having them marked. Two Continuous Assessment tests allow students to gauge their level of progress.

Evaluation Mechanisms

The module will be evaluated using information gathered via the student representation mechanisms, the staff peer appraisal scheme, and measures of student attainment based on summative assessment.