General information

The advanced lab course (Fortgeschrittenenpraktikum, "FoPra") is a mandatory course for students studying physics, biophysics, quantum engineering and teacher training course in physics. The aim of the lab course is to give the students a broad overview of physical effect, measurements methods, and to learn how to work scientifically. To do this, the students are required to prepare, perform and evaluate sophisticated experiments and give a scientific presentation on one of these experiments as part of a seminar. The experiments, that are offered by the physics working groups, are usually performed during the lecture period. The seminar takes place approximately in the middle of the lecture-free period.

 

Participation requirement
  • Bachelor Physik/Quantum Engineering:
    Successfully passing the module "Physikalisches Grundpraktikum"
    Modulhandbuch Bachelor Physik / Bachelor Quantum Engineering

  • Master Physik/Quantum Engineering:
    Successful passing the module "Physikalisches Praktikum für Fortgeschrittene I" of the Bachelor's program or an equivalent course
    Modulhandbuch Master Physik / Master Quantum Engineering

  • Lehramt Physik: 
    Successfully passing the module "Physikalisches Grundpraktikum" 
    Modulhandbuch Lehramt Physik

  • Master Biophysik:
    No formal requirements
    Modulhandbuch Master Biophysik

Introductory meeting

The prerequisite for registering for the advanced lab course is participation in the introductory meeting. The meeting covers organizational details as well as how to handle scientific data. It will also briefly explain how to keep the minutes during the experiment and which requirements are placed on a scientific report.

Two introductory meetings are offered in the first week of the lecture period, one in German and one in English. For those who would like to do experiments in preliminary stages during the lecture-free period, an introductory meeting in German is offered at the end of the lecture period of the previous semester.

The meeting will be announced in time in the LSF and here on the website under News

Participation in one of the introductory events offered is obligatory!

Registration

After the first introductory meeting, you can register for the advanced lab course within the registration period. You are then invited to join the relevant team on the MS Teams platform and receive your Testat sheet.  If you have not taken part in any of the introductory meetings offered, you will be automatically deregistered.

In this team, you will be informed about all other relevant dates and appointments. For example, at the beginning of each semester, the schedule is published, which defines in which week you should do which experiment. The seminar schedule is also provided within the team. 

Your progress will be recorded on the Testat sheet. Please remember to always get a signature from the supervisor of the experiment. At the end of the semester, you must hand over the Testat sheet to the administration of the advanced lab course.

Course of an experiment
  • Registration for the experiment
    Each experiment is supervised by a member of the respective working group. During the lecture period, you must contact this supervisor in time in order to arrange an exact date for the experiment. In time means at least one week before the week planned in the schedule. You can also make appointments with the supervisor outside the week planned in the schedule. For example, you can move experiments forward to the previous lecture-free period or postpone them during the lecture period due to illness. This requires the willingness of the supervisor.

  • Preparation
    In order to be able to do an experiment, you must be sufficiently prepared for it. You are responsible for this preparation, which includes working through the theoretical physical principles as well as informing yourself about the experimental setup and the experiment procedure. It is not sufficient to exclusivly prepare with the experiment instructions. You are responsible for conducting your own literature research.
    Before you start the experiment, the supervisor will discuss the experiment and the theoretical principles with you and determine whether you are properly prepared to do the experiment.

  • Performing the experiment
    As far as possible, you should do the experiments on your own and keep the minutes precisely. The protocol should be comprehensible and complete so that the experimental conditions can be reconstructed. It is mandatory to keep a handwritten log book (analog or digital).

  • Report
    In your own interest, you should complete the report no later than three weeks after the experiment has been done and send it to the supervisor. If you are unable to meet the three-week deadline, please contact the supervisor in time. 
    You will receive feedback on your report in a timely manner. You should incorporate any corrections quickly so that you can then approach the final discussion.
    The supervisors will assess your preparation, your performance of the experiment/protocol and your report. This assessment will be included in the grade.

  • Final discussion
    At the end of each experiment, there is a final discussion (Abtestat). You must again schedule an appointment with the supervisor for this.

Seminar

The advanced lab course concludes with a scientific seminar presentation, which is regarded as an examination. The topic of the presentation will be one of the experiments you have done. Towards the end of the semester, you can indicate a preference as to which experiment you would like to present.

A requirement for participation in the seminar is a fully completed Testat sheet, which you must hand in to the administration of the advanced lab course by the deadline. If technical problems with the experiment or illness prevent you from handing in the testat sheet in time, please contact the administration of the advanced lab course.

The seminar presentation is divided into 20 minutes of presentation and 20-30 minutes of discussion. The first part of your 20-minute presentation should cover the theoretical basics of the experiment. In the second part you should present and discuss your results. The presentation of the theoretical basics should take up a maximum of half the time. The presentation will be followed by a discussion in which background knowledge will also be tested.

Please contact the responsible supervisor at least 2 weeks before the seminar to prepare your presentation!

 

Assessment

Successful graduation of the advanced lab course requires successful participation in the seminar. If the module is graded for you, you will mainly be assessed on your presentation and the following discussion.
The experiments you have done are to be seen as preliminary examination work. As explained above, the supervisors' assessments of the experiments are included in the final grade.