What happens during practicals? (1 Viewer)

[ConquerDiscover]

hey guys,

I'm not sure if this applies to everyone, but im pretty sure it does for all science students.

Well if you've done practicals before in the past (at macq), what do you do in the practicals other than experiments?

do you get to form groups in preparation to do an experiment/prac work or is it just individuals preparing for their own experiment ?

thanks.

 

[neo o]

Synthesise amphetamines and opiates.

It really depends on whether you're doing physics, math, chemistry or biology. Maybe you should specify to give people a little more guidance on how to respond?

 

[ConquerDiscover]

Synthesise amphetamines and opiates.

It really depends on whether you're doing physics, math, chemistry or biology. Maybe you should specify to give people a little more guidance on how to respond?

i dont think i need to give any specifications since i just want a general answer reallyy.

anyways I dont think you can provide me with any useful answers anyways since 1) you dont go to macq and 2) you're not doin a science course.

 

[Leggs]

i dont think i need to give any specifications since i just want a general answer reallyy.

anyways I dont think you can provide me with any useful answers anyways since 1) you dont go to macq and 2) you're not doin a science course.

I haaaaad chemistry, physics and biology pracs last year
Chemistry was kinda like the pracs in high school. I did CBMS101 and 103...each had a four hour block for a practical and you went ever fortnight. At the start of the year you buy course notes for the subject, which contain all the practicals you end up doing. Basically there's a prelab you have to fill in before you rock up to class. You're put in a group with a student demonstrator/supervisor and generally have to work individually. If you finish the prac in less than 4 hours you get to leave. Then there are postlab questions you have to fill out and drop in a box no more than a week after your experiment.
Biology was just boring as hell. I had pracs for BIOL115, which were 3 hours every week and basically consisted of copying down what the tutor wrote on the board and attempting to appear interested when he showed us stuff...I can't really remember.
Physics we worked in pairs. Have another book of course notes which contain all the experiments. Slightly less spoon fed than in Chemistry (where everything is written up for you, you just fill out the results). You actually have to write out the experiment and whatnot. But still, nothing too drastic. I did PHYS 149, so yeah.

 

[janadc]

what about for stat170? what happens in those practicals

 

[Begbie4017]

STAT170 pracs if I can remember where spent using the statistical package (mostly on spreadsheets) to work through problems.
Usually you are given a data set of some sort of study & you learn how to manipulate the data & find some meaning in the numbers

 

[ConquerDiscover]

I haaaaad chemistry, physics and biology pracs last year
Chemistry was kinda like the pracs in high school. I did CBMS101 and 103...each had a four hour block for a practical and you went ever fortnight. At the start of the year you buy course notes for the subject, which contain all the practicals you end up doing. Basically there's a prelab you have to fill in before you rock up to class. You're put in a group with a student demonstrator/supervisor and generally have to work individually. If you finish the prac in less than 4 hours you get to leave. Then there are postlab questions you have to fill out and drop in a box no more than a week after your experiment.
Biology was just boring as hell. I had pracs for BIOL115, which were 3 hours every week and basically consisted of copying down what the tutor wrote on the board and attempting to appear interested when he showed us stuff...I can't really remember.
Physics we worked in pairs. Have another book of course notes which contain all the experiments. Slightly less spoon fed than in Chemistry (where everything is written up for you, you just fill out the results). You actually have to write out the experiment and whatnot. But still, nothing too drastic. I did PHYS 149, so yeah.

thanks for that

cheers