Basic Physics Lab Courses for Teacher Education

he subfield of classical mechanics offers mostly an intuitive approach to physics. It is therefore particularly suitable as an introduction to computer-aided data acquisition and further processing, since experimental processes are converted (in real time) into measurement curves and thus into correlations of various physical quantities. In this context, questions on the following topics are considered: Forces, motion, energy and power, momentum, rotation, oscillating systems as well as waves and acoustics.

Unlike in mechanics, experiments in this subfield of physics are less illustrative, since characteristic quantities such as electromagnetic fields, currents and voltages or their changes are not directly visible under normal conditions. Here we are completely dependent on measurement technology (e.g. function generators, oscilloscopes, etc.). A safe handling with the used instruments and their correct implementation in an experiment are therefore indispensable. Questions on the following topics are considered: Circuits, semiconductor diodes, AC resistors, electronic oscillator, logic circuits, electric fields, magnetic fields and induction.

Modern optics is a large subject area, ranging from wave-particle duality to spectroscopy of atoms and molecules to quantum optics. Here we examine some fundamental properties of light and give an introduction to metrology and sensing. But also technical optics finds its place. Optical microscopes and telescopes are imaging systems and extend the view into dimensions which are not accessible to the human eye. Questions on the following topics are considered: Refraction, diffraction and interference, polarization, imaging systems like microscopes and telescopes, spectral properties of light sources.

Thermodynamic processes define our everyday life, whether it is the weather, pumping up a soccer ball (ideal gas), heating water for a cup of coffee (heat capacity, energy transformation), or even heating a modern house with the help of a heat pump (cyclic process). Although an unimaginable large number of microscopic particles (for example molecules in the air) are involved, in thermal equilibrium only a few variables (such as temperature, pressure, etc.) and substance- or material-specific constants are required to describe the macroscopic behavior. Conversely, information about the microscopic structure can be obtained from this behavior. Questions on the following topics are considered: Heat capacity, ideal gases, cyclic processes, thermodynamic processes, thermal equilibrium.