Cambridge International AS and A Level Physics Practical Workbook

Practical work is very important in physics. Many discoveries in the physical world have only been made because practical work has enabled a theory to be proved beyond reasonable doubt, or has shown that current theories or ideas need to be changed. Even today, many of the principles you will learn as part of your course may only be approximations, and physicists realise that there are still many discoveries to be made. Your generation will probably provide insights that will enhance our understanding of the physical world and improve our current theories. But do remember that the work of experimental and theoretical physicists can only be proven to be correct with suitable experimental work. Such experimental work may be on an astronomical scale, for example, to establish what exactly gravity is, or on a microscopic scale,
for example, to establish how particles like electrons or atoms can be considered to have wave properties.
It is generally acknowledged that good quality practical work develops a range of skills, knowledge and conceptual understanding. Such skills, involving genuine enquiry, are valuable to the science community as a whole, as well as to physics, and are useful in other areas such as industry and business. By learning how to approach a practical problem, how to plan an investigation, how to take adequate measurements and how to analyse your results, you will be developing skills that you are very likely to make good use of in later life.
You may, initially, be worried because you have done little practical work before you started this course, or perhaps practical work has simply been following instructions to collect specified data using unfamiliar equipment, following stated procedures that perhaps you did not understand. This course is designed to help you improve your practical skills, and also to help you prepare for your practical examinations. The skills you will need for these are developed during this course as you progress through the workbook. You will be planning investigations for yourself, taking measurements and analysing your own results. You should take ownership of these results and use your practical time well.
An investigation does not always go well. However, some important advances, such as superconductivity, were made when physicists did not just give up when an experiment did not work; instead they analysed the unexpected results and then they thought carefully about problems with the apparatus. You can do the same, so that you can learn from investigations that do not work as well as from those that do. This requires thought, but hopefully it will stimulate your interest and determination, as well as helping you to develop valuable skills.
You will find guidance on some of the practical skills in Chapters P1 and P2 of the Cambridge
International AS & A Level Physics Coursebook in this series. You may like to use these chapters as an introduction, or as a reference.
Above all, enjoy your learning and practical work; you may be surprised how enjoyable it can be!