After performing four different labs and having an accepted report for each of them, you can request an appointment for the exam at one of the examiners. Note that you should pick an examiner that is close to the topic of your labs, so after performing, e.g., four labs in the field of astrophysics, you should choose your examiner accordingly.

The exam itself will be an oral exam of 30 minutes about those four labs: theory of the experiment, execution of the lab, and results.

After the exam the examiner will grade your performance and submit it to FlexNow.

The experiments of the lab course are carried out in groups of two. It is therefore advisable to look for a lab partner(s) before booking the experiment. You can specify a lab partner when booking, but each student has to register by themself. You might also request a lab for yourself only, in which case you might be paired with another student by the tutor. Upon request (to the supervisor or organizer), it is also possible to form a group of three. However, this should remain an exception.

The booking of labs is done via this website. Before this function can be used, a registration for the event in stud.ip is required. Attention: this registration only refers to the booking. It is independent of the registration for the module exam via FlexNow and does not replace it!

A detailed description and further information can be found on the MyLab page.\r\n\r\nThe booking of labs starts on the day of the preliminary discussion of the lab course and is possible until the end of the lecture period.

In good time (i.e. at least one week) before the lab is to be carried out, please contact the responsible tutor. During the discussion with the tutor, you may receive literature folders or literature references, information on the experimental procedure, and you can ask questions in advance or arrange for possible postponements.

The lab instructions are available for download on this website (Downloads or Experiments). You are expected to obtain and thoroughly review the appropriate instructions at least 1 week before conducting a lab. This includes answering the questions posed in the instructions and reading secondary literature. It is not possible to carry out a lab without sufficient preparation!

It has already been pointed out that you are expected to contact the tutor in good time before the date of the lab.

The location of the lab is indicated for each experiment. Please be there punctually on the day of the lab. Before the start of the experimental work, there usually is a discussion with the tutor, in which you can discuss the most important points of the lab, receive practical tips and also ask questions. In order to avoid damage to equipment, the tutor should be consulted in case of doubt (before switching on!). In the case of safety-relevant procedures (laser or radioactive radiation, high voltage, etc.) and when using highly sensitive and expensive equipment, the presence of the tutor(s) is required! Please clean up after the lab and dismantle the experiment if necessary. Please report faulty/defective devices or experimental equipment to your tutor immediately.

It is important to record the entire experimental procedure. For this purpose, it is advisable to keep a lab notebook. All experimental steps, measurement data, relevant instrument settings and environmental conditions should be documented in it (it is better to write down too much than too little!). This transcript (then in the form of photocopies of the respective lab book pages) forms an essential part of the experimental protocol. If data are entered directly into the laptop, a printout of the data/tables is also part of the protocol. Check your data already during the measurement for sense, consistency and completeness, e.g. by means of a provisionally created graph. In this way, you can detect errors or discrepancies in good time.

The written paper (the 'lab report' in the broader sense) summarizes your work on the lab and the results obtained and documents your performance in an assessable form. The report should be written and formulated independently by each participant. The evaluation of the measurement data can be done in groups, i.e. in a team, but should be presented in each case in your own words. The independence of the work is confirmed by the signature on the cover sheet. The length of the paper should not significantly exceed 10 text pages (not counting pictures and protocol).

The report consists of the following parts:

• Standard cover sheet with all required information, with signature (pdf file template).
• Summary description of the experiment, experimental objective (approx. 1 page).
• Concise theory part - only the essentials, possibly answering the questions asked in the instructions (3-4 pages).
• Evaluation and discussion of the results, including error calculation and discussion! (5-6 pages).
• Lab protocol (original or photocopy)
• The steps of execution should be evident from the protocol and do not have to be presented separately.

The following formal requirements should be adhered to:

• It is recommended to use a word processing program, preferably LaTeX (templates).
• Please use only the standard cover sheet.
• Staple sheets firmly together (preferably cardboard stapling strips, please no plastic staplers and no ring binding!).
• Structuring of the text, clear layout.
• Diagrams sufficiently large, axes legibly labeled and appropriately subdivided.
• Sensible rounding of numerical values, error information, SI units.
• Correct spelling and punctuation as far as possible (read again before handing in!).
• Keyword sustainability: the use of recycled paper and the renunciation of and the use of plastic bindings or staplers is recommended.
• Paper quality does not affect the grade!

The reports are handed in personally to the respective tutor (by arrangement). The deadline for submission ends 2 weeks after the lab has been carried out. After that, the lab is considered failed. An extension of the deadline is possible in justified cases (e.g. illness). The report will only be accepted if it has a correctly completed and signed cover sheet, is firmly stapled together and contains the measurement protocol with all measurement data in the original or as a photocopy. The tutor reviews the report and, if necessary, returns it to the student for corrections. When the report is good enough, the tutor will accept it

You can (but don't have to) keep a routing slip (pdf file). For each lab, the tutor certifies the execution and submission of the work with date and signature, the examiner enters the achieved score with signature. The routing slip is not absolutely necessary for the organizational process. It serves as an additional proof of your personal performance for the hopefully not occurring case that elaborations or stored data get lost.

Some labs can only be carried out in one block or not at the regular lab course time due to technical circumstances or intensive use of the equipment. For these labs, please contact the tutor of the experiment. They can book a lab for you at any date.

Some labs in the ALC are supervised by pure English speakers. This means that you will speak with the tutor in English and also write your report in this language. The language of the tutor is indicated for each lab. If you do not feel sufficiently confident in English, you can choose from a sufficient number of labs held in German. Under certain circumstances, you can also agree on a report in English with German-speaking tutors in order to consolidate your knowledge of this scientific language.

No lab may be carried out in the ALC without prior safety instruction. All important information on work safety (laser protection, radiation protection, etc.) is summarized in a leaflet (pdf file). These points will also be covered again in a safety briefing following the preliminary ALC meeting. You are requested to confirm that you have read and understood this information by signing the form (pdf file) and handing it in to the organizer after the preliminary meeting/instruction. Only after receipt of the signed form your participation in the AC is possible!

In principle, it is possible to have certain achievements credited to the ALC. This applies, for example, to summer schools, vacation internships, internships abroad, research stays, and the like. The prerequisite for the crediting is that you do not wish to include these undertakings elsewhere as part of your course work and that the work carried out is mainly of an experimental nature.

The decision on the type and extent of the credit will be made on a case-by-case basis. It is usually necessary to ask a lecturer of the faculty for an opinion on the extent of the credit including the grading of your external work.

It is requested that such a project be discussed with the ALC organizer at an early stage.