NUIM leaving cert lab sessions

lemansky

So.....is anybody here going to the physics/chemistry/biology ones this year? I found them to be quite good last year (and i'm in the photo at the end of the section of the experimental physics site that deals with the programme:p). Any opinions on this year's set up?

kulva

i was there last year and found the staff to be brilliant and helpful!!!!!!!!:D

MaltEagle

I did the Biology one very recently and found the day very enjoyable & fun and benificial overall.

lemansky

Yea I liked the way that they were informal and the fact that you didn't have to write up a report at the end made them all enjoyable:D

I liked the organic chemistry practicals because so near the mocks, physically doing them again hammered in what went where and what was used etc. Maybe it was the environment but doing them in the labs there made everything stick in my mind and if I ever got confused about the practicals I'd just think back to that day. Also seeing the "heavy duty" equipment was good as well!

PurpleFistMixer

What's the story with these? I asked my physics teacher to find out if we could go but looks a lot like she's forgotten... how does one sign up?

lemansky

PurpleFistMixer wrote: »

What's the story with these? I asked my physics teacher to find out if we could go but looks a lot like she's forgotten... how does one sign up?

Well we were down for the chemistry one last year since early in the year. Being close to NUIM our teacher just dropped in and put our names down. They fill up quickly though, and the physics is no exception. Only 5 of us got to go last year as we happened to find two days, one with one free place and another with 4. They fill up fairly quickly, the places need to be booked sharpish because schools from all over want to go. Your best bet is to drop an e-mail to the department and see if there are any free places, then tell your teacher you are going.

I've been around the college the last few days and the physics sessions seem pretty full.



http://physics.nuim.ie/schools/index.shtml

Info and contact details. Ian McAuley is the man you want.

PurpleFistMixer

Hm, oh dear. Though there's only 3 people in my physics class, maybe they could squeeze us in...

lemansky

There ya go! They might manage 3, as I'd imagine some sessions would be 1 or 2 short of the full mark, but seeing as most people want to book a class these mightn't get filled. Even if they are filled, if you can get there at short notice they might let you jump in if there was a cancellation.

PurpleFistMixer

We got squeezed in in the end, handy enough. Went today. Good fun, despite spending an hour and a half getting there...
It was good to use the proper equipment with experiments that actually WORK, and the linear air track. Some of the stuff was set up all crazy though (see fundamental frequency of a stretched string proportional to length blah, and the measurement of the speed of sound) so we just avoided it. Radiation demonstration was interesting enough, could have done with more glowing neon things though.

Maynooth was a bit dead, but I imagine that was down to it being exam week or whatnot. Nice building anyway. They were basically plugging themselves the whole time, but I'm not complaining for free physicsin's.

lemansky

Good to hear you got in, it is worth it as you saw.

Yea its awfully dead at the moment. I was in for an exam today and the only people I really saw other than the people who were also in that exam (and I was kicking around for a good while) were people from schools doing the physics labs, a group from another school getiing a tour of the college, and another school whose reason for being there I don't know.......

The Walsho

Yeah did the Physics one on Tuesday, was pretty good actually.
I despise the whole Intel recruitment in the physics course though. I know they're very helpful and pay for some stuff for us and all, but we actually had to stop and watch an Intel advertisement (featuring Homer Simpson) before getting on with our experiments.

PurpleFistMixer

I think the guy giving the demonstration even felt a little bad about that blatant advertising. Though at least it had The Simpsons in it, and wasn't just some "Intel is great!" clip. .. Well it was, but they tried to hide it.

The Walsho

PurpleFistMixer wrote: »

I think the guy giving the demonstration even felt a little bad about that blatant advertising. Though at least it had The Simpsons in it, and wasn't just some "Intel is great!" clip. .. Well it was, but they tried to hide it.

Yeah he was pretty sheepish about it alright! He told us we were about to watch a vid about life on campus in the college, and suddenly we're seeing this shameless advertising. Maynooth themselves did a little recruiting too, which though understandable, is a little annoying. Our teacher was telling us UCD/DCU do a similar experiments session but without any of that fluff.