1. The physics dept got the bright idea to have reports due two days after lab instead of a week. They did not tell us this until the lab. Even though I lucked out and enrolled in a Thursday lab (meaning a Monday due date), this still is not enough time. It gives a student no time to go to the lab instructor for clarification.
2. This is the first time that they have ever had this particular experiment for this class. I really don't think they realized how long it would take non-physicists to do this lab or this report. I going on to the 7th hour of working on this lab and I'm no where close to being done.
3. They changed the format of the lab so they give the student less directions. They want students to figure out more on their own. Dude, how about you teach us how? they reworded the whole lab book and the instructions are confusing. We get questions like: what is the volume of atmospheric pressure? The volume of atmospheric pressure? Let me think, most of the Earth's atmosphere is within 10km of the surface, the Earth has a a radius of approximately 6,371 km. V=(pi)(6371km - 10km)^3 = [maternal expletive] nothing to do with this experiment!
4. I'm tired and I'm making stupid mistakes. It is nearly 2 am and I wanted to go to bed at 8 pm. I have been averaging less than 6 hours of sleep a night and I look and feel like death. Now I have the tough decision of do I go to bed now and try to wake up early or stay up until it is done?
Monday, January 21, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Ack, labs! How I hated them! You have my synpathies, although I should point out that this is what you get for being all science-y and stuff.
IMHO, it's almost always better to stay up until it's finished. You tell yourself that a nap will refresh you, you'll get up at 5:00a.m. and finish it. But after 3 hours of sleep, the brain tends to shut down and become convinced that finishing the lab report/marking/course reading/application is "not that important." You sleep for another two hours, and then you are DOOMED. At least that's how it works with me.
Usually it is better for me to just stay up but I was at the point where I was frustrated and couldn't think clearly. I needed to be away from it for a bit so I slept.
I suppose I deserve what I get for being a faculty of science student. Realize that being a math student I am interested more in the theoretical than the experimental.
Post a Comment