Community and Resources for Experimentation-Focused Physics Labs
Physics Lab Exchange
A community library where physics lab instructors share, discover, and refine classroom-ready resources, from lab manuals to data analysis tools.
Experimentation Focused
Labs that prioritize authentic experimental practice (measurement, design, and analysis), not procedures students just follow step-by-step.
Builds Critical Thinking
Materials organized around core experimental skills that develop scientific reasoning: questioning, designing, interpreting, and presenting evidence.
Community-Driven
Ask questions, join discussions, share your own materials, and connect with fellow physics lab instructors.
Featured Labs
Classroom-ready materials shared and refined by the physics lab teaching community.
This is a lab notebook with instructions and starter code for a two week lab on Hooke's Law and stretchy objects in general.
A two-session lab where students explore induction by dropping magnets through a coil.
Students iteratively refine pendulum period measurements across three weeks, learning to quantify, reduce, and compare uncertainty while practicing collaborative, evidence-based experimental reasoning.
Explore by Experimental Skills
Find labs that develop the core experimental skills your students need — from uncertainty analysis to presenting results.
Build Apparatus
Design or build their own apparatus
Understand Fit Parameters
Relating fit parameters from least squares regression to physical quantities associated with models
Troubleshoot Apparatus
Troubleshooting problems with the setup or apparatus
Interpret Data
Connecting results of analysis to models of a physical system
Present Work
Communicating methods and findings through oral presentations or posters
Refine and Expand Procedures
Iterating upon an experimental design in response to preliminary results, either to improve the design or expand the scope of the experiment
A Community of Lab Instructors
Physics Lab Exchange is more than a resource library — it's where lab instructors connect, discuss, and grow together.
Recent Activity
- Someone updated Pendulum Lab: Measuring and Reducing Uncertainty, Comparing Data Sets (3 Parts)
1d ago
- Someone updated Magnets & Motors
16d ago
- Someone updated Intro to HexBots
16d ago
- Someone updated Uncertainty in repeated measurements homework
16d ago
- Someone updated Plucked Rulers
16d ago
Active Discussions
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Join the Community
Connect with physics lab instructors. Find, share, and discuss experimentation-focused labs.
Upcoming Workshops
Join our next workshops and connect with fellow physics lab instructors.
About the Physics Lab Exchange
The Physics Lab Exchange supports university lab instructors in designing labs that emphasize experimental physics techniques and authentic scientific reasoning. Our platform provides classroom-ready teaching tools and connects instructors with peers and education leaders to create experimentation-focused, research-inspired labs.
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