Involving students in laboratory and inquiry-based activities can help them understand the concepts of physics. However the learning process should not only focus on the concepts. Moreover, the advantages of using virtual or physical labs are still under examination. The purpose of this study is to analyse which of the two modes (virtual or physical) is the most effective for high-school students, in terms of conceptual understanding and attitudes. The criteria for this comparison are (a) the contribution of these two modes to the improvement of conceptual understanding and (b) the students’ attitudes towards both modes of laboratory. The participants were high-school students of 3rd grade in two different groups. For the purpose of the study, four educational scenarios were created: two in the field of Mechanics and two in that of Electricity. The study revealed no statistically significant difference regarding students’ experimenting in either lab mode. Moreover, students’ attitudes towards both virtual and physical labs were similarly positive. We assume that these results may contribute to a broader perspective on choosing the lab mode when designing activities, given the fact that both the understanding and attitudes of the students are similar in the cases examined. Thus, the final choice of modality should be based on other factors, such as the adequacy of equipment, the educational conditions (e.g. distance education) and the specific learning goals set by the teacher.

让学生参与实验室和探究活动可以帮助他们理解物理概念。然而，学习过程不应只关注概念。此外，使用虚拟或物理实验室的优势仍在检验中。本研究的目的是分析两种模式（虚拟或物理）中哪一种对高中生在概念理解和态度方面最有效。这种比较的标准是（a）这两种模式对概念理解的提高的贡献和（b）学生对两种实验室模式的态度。参与者是三年级的高中生，分为两个不同的组。为了研究的目的，创建了四个教育场景：两个在力学领域，两个在电力领域。该研究显示，学生在两种实验室模式下进行的实验没有统计学上的显着差异。此外，学生对虚拟实验室和物理实验室的态度同样积极。鉴于学生的理解和态度在所研究的案例中是相似的，我们认为这些结果可能有助于在设计活动时选择实验室模式的更广泛视角。因此，最终选择何种模式应基于其他因素，例如设备是否充足、教育条件（例如远程教育）以及教师设定的具体学习目标。