Free preview · Senior 3 Physics · Laboratory activities
Senior 3 laboratory activities
10 units · 20 activities. In every unit, activity 1 is improvised (simple local materials) and activity 2 is conventional (school laboratory equipment): two different experiments. Below are 5 free pages; then get the whole level in one PDF.
- Title and aim of every experiment
- Required apparatus and safety notes
- A clear, labelled drawing of the set-up
- Step-by-step procedure and a results table to fill in
- Observation and conclusion
- Three questions per activity, with sample results and answers at the end of the unit
See all 20 activities of this level and what each one is about
- Unit 1: Uniform Circular Motion
- 1.1 Improvised · Coins on a turning plate: what keeps a body moving in a circle. To show that a body moving in a circle needs a force towards the centre, and that a larger force is needed at greater radius and greater speed.
- 1.2 Conventional · The whirling bung: measuring centripetal force. To verify the relationship F = mv²/r by whirling a rubber bung in a horizontal circle.
- Unit 2: Linear Momentum, Impulse and Collisions
- 2.1 Improvised · Marbles in a ruler: momentum passes along a row. To observe how momentum is passed on in collisions between identical marbles.
- 2.2 Conventional · Conservation of momentum with two trolleys. To show that the total momentum is conserved when two trolleys collide and stick together.
- Unit 3: Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Sources
- 3.1 Improvised · A bottle solar water heater. To show how solar energy can heat water and that a black surface absorbs more radiation than a clear one.
- 3.2 Conventional · A model wind turbine: wind speed and electrical output. To generate electricity with a small model turbine and investigate how the output voltage depends on the wind speed.
- Unit 4: Quantity of Heat and Heat Transfer
- 4.1 Improvised · The spoon race: good and bad conductors of heat. To compare how well different materials conduct heat.
- 4.2 Conventional · Specific heat capacity of water. To measure the specific heat capacity of water using an electric immersion heater.
- Unit 5: Atmospheric Pressure and Archimedes' Principles
- 5.1 Improvised · The upside-down glass: air pressure holds water. To show that the atmosphere exerts a large pressure in all directions.
- 5.2 Conventional · Verifying Archimedes' principle. To show that the upthrust on a body in water equals the weight of the water it displaces.
- Unit 6: Basic Electrical Wiring and Installation
- 6.1 Improvised · A staircase light: two-way switching with local materials. To build a model of a staircase lighting circuit in which one lamp can be switched on or off from two places.
- 6.2 Conventional · Wiring and testing a three-pin plug (no mains). To wire a three-pin plug correctly, choose a suitable fuse and test the connections with a continuity tester — without connecting to the mains.
- Unit 7: Electrical Power Transmission
- 7.1 Improvised · The long thin wire: why power is lost in transmission lines. To show that a long thin wire wastes electrical energy, so that a lamp at the end of it is dimmer.
- 7.2 Conventional · A model power line with transformers. To compare transmitting power to a lamp at low voltage and at high voltage through a "long line" made of resistance wire.
- Unit 8: Refraction of Light
- 8.1 Improvised · The coin that appears: apparent depth. To show that refraction makes objects under water appear nearer the surface than they really are.
- 8.2 Conventional · Refractive index of glass using pins. To trace rays through a rectangular glass block and find its refractive index from Snell’s law.
- Unit 9: Telecommunication Channels
- 9.1 Improvised · The string telephone: a wired channel for sound. To make a string telephone and find out what affects how well it carries sound.
- 9.2 Conventional · Total internal reflection: the principle of the optical fibre. To find the critical angle of glass with a semicircular block and relate total internal reflection to optical fibres.
- Unit 10: Basic Electronic Components
- 10.1 Improvised · The one-way light: an LED as a diode. To show that a light-emitting diode (LED) conducts current in one direction only and needs a series resistor.
- 10.2 Conventional · Sensors: the LDR and the thermistor. To measure how the resistance of a light-dependent resistor (LDR) changes with light and how the resistance of a thermistor changes with temperature.
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