Free preview · Senior 4 Physics · Laboratory activities
Senior 4 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: Reflection and Refraction of Light
- 1.1 Improvised · How many images? Two hinged mirrors. To find how the number of images formed by two plane mirrors depends on the angle between them.
- 1.2 Conventional · Refractive index of a prism from the angle of minimum deviation. To measure how the angle of deviation of a ray through a triangular prism depends on the angle of incidence, and to find the refractive index of the glass.
- Unit 2: Optical Instruments
- 2.1 Improvised · A water-drop magnifier. To make a simple magnifying glass from a drop of water and see how the curvature of a lens affects its magnifying power.
- 2.2 Conventional · Focal length of a convex lens with an optical bench. To measure object and image distances for a convex lens, find its focal length and check the magnification m = v/u.
- Unit 3: Moments and Equilibrium of Bodies
- 3.1 Improvised · Weighing a stone with a stick and a bottle of water. To use the principle of moments to find the mass of an object with a stick and a known mass.
- 3.2 Conventional · Equilibrium of three forces: the triangle of forces. To show that three forces in equilibrium can be represented by the sides of a triangle taken in order.
- Unit 4: Conservation of Linear Momentum and Collision
- 4.1 Improvised · Saving the egg: impulse and stopping time. To show that a longer stopping time reduces the force needed to stop a moving body (impulse = F × t = change in momentum).
- 4.2 Conventional · An "explosion" between two trolleys. To show that two bodies pushed apart from rest gain equal and opposite momenta.
- Unit 5: Direct Current Circuits
- 5.1 Improvised · Cells in series and in parallel. To compare the effect of joining two cells in series and in parallel on the brightness of a bulb and the life of the cells.
- 5.2 Conventional · Measuring an unknown resistance with a metre bridge. To measure an unknown resistance with a metre bridge (Wheatstone bridge principle).
- Unit 6: Sources of Energy in the World
- 6.1 Improvised · A bottle biogas digester. To produce biogas from animal dung or kitchen waste and observe the conditions that help its production.
- 6.2 Conventional · Solar cell output and the angle of the light. To measure how the electrical output of a solar (photovoltaic) cell depends on the angle at which light falls on it.
- Unit 7: Projectile and Uniform Circular Motion
- 7.1 Improvised · Predicting where a ball lands. To study the horizontal projectile motion of a ball rolling off a table and use it to find the launch speed.
- 7.2 Conventional · The conical pendulum. To verify that the period of a conical pendulum is T = 2π√(h/g), where h is the vertical height of the support above the circle.
- Unit 8: Electric Force and Electric Field
- 8.1 Improvised · Two charged balloons: force and distance. To show that like charges repel and that the electric force becomes weaker as the distance between charges increases.
- 8.2 Conventional · Electric field patterns with semolina (teacher demonstration). To show the shapes of electric fields between differently shaped electrodes.
- Unit 9: Laws of Thermodynamics
- 9.1 Improvised · Doing work to raise internal energy: the pump and the rubber band. To show that doing work on a system can increase its internal energy and temperature (first law of thermodynamics).
- 9.2 Conventional · Mechanical work into heat: the falling lead shot. To show that mechanical work can be converted into internal energy and to estimate the specific heat capacity of lead.
- Unit 10: General Structure of the Solar System
- 10.1 Improvised · A walking scale model of the solar system. To appreciate the sizes of distances in the solar system using a scale model on the school playground.
- 10.2 Conventional · Measuring the diameter of the Sun with a lens. To use a convex lens to form an image of the Sun and calculate the Sun’s diameter.
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