AS OCR B Advancing Physics Coursework - Making Sense of Data
AS Physics Coursework - Making Sense of Data An experiment was carried out in which the velocity of a falling mass was measured using a light gate: The results are shown in the table below: Height Above Light Gate (mm) Velocity #1 (m/s) Velocity #2 (m/s) Velocity #3 (m/s) 20 0.61 0.62 0.51 70 .12 .11 .10 20 .52 .62 .50 70 .76 .72 .79 220 .93 2.03 .99 270 2.26 2.28 2.30 320 2.45 2.50 2.46 370 2.62 2.67 2.63 420 2.84 2.80 2.89 470 2.96 2.97 2.99 520 3.18 3.13 3.20 570 3.30 3.44 3.34 620 3.53 3.53 3.40 670 3.62 3.64 3.67 720 3.84 3.62 3.83 770 3.86 3.84 3.83 820 4.03 3.97 3.99 870 4.18 4.12 4.14 920 4.36 4.41 4.20 Provided with these results I have initially decided to look at any relationship between the actual figures collected, with the plan of calculating and exploring further data later. I am therefore looking at the relationship between the distance the object fell, and its velocity as it passed through the light gate. An average of the velocities measured in each experiment has been calculated and the height at which the weight was dropped has been multiplied by 1000 to convert it to metres. I have created a graph of these values. Distance fallen /m Average Velocity/ ms-1 0.02 0.58 0.07 .11 0.12 .55 0.17 .76 0.22 .98 0.27 2.28 0.32 2.47 0.37 2.64 0.42 2.84 0.47
Black Holes Research and Report
Contents Page number 3 What is a Black Hole? Black Hole anatomy 4 Types of Black Hole 5 Event horizon radius 6 Mass of a black hole 7 Hawking radiation 8 What happens when Black Holes Collide? Gravitational lensing 10 Einstein rings Evaluation 11 References Black Holes By doing this assignment I aim to gain a better understanding of the physics behind Black Holes What is a Black Hole? To understand a black hole, you must first have an understanding of gravity in space. Imagine yourself on a trampoline; you make an indentation in the trampoline fabric. If someone was to roll a ball past you on the trampoline, it would begin to spiral towards you, down into the indent you have made. This is very similar to the way gravity works in space and time. The 'fabric of spacetime' is an imaginary mesh running through space (see right) which can be deformed and warped by the gravity of stars and planets. This is the principle upon which black holes work. A black hole essentially is an incredibly compact body which has warped space-time enough to make any escape from the force of gravity impossible. They are thought to be at the centre of galaxies, including our own Milky Way. As the name implies, a blackhole cannot emit or reflect any light; making them practically invisible. If enough mass is concentrated into a small enough region, the curvature of
Albert Einstein - The father of modern physics
The Father of modern physics I think it has to be said that Einstein is arguably the most influential scientist of all time, without his work the world of quantum physics, and physics in general, would be a much darker and less understood place. His work has provoked much of the scientific knowledge we have today and has made physics as a whole a more accessible subject for everyone. His wide influence has made him a household name among many families. Einstein is most in famous for the works he produced in the Annus Mirabili – extraordinary year – in this year he produced four papers, these papers were substantial foundations to modern physics. All of these papers were written in German, their translated titles are as follows: “On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light”, this paper proposed the idea of energy quanta, and put forward an explanation to the Photoelectric Effect. Einstein states that “the energy of a light ray spreading out from a point source is not continuously distributed over an increasing space but consists of a finite number of energy quanta” (Einstein 1905) [1]) this went against the accepted Maxwellian theories of light and radiation, due to this many scientists did not accept this theory, one of these scientists included Niels Bohr, who stated in his Nobel address in 1922 (17 years after Einstein first
Physics coursework; Finding the focal length of a lens using a graphical method.
Physics coursework; Finding the focal length of a lens using a graphical method. Planning: Firstly the rough focal length of my lens will need to be found to assist me in my real experiment. A simple way to do this would be, to hold the lens up to a flat white wall opposite a window when it is light outside, by moving the lens closer/ further away from the wall until an upside down image of objects outside the window (e.g. trees,) is produced, I can estimate an focal length for the lens which provides me with the minimum distance of (u), this saves time that would be spent trying to find a point from which I can begin measurements. The equipment will be set up as shown below: Apparatus: * Light source connected to a power pack * Wire grid (object) * 1m ruler (correct to the nearest mm) * a small bi-convex lens * a white 2D screen (approx 100*70 mm) ==> When the light is turned on the light will pass through the mesh creating an image which can be focused by the lens on the screen. ==> It is important to remember that light bulbs will get hot, so precautions should be taken to ensure I am safe from burns during the experiment. ==> It should also be considered that any experiment involving electricity carries risk so due care must be taken when handling any electrical equipment. ==> The light source will be covered with a sheet of grease proof paper, this will
Mobile Phones - A curse or a boon?
Mobile Phones - A curse or a boon? Since the beginning of time man has been inventing things; the bike, the car, the radio, the television, the telephone, the computer but the most recent invention to have taken the world by storm has to be the mobile phone. Originally a large, heavy, black box with an even larger protruding aerial, mobile phones were not widely used but today they are a must-have fashion accessory, and with coloured fascias, aerials, covers, logos and ring-tones available, its no surprise that children as young as eight are now asking Santa for an Ericsson PF768 or Motorola Wing Timeport V.550. With recent advances in technology WAP services have been provided on mobiles and in Japan they have fitted a video camera into the ever decreasing in size hand held phenomena. It is safe to say that mobiles have taken over, making it impossible to travel without hearing a dull-tone version of the number 1 tune blasting in your ear followed by, "Hello? I'm on the train!" There are many stories of lives being saved when someone suffers a heart attack whilst in the middle of nowhere and the victim is rescued because their companion rang the emergency services on their mobile. This is one reason why so many people own mobiles - security. The young and old are reassured that by owning a mobile, help can be on its way in the touch of a button if an emergency situation
Determination of the acceleration due to gravity (g)
Determination of the acceleration due to gravity (g) By-nanding Li Introduction Gravity is the force at which the earth attracts objects towards it; also know as the weight of objects. When objects fall towards the earth, their acceleration increases because of the gravity. This acceleration due to gravity is dependent on the object's mass. A free falling object, if gravity s the only force acting on an object, then we can know the object will accelerate at a rate of 9.81ms-2 down toward the centre of the earth, this is known as acceleration due to gravity and is given the symbol 'g'. We can find the force causing this acceleration using: F = ma And weight for the object: G = mg Where the 'm' is the mass of object and 'g' is the acceleration due to gravity. However, acceleration due to gravity is not the same through out the universe. The moon has a smaller acceleration due to gravity than the earth. If we were to drop a stone on the moon, it would fall more slowly. This does not mean the mass of the stone is changed from the earth to the moon, this means the moon has less attraction to the stone and the acceleration due to gravity on the moon is about on-sixth of that on the earth: g moon = 1.6 ms-2 In this investigation, I am going to determine the acceleration due to gravity on the earth by using an electronic timer and varying its height of dropping.
Microscopes. Using electrons instead of light means that the illumination has a much shorter wavelength than light.
Microscopes Cells can be seen with a light microscope but many structures within a cell - organelles - can only be seen clearly with an electron microscope. That is partly because an electron microscope has a greater magnifying power. However, increasing only magnification has its limits because at some point magnification reveals nothing more - the details only look bigger and vaguer. Magnification is how much bigger a sample appears to be under the microscope than it is in real life. Overall magnification = Objective lens x Eyepiece lens Using electrons instead of light means that the illumination has a much shorter wavelength than light. This is good because minute detail can be detected. We say that an electron microscope has a bigger resolving power than an light microscope Resolution is the ability to distinguish between two points on an image. The resolution of an image is limited by the wavelength of radiation used to view the sample. This is because when objects in the specimen are much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation being used, they do not interrupt the waves, and so are not detected. The wavelength of light is much larger than the wavelength of electrons, so the resolution of the light microscope is a lot lower. The actual resolution is often half the size of the wavelength of radiation used. Thus, for the light microscope the maximum
See how one factor affects the period of time a mass on the end of a spring takes to complete one whole oscillation.
Physics Coursework Planning Variables The aim of these experiments will be to see how one factor affects the period of time a mass on the end of a spring takes to complete one whole oscillation. One whole oscillation means the mass returning to its original position, be it the equilibrium or not. I will look at the independent variables (variables which are not caused as a result of another variable). The dependent variable in this case is time * Mass - the size of mass on the end of the spring. Bigger mass may affect the time it takes * Length of spring - if the spring is longer, the mass would have further to travel and this will affect the time it takes to oscillate. * Tension of spring - the more tension in the spring may result in the mass oscillating faster as there would be more tension. This would prevent the mass pulling the spring too far and thus mean the oscillating time would be shorter. * Gravity - the force of gravity would affect the mass, as if the gravity was less the mass would take longer to pull the spring down. If the gravity were stronger, the mass would take longer to go back to the equilibrium. * Temperature - if the temperature changed, the spring would be more ductile and this could mean the spring would deform earlier than it would at room temperature. I have chosen to make mass the variable, as this is the easiest variable to use in
Catapult Investigation
Mark Cranshaw 0P/11P Physics coursework Catapult Investigation Planning: * Preliminary work The preliminary part of my catapult investigation was to see how far I could stretch an elastic band without breaking and also to test to see what readings I could use in the final experiment. I am going to plan an experiment where I shall investigate the firing distances of 100g weights fired by two elastic bands wrapped around a stool. First of all we did our preliminary experiment. In this we investigated elastic bands to see which would be most suitable to use in our final experiment. We tested the elastic bands with different forces (1-10 Newton's) and recorded the distances of which they were stretched. I realised that if I stretched the elastic bands with more than a force of 10 Newton's then they would probably break or loose their elastic energy. Here is a diagram showing our trial experiment: The results of this experiment are shown on the graph on the next page and also below: Force (Newton's) Distance stretched (cm) 24 2 29 3 36 4 44 5 54 6 64 7 73 8 80 9 86 0 90 1 05 2 09 3 20 4 23 5 25 From the results it is quite easy to see that the bigger the force on the elastic band the further it will stretch. From this I will make a prediction: "The more force put on the elastic band the further the weight will travel the further the elastic
Test of the reed switch capacitors in series and in parallel
School: Class Number: Name: Class: Date: 1th May, 2008 Mark: Title Test of the reed switch - capacitors in series and in parallel Objective - To use a reed switch to measure the capacitance of some real capacitors, including those of series and parallel combinations - To investigate how the reed switch current varies with the frequency Apparatus Reed switch x1 Signal generator x1 Resistance substitution box x1 Battery box with 4 cells x1 Milliammeter x1 Voltmeter x1 Capacitors C1 and C2 Connecting wires Theory Reed switch current In the experiment, the reed switch allows the capacitor to be charged up and discharged rapidly. If a capacitor with capacitance C is charged up at a voltage V, the charge Q stored in it will be equal to CV. If the frequency f is operated by the reed switch, the charging up and discharging process will be repeated f times per second, the charge Q in the capacitor will be delivered to the milliammeter at the same rate. Assuming the capacitor is fully charged and discharged every time, the total charge Q total passing through the milliammeter per second is equal CVf, which is the theoretical current I. And the capacitance of the capacitor can be estimated by the formula C = I/ Vf. Capacitors in parallel If capacitors C1, C2, ..., CN are connected in parallel, the charges stored in each capacitor are shown as
