Investigating Impact Craters
PHYSICS INVESTIGATION INVESTIGATING IMPACT CRATERS The Aim of this investigation is to determine relationships between the following variables: * The height from which a ball (a simple model of an asteroid or meteor) is dropped and the diameter of its impact crater. * The height from which a ball is dropped and the depth of its impact crater. * The diameter of a ball and its impact crater. * The mass of a ball and the diameter of its impact crater. * The mass of a ball and the depth of its impact crater. * The angle at which the ball impacts and the length of its impact crater. * The angle at which a ball impacts and the depth of its impact crater. * Keeping the angle the same, changing the magnitude of the ball's velocity - and measure the length and depth of impact craters. * Changing the vertical height dropped by the ball, after being released at an angle. Preliminary Experiments In order to get the best range of results some preliminary work was required. Firstly the material which was to be dropped into needed to be decided upon. The three main options are as follows: . Flour This was initially intended as the impact material, however after some early tests it was found that the flour would not hold its shape correctly after the ball had been removed from the impact crater. This lead to the diameter of the craters being changed greatly from the expected
To find out how the length of a piece of wire effects the reaction time in a circuit.
Physics Coursework. Planning: Aim: To find out how the length of a piece of wire effects the reaction time in a circuit. Background and general information: In this course work investigation I will be trying to find out if the length of a piece of wire which is joined into a circuit effects the resistance. There is many reasons why the wire may cause more or less resistance. The length, temperature, thickness and the material the wire is made out of are all factors, which will effect resistance. I have decided to test how the length of the wire effects resistance as it is the easiest experiment to perform. Temperature and thickness of wire would be far too hard to set up and changing the type of material used each time for the wire would yield small results as we could only use maybe 5 or 6 different metals. In my experiment I will only be recording the resistance from the different lengths. However the materials, temperature and thickness will still be very important, as they will still effect the resistance. I will try and keep the same wire each time simply making it shorter so it is the same material each time. AS it is the same wire the thickness won't change either. The temperature of the wire should not change either, as I will be putting the same current in for each try. I will need lots of results but not too many. To make this possible I will be removing 5
The Sun, the largest fusion reactor in the Solar System, but for how long?
The Sun, the largest fusion reactor in the Solar System, but for how long? Statement of Aim The Sun is globe of intensely hot gas, it is self luminous and produces energy by means of nuclear processes that occur deep within it. A substantial amount of this energy harnessed over millions of years has provided life here on planet Earth and continues to do so. But what if the life cycle of the Sun comes to an abrupt end. Will life cease to exist? The explosion of this star in the universe may be as a whole utterly insignificant but it could wipe out the human race! The aim of this report will be to carry out an investigation into the Sun, its beginnings, its state at present and its future. It will include a thorough analysis of the thermonuclear reactions that take place inside the Sun. To conclude with, my report will correlate existing information to find an estimate of the life expectancy of the Sun. How information and particular resources were identified With recent study in to the phenomenon of particles within the nucleus of an atom, I decided to research further in to the actions of such particles in thermonuclear reactions that take place inside the Sun. I started by using the Internet and the Nasa website. This proved to be most useful. I also gained the chance to look at a lecturer's notes. By using the Internet I was able to locate particular
Electrons, photons, and the photo-electric effect.
Electrons, photons, and the photo-electric effect 8-6-99 We're now starting to talk about quantum mechanics, the physics of the very small. Planck's constant At the end of the 19th century one of the most intriguing puzzles in physics involved the spectrum of radiation emitted by a hot object. Specifically, the emitter was assumed to be a blackbody, a perfect radiator. The hotter a blackbody is, the more the peak in the spectrum of emitted radiation shifts to shorter wavelength. Nobody could explain why there was a peak in the distribution at all, however; the theory at the time predicted that for a blackbody, the intensity of radiation just kept increasing as the wavelength decreased. This was known as the ultraviolet catastrophe, because the theory predicted that an infinite amount of energy was emitted by a radiating object. Clearly, this prediction was in conflict with the idea of conservation of energy, not to mention being in serious disagreement with experimental observation. No one could account for the discrepancy, however, until Max Planck came up with the idea that a blackbody was made up of a whole bunch of oscillating atoms, and that the energy of each oscillating atom was quantized. That last point is the key : the energy of the atoms could only take on discrete values, and these values depended on the frequency of the oscillation: Planck's prediction
Investigating factors that affect the swing of a pendulum
Physics course work - Investigating factors that affect the swing of a pendulum Aim: During this investigation I will isolate and investigate some of the factors that affect the amount of swings that a pendulum can complete in a given amount of time. Introduction: A Pendulum comprises of a 'rod' (a length of material, it can be flexible or rigid) and a 'bob' (a weight which is attached to the rod), these then oscilate, by altering the properties of these two factors it is possible to achieve any rate of 'regular swing', once the desired rate is achieved, a pendulum can be used to govern any types of machinery. Plan: I have isolated the key factors that will affect the swing of the pendulum as: The angle of release The length of the pendulum arm The weight of the bob In this experiment I will concentrate on the length of the pendulum rod, as I feel this will have the most affect on the results. I will be keeping the 'mass' and the 'angle of release' the same throughout the experiment From this I will predict that a shorter rod will result in the pendulum completing more swings in a given time, I have predicted this because: If a car was to negotiate a 90 degrees corner, the fastest route would be one where it could turn very quickly, e.g. A car negotiating this corner may cover something in the range of 5 - 10m, if it could take the corner in a 'tighter'
I aim to find out if the mass of an object affects the speed at which it falls.
Falling Objects Plan I aim to find out if the mass of an object affects the speed at which it falls. I predict that the mass will not alter the speed, as it will reach terminal velocity. I think that all the results will stay roughly the same even though I have changed the mass. When something falls, its potential energy is changed into kinetic energy. Therefore the only thing in this experiment that could alter the speed at which it falls is the air resistance and the height. (These would change the time at which the object is in the air). Theoretically, as I am keeping these the same, the speed should not change. The scientist Galileo proved this. This is a quote taken from the Galileo Timeline. (http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/galileo/galileo_timeline.html) "1589-1592 Teaches mathematical subjects at the University of Pisa (salary 160 scudi per year). Some tracts--lecture notes--written during this period have survived. In On motion Galileo uses the Archimedian approach to motion: the speed of falling bodies is proportional to their density, not their weight as Aristotle had maintained. According to Vincenzo Viviani Galileo demonstrated his conclusions by dropping weights from the leaning tower of Pisa." I will drop the object, which will be a small container, from a height of 30cm. I will measure the speed of the object using a light gate, which will make my results
Investigate how the speed of light differs in air and in Perspex.
Gcse Physics coursework: Refractive Index Planning Aim: I am going to investigate how the speed of light differs in air and in Perspex. Background info: The refractive index is a ratio for working out the speed of light. The ratio varies for different substances, it indicates the extent to how light refracts through different substances. On passing from a less dense medium to a more dense medium, light is refracted towards the normal, and thus the angle of incidence, i, is larger than the angle of refraction, r., Willebrord van Roijen Snell (1591-1626), came up with a law explaining the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is a constant for any given pair of medium. so a simple statement of his law is: sin i / sin r = a constant, n So in this equation the constant n is equal to the refractive index. N defines the speed of light in Perspex as a decimal of the speed of light in air Example of refractive index values are: water (1.33); perspex (1.49); window glass (1.51); different glasses (between 1.46 and 1.69); and diamond (2.42). Diamond has a very high refractive index this is responsible for it having such a aparkle. Apparatus Lab pack D-block Ray Box Glass lens Collimator Prediction I Predict that the speed of light in Perspex multiplied by the refractive index of Perspex (1.49) will equal the speed of light
A-Level Physics Investigation:The Ski Jumper
A-Level Physics Investigation: The Ski Jumper Aim To find out how the starting position of a ski jumper affects the horizontal distance travelled in the jump. We will model the jumper and the ski slope as a ball bearing and a curtain rail. We will not take air resistance, friction and other various type of energy lost into account. However in practical we have to keep in mind that they do exist and causes variation in our results. Factors which affects the range: Changing the vertical height of drop from the slope ('h') would vary the range. This is because according to the law of conservation of energy, it cannot be made or destroyed but transferred. To apply this law into this practical, we can say all of the GPE (Gravitational Potential Energy) is converted into KE (Kinetic Energy) assuming no energy is wasted. As a result, GPE is equal to KE. Hence if mass (kg) and acceleration (ms-2) due to gravity remains constant, varying the height (metres) would directly affect the velocity (ms-1). mgh = 1/2 mv2 So we are saying GPE lost causes a gain in KE. Ultimately, the greater the height dropped the greater the velocity it has when leaving the ramp and consequently greater the range. With this theory, we can confidently say that changing the gradient would not make a difference to the range if the height remains constant. What will happen is that the object simply
Investigation Into The Factors Which Alter The Resistance Of A Wire.
Investigation Into The Factors Which Alter The Resistance Of A Wire Aim The aim of the investigation is to find which factors alter the resistance of a wire. This means I must find out which factors alter the resistance and I can do this by firstly selecting which factors I think will affect the resistance. What I am going to investigate and why I have decided to investigate: - . The thickness of the wire that is to be used because there is a sufficient range of wires that I have available to me that can be tested. 2. The length of the wire that will be used, as there is also a sufficient amount of wire for many lengths to be tested which would provide many results. In this experiment I am not going to be testing temperature and its effect on the resistance of a wire as I feel it would be rather difficult to measure and maybe harder to compare results with other factors. Also I am not going to test the effect of the material i.e. changing the wire to copper from nichrome ass there is an insufficient range of materials available. This means that I would have fewer results to base my conclusion on and therefore my conclusions maybe unreliable. Range Of Measurements All readings of measurements will be repeated to ensure that I acquire accurate results. Changing the width, keeping length the same There will be a fixed length at 15cm. The thicknesses of wire that I will
An investigation of the factors that affect the resistance of a wire
An investigation of the factors that affect the resistance of a wire Plan Metals conduct electricity because the electrons in the metal can move about inside the structure. Wires can be made of different metals - and the reason why they give different resistances is all down to the number of "free" electrons there are in that metal - these are electrons that aren't involved in bonding, and are "left over". Current, is the flow of electrons around a circuit. Those materials, which have a lot of "free" electrons, will make it a lot easier for current to flow through, and so there is low resistance. That's why not all metals are equally as good at conducting electricity. The other things that can affect the resistance of a wire are length; a longer wire will make it more difficult for current to flow, as there is more material to travel through therefore the resistance increase. The cross sectional area; the larger this is, the more charge can travel at the same time through a given length, so the resistance decreases. To calculate the resistance of a wire I will need to use the following formula: R= V/ I V= Potential difference in volts (V) I = Current in amps (A) R= Resistance in a unit called and ohm () Preliminary testing: I have already done some preliminary investigations, testing the different types of wire such as copper and nichrome, and most
