Investigating the amazingness of theBouncing Ball!
Physics A2 Coursework Investigating the amazingness of the Bouncing Ball! In this investigation I will lead you through my experiments and findings on the decaying bounce of balls. From this investigation I want to have worked out the effect of temperature change on the decaying bounce of a ball. However, at first I will have to choose suitable variables for this experiment. First of all I had to distinguish a method for measuring the heights reached by the bouncing ball. My initial idea was to have a white ball bounce against the backing of a grided black board, so as the ball bounced I'd mark out where the ball bounces. Using a light gate the second time, I'd make sure that the ball did indeed reach that point. However, the ball wouldn't bounce to the exact same height every time, as the ball may bounce sideways and so the height reached would change. Where I mark out the height depends on my eye level and how quick I am to mark out this height may be delayed by i.e./ how tired I am at the time. This method is very prone to error. Another method that may have worked would be to have metal claws, interlocking however not making contact ie. like a grid, but with a charge running through them. A metal or a ball wrapped with tin foil or just a thin layer of metal on the outside of a ball would be bounced onto this grid. Each time the metal plated ball bounces
Resistance through wires.
Resistance through wires Introduction Electrical resistance is a measure of a materials opposition to the flow of an electric charge. Resistance is usually given the symbol 'R'. The unit for electrical resistance is the ohm. Ohm's law is the voltage drop (V) across a resistor proportional to the current running through it. The main causes of resistance to electrical flow in metal are imperfections impurities and temperature caused by the fact that electrons collide with the atoms creating heat. Aim: To find out how the length of a piece of wire affects the resistance. Variables Variable How I control it Material of wire Use the same material. Different materials have alternate atomic structures, conductivity i.e. inbuilt resistance, also some materials have more impurities than others. Diameter of wire use the same sample of wire the bigger the diameter the smaller the resistance temperature Don't leave the current running too long. Allow to cool if necessary and choose suitable voltage. The hotter the wire the resistance increases. Length of wire Change the length to see the differences. Apparatus: x power pack, leads, crocodile clips, meter rule, Ammeter, Volt meter and a length of wire Method: . Attached wire to meter rule. 2. Set up apparatus 3. With crocodile clips adjust the length of the wire that the current is running through and record
Electromagnetism Investigation.
Electromagnetism Investigation Physics - Electromagnetism Planning Previous Scientific Knowledge. When insulated wire is wrapped round an iron nail and the ends of the wire are connected to a battery the nail becomes capable of picking up iron filings and paper clips. This is called an electromagnet. The nail is magnetised by the current in the wire. If the battery is disconnected then the iron clips will fall off. This is because most of the magnetism has been lost. The passage of an electric current along a wire creates a magnetic field around the wire. The fields are in the shape of a series of concentric rings. The more coils used in the electromagnet, the stronger the magnet is. If there is one coil, and another is added, then the two coils have twice the strength of one. This is because the current going through the wire makes the soft-iron core is the factor that induces electromagnetism, as so when there is more current, there will be more wire or or a more magnetised core. Magnets were formed when certain molten metals, (iron, nickel and cobalt,) cool . Normally when the atoms in a non magnetic crystallise, the atoms point in random directions. But because of the properties of the metals mentioned, these atoms line up into parts of the magnetic with similar directions called domains. This is because the earth has a magnetic field, and the atoms in the metal all
Investigating how the velocity of a ball varies with the height of its release on a slope.
Investigating how the velocity of a ball varies with the height of its release on a slope. Safety There are no safety precautions needed besides normal laboratory safety rules. Variables * The gradient of the slope. * The height of the balls release. * The speed of the ball. All other factors will stay the same. * Material of the slope. * The horizontal surface the ball will travel along. * The same ball. * The stopclock used to time the experiment. Preliminary Experiment Apparatus The apparatus I will use is: a plank of wood, a ball, a timer, a ruler and a clamp. Method The apparatus will be set up as above and the ball will be released from various heights and timed from when the ball reaches the bottom of the plank to the end of the ruler. The gradient will be measured using a protractor. Conclusion From the preliminary experiment, the experiment was found to be safe and no other safety precautions will have to be made. The height was best at a maximum of 0.22m because any greater and the ball rolled too fast to measure the time it took. The best angle for the plank was found to be 30o Background Knowledge At position A the ball has Gravitational Potential Energy. Gravitational potential energy = mgh m = mass of the ball (kg) g = the gravitational force (N/kg) h = height (m) As the ball moves from position A to position B it looses Gravitational
The Plight of the Tierzans
The Plight of the Tierzans "Sir, the full moon, just like in the vision." "Yes, Dimitri, this is the hour for which we have prepared." An army assembled in the streets. The soldiers were dressed in a dark green uniform as far as the eye could see. Anticipation dwelled in the air. Then it happened. Five massive creature resembling apes tore through the streets. Their fierce red eyes were focused on destruction. Grotesque smiles crossed their faces. Their hands gripped soldiers and tails whipped at them. The five creatures opened their mouths and showered enormous bright beams of energy over the city below. In vain the remaining soldiers struggled. The once flourishing city had been reduced to rubble. Planet Canasa was now Lord Anorial's. * * * A baby cried. Glass capsules lined the walls. Inside each slept a baby, except in one. He sat awake crying. Two people approached the child. "That child will be great, watch." "The son of a low-class soldier - I wouldn't stake my reputation on that claim!" His companion checked his computer. "He's Zorban's son." "You just wait", protested the first. "That's the cry of a great warrior." Moving to the engraved capsule he murmured, "Rugald: remember that name." * * * Five soldiers sat within a crater, battered and bruised from destroying a city. "Zorban actually remembers everything!" "Don't make me laugh", Taura mused.
Planning experimental procedures
Skill Area P: Planning experimental procedures Introduction A trolley is pushed to the top of a ramp, the summit being 20cm from the ground, and then is released. It rolls all the way down the ramp, of 2 metres, before it collides with the wall at the bottom. A couple of keen scientists thought it would be interesting to record the time taken for the trolley to reach the bottom and then calculate its average speed. They let the trolley fall down the ramp two more times after that, just to make their results more accurate. They also wanted to investigate if the height of the summit made any difference to the average speed, so they raised the ramp to 30cm and pushed the trolley down the ramp again and recorded the time. Basically I have been asked to act as the two enthusiastic experts and test, as a primary objective, to see if the height of the summit affects the average speed at which the trolley travels down the ramp. Based on my existing scientific knowledge, I know that this experiment depends on a certain type of energy being converted into another type. When the trolley is raised to the top of the ramp, it gains a certain amount of potential energy - this is converted into kinetic (movement) energy as the trolley moves down the slope. Too see what factors may affect the way the experiment turns out, it may be useful to look at the formula for potential energy. P.E
The six factors which affect the resistance in wires
The six factors which affect the resistance in wires Resistance Under a potential difference (V) applied across a wire of length (l), there is in the conductor, an electric field (E). In this electric field the free electrons are not however under continuous acceleration (Ee/m). This is because they repeatedly collide with the comparatively massive vibrating atoms losing their kinetic energy. The vibrating atoms having gained this kinetic energy now vibrate more. The resulting increase in the average vibration kinetic energy is rise in temperature. Movement of charge carriers in any medium must necessarily be subject to such collisions causing loss of kinetic energy and generating heat in the medium. This heating of the medium due to the passage of charge carriers is a universal property of all materials and is due to the resistance offered by the material to the flow of charge. The resistance of any material is measured as the potential difference required per unit current in that material. Hence the resistance (R) is quantified as: where (V) is the applied potential difference and (I) the current in the material It should be noted that all materials require to have a potential difference applied in order to maintain an electric current in the material. Thus all materials have resistance. Some materials become more heated than others despite the same rate of flow of
Investigating the Factors That Affect the Resistance of a Wire.
Investigating the Factors That Affect the Resistance of a Wire Resistance occurs when the electrons travelling along the wire collide with the atoms of the wire. These collisions slow down the flow of electrons causing resistance. Resistance is a measure of how hard it is to move the electrons through the wire. There are four main factors that affect the resistance of a wire. These are: * the length of the wire * the width of the wire * the temperature of the wire * the material of the wire Each of these is able to change the resistance. * As the length of the wire increases, the resistance increases. If the length of the wire is increased then the resistance will also increase as the electrons will have a longer distance to travel and so more collisions will occur. Due to this the length increase should be proportional to the resistance increase. * As the temperature of the resistance wire increases, the resistance of the wire increases. This is because if the wire is heated up the atoms in the wire will start to vibrate more because of their increase in energy. This causes more collisions between the electrons. This increase in collisions means that there will be an increase in resistance. * Material of the wire also affects the resistance. The type of material will affect the amount of free electrons which are able to flow through the wire. The conductivity of
My aim for this investigation is to experiment and find out whether the length of a copper wire in a circuit affects the amount of resistance.
GCSE SCIENCE COURSEWORK PHYSICS RESISTANCE OF A WIRE INVESTIGATION BY SAIDUR RAHMAN 1U Aim: My aim for this investigation is to experiment and find out whether the length of a copper wire in a circuit affects the amount of resistance. Factors: The following are factors which affect the resistance of a wire: * Length - this will be the variable in this investigation. The longer the length of the wire, the more resistance there is, resulting in a less current flowing around the circuit. * Thickness - there is more resistance if the wire is thick, because there is a larger diameter, there is more wire overall. This means there is more resistance, resulting in a less current flowing around the circuit. * Temperature - if the wire is hotter, then there is more resistance. This is because there is more energy in the wire. This means the atoms of the metal vibrate more fiercely. This means that the electrons have more difficulty getting through the wire as they collide with atoms which are in their path. This increases the amount of collisions, which means there is more resistance. This results in less current flowing around the circuit. * Voltage - this is obvious, that if there is more voltage, or potential difference, then the less resistance there is. * Material - the type of metal the wire is made of also influences the amount of resistance the wire holds.
Gears Introduction
Gears Introduction Gears are very versatile and can help produce a range of movements that can be used to control the speed of the action. In basic terms, gears are comparable to continuously applied levers, as one tooth is engaging, and another is disengaging. The gear wheel being turned is called the Input gear and the one it drives is called the Output gear. Gears with unequal numbers of teeth alter the speed between the input and out put. This is referred to as the Gear Ratio. CALCULATING RATIOS The following example shows how the ratios are calculated. If the input gear (A) has 10 teeth and the output gear (B) 30 teeth, then the ratio is written down as 3:1 Ratio = number of teeth on the output gear B (30) number of teeth on the input gear A (10) Therefore the ratio is written down as 3:1 The first figure (3) refers to how many turns the input gear (1) must turn in order to rotate the out put gear 1 full revolution. Simply divide the amount of teeth from the input by the output gear to work out the ratio. The principle behind gears is also very simple. In the above example, for every complete revolution of the input gear the out put turns 1/3 of the way round. This means you are slowing down the action and are referred to in engineering terms as "Stepping Down". If we reverse everything then the opposite happens and we "Step Up". It takes 1 turn of the
