physics

practical.

Fundamentals

-remember three significant figure-

quantity instrument precision

potential difference / V voltmeter 0.05

current / A ammeter 0.01

mass / g electronic balance 0.01

newtons / N spring balance /newton meter 0.005

time / s digital stopwatch 0.01

temperature / °C liquid in glass thermometer 0.5

volume/ cm3 measuring cylinder 0.5

tape measure / cm 0.1

metre ruler / cm 0.1

length
vernier caliper / cm 0.01

micrometer screw gage / mm 0.01

 factor prefix symbol
109 giga G

106 mega M
103 Kilo K

10-1 deci d

10-2 centi c

10-3 milli m
10-6 micro µ

10-9 nano n

Errors and precautions

General:

Precautions:
• Check for zero errors in the instrument before taking reading (for micrometer screw gage and
vernier caliper in particular)

• Repeat the experiment 3 times and obtain an average result, hence increasing reliability of
the results

Source of error:
• Human reaction time leads to delayed reading of timing taken (applicable most of the time
when a stopwatch is involved)
§ Suggestion
Increase duration of experiment such that human reaction time is insignificant in
results (e.g recording time taken for 20 oscillations rather than 1 oscillation)

Repeat the experiment and obtain average result to reduce percentage error due to
human reaction time

- Parallax error

Precaution:
• Reading the scale with the line of sight perpendicular to the markings

• Read at the meniscus level for liquids (e.g thermometer and volume reading)
- light

Precautions:
• Ensure laboratory lights are switched off or dimmed

• Ensure optical pins are placed vertically upright and at least 5cm apart on the soft
board

• Ensure lens are upright and vertical. If lens is tilted, the image formed on vertical
screen should not be as a sharp as could be

• Align the lens, screen and object along the principal axis of the lens to ensure a sharp
image can be formed on the screen.

Sources of error:
• Holes created by optical pins are too big, thus affecting the accuracy of the light ray
path drawn, which affects angle measured

Suggestion
Use dress maker pins to minimise the size of pin holes

Avoid pressing the pins too deep into the soft board

• It is difficult to ascertain the sharpest possible image on the screen, hence image
distance may not be accurate

Suggestion
Move the lens back and forth slowly to obtain the sharpest image

- Electricity

Precautions:
• Circuit has to be disconnected if not in used to prevent overheating of wire which will
cause resistance to change

• Place jockey perpendicular to resistance wire so that its length and voltage are
accurate

• Avoid parallax error during recording of readings on the ammeter or voltmeter by

using the mirror in meter as reference.

Sources of error:
• The wire bridge becomes hot after a while, and its resistance increases

Suggestion
Disconnect the circuit after each reading is taken
 • Presence of kinks along the wire, such the wire is not perfectly straight. This leads to
inaccurate measurement of length

• Cross sectional area of wire may not be constant and of uniform thickness
throughout

- Heat

Precautions:
• Thermometer bulb must be fully submerged in the liquid so that the temperature
reading is accurate

• Thermometer bulb must not touch the sides of the beaker to ensure that the
temperature reading is of the liquid only

• Read temperature reading from thermometer at meniscus level

• Stirring must be done before taking temperature of liquid to ensure uniform

temperature throughout the liquid

Sources of error:
• Loss/gain of heat to/from the surroundings due to insufficient thermal insulation

Suggestion
Wrap the container in an insulating material to minimize heat loss/gain from
the surroundings

• Loss of mass of liquid due to evaporation

Suggestion
Add a cap on the container to minimize loss of water due to evaporation

- Density

Precaution:
• Ensure that when recording readings off the measuring cylinder, take it at the
meniscus level

Sources of error:
• If the experiment only measures the mass of the object after it is being immersed in
water to obtain its volume. There is a source of error in measuring it mass as it is wet
and possesses mass of water too

• When placing object in water, air bubbles may stick to object. There is a source of
error in measuring displaced volume as it also has the volume of air bubbles included.
in this experiment below (Acceleration or speed of ball experiment1)

Precaution:
• Ensure that the glass sphere is not pushed down the channel. Use a 15cm ruler to
hold the sphere in position and lift ruler to let sphere roll down

sources of error:
• metre rulers may be sagging

Suggestions
Place a support such as a wooden block below the middle of the rulers to
prevent it from sagging

• Human reaction time leads to delayed reading of the time taken for ball to roll down

Suggestion
Repeat the experiment 3 times and obtain the average reading so as to
increase the reliability of the results

In this experiment below

- How to ensure threads are vertical?
Since the threads are separated by 30cm at the
bottom, ensure that the threads are also separated
by 30cm at the top, using a ruler to measure

- How to ensure half metre ruler is horizontal?

Ensure that the vertical height of the ruler to the
bench at both ends of the ruler are the same

Using a set square, ensure that its perpendicular

edges are in line with string and ruler at both sides

1
A stopwatch is used to measure time taken for marble to roll down ramp. This will be used in calculation of
speed or acceleration of marble down the ramp
- Oscillation experiment 1

Precaution:
• Extend the mass down by a small distance only

• Ensure that the mass oscillates in a single plane/vertically

Why must mass be pulled down by a small distance only?

To ensure that the mass only oscillates vertically, in a single plane

If the spring is pulled down too farm the spring may overextend, and spring’s
extension may not be directly proportional to the force exerted

- Oscillation experiment 2

Precaution:
• Ensure that the angle of displacement is small so that the mass oscillates in a single
plane (sideways)
 - In experiment involving filling a container up with water

Sources of error:

• Difficulty filling water to brim of container and transferring all of the water out

• Not all water can be poured our fully to measure volume

- Experiment finding cg of lamina

Precaution:
• Ensure that card is suspended freely

Random improvement for experiment

• Use a small stirrer to prevent amount of water removed

Graphs
Remember to do the gradient triangle!!
& annotate your points of gradient triangle

- Relationship of a straight line graph:

y is directly proportionate to x

y is linearly related to x with a positively gradient

 y is linearly related to x with a negative gradient

questions
- why is it not advisable to take readings below 40cm?

time measured for x less than 40cm will be very short, hence human reaction time becomes
significant and recordings will have large errors, thereby becoming unreliable

- are these 2 variables proportional? Use the graph to substantiate your answer.

Yes, the graph is a straight line and passes through the origin
or
No, though the graph is a straight line, it does not pass through the origin

- how do you ensure that ruler is vertical?

use a set square with the 90° angle between the bench surface and the ruler
 - how do you ensure that the 2 lengths of threads are vertical?

since the threads are separated by 30cm at the bottom where they are tied to the rulers,
ensure that the threads at where they are connected to the split cork, are also separated by
30cm

- how to ensure that the length of d1 are as accurate as possible

measure the value of d1 from different positions and take the average as it may not be a
uniform circle

ensure line of sight is perpendicular to the marking of the readings

Planning

- Basic procedure
Using the same apparatus as fig…
Vary the factor for 4 further values, and repeat step… to find …

(For pendulums, ensure that time for 20 oscillation is recorded)

- Reliability
e.g repeat the experiment two more times and obtain the average result

- Constant variables
e.g Length of string of pendulum, Extension of spring

- Calculations and how graph should be plotted

Plot Y2 against X

- Gradient of graph

Note:
During the experiment procedure, only vary 1 factor
e.g

1) Use the set up as shown in fig 2.1

2) Set up the length of the pendulum; L to be 1.00m

3) Using a stopwatch, Record the time taken for 20 oscillations.

Repeat the experiment 2 more times and obtain the average time taken

4) Hence find the time taken for one complete oscillation.

5) Repeat steps 1-4 for 4 more varied values of L

6) Ensure that the angle of displacement of pendulum remains constant

7) Plot a graph of t2 against L

8) Obtain the gradient of the graph and calculate the value of g through the equation….