Addison-Wesley Conceptual Physics

ISBN: 9780201468007 | 020146800X
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 1/1/1997

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To the Student

Goals, Graphing, Use of the Computer, Lab Reports, Safety in the Physics Laboratory, Emergency Procedures

The laboratory activities and experiments are listed here with the lab topic in italics and the purpose of each lab is stated under the title of the lab.

Making Hypotheses - Inquiry Method

(2)

To practice using observations to make hypotheses.

The Physics 500 - Measuring Speed

(2)

To compute the average speed of at least three different races and to participate in at least one race.

The Domino Effect - Maximizing Average Speed

(4)

To investigate the ways in which distance, time, and average speed are interrelated by maximizing the speed of falling dominoes. To become familiar with elementary graphing techniques.

Merrily We Roll Along! - Acceleration Down an Incline

(8)

To investigate the relationship between distance and time for a ball rolling down an incline.

Conceptual Graphing - Graphical Analysis of Motion

(6)

To make qualitative interpretations of motion from graphs.

Race Track - Acceleration

(2)

To introduce the concept of constantly changing speed.

Bull's Eye - Projectile Motion

(4)

To investigate the independence of horizontal and vertical components of motion.

To predict the landing point of a projectile.

Going Nuts - Inertia

(2)

To explore the concept of inertia.

Buckle Up! - Inertia

(2)

To demonstrate how Newton's first law of motion is involved in collisions.

24-Hour Towing Service - Statics and Vectors

(2)

To find a technique to move a car when its wheels are locked.

Getting Pushy - Variables Affecting Acceleration

(4)

To investigate the relationship among mass, force, and acceleration.

Constant Force and Changing Mass - Mass and Acceleration

(4)

To investigate the relationship of mass on an accelerating system.

Constant Mass and Changing Force - Force and Acceleration

(4)

To investigate how increasing the applied force affects the acceleration of a system.

Impact Speed - Effect of Air Friction on Falling Bodies

(4)

To estimate the speed of a falling object as it strikes the ground.

Riding with the Wind - Components of Force

(4)

To investigate the relationships between the components of the force that propels a sailboat.

Balloon Rockets - Action and Reaction

(2)

To investigate action-reaction relationships.

Tension - Action and Reaction

(4)

To introduce the concept of tension in a string.

Tug-of-War - Action and Reaction

(4)

To investigate the tension in a string, the function of a simple pulley, and a simple ``tug-of-war.''

Go Cart - Two-Body Collisions

(4)

To investigate the momentum imparted during elastic and inelastic collisions.

Tailgated by a Dart - Momentum Conservation

(4)

To estimate the speed of an object by applying conservation of momentum to an inelastic collision.

Making the Grade - Mechanical Energy

(2)

To investigate the force and the distance involved in moving an object up an incline.

Muscle Up! - Power

(2)

To determine the power that can be produced by various muscles of the human body.

Cut Short - Conservation of Energy

(2)

To illustrate the principle of conservation of energy with a pendulum.

Conserving Your Energy - Conservation of Energy

(4)

To measure the potential and kinetic energies of a pendulum in order to see whether energy is conserved.

How Hot Are Your Hot Wheels? - Efficiency

(2)

To measure the efficiency of a toy car on an inclined track.

Wrap Your Energy in a Bow - Energy and Work

(4)

To determine the energy transferred into an archer's bow as the string is pulled back.

On a Roll - Friction and Energy

(4)

To investigate the relationship between the stopping distance and height from which a ball rolls down an incline.

Releasing Your Potential - Conservation of Energy

(4)

To find quantitative relationships among height, speed, mass, kinetic energy, and potential energy.

Slip-Stick - Coefficients of Friction

(6)

To investigate three types of friction and to measure the coefficient of friction for each type.

Going in Circles - Centripetal Acceleration

103

(4)

To determine the acceleration of an object at different positions on a rotating turntable.

Where's Your CG? - Center of Gravity

107

(4)

To locate your center of gravity.

Torque Feeler - Torque

111

(2)

To illustrate the qualitative differences between torque and force.

Weighing an Elephant - Balanced Torques

113

(4)

To determine the relationship between masses and distances from the fulcrum for a balanced see-saw.

Keeping in Balance - Balanced Torques

117

(4)

To use the principles of balanced torques to find the value of an unknown mass.

Rotational Derby - Rotational Inertia

121

(4)

To observe how objects of various shapes and masses roll down an incline and how their rotational inertias affect their rate of rotation.

Acceleration of Free Fall - Acceleration of Gravity

125

(4)

To measure the acceleration of an object during free fall with the help of a pendulum.

Computerized Gravity - Acceleration of Gravity

129

(4)

To measure the acceleration due to gravity, using the Laboratory Interfacing Disk.

Apparent Weightlessness - Free Fall

133

(2)

To observe the effects of gravity on objects in free fall.

Getting Eccentric - Elliptical Orbits

135

(2)

To get a feeling of the shapes of ellipses and the locations of their foci by drawing a few.

Trial and Error - Kepler's Third Law

137

(2)

To discover Kepler's third law of planetary motion through a procedure of trial and error using the computer.

Flat as a Pancake - Diameter of a BB

139

(2)

To estimate the diameter of a BB.

Extra Small - The Size of a Molecule

141

(2)

To estimate the size of a molecule of oleic acid.

Stretch - Elasticity and Hooke's Law

143

(4)

To verify Hooke's law and determine the spring constants for a spring and a rubber band.

Geometric Physics - Scaling

147

(6)

To investigate the ratios of surface area to volume.

Eureka! - Displacement and Density

153

(4)

To explore the displacements method of finding volumes of irregularly shaped objects and to compare their masses with their volumes.

Sink or Swim - Archimedes' Principle and Flotation

157

(4)

To introduce Archimedes' principle and the principle of flotation.

Weighty Stuff - Weight of Air

161

(2)

To recognize that air has weight.

Inflation - Pressure and Force

163

(4)

To distinguish between pressure and force, and to compare the pressure that a tire exerts on the road with the air pressure in the tire.

Heat Mixes: Part I - Specific Heat of Water

167

(4)

To predict the final temperature of a mixture of cups of water at different temperatures.

Heat and Mixes: Part II - Specific Heat of Nails

171

(4)

To predict the final temperature of water and nails when mixed.

Antifreeze in the Summer? - Specific Heat and Boiling Point

175

(4)

To determine what effect antifreeze has on the cooling of a car radiator during the summer.

Gulf Stream in a Flask - Convection

179

(2)

To observe liquid movement due to temperature differences.

The Bridge Connection - Linear Expansion of Solids

181

(4)

To calculate the minimum length of the expansion joints for the Golden Gate Bridge.

Cooling Off - Comparing Cooling Curves

185

(4)

To compare the rates of cooling objects of different colors and surface reflectances.

Solar Equality - Solar Energy

189

(4)

To measure the sun's power output and compare it with the power output of a 100-watt light bulb.

Solar Energy - Solar Energy

193

(4)

To find the daily amount of solar energy reaching the earth's surface and relate it to the daily amount of solar energy falling on an average house.

Boiling Is a Cooling Process - Boiling of Water

197

(4)

To observe water changing its state as it boils and then cools.

Melting Away - Heat of Fusion

201

(4)

To measure the heat of fusion from water.

Getting Steamed Up - Heat of Vaporization

205

(4)

To determine the heat of evaporation for water.

Changing Phase - Changes of Phase

209

(2)

To recognize, from a graph of the temperature changes of two systems, that energy is transferred in changing phase even though the temperature remains constant.

Work for Your Ice Cream - Energy Transfer

211

(2)

To measure the energy transfers occurring during the making and freezing of homemade ice cream.

The Drinking Bird - Heat Engines

213

(4)

To investigate the operation of a toy drinking bird.

The Uncommon Cold - Estimating Absolute Zero

217

(4)

To use linear extrapolation to estimate the Celsius value of the temperature of absolute zero.

Tick-Tock - Period of a Pendulum

221

(2)

To construct a pendulum with the period of one second.

Grandfather's Clock - Period of a Pendulum

223

(2)

To investigate how the period of a pendulum varies with its length.

Catch a Wave - Superposition

225

(4)

To simulate the addition of waves with a computer.

Ripple While You Work - Wave Behavior

229

(4)

To observe wave phenomena in a ripple tank.

Chalk Talk - Nature of Sound

233

(2)

To explore the relationships between sound and the vibrations in a material.

Mach One - Speed of Sound

235

(2)

To determine the speed of sound using the concept of resonance.

Shady Business - Formation of Shadows

237

(2)

To investigate the nature and formation of shadows.

Absolutely Relative - Light Intensity

239

(4)

To investigate how the light intensity varies with distance from the light source.

Shades - Polarization

243

(4)

To investigate the effects of polarized light.

Flaming Out - Atomic Spectra

247

(2)

To observe the spectra of some metal ions.

Satellite TV - Parabolic Reflectors

249

(2)

To investigate a model design for a satellite TV dish.

Images - Formation of Virtual Images

251

(2)

To formulate ideas about how reflected light travels to your eyes.

Pepper's Ghost - Multiple Reflections

253

(2)

To explore the formation of mirror images by a plate of glass.

The Kaleidoscope - Multiple Reflections

255

(2)

To apply the concept of reflection to a mirror system with multiple reflections.

Funland - Images Formed by a Curved Mirror

257

(4)

To investigate the nature, position, and size of images formed by a concave mirror.

Camera Obscura - Pinhole Camera

261

(2)

To observe images formed by a pinhole camera and to compare images formed with and without lens.

Thin Lens - Convex and Concave Lenses

263

(2)

To explore concave and convex lenses.

Lensless Lens - Pinhole ``Lens''

265

(2)

To investigate the operation of a pinhole ``lens.''

Bifocals - Images Formed by a Convex Lens

267

(4)

To investigate the nature, position, and size formed by a converging lens.

Where's the Point? - Focal Length of a Diverging Lens

271

(2)

To measure the focal length of a diverging lens.

Air Lens - Refraction in Air

273

(2)

To apply knowledge of lenses to a different type of lens system.

Rainbows Without Rain - Thin-Film Interference

275

(2)

To observe and develop a hypothesis about the phenomenon of light interference.

Static Cling - Static Electricity

277

(2)

To observe some of the effects of static electricity.

Sparky, the Electrician - Simple Series and Parallel Circuits

279

(4)

To study various arrangements of a battery and bulbs and the effects of those arrangements on bulb brightness.

Brown Out - Capacitors

283

(2)

To investigate charging and discharging a capacitor.

Ohm Sweet Ohm - Ohm's Law

285

(4)

To investigate how current varies with voltage and resistance.

Getting Wired - Current Flow in Circuits

289

(4)

To build a model that illustrates electric current.

Cranking Up - Series and Parallel Circuits

293

(4)

To compare work done in series and parallel circuits.

3-Way Switch - Household Circuits

297

(2)

To explore ways to turn a lightbulb on or off from one of two switches.

3-D Magnetic Field - Magnetic Field Lines

299

(2)

To explore the shape of magnetic fields.

You're Repulsive - Force on Moving Charges

301

(4)

To explore the force on a charge moving through a magnetic field, and the current induced in a conductor moving in a magnetic field.

Jump Rope Generator - Electromagnetic Induction

305

(2)

To demonstrate the generator effect of a conductor cutting through the earth's magnetic field.

Particular Waves - Photoelectric Effect

307

(4)

To observe the photoelectric effect.

Nuclear Marbles - Nuclear Scattering

311

(4)

To determine the diameter of a marble by indirect measurement.

Half-Life - Half-Life

315

(2)

To develop an understanding of half-life and radioactive decay.

Chain Reaction - Chain Reaction

317

(2)

To simulate a simple chain reaction.

Appendix - Significant Figures and Uncertainty in Measurement

319

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