Course title
Physics First 1-2Pre-requisite
N/ACourse description
Evaluation of Laboratory Science Courses
Tolleson Union High School District #214
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Name of course:† Physics First 1-2 v (virtual)
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Duration of study:†††††††††††††† one year††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† Virtual via Edgenuity (copyright date; 2020)
(full year; one semester; trimester) ††††††††††††††††††††††††††† †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††
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Approximately how many hours per week do students spend conducting hands-on laboratory experiments in this course?
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1-2 hours
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Please provide a list of the laboratory experiments or projects you do that require manipulation of equipment.
Virtual Lab/Density lab (2 hours)
Lab: Energy Transfer (1 hour)
Lab: Pendulum Lab (2 hours)
Lab: Mystery Box lab (2 hours)
Motion Lab (2 hours)
Projectile Motion Lab (2 hours)
Virtual Projectile Motion Lab (1 hour)
Virtual lab: Thermal Energy transfer (1 hour)
Lab: Kinetic Energy (2 hours)
Lab: Motion part 2 (2 hours)
Virtual and Physical Lab: Acids and Bases (2 hours)
Lab: Density of solids (2 hours)
Lab: Magnetic and Electric Fields (2 hours)
Lab: Rate of Chemical Energy (2 hours)
Lab: Thermal Energy Transfer (1.5 hours)
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List all lab equipment used; including but not limited to household items (for example; microscope; beakers; ramps; dissection equipment; etc.)
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Physical Lab/Energy Transfer: Foil paper; beakers; Bunsen burner; wire gauze; food dye; chocolate chips; heat/UV lamps; candles
Physical Lab/Density lab: Test tubes; test tube holder; 4 different fluids (with different densities); food dye; stopwatch
Physical Lab/Pendulum Lab: Pendulum set-up; ring stand; motion detector; laptop; ruler; mass
Physical Lab/Mystery Box: Mystery boxes; whiteboards; markers
Motion Lab: Dynamics track; cart; motion detector; photogates; labquest; laptop
Projectile Motion Lab: Airzooka or motion launcher; velocity probe; labquest; laptop; meter sticks
Physical Lab/Kinetic Energy: Meter sticks; cylinders; packing tape; wooden planks; water; funnels; beanbags
Physical Lab/Motion Lab part 2: Bowling ball; broom; stopwatch; hammer/mallet
Physical and Virtual Lab: Acids and Bases: Hydrochloric acid; sodium hydroxide; pH paper; pH meter; beakers; test-tubes
Physical/Virtual Lab: Density of Solids: Different cylinders of materials (Wood; iron; chalk; plastic); graduated cylinder; mass balances
Virtual/Physical Lab: Magnetic and Electric Fields: paper clips; aluminum wire; 2 bar magnets; compass; iron fillings; 2 rubber balloons; water; 6 V flashlight bulb; 9 V battery; 2 insulated copper wires; screwdriver; plastic tube
Physical Lab: Rate of Chemical Reactions: 400ml beaker; 15 sodium bicarbonate tablets; water; stir rod; graduated cylinder; thermometer; mortar and pestle; stopwatch
Physical Lab: Thermal Energy and Heat Transfer: 300g of dry sand; 300g of wet sand; 9 foam coffee cups; mass balances; 3 thermometers; 120W Heat lamps; timer; hot plate; stir sticks; beakers; 50g of aluminum wire; 50g of steel wire; 50g of lead pellets; wire cutters; tongs
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Using standard Scientific Method outlined by the following questions; describe one typical laboratory assignment associated with this course.
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Explore the relationship between mass; speed; and kinetic energy using a laboratory procedure.
Hypothesis #1 If the mass of an object increases; then its kinetic energy will increase proportionally because mass and kinetic energy have a linear relationship when graphed.
Hypothesis #2 If the speed of an object increases; then its kinetic energy will increase proportionally because speed and kinetic energy have a linear relationship when graphed.
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Describe the experiment you performed to prove or disprove your hypothesis. List all essential materials. Describe each step you performed in the experiment.
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Materials:
- ß 2 or 3 meter sticks
- ß Mass balance
- ß Packing tape; clear plastic
- ß Graduated cylinder
- ß 2? diameter cylinder (wooden or plastic)
- ß Wooden board º? x 2? x 2? (about 61 cm long)
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- ß Plastic soda bottle; 1 L
- ß Water
- ß Funnel
- ß Beanbag; 125 g
- ß Marker
Metric tape measure
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Procedures:
Step 1:
a)†† Measure the length of your wooden board in centimeters to divide it in half; and mark the board at its midpoint. Lay the board on its midpoint across the 2? diameter cylinder; and securely tape the cylinder to the board using the packing tape. This creates a simple lever in which both arms of the lever are equal in length.
b)† Mark the board at 7.5 cm from each end. Draw a circle; an ?X?; or place a piece of tape at these points to serve as targets.
c)†† Measure 200 mL of tap water with a graduated cylinder and transfer it to an empty 1 L soda bottle; using a funnel if needed. Ensure that the cap is screwed back on the bottle securely.
d)† Place a beanbag so that it is centered on one end of the board at the target.
e)†† Practice dropping the soda bottle on the target at the other end of the board; until you develop a method in which the beanbag pops straight up and can be easily measured by your lab partner; using the meter sticks for reference. The meter sticks should be placed end to end and upright near the end of the lever; possibly taped against a wall. This will provide a height reference scale to measure the height the beanbag is thrown.
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Step 2:
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a)†† Assume that the velocity of the soda bottle falling from a height of 0.8 m will be 4 m/s. Record this velocity for each mass in Table A; and use it in calculating the predicted kinetic energy of the soda bottle for the masses of 0.125 kg; 0.250 kg; 0.375 kg; and 0.500 kg using the equation:
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When solving for kinetic energy (KE); m is mass; and v is the speed (or velocity). Record these calculations in Table A.
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Step 3:
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a)†† Review the following relationship for mass and volume of water:
1 mL = 0.001 kg
This means that 200 mL of water in the plastic bottle has a mass of 0.2 kg.
b)† Pour out some of the water from your soda bottle to adjust the total mass of water and bottle to 0.125 kg (125 g). You can set your soda bottle on the balance; and carefully add or remove water as needed to adjust the total mass.
c)†† Place the beanbag on the target at the end of the lever; closest to your vertical meter sticks.
d)† Measure a height of 0.8 m above the other end of the lever. This is the end that you will drop the soda bottle on. You can mark this height in some way for reference; or hold another meter stick upright; alongside your lever.
e)†† Make sure the bottle cap is tight. Drop the 0.125 kg bottle from the 0.8 m mark onto the target at the end of your lever. If the bottle misses or the lever does not function properly; reset the lever and beanbag; adjust your targeting method; and repeat the bottle drop until the beanbag is consistently propelled upward.
f)††† Record the approximate maximum height of the beanbag as it is propelled into the air in Table A.
g)† Repeat two more times at this height (0.8 m) and this bottle mass (0.125 kg); for a total of three beanbag height measurements.
h)† Average the three measurements you recorded in Table A. Round your answers to two decimal places.
i)††† Repeat steps 4a?g for three more bottle masses: 0.250 kg; 0.375 kg; and .500 kg. Use your balance and more water to measure these total masses.
Step 4
Make an observation about the average height of the beanbag for each mass dropped. How does it compare with your calculated kinetic energies for each mass? When the bottle is more massive; does the beanbag seem to travel to greater heights? Record your general observations in Table A.
Step 5
You will be using the same mass; 0.250 kg; for each trial in this part of the experiment; record this mass in Table B for each velocity. Using this mass; calculate the expected kinetic energy for the soda bottle as it impacts the lever; at each speed. Again; use the equation:
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Record your calculations in Table B.
Step 6
The goal is to drop the bottle/water mass so that it hits the lever at different speeds. Since an object in free fall is accelerated by gravity; you need to determine the heights necessary to drop the bottle and achieve certain speeds. Use the following equation to calculate the height necessary to achieve the speeds 2 m/s; 3 m/s; 4 m/s; 5 m/s; and 6 m/s:
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When solving for height (Ht); v is the speed (or velocity) and †is the gravitational acceleration; which is 9.8 m/s2. Record these heights in Table B.
Step 7
a)††† Pour out some of the water from your soda bottle to adjust the total mass of water and bottle to 0.250 kg (250 g). You can set your bottle on the balance; and add or remove water as needed to adjust the total mass.
b)††† Place the beanbag on the target at the end of the lever; closest to your vertical meter sticks.
c)††† Measure the height you calculated for the speed of 2 m/s; above the other end of the lever. You can mark this height in some way for reference; or hold another meter stick alongside your lever.
d)††† Make sure the bottle cap is tight. Drop the 0.250 kg bottle from the 2 m/s height onto the target at the end of your lever. Again; adjust your bottle-dropping technique as needed to achieve a consistent result of the beanbag being propelled upward.
e)††† Record the approximate maximum height of the beanbag as it is propelled into the air in Table B.
f)†††† Repeat two more times at this height; for a total of three beanbag height measurements.
g)††† Average the three measurements you recorded in Table A.
h)††† Repeat steps 8a?g for the next four heights; corresponding to the speeds 3 m/s; 4 m/s; 5 m/s; and 6 m/s. Be sure to mark each drop height in some way so that your bottle drops are as consistent as possible.
Step 8
Make an observation about the average height of the beanbag. How does it compare with your calculated kinetic energies for each speed? Does the height of the beanbag increase in equal increments with each step up in speed? Record these qualitative observations in Table B; before you confirm by plotting the data in the next step.
Step 9
a)††† Plot a graph of kinetic energy as a function of mass using the data you collected in Table A. Mass will be on the horizontal axis and the calculated kinetic energy will be on the vertical axis. Insert a trend line; which best demonstrates the relationship between the variables. Is the trend line straight (linear) or curved (nonlinear)?
b)††† Plot a graph of average beanbag height recorded in Table A for each mass. Mass will be on the horizontal axis and the average beanbag height will be on the vertical axis. Insert a trend line; which best demonstrates the relationship between the variables. How does this plot compare with your plot of kinetic energy vs. mass?
Step 10
a)††† Plot a graph of kinetic energy as a function of speed using the data you collected in Table B. Speed will be on the horizontal axis and the calculated kinetic energy will be on the vertical axis. Insert a trend line; which best demonstrates the relationship between the variables. Is the trend line straight (linear) or curved (nonlinear)?
b)††† Plot a graph of average beanbag height recorded in Table B for each speed. Speed will be on the horizontal axis and the average beanbag height will be on the vertical axis. Insert a trend line; which best demonstrates the relationship between the variables. How does this plot compare with your plot of kinetic energy vs. speed?
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Describe the results of your experiment or study. Use graphs and charts where appropriate.
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DATA & OBSERVATIONS
Explain your data or results. Give an analysis of your experiment.
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Table B: Predictions of Kinetic Energy and Resulting Beanbag Height for Varying Speed
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Analysis
Sample Analysis: The data from Part I of this experiment demonstrate that increasing the mass of an object increases its kinetic energy proportionally. For example; when the mass of the object doubles from 0.125 to 0.250 kg; the kinetic energy doubles from 1 J to 2 J. Kinetic energy increases linearly with mass; as is shown in Figure 1. This predicted relationship was verified by graphing the relationship between beanbag height and bottle mass (Figure 2); which also showed a linear relationship.
Additionally; the data from Part II of this experiment demonstrate that velocity and kinetic energy do NOT have a linear relationship. For example; as the velocity of an object doubles; its kinetic energy increases by a factor of 4 times. This can be seen in Figure 3. This relationship was experimentally demonstrated by dropping a mass from different heights for different speeds; which resulted in the beanbag being propelled into the air in increasing increments. This showed a nonlinear or exponential relationship; as seen in Figure 4. Although not perfectly curved; the relationship shows that when speed doubles; the height roughly quadruples.
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Write a conclusion for your study. Was your hypothesis supported or refuted?
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Sample Conclusion: The hypotheses of this lab were not equally supported by the data.
The first hypothesis stated that if the mass of an object increases; then its kinetic energy will increase proportionally because mass and kinetic energy have a linear relationship when graphed. When the mass of the dropped object doubles; the kinetic energy doubles. We confirmed this relationship indirectly by measuring the beanbag heights; which did not double exactly but showed a proportional; linear increase. This hypothesis was supported.
The second hypothesis stated that if the speed of an object increases; then its kinetic energy will increase proportionally because speed and kinetic energy have a linear relationship when graphed. As the speed of the dropped object increases; its kinetic energy increases exponentially. For example; doubling the speed from 2 to 4 m/s results in beanbag height not doubling but quadrupling. Speed and kinetic energy show a curved line when graphed; which is a nonlinear relationship. Graphing the height of the beanbag versus speed also showed a similar curved line. So kinetic energy increases exponentially as speed increases. Mathematically; the kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the speed; as can be seen in the equation for KE. The second hypothesis is therefore not supported; and could be rewritten this way: If the speed of an object increases; then its kinetic energy will increase exponentially because speed is squared in proportion to kinetic energy
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School country
United StatesSchool state
ArizonaSchool city
TollesonSchool / district Address
9801 West Van Buren StreetSchool zip code
85353Requested competency code
Lab ScienceDate submitted
Approved
YesApproved competency code
- LPHY
- Physics