Practical Skills (CPACs 4, 5, 8) Flashcards
Defnine Young’s Modulus.
A ratio of tensile stress to tensile strain and measures the stiffness of a material
How is stress calculated?
Stress = Force / Cross-sectional Area
How is strain calculated?
Strain = Change in Length / Original Length
What is the unit of stress?
Pascals, Pa or Nm^-2
What is the unit of strain?
It is unites as it is a ratio of two lengths
What is the unit of Young Modulus?
Pascals, Pa or Nm^-2
How can the cross-sectional area of a thin wire be measured?
The diameter can be measured using a micrometer in several places along the wire. The average diameter can be used to find the area using A = (pi x d^2) / 4
What safety precautions should be taken when stretching thin wires?
Safety goggles should be worn as the wire may snap causing damage to eyes
Why should the temperature of the surroundings be kept constant when carrying out this experiment?
Metals undergo thermal expansion when there is a temperature increase, altering the dimensions of the wire
Why should a pre-stress be applied to the wire when setting up this experiment?
So that all kinks in the wire are removed and the wire is taut before measurements are taken
How can the Young Modulus be determined from a graph of extension against load?
The gradient, G is ΔL / F
E = L / (G x A)
Suggest what has happened if the length of wire doesn’t return to its original length when unloaded.
The load may have exceeded the wire’s elastic limit so the wire has undergone plastic deformation
How can the load applied on a wire be calculated from the mass added to the end of the wire?
F = m x g
What safety precaution should be taken when using hanging masses?
Never stand with your feet below the hanging masses incase they fall, place a padded bucket or sand tray below them to catch them in the event that they fall
Suggest how the extension of the wire may be measured.
A marker like a piece of tape can be added to the wire. Place a metre rule under the wire, allowing the movement of the marker to be measured
Why is the choice of wire diameter important to obtain successful results?
If the diameter is too large the extension of the wire will be too small to measure accurately. If it is too small, the wire may deform plastically before a suitable range of data has been collected
Suggest why a comparison test wire is used when conducting this experiment using Searle’s apparatus?
A comparison wire is included so that any changes in the environmental conditions (eg change in temperature) are accounted for
Why is the choice of wire length important in the experiment?
The length needs to be large enough that extension is sufficiently measurable
Suggest how the wire may be fixed in place when carrying out the experiment.
The wire can be clamped tightly between two blocks of wood at one end. These blocks can then be clamped to the bench or beam
Alongside a metre rule, what other instrument can be used to measure extension accurately?
A set-square can be used to help read the extension accurately