Practicals

Question 1

Specific Heat Capacity Practical

Answer 1

1) Place the immersion heater into the central hole at the top of the block.

2) Place the thermometer into the smaller hole and put a couple of drops of oil into the hole to make sure the thermometer is surrounded by hot material.

3) wrap block with cotton wool.
Record the temperature of the block.
Connect the heater to the power supply and turn it off after ten minutes.

4) After ten minutes the temperature will still rise and then it will begin to cool.

5) Record the highest temperature that it reaches and calculate the temperature rise during the experiment

Question 2

Potential difference practical

Answer 2

1) Ensure that the power supply is set to zero at the start.
2) Record the reading on the voltmeter and ammeter
3) Use the variable resistor
to alter the potential difference.

4)Record the new readings on the voltmeter and ammeter.

5)Repeat steps three to four, each time increasing the potential difference slightly.
Reverse the power supply connections and repeat steps two to six.

Question 3

Thermal insulators practical

Answer 3

1)Set up the apparatus by placing a small beaker inside the larger beaker

2)Fill the small beaker with boiling water from a kettle

3)Place a piece of cardboard over the beakers as a lid. It should have a hole suitable for a thermometer and place the thermometer through this hole and into the water in the small beaker
Record the temperature of the water in the small beaker and start the stopwatch

4) Record the temperature of the water every 2 minutes for 20 minutes, or until the water reaches room temperature

5) Repeat the experiment, each time changing the cardboard for another insulating material

Question 4

Density of object

Answer 4

1) Place the object on a digital balance and note down its mass

2) Use either the ruler, Vernier calipers or micrometer to measure the object’s dimensions (width, height, length, radius) – the apparatus will depend on the size of the object

3) Repeat these measurements and take an average of these readings before calculating the density

Question 5

Resistance

Answer 5

1) Set up the apparatus by connecting two crocodile clips to the thin resistance wire a distance of 10 cm apart and setting the power supply to 1.5 V

2) Connect the wire, using the clips, to the rest of the circuit

3) Record the potential difference from the voltmeter and current from the ammeter

4) Move the clips in 10 cm intervals further apart

5) Take new measurements from the voltmeter and ammeter for each length reading

6) Continue until the crocodile clips are a length of 1 m apart