Required Practicals

Question 1

Specific heat capacity of a solid

Answer 1

Ensure the power supply is switched off.

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

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 a good conducting material.

Fully insulate the block by wrapping it loosely with cotton wool.

Record the temperature of the block.

Connect the heater to the power supply and turn it on for ten minutes.
Record the temperature of the metal block every minute.
After ten minutes the temperature will still rise even though the heater has been turned off and then it will begin to cool. Record the highest temperature that it reaches and calculate the temperature rise during the experiment.

Question 2

Specific heat capacity of a solid

Answer 2

T      Temp
0     15
1      17
2      19
3      21
4      23
5     25

Question 3

Resistance of a length of wire

Answer 3

Connect the circuit as shown in the diagram above.

Connect the crocodile clips to the resistance wire, 100 centimetres (cm) apart.

Record the reading on the ammeter and on the voltmeter.

Move one of the crocodile clips closer until they are 90 cm apart.

Record the new readings on the ammeter and the voltmeter.

Repeat the previous steps reducing the length of the wire by 10 cm each time down to a minimum length of 10 cm.

Use the results to calculate the resistance of each length of wire by using R = V/I, where R is resistance, V is voltage and I is current.
Plot a graph of resistance against length for the resistance wire.

Question 4

Resistance of a length of wire

Answer 4

Lgth PotDif Crnt Res
100 1.20 0.16 7.5
90 1.18 0.17 6.8
80 1.00 0.17 5.9

Question 5

I-V characteristics for filament bulb, resistor and diode

Answer 5

Connect the circuit as shown in the first diagram.

Adjust the variable resistor so that the potential difference is very low or zero at the start.

Record the reading on the voltmeter and ammeter.

Use the variable resistor to increase the potential difference.

Record the new readings on the voltmeter and ammeter.

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

Repeat the experiment but replace the fixed resistor with a bulb.

Plot a graph of current against potential difference for each component.

Question 6

I-V characteristics for filament bulb, resistor and diode

Answer 6

PotDif Crnt

0. 5 0.05
1. 0 0.10
2. 5 0.15

Question 7

denisty of a regular solid, irregular solid, liquid.

Answer 7

Use a ruler to measure the length (l), width (w) and height (h) of a steel cube.

Place the metal cube on the top pan balance and measure its mass.

Calculate the volume of the cube using (l × w × h).

Use the measurements to calculate the density of the metal.

Use vernier callipers to measure the diameter of the sphere.

Place the metal sphere on the top pan balance and measure its mass.

Calculate the volume of the sphere

Use the measurements to calculate the density of the metal.

Question 8

denisty of a regular solid, irregular solid, liquid.

Answer 8

Object Mass Volume
Steel cube 468 60
Steel sphere 33 4.19
Stone 356 68
Water 50 50