Required Practicals Paper 1 Flashcards
RP1: Specific Heat Capacity Method
Place a beaker on a balance
Add oil to the beaker and record the mass of the oil
Place a thermometer and an immersion heater into the oil
Read the starting temperature of the oil
Wrap the beaker in insulating foam to reduce thermal energy transfer to the surroundings
Connect a joulemeter
Set a timer for 30 minutes
Read the number of joules of energy that passed into the immersion heater
Read the final temperature
Calculate the specific heat capacity
RP1: Specific heat capacity reasons of inaccuracy
Thermal energy passing out of the beaker into the air—use an insulator with a low thermal conductivity
Not all thermal energy passing into the oil—ensure the immersion heater is fully submerged
Incorrect reading of thermometer—use an electronic temperature probe
Thermal energy not being spread through the oil—stir the oil
RP2: Thermal insulation—effectiveness of different insulators
Place a small beaker into a larger beaker
Use a kettle to boil water
Transfer 80cm3 of the water into the small beaker
Use a piece of cardboard with a hole as a lid
Place a thermometer through the hole in the lid
Record the starting temperature of the water and start a stopwatch
Record the temperature of the water every few minutes for 15 minutes
Repeat using an insulating material to fill the gap between the two beakers
Test with a range of insulating materials
RP2: Thermal insulators—effect of thickness of material on insulation
Start with a beaker containing 80cm3 of hot water
Measure the temperature of water every few minutes for 15 minutes
Repeat experiment but this time wrap two layers of newspaper around the beaker
Repeat again using 4 layers and 6 layers of newspaper
RP 3: Resistance-method
Attach a wire to a meter ruler and use crocodile clips to connect it to the circuit
Now you can change the length of the wire in the circuit by moving the crocodile clips further apart
Measure the voltage and current using a voltmeter and ammeter
Calculate resistance using the equation
Plot a graph with resistance against the length of the wire which will be directly proportional
RP 3: resistance-problems with experiment
There is a zero error
This a systematic error so the correct value should be zero
To solve this problem you need to subtract the zero error from all our readings
If the temperature of the wire increases the resistance will increase
So use a low potential difference to keep the current low, reducing any heating in the wire
Only turn on the current when taking a reading
RP 4: Current/ PD characteristics
Use a voltmeter to read the pd across the resistor
Use the ammeter to read the current through the resistor
Record these values in a table
Adjust the variable resistor and record the new readings on the voltmeter and ammeter
Do this several times
Next switch the direction of the battery
Both the voltmeter and ammeter now have negative values
Continue taking readings
Plot a graph of current against pd which will show they are directly proportional
Change the resistor into a filament lamp and repeat experiment
Plot a graph
Change the filament to a diode and protective resistor
Plot a graph
RP 5: Density-regular objects
Determine the mass using a balance
Measure length width and height of object with a ruler to calculate volume
Use the equation to calculate the density
RP 5: Density-Irregular objects
Find the mass of the object using a balance
Fill a displacement can with water
Place the object into the water so water is displaced and flows out into the measuring cylinder
Measure the volume of water displaced using a measuring cylinder
Use the equation to calculate the density
