Physics paper 2 practicals

• stretching a spring

  Set up apparatus, ensure you have a spring, fixed ruler, clamp, weighted stand and masses

  measure the natural length of the spring

  add on mass and measure new length of spring

  calculate spring extension (new length- original length)

  record on table

  repeat but keep adding masses
• Acceleration

  Set up apparatus, trolly with a card on with a gap in the middle, pulley, masses, light gate

  mark a starting line on the table

  let the trolly go

  ensure your mass stays the same throughout

  add masses to the trolly after every time

  record acceleration shown in light gate

  repeat by adding one mass each time

  repeat experiment twice to find average acceleration
• Ripple tanks

  Set up apparatus, strobe light on top of ripple tank, water in ripple tank

  increase the frequency of strobe light until wave pattern looks frozen

  distance between each shadow line is equal to one wavelength

  find the average wavelength by finding the lengths of 10 wavelengths and dividing it by 10

  then calculate speed= frequency x wavelength
• Measuring waves in a solid

  Set up apparatus, signal generator on left, transducer next to it which has a string in top connecting it to the pulley and the masses

  adjust frequency of signal generator until there’s a clear wave of string

  measure wavelengths -measure 4/5 then divide by 4/5

  freqeunct is what the signal generator is set to

  find speed= frequency x wavelength
• Leslie cube

  Place an empty Leslie cube on a heat proof mat

  boil water and fill cube up

  wait for cube to heat up then measure all 4 sides- temperature should be the same

  hold an infrared detector at a set distance (10cm) and record amount of infrared radiation it detects

  repeat this with other sides- ensuring distance is same throughout

  repeat experiment