Discovery Lab List - 2012 - 2013 Physics 1402

Capacitors Field Mapping and Deflection of an Electron Beam Hookes Law Kirchhofs Rules and Unknown Circuits Sound Waves Translational and Rotational Equilibrium

Abstracts

CAPACITORS This Laboratory has four parts. In the first experiment, you will examine the process of discharging a capacitor through a resistor and find the time constant and the capacitance. In Experiment 2 and 3 you will study parallel and series combinations of capacitors. In the last part, you will investigate the relationship between capacitance and voltage for a parallel plate capacitor. You will then determine the capacitance of a coaxial connecting lead and the charge stored in the combination of the capacitor and cable.

FIELD MAPPING AND DEFLECTION OF AN ELECTRON BEAM In this Laboratory, you will study the effect of an electric field on an electron beam. An electron beam is produced by a heating a filament. The electron beam is then sent through an accelerating anode which is maintained at a high positive potential. This positive potential causes an electric field which helps to accelerate the electron beam in x - direction. When the electron beam enters the region between two deflection plates, the electric field between the plates deflects the electron beam towards the positively charged deflection plate. You will measure the deflection of the electron beam in x and y directions and then calculate the value of the deflecting electric field.

HOOKE'S LAW When forces are applied to a solid object, they may distort the shape of the object to a greater or lesser degree. This laboratory is an investigation of the manner in which objects made of different materials deform when forces are applied and then relaxed. In Experiment 1, you will measure the extension of a helical steel spring caused by an applied force, and plot the graph of applied force versus displacement. By finding the area beneath the graph, you will then calculate the work done by the applied force. When the applied force F is linearly proportional to the extension of the spring (y), we say that the spring follows Hooke's Law. Experiment 2 replaces the spring with an elastic band. This experiment will demonstrate that not all materials obey Hooke's Law.

KIRCHHOFFS RULES AND UNKNOWN CIRCUITS In this laboratory you will review the methods of measuring current, voltage, and resistance. You will learn how to apply Ohm's law and Kirchhoff's rules to a circuit. In the first experiment, you will study a potential divider circuit and learn how to use such a circuit to divide the voltage of a power supply to obtain a smaller output voltage. In the second experiment, you will construct a circuit and verify Kirchhoff's junction and loop rules by measuring currents and voltages in different branches of the circuit. In Experiment 3 you will identify an unknown circuits with many resistors connected in series and parallel. In part 3(a), you will identify the circuit by observing the brightness of light bulbs connected in each branch of the unknown circuit. Since the brightness of a bulb is directly proportional to the current flowing through the branch and a higher current means a lower resistance in the branch, you can identify the circuit by connecting and disconnecting bulbs. In part 3(b), you will identify a second unknown circuit by measuring the total resistance of the circuit across different junctions of the circuit and then comparing the experimental resistance values to theoretically calculated resistance values.

SOUND WAVES In this laboratory we investigate resonances in a stretched string and in an air column in a pipe. In Experiment 1 you will measure resonant frequencies that produce different standing wave patterns (modes of oscillations) in the string. A wave generator which consists of an oscillator and a loudspeaker is used to induce wave motion in the string. By changing the frequency of this set up, different harmonics are obtained in the string. You will find the the linear mass density of the string through graphical analysis of data and then calculate the speed of wave on the string. In Experiment 2 you will determine the speed of sound in air using resonance in a pipe with one end closed. A long plastic pipe open at both ends is partially immersed in a cylinder filled with water.

The water surface serves as the closed end. A vibrating tuning fork is used to create sound waves in the air column . The resonance length is found by locating the length of the pipe that creates the loudest sound while holding the vibrating tunning fork near the opened end of the air column. From the data obtained for different resonance lengths for different tunning fork frequencies, an average value for the speed of sound in air in the pipe is calculated and then compared with a value calculated using a theoretical formula.

TRANSLATIONAL AND ROTATIONAL EQUILIBRIUM A rigid body is said to be in translational equilibrium when the acceleration of its centre of mass is zero, and it is said to be in rotational equilibrium when its angular acceleration about any axis through the centre of mass is zero. The special case when the body is at rest is referred to as static equilibrium. In this laboratory the necessary conditions for the translational and rotational equilibrium of a body are investigated for the special case of static equilibrium. In Experiment 1, you will study the conditions for translational equilibrium of a point mass and then calculate the sums of the force components in the X and Y directions to check whether the sums are independently equal to zero as Newtons first law requires. In Experiment 2, you will study the conditions for rotational equilibrium of an extended rigid body. A meter ruler with two masses hanging at the two ends will be balanced on a pivot. The balance point and distances to the masses will be recorded. You will then find the sum of the torques about the pivot and check whether the sum is zero as expected for rotational equilibrium.