u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

H2 Physics Practical Notes

Caveat Emptor 3
Legend 3

Experiments 3
General Tips 3
Take Note of These Evil Experiments™ 3
Table 5
Significant Figures & Decimal Places 5
Addition/Subtraction 5
Multiplication/Division 6
Trigonometry 6
Common/Natural Logarithm — Mantissa 6
Unreasonable s.f. or d.p. 7
Absolute Uncertainty 8
½ Range 8
Estimation 8
In General 8
For Lengths 8
Sources of Error & Suggested Improvements 9
Sources of Error 9
Suggested Improvements 9
Examples 9
Show if the Relationship is Supported… 12
Direct Proportionality 12
Inverse Proportionality 12
Anomalous Data 13
No anomalous data 13
Anomalous data present 13
Graph 13
“By plotting a suitable graph, find [unknown]” 16

Planning 17
General Tips 17
Variables 17
Diagram 18
Safety Precautions 19
Accuracy Improvements 21
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Procedure 22
Analysis 23
Examples 24
NJC 2020 24
RJC 2020 25
RVHS 2020 27
EJC 2020 30
DHS 2020 31
HCI 2020 32
TJC 2020 33
NYJC 2020 34
ACJC 2020 35
ASRJC 2020 36
JPJC 2020 36
MI 2020 38
SAJC 2020 38
TMJC 2020 40
YIJC 2020 41
CJC 2020 42

About The Author 43

 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Caveat Emptor

This should only help you for your last minute preparation, sort of like a compilation you read
before you submit to fate. The author is neither certified nor qualified to be teaching H2 Physics,
and this set of notes does not come with any sort of guarantee. With that said, the author hopes
you have as much fun reading this as he did typing and collating this.

Legend

[ ] — to be replaced according to context

( ) — extra information that need not be included in the answer
Underlined — keywords to take note of
* — important information to take note of

Experiments

General Tips

1) Spend 5-10min to briefly browse through all the experiments and questions.
2) Write out the ‘formats’ for every question (so that when you do the experiments later, all
you have to do is obtain the measurements/readings and ‘fill in the blanks’)

Take Note of These Evil Experiments™

They’re asking me to… I need to take note of…

Swing some balls for an Which plane the ball-swinging shall be in…
oscillation experiment. ● Vertical plane
○ Ball swings left to right when viewed from
the front, across vertical fiducial
marker/plumb line
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

● Horizontal plane
○ Two suspended balls swing side-to-side
when viewed from the top, about a vertical
axis (can’t find any pictures to illustrate
this, but just think: a poorly done floss
dance by a really annoying child)
○ Simple pendulum ball in horizontal circular
motion

Angle of oscillation should be small.

Measure sufficiently long (>10.0s) time taken t to reduce

fractional uncertainty due to human reaction.

Start timing with a stopwatch only when oscillations are

steady.

Do stuff using an electrical circuit. Open switch in between readings.

 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

When using a jockey to tap on an electrical wire for

experiments where you use a ghettoised potentiometer,
DON’T STAB IT AND DRAG IT ALONG THE WIRE. Lift
the jockey up and tap again for subsequent readings.

Table

Usual marking points:

● 6 data sets or more
● Repeated readings for i.v.
● Headings w/ units
● Raw data precision
● Calculated data precision
● Calculations

Significant Figures & Decimal Places

When deciding which value’s number of significant figures or decimal places to follow, think
about the precision of each value, or the uncertainty that each value contributes.

Constants do not contribute to the total uncertainty, therefore they are not to be considered
when deciding on s.f./d.p.; whereas raw measurements and derived values contribute to the
total uncertainty, and their precision must be taken into account.

NOTE: If the question specifies that your final answer should be given to a certain s.f. or d.p.,
just follow.

Addition/Subtraction
When adding (treat subtraction as adding a negative number) two or more values together, your
answer should always be correct to the least number of decimal places.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Multiplication/Division
When multiplying (treat division as multiplying by the reciprocal of the number) two or more
values together, your answer should always be correct to the least number of significant figures.

NOTE: This rule does not apply when you multiply/divide by a constant. For example, when
finding the average of two measurements, your final answer should not follow the number of
significant figures of the ‘2’ you are dividing by (since it does not contribute any uncertainty).

Trigonometry
The number of decimals should always follow the least number of significant figures of the angle
when you apply trigonometric functions.

For example,

𝑠𝑖𝑛 26° = 0. 43847... = 0. 44 (2𝑑. 𝑝.)

𝑠𝑖𝑛 26. 0° = 0. 43847... = 0. 438 (3𝑑. 𝑝.)

*Extra information for understanding:

If you encounter questions where the uncertainty of your angle measurement is bigger
than ± 0.5° — let’s assume a measurement of 38° with an uncertainty of ± 3°, you will
need to calculate the values for the upper bound and lower bound. Your final answer
should be to the precision where all three of the values only differ by one digit.

𝑐𝑜𝑠 35° = 0. 819152...

𝑐𝑜𝑠 38° = 0. 788010...
𝑐𝑜𝑠 41° = 0. 754709...
Since the first decimal place is already inconsistent, your final answer should be precise
to 1 d.p..

𝑐𝑜𝑠 38° = 0. 7 (1𝑑. 𝑝.)

Common/Natural Logarithm — Mantissa

*Extra information for understanding:
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Suppose log(39.2) = 1.593, then ‘1’ is the characteristic of the logarithm, and ‘.593’ is the
mantissa of the logarithm.
Suppose log(0.009423) = -3.9742, then ‘-3’ is the characteristic of the logarithm, and
‘.9742’ is the mantissa of the logarithm.
For the ease of discussion, I will be bolding the characteristic and underlining the
mantissa of the logarithms for this section, as well as the value that we are taking the
logarithm of.

**The rest of this section, you need to know:

Every time you take the logarithm of a value, simply make sure that the mantissa (everything
that lies to the right of your decimal point) has the same number of significant figures as the
value (what is in the parentheses).

Take for example log(39.2) = 1.593.

Notice that the ‘39.2’ inside of the parentheses has 3 significant figures, and so does the
mantissa ‘.593’. The number of significant figures in the characteristic (everything to the left of
your decimal point) does not matter.

Unreasonable s.f. or d.p.

When the number of significant figures or decimal places renders your values useless, you are
allowed to increase the precision by 1 d.p. or 1 s.f..

For example:
112.0 - 110.89 = 1.11 = 1.1 (1 d.p.)
112.0 - 110.88 = 1.12 = 1.1 (1 d.p.)
112.0 - 110.87 = 1.13 = 1.1 (1 d.p.)
112.0 - 110.86 = 1.14 = 1.1 (1 d.p.)
It would be unreasonable in this case since the imprecise data is not very meaningful. It would
be then reasonable to leave your answers as the underlined values (to 2 d.p.) instead. Take
note that this would only apply if ALL or MOST of the calculated values have unreasonable
s.f./d.p.: if it is just two values, leave it. There is no hard and fast rule for this.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Absolute Uncertainty

½ Range
Assume measurements:
r1 = 23.3cm
r2 = 23.1cm
r3 = 23.2cm
r4 = 23.6cm
<r> = (23.3 + 23.1 + 23.2 + 23.6)/4 = 23.3cm
<r> - rsmall = 23.3 - 23.1 = 0.2cm
rbig - <r> = 23.6 - 23.3 = 0.3cm
⇒ Absolute uncertainty = 0.3cm (1 s.f.)

1. Always take larger value of the two ½ ranges

2. Every step of your workings should follow the s.f./d.p. rules, except the final answer for
absolute uncertainty, which should always be correct to 1 s.f.

Estimation
In General
If you can find the ideal absolute uncertainty, a rule of thumb for estimating absolute
uncertainties in non-ideal cases would be to simply triple it.

Examples:
When taking a length measurement using a metre rule,
Absolute uncertainty in an ideal case = ± 0.001 m
Absolute uncertainty in a non-ideal case = ± 3(0.001) m = ± 0.003 m

When taking an angle measurement using a protractor,

Absolute uncertainty in an ideal case = ± 1.0 °
Absolute uncertainty in a non-ideal case = ± 3(1.0) ° = ± 3.0 °

For Lengths
If value has to do with lengths measured using a metre rule, it is usually in the range of
0.2~0.5cm.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Estimated absolute uncertainties can be quite large, depending on how ridiculous the conditions
are. Assuming the case where you have to use a metre rule to measure the vertical height that
a wooden plank is being suspended from two strings each attached to a retort stand, and the
metre rule keeps swinging and wobbling, you can assume a larger absolute uncertainty of
maybe 2cm.

Write:
“Based on human judgment when measuring x, the absolute uncertainty should be 0.3cm.”

Sources of Error & Suggested Improvements

Sources of Error
1. What is the source of error?
2. What is the origin of the source of error?
3. Which value(s) does the error affect, and how?

Suggested Improvements
1. What is the improvement?
2. What does the improvement do to help?
3. Which value(s) does the improvement affect? (I’m not sure if this is needed, answer keys
rarely include this portion)

Examples

When working with… Sources of Error Suggested Improvements

Electrical circuits Kinks in the wire cannot be Use a thicker wire for the
completely straightened, thus the experiment, since thicker wires
length of wire measured would are less likely to have kinks in
be shorter than expected. them.

The wire heats up after a while Open switch in between readings

and its resistance increases due to prevent overheating of wires
to Joule heating, thus the due to Joule heating.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

voltmeter reading V would be

higher than expected (if it is
measuring potential difference
across the wire, otherwise figure
out how it changes) OR ammeter
reading I would be lower than
expected.

Free-falling object Due to [nature of object]*, object [Any feasible/reasonable method

may fall at an angle, time taken t to remedy the nature of the
for the object to fall would be object], so that the object is
longer than expected. balanced and falls vertically
downwards.
*Nature of object can include:
● Uneven distribution of
mass
● Non-uniform shape of
light object, therefore air
resistance very significant
and changes direction of
object’s falling motion

Falling motion of object is Perform the experiment in an

affected by draught (wind enclosed area free of draught
effects), object may fall at an using windshields.
angle, time taken t for the object
to fall would be longer than
expected.

Oscillations The exact instant when the The use of a fiducial

oscillating body starts and marker/plumb line to mark out a
completes an oscillation can be vertical boundary can be helpful
difficult to judge, leading to in determining the start and end
inaccuracies in the measurement of an oscillation, leading to less
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

of time taken t for the body to ambiguity regarding when to start

undergo an n number of and stop timing on the
complete oscillations. stopwatch.

A high speed camera can be

used to record a video of the
oscillations, and the video can
then be analysed frame by frame
to determine to a greater
precision the time taken t using
the timestamps for an n number
of complete oscillations.

Human reaction time contributes Ensure time taken t >20s and

a significant error of around 0.3s take repeated readings of t and
to the measurement of time use the average value to
taken t, especially when t is determine period T of oscillation
within one order of magnitude of to reduce fractional error caused
human reaction time, leading to a by human reaction.
large fractional error.

Elevated surfaces that Elevated surfaces in set-up may Use spirit level to ensure that the
should be horizontal
not be exactly horizontal, leading elevated surface in the set up is
to inaccuracies in the level with horizontal surface.
measurement of height/angle.

Metre rule Metre rule may not be Use two set squares placed at
perpendicular to
perpendicular to the bench top, right angles to both the ‘top face’
bench/table top
leading to systematic errors in and ‘side’ of the standing metre
the measurements of height h. rule to ensure that it is
perpendicular to the bench top.

Something like this:

 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Angle measurements It is difficult to accurately Measure the horizontal distance l

measure an angle between and vertical distance h (or
[object 1] and [object 2], … whatever relevant distances) and
[briefly describe why] use simple trigonometry to
calculate for the angle θ.
ℎ
𝑡𝑎𝑛θ = 𝑙

Show if the Relationship is Supported…

Direct Proportionality
1) When a graph of [Y] against [X] is plotted…
2) Gradient is a constant (straight line graph), y-intercept ≈ 0
3) [Y] is directly proportional to [X]

Inverse Proportionality
1
1) When a graph of [Y] against [ ] is plotted…
𝑋

2) Gradient is a constant (straight line graph), y-intercept ≈ 0

 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

1
3) [Y] is directly proportional to [ ] OR [Y] is inversely proportional to [X]
𝑋

Anomalous Data

There should only be a maximum of TWO anomalous plots on your graph. Either you really
messed up in your experiment and most of your other points are really off and you should re-do
the experiment, or simply fake values for your extra anomalous plots.

No anomalous data
There is no anomalous data. All points are fairly scattered along the line of best-fit.
OR
Most plotted points follow a clear linear trend with acceptable scattering of points close to the
line of best fit. There is no anomalous data in this experiment.

Anomalous data present

The plots (x1,y1) and (x2,y2) are anomalous since they lie far from the line of best-fit compared to
the other points which are fairly scattered along the line of best-fit. The anomalies have been
circled.

Graph

Usual marking points:

● Scale + Axes + Size
○ No awkward scales. Accepted scales are usually in the multiples of 2, 5 and 10.
■ Easy way to check if your scale is a ‘friendly’ one: take the difference
between the values on both sides of one big box, divide it by 20; you
should get a nice number like ‘0.005’
○ Axes should be labelled with the quantity and its units.
■ l/cm
■ I/A
■ V/V
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

■ t/s
■ m/g
○ Horizontally, the distance between the two extreme plots must be more than half
the width of the graph paper (should be >6 big boxes out of 12).
○ Vertically, the distance between the two extreme plots must be more than half
the height of the graph paper (should be >4 big boxes out of 8).
● Plots
○ Maximum of two anomalous plots which are CIRCLED.
○ Plots are precise to half a small square.
○ Below is an illustration on all the possible places you can have a plot in a small
square.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

● Best-fit
○ Marked using the least squares method.

○ Basically, focus on the little vertical displacements from the plots to the best-fit
line — the sum of all the vertical displacements ABOVE the best-fit line
should be equal to the sum of all the vertical displacements BELOW the
best-fit line.
○ Keep every single plot a maximum of 5 small squares (courtesy of some of the
commenters) away from the best-fit line vertically. To be safe, you can keep it to a
maximum of 3 small squares.
○ As a general rule of thumb, if you follow the least squares method of drawing
your best-fit line, plots that are vertically displaced by 5 small squares from the
best-fit line would usually be considered anomalous anyway.
○ If you use this beautiful half-transparent ruler like me, you can use it to preview
how your best-fit line would look before you draw it. Good stuff.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

“By plotting a suitable graph, find [unknown]”

1) Write: “Plot a graph of [dependent variable] against [independent variable], where

gradient = ___ and the y-intercept = ___.”
2) Use graph to find gradient
3) Use graph to find y-intercept OR Calculate y-intercept
4) Find unknowns and answer question
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Planning

General Tips

● There is no strict format that you have to follow. You don’t have to draw the diagram
before your procedure, or write your variables before your procedure. You can include
your safety precautions and measures to improve accuracy right at the beginning if you
want to, if that is what you are most confident in scoring marks for.
● If you have extra time OR you’re stuck, think of ways to improve the experiment, and
write EVERYTHING down. You never know where you can earn marks for providing
additional details. Just be creative within reason here (or not, it’s positive marking so you
won’t get marked down for spamming creative ideas anyway). This is your best bet when
you are stuck and are running out of time.

With that said, I will be presenting this planning guide in the sequence that I prefer to do my
planning questions. I am not encouraging anyone to do it this way, but if you are absolutely
clueless, you can try it my way. Again, no guarantees.

Variables

List out your independent and dependent variables and some constants (you can go crazy and
write as many as you want if you’re insecure, but 2-3 is sufficient). Usually schools would teach
to include the methods used to vary, measure, control, and calculate these in the procedure
segment, but it’s much more efficient to simply describe how you are going to do it here. It’s
really like how your summary is marked in GP P2 — it doesn’t matter even if you summarise the
points in the paragraphs from the bottom up.

Also feel free to include any diagrams in this segment if it helps you in describing any of the
variables or constants. For example, if you want to vary the thickness of a wooden block, but
keep the length and breadth constant, you can sketch a diagram of the block and label the
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

dimensions as thickness t, length ℓ, and breadth b. For the rest of your entire planning question,
you can now refer to these quantities as t, ℓ, and b.

When listing these out, follow this simple format:

1) What is the quantity, and what is it of?
a) E.m.f. ε/V of dry cell
b) Length ℓlcm of glass pane
c) Mass m/g of pendulum
d) Resistance R/Ω of glass pane
2) What method can I use to measure/vary/control/calculate for the value of the quantity?
a) Control the e.m.f. ε/V by using the same 3.0V dry cell.
b) Measure the length ℓ/cm of the glass pane using a metre rule to a precision of
0.1cm.
c) Vary the mass m/g of the pendulum by adding 10.0g slotted masses and
calculate the value of m using 𝑚 = 50. 0 + 𝑛 × 10. 0, where n is the number of
slotted masses added.
𝑉
d) Calculate the resistance R/Ω of glass pane using the formula 𝑅= 𝐼
, where

V/V is the potential difference across the glass pane, obtained from the
high-resistance voltmeter reading, and I/A is the current flowing through the sheet
of glass, obtained from the ammeter reading.

Independent variable:
● [independent variable] — [method]
Dependent variable:
● [dependent variable] — [method]
Constants:
● [control 1] — [method]
● [control 2] — [method]

Diagram

Simply sketch your set-up here. A few things to take note:

● Use a ruler.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

● Include a table top and make sure nothing is floating in your diagram
○ Except wires/cables (e.g. cable connecting microphone and CRO), since it
doesn’t really make sense to draw a bunch of lines on the table top.
○ This does not apply for circuit diagrams.
● It can be helpful to sketch a diagram of the side view, and another of the top view.
● Label every equipment in the diagram using straight lines (no arrows!).
● Indicate on the diagram any lengths, distances, angles, etc. Although rarely seen
(maybe I’m just wasn’t exposed to too many planning questions), it can sometimes be
helpful to indicate using dotted lines the axes of rotations and oscillations wherever
helpful.

Safety Precautions

List out some precautions to take note of when carrying out the experiment.

When working with... Safety precautions

Lasers, bright lights, stroboscope Wear protective eyewear such as shades to prevent eye
damage due to prolonged exposure to intense light.

Stroboscope Ensure no one who has epilepsy is nearby when the

experiment is being performed to prevent seizures from
happening due to the rapid flashing light from the
stroboscope.

Electrical circuits Open switch in between readings to prevent overheating

of wires, which can increase the resistance of the wires
and affect voltmeter and ammeter readings.

Wear non-conductive gloves when handling circuits with

large currents to prevent burning your skin as wires may
heat up to high temperatures due to Joule heating.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Keep hands and table top dry when performing the

experiment to prevent possible electric shocks.

Do not wear metallic accessories like rings, bracelets

and watches when handling electrical circuits to prevent
possible electric shocks.

Wear non-conductive footwear when handling electrical

circuits to prevent possible electric shocks.

Oscillating bodies Stand sufficiently far away from the oscillating path of
the pendulum to avoid getting hit by the pendulum.

Secure oscillating body properly* to prevent the body

from being flung off during oscillation, reducing the risk
of injury.

*Can be in the form of:

● Tying a secure knot.
● Tying the mass using a rubber band sufficiently
tightly around a rod.

Heavy objects Lay soft padding around the experiment set-up to

prevent the heavy object from damaging the floor/table
top or from bouncing and possibly injuring someone.

Balls, marbles, or anything that Set up a wall using cardboard to prevent the ball from
can roll rolling too far away from the set-up.

Use a plastic container to catch the marble and prevent

it from rolling too far away from the set-up and possibly
causing someone to trip over it.

Retort stands, clamps Secure clamp firmly to prevent attachments from falling,
reducing the risk of injury.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Place some heavy objects on the base of the retort

stand if there are many heavy attachments on the retort
stand to prevent the retort stand from falling over,
reducing the risk of injury.

Accuracy Improvements

This part can be included in the procedure itself, or together with the safety precautions (as in
“Safety Precautions/Accuracy Improvements”).

List out some ways to improve how you can measure certain quantities and also mention taking
multiple measurements/readings and using the average values for calculations. You can borrow
some ideas that you would normally use for the ‘Suggest Improvements’ type of question and
use them here.

When working with... Additional Details/Accuracy

Improvements

Oscillations Use a fiducial marker/plumb line to aid in

determining complete oscillations.

Measure sufficiently long (>10.0s) time taken

t to reduce fractional uncertainty due to
human reaction.

𝑡
Calculate period 𝑇= 𝑛
, where n is the

number of complete oscillations.

Perform the experiment in an enclosed area

free of draught using windshields to prevent
wind from changing the path of the oscillating
body.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Keep the angle of oscillation small around 10°

so that the oscillating body oscillates largely
in a single vertical plane (instead of swinging
around).

Electrical circuits Open switch in between readings to prevent

overheating of wires, which can increase the
resistance of the wires and affect voltmeter
and ammeter readings.

Use dry cells of a lower emf value to prevent

overheating of wires, which can increase the
resistance of the wires and affect voltmeter
and ammeter readings.

Carbon paper Catch the marble after its first bounce to

prevent additional markings on the carbon
(for kinematics free-fall experiments where
you use a carbon paper to determine paper that might introduce ambiguity in
horizontal displacement of marble when it
determining the marking made by the first
falls off a ‘cliff’)
bounce.

Elevated surfaces that should be horizontal Use a spirit level to ensure that the elevated
surface (could be a metre rule suspended
between two retort stands, etc.) is truly
horizontal.

Procedure

Write out any method that is feasible and can get you the data you need. Since you should
already have the methods of how you are going to measure, vary, control, and calculate the
necessary quantities, you can just refer to them in your procedure without writing it out again.
You should also include how you are going to tabulate the data collected in the experiment by
presenting the table(s) like in the following example:
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

9. Vary mass m and repeat steps 3 to 8 to obtain 5 more sets of readings for T1/s, T2/s,
T3/s by using the method mentioned above. Record the readings in a suitable table.

1 d.p. 1 d.p. 1 d.p. 1 d.p. 1 d.p. 1 d.p.

m/g ℓ/cm T1/s T2/s T3/s <T>/s

Analysis

This is where you linearise the equation given in order to plot a straight line graph and assess
the relationship between the quantities, as well as obtain the necessary values of unknowns
using the gradient(s) and y-intercept(s) of the plotted graph.

1) Linearisation of equation → Y = mX + c
2) Write:

Plot a graph of [Y] against [X].

If the relationship is valid, a straight line graph with gradient [m] and y-intercept [c] will be
obtained.

3) Repeat steps 1-2 if more graphs need to be plotted.

 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Examples

NJC 2020
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

RJC 2020

Independent variable:
● thickness d of insulation layer, varied by using insulation layers of different thickness,
measured using a vernier caliper at 10 different positions on the insulation layer and then
taking the average value
● density p of material, varied by using insulation layers of different materials, calculated
using formula p = m/V = m/(l*b*d), where V is the volume of insulation layer, calculated
using the averaged metre rule measurements of length l and breadth b at multiple
positions of the insulation layer, and the averaged vernier caliper measurements of
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

thickness d at multiple positions of the insulation layer, and mass m is obtained by

measuring using electronic weighing balance.

Dependent variables:
● difference in temperature deltaT across insulation layer, calculated using formula deltaT
= (T1 - T2), temperatures T1 (of side facing heating element) and T2 (of opposite side)
measured using infrared thermometer on multiple positions of each of the two opposite
surfaces of the insulation layer, then taking the average for each side.

Constants:
● surface area A of insulation layer, A=l*b, exposed to the heating element, and therefore
surface area of the opposite as well
● perpendicular distance s between heating element and surface of insulation layer
exposed to heating element

Safety Precautions:
● wear thick gloves made of a heat insulating material like wool when handling the heating
element and insulation layers as they may be heated up to a high temperature and may
burn skin if in direct contact
●

Accuracy Improvements:
● Use vernier calipers to measure thickness d at 10 different positions of the insulation
layers and find average since the thickness very vary slightly at different parts of the
layer.
● Take three measurements each for length and breadth of the insulation layers and use
their average values for calculations of volume.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

RVHS 2020

Description of procedure:
for one experiment, what i will need to do is have a heating element heat up the heat sink to
50deg, and keep it at 50deg throughout the experiment by maintaining the heating element
settings (power supplied/temperature setting, etc.). i find out the A and p using metre rule
measurements + calculations and barometer measurements, and i calculate P supplied = IV = E
(heat loss per unit time) that allows the temperature to stay constant throughout the experiment.
i will wait 5min each experiment, check if temperature changes. if temperature changes, heat
the heat sink to 50deg again and vary P, then repeat experiment until no temperature change. if
no temperature change, then P=E, calculate for E and record. Repeat experiments with varying
A and p.
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

Independent variable:
● Surface area A/m2 of heat sink, varied by using the two different rectangular metal
blocks of the same material but different surface area. Surface areas of these blocks can
be estimated by measuring the external length L1 (shorter side), breadth B1 (longer
side), and height H1, as well as the breadth B2 (separation between two of the ‘flaps’
thingy) and height H2 of the ‘slits’. Precalculations should be done to estimate the total
surface area A using:
A =(L1)(B1)+2(L1)(H1)+n(B2)(L1)+2n(L1)(H2),
where n is the number of ‘slits’, and assuming the bottom of the ‘slits’ are flat and are at right
angles to the ‘flaps’
● Air pressure p on the top face of the heat sink, can be varied using different settings on a
ceiling fan and measured using a barometer at multiple positions a constant height
above the top face of the heat sink.

Dependent variables:
● Total energy loss per unit time E/W (energy loss per unit time is actually E/t=P, POWER.
not simply energy) from the heat sink, can be estimated to be the total energy supplied
to heat sink per unit time P/W when there is no temperature change in heat sink, which
can be calculated using P=VI, where V/V is the potential difference across the heat sink,
measured using a high-resistance voltmeter across the heat sink, and I/A is the current
flowing through the heat sink, measured using an ammeter in the electrical circuit.

Constants:
● Temperature of heat sink, which can be kept roughly constant by ensuring a constant
ambient temperature. Ambient temperature should be determined using preliminary
experiments with varying values of P supplied to the heat sink, and then measuring the
temperature T at the different faces of the heat sink using an infrared thermometer, then
taking the average <T> of those values. Ambient temperature should be varied across
experiments by changing the settings of the laboratory’s thermostat, while being kept
constant during individual experiments as heat loss is kept to a minimum when the
ambient temperature is (roughly) equal to the temperature of the heat sink.
● Temperature change of heat sink in each experiment = 0
● Distance d/m between heating element and heat sink
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

● Material of the heat sink is kept constant as metal blocks of the same material are used.

Safety Precautions:
● Wear gloves when handling the heat sink (and the rest of the circuit) as it can be heated
up to high temperatures.
● Ensure there is no water on the benchtop when performing the experiment by thoroughly
wiping it down using a cloth to prevent electrical shocks.
● Have someone help carry the heat sink as it can be heavy, to reduce risk of back injury.

Accuracy Improvements:
● Take multiple readings of temperature T at each position…, take average for each
position…, then use those average Ts to calculate for <T>
● Multiple readings of air pressure using barometer throughout each of the individual
experiments
●
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

EJC 2020

Independent variable:
●
Dependent variables:
●
Constants:
●

Safety Precautions:
●

Accuracy Improvements:
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

DHS 2020
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

HCI 2020
*the diagram is a bit off
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

TJC 2020
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

NYJC 2020
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

ACJC 2020
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

ASRJC 2020

JPJC 2020
*similar to 2019 imo
u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

MI 2020

SAJC 2020
*same as DHS 2020
u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

TMJC 2020
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

YIJC 2020
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

CJC 2020
 u/shoondashiep © H2 Physics Practical 2022

About The Author

The author is a second year

undergraduate double majoring in physics
and mathematical sciences at a local
university on the outskirts of civilisation.
He has sat for the GCE A Level funfair an
ungodly three times in his lifetime, so he
thinks he might be qualified to share some
of the brain babies he birthed while on this
A Level project. The author also teaches
private tuition to fuel his daily caffeination
requirements, but he is unfortunately not
paid enough to improve much upon this
set of free notes. If you have enjoyed the
author’s work, you may buy him a kopi o
kosong peng or something as thanks.

P.S. To the interested reader, please let the author know what other nuggets of his short short life you
wish for him to include in this About The Author section. Thanks for reading.