Physics Practical Work Book Lwanga Books Ltd

SENIOR ONE TO SENIOR FOUR

 LEARNER’S BOOK 

BASED ON THE NEW LOWER SECONDARY CURRICULUM

By

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Table of contents
Preface………………………….…….……I Cartesian Diver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Background……………………………….II A Siphon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Acknowledgement……………….……….IV Liquid Pressure and Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Chapter 1: Laboratory Equipment……….1 Making a Magdeburg Hemisphere . . . . . . . 32
Voltmeters and Ammeters/Galvanometer...…3 Air Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 33
Voltmeters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …3 The Effect of Surface Area on Pressure . . . 34
Ammeters . . . ………….. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..3 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Chapter 2: Physics Experiments Part I…..4 Light in a Straight Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Pin Hole Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Construction of a Metre Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Laws of Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . … 38
Construction of a Measuring Cylinder . . . . . 5 Chapter 3: Physics Experiments Part II...38
Construction of Beam Balance . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Static Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Measurement Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . 7 Concept of Static Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Density and Relative Density . . . . . … . . . . . 8 Construction of an Electroscope . . . . . . . . . 39
Relative Density of a Liquid . . . . . . ... . . . .. . 8 Detection of Charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Construction and Use of a Hydrometer . . … 10 Current Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Applications of Material Densities . . . .... . . . 12 Conductors and Insulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 42
Archimedes’ Principle . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . 13 Finding Electric Circuit Components . . . . . . 43
Construction of Eureka Can . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 13 Measuring Emf of a Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Flotation . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . 14 Magnetism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . … . . . 45
Conditions of Flotation . . . . . . ... . . . . . . .. . . 14 Magnetic and Non-magnetic Materials . . .. .. 45
Properties of Matter . . . . . . . . . . . …. . . . . . . 15 Magnetic Fields . . . . . . . . …. . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Surface Tension in Bubbles . . . . . . …. . . . . . 15 Earth’s Magnetic Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . … . . 47
Changing Surface Tension . . . . . . . . . …... ... 16 Creating a Simple Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Cohesion in a Moving Liquid . . . . . .. …. . . . 18 Magnetic Dip Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Elasticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …….19 Newton’s Laws and Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Determining Adhesion and Cohesion . . .. . .. 20 Inertia and Newton’s First Law of Motion.....50
Capillarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …. . . . . . . . . 21 Conservation of Linear Momentum . . . . . . .. 51
Conservation of Energy . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . 23 Bottle Rocket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Potential Energy of a Spring . . . . . . … . . . . 23 Match stick Rocket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …. . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Verify Newton’s First Law of Motion..……..56
Presence of Gravity . . . . . . …. . . . . . .. . . . . 24 Rotation and Equilibrium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Making a Spring and a Spring Balance...…. 25 Centre of Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …. . . . 27 Verify the Principle of Moments . . . . . . . . . 58
Automatic Flushing Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Simple Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

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Pulley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Construction of a Metre bridge and
Chapter 4: Physics Experiments Part III..62 Potentiometer . . . . . . . …….……………….98
Friction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . … . . . . . . . . 62 Creating a Light Bulb . . ….. . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Concept of Friction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . 62 Fuse . . . . . . . . . . . …. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Limiting Friction and the Coefficient of Static Making an Electric Heater . . ... . . . . . . . .. 103
Friction . ……………………………….. . . 63 Inverter: Converting DC to AC . . . . . .. . . 104
Reflection of light . . … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Waves . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Total Internal Reflection in Water . . . .. . . . 65 Construction and Use of Slinky Spring….107
Refraction and Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 66 Construction of a Ripple Tank . . . . . . . . . 109
Dispersion of White Light: Part 1 . . . . … . ..66 Behaviour of Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Newton Colour Wheel . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . 67 Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …. . . . . .111
Measuring Refractive Index of Glass . ... . .. 68 Use of a Simple Sonometer……………….111
Refraction of Light in Glass . . . . . . . .. . . . . 74 Wave Propagation in Solids . . . . . . . . . . ... 113
Heat Transfer . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Sound Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Designing a Calorimeter . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 75 Determination of Resonance Frequency…...114
Heat Conduction . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Speed of Sound in Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Convection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 78 Electromagnetism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Force on a Current-Carrying Wire in a Magnetic
Thermal Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Field………………………………………..118
Bimetallic Strip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Water Energy . . . . . …. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Thermal Expansion of Gases . . . . . . . . . . .. 83 Astronomy . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Thermal Expansion of Solids………………84 Solar System Mobile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .…122
Thermal Expansion of Liquids . . . . . . . . . . .86 Star Gazing…………………………………124
Thermal Switch . . . . . . . . . . . … . . . . . . . . . 87
Change of State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..89
Boiling at Room Temperature . . . . . . . . . . .89
Heat Capacity and Latent Heat . . . . . . . . . . 90
Latent Heat of Fusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . ….…90
Vapour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 93
Measuring Humidity with a Hygrometer…..93
Gas Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …. . . . 94
Boyle’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …...94
Charles’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …96
Chapter 5: Physics Experiments Part IV..97
Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ….. . . . . 97
Creating a Leclanche Cell. . . . ….. . . . . . …97

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Preface
As the era of Alternative to Practical comes to an end, it is our hope that science teachers
nationally embrace the new paradigm, that science lessons should be student-centred,
competence-based, activity-oriented, and connect with student’s life experience. Every
learner in Uganda should perform practical exercises, not just the few that will be tested on
national exams, but the wider range of hands-on activities teachers should employ to build a
deep understanding in their students. Educational research has identified two obstacles to the
universal implementation of hands-on science education. First, many teachers themselves
learned in Alternative to Practical schools and therefore, lack essential experience with
hands-on science. The remaining challenge is a fallacy rooted in ignorance and complacency:
the idea that the materials required for hands-on science teaching are unavailable to most
schools. We reject the notion that science education requires expensive, imported materials.
Everything required to teach modern science is already available in our villages and towns.
The challenge is simply to begin. Science belongs to Uganda as much as any country in the
world. The law of gravity respects no national boundaries; we all feel its effect and can
measure its strength. Those who decry the use of locally available materials as “stone age
science” misunderstand the meaning of Science- that it applies universally, in any situation,
with any material. Dependence on expensive imported materials teaches students that
Science is a foreign concept, to be memorized rather than understood, and that Science lacks
application to daily life. Science is the birthright of humanity, as much as Language or
Mathematics or Music, and the time has come to embrace what we already own.
This learner’s practical workbook has been written in line with the revised physics syllabus
for the new lower secondary curriculum. It will equip teachers with the knowledge and skills
to deliver hands-on science lessons in any school. We hope that this work book will also
inspire school inspectors, examiners, curriculum developers and college tutors to increase
their emphasis on the importance of hands-on education, and to reject material deficiencies
as an excuse for any absence of practical work. In the same spirit, this work book seeks to
expand the range of approaches to learning Physics and it is our hope that the many
stakeholders in science education will embrace alternative methods that enable quality
delivery of science education for every learner.
This learner’s workbook is one of the materials which are to be used to support the
teaching and learning process of the new lower secondary curriculum.

We feel confident that this Book will be of immense value to both the learners and the
teachers.

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Background
Motivation for Writing this practical work book
We came up with this write-up basing on the abridged report on “ Evaluation of
teaching-learning and Assessment of practical skills in the Physical Sciences at Uganda
Certificate of Education” by Uganda National Examinations Board Research and
Innovations Department issued out by June 2023. The study covered all the 16 zones of
Uganda, including Kampala city.
Quality science education requires students to perform experiments with their own hands.
Unfortunately, research on the situation of secondary science education shows that many
students do not perform such experiments. This is due to several factors, all of which can be
addressed.
Specifically, this book demonstrates that many quality hands-on science experiments are
possible with very basic materials. The experiments in these pages require materials
available in villages or, at worst, in a regional capital. Standard laboratory materials certainly
add value to science teaching; this book merely makes it clear that they are not required as a
condition for provision of quality education.
Also a number of experiments are incorporated in this book to reinforce hands-on, many of
them also include a “Notes” section to provide the teacher with additional information about
the activity. This information may be practical or theoretical.
The vision as to why We have written this book is not for students to be spectators of
science, but players themselves and also not for teachers to be passive implementors,
but innovators themselves.

Skills to be tested
Assessment Objective 3 (AO3)‘Experimental and Investigative skills' of the UCLSE is
about your ability to work as a scientist. Each aspect of the AO3 has been broken and
listed for you below;
 Demonstrate knowledge of how to safely use techniques.
 Demonstrate knowledge of how to use apparatus and materials.
 Demonstrate knowledge of how to follow a sequence of instructions where appropriate.
 Plan experiments and investigations.
 Make and record estimates.
 Interpret experimental observations and data.
 Evaluate methods.
 Suggest possible improvements to methods.
 Constructing own table.

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 Drawing/ analysing a graph.
 Planning safety of an investigation.
 Mathematical calculations.
Reliability, Accuracy and Precision
1. Reliability refers to the likelihood of getting the same results if you did the
investigation again and being sure that the results are not just down to chance. For
this reason, reliability is now often called repeatability. If you can repeat an
investigation several times and get the same result each time, your investigation is
said to be reliable.
You can improve the reliability of your investigation by:
 Controlling other variables well so they do not affect the results.
 Repeating the experiment until no anomalous results are achieved.
2. Accuracy is a measure of how close the measured value is to the true value. The
accuracy of any results depends on the measuring apparatus used and the skill of the
person taking the measurements.
You can improve the accuracy of your results by:
 Improving the design of an investigation to reduce errors
 Using more precise apparatus
 Repeating the measurement and calculating the average.
3. Precision relates to how accurately you take your measurements. Precise results have
very little deviance from the mean(average).
You can improve the precision of your investigation by:
 Using apparatus that has smaller scale divisions.

Designing an investigation
When asked to design an investigation, you must think carefully about what level of
detail to include.
The following is a way of how to create a method. Follow these steps to design reliable,
accurate investigations.

1. Identify your independent variables and state the range of values that you are
planning to use for them.
2. Identify the dependent variable and explain how you are going to measure it.
Describe the equipment and apparatus.
3. To ensure that the experiment you are conducting is reliable you will need to
identify and control a number of variables that may impact your results. List
these and explain how you will keep them constant.
4. Outline the method in a series of numbered steps that is detailed enough for
someone else to follow.
5. Remember to include repeated readings to help improve reliability.
6. You must also include any hazards and safety warnings, as well as safety equipment that
should be used in the investigation.
7. You must also include a clean-up procedure, and this should depend on the experiment
you are investigating.

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Acknowledgement
Lwanga Books Limited is deeply indebted to all those who participated in the
development of Lwanga William S1-S4 New Ordinary Level Physics
Practical Work Book.
Special thanks go to Mr. Lwanga William, the CEO Lwanga Books Ltd for his
valuable insights and advice on all publishing matters.
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all those who worked
tirelessly towards the production of this learner’s practical work book.
First and foremost, we would like to thank our families and friends for
supporting all our initiatives both financially and spiritually, Lwanga William’s
parents; Mr. William Lwanga and Mrs. Harriet Lwanga, his brother; Mr.
Nsubuga Grace.
The initiative and guidance of the publishing partners, Ministry of Education
and Sports (MoES) and National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) in
development and implementation of the New Lower Secondary Curriculum are
highly appreciated.
We thank God for the wisdom He has given us to produce this volume of work.
May the Almighty God bless all the students that will use this book with
knowledge to encounter all hands-on experiments.….AMEN.
We welcome any suggestions for improvement to continue making our service
delivery better.

NB: “Search” lwanga william on youtube and subscribe ( also tap on

the notification bell) to that you-tube channel and watch the subject based
project lessons that are on-going. “ subscription is for free”

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Chapter 1: Laboratory Equipment
Throughout this book you will see materials that have been marked with an asterisk (*).
These are locally available materials which can be made or purchased for your laboratory.
The guide for using and making these local materials are found in the following section.
Beakers
Use: To hold liquids
Materials: Water bottles, juice containers, lids for bottles or jars, and a knife
Procedure: Take empty plastic bottles of different sizes. Cut them in half. The base can be
used as a beaker.
Delivery Tube
Use: For the movement and collection of gases, capillary tubes, hydraulic press
Materials: Straws, pen tubes, or pawpaw petioles.
Needles
Use: Compass needles, optical pins, making holes, flying wire
Materials: Office pins, sewing needles, needles from syringes
Droppers
Use: To add small amounts of liquid to something
Materials: 2 ml syringes
Procedure: Take a syringe. Remove the needle.
Funnel
Use: To guide liquid or powder into a small opening
Materials: Empty water bottles
Procedure: Take an empty water bottle and remove the cap. Cut them in half. The upper part
of the bottle can be used as a funnel.
Heat Source
Use: Heating substances
Materials: Candles, kerosene stoves, charcoal burners or ethanol gel stoves
Procedure: Cut a metal can in half and add a small amount of ethanol gel
Stopper
Use: To cover the mouth of a bottle, hold a capillary tube
Materials: Rubber, cork, plastic water bottle cap.
Procedure: Cut a circular piece of rubber. If the stopper is being used to hold a capillary tube,
a hole can be melted in a plastic cap or rubber stopper.

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Water Bath
Use: To heat substances without using a direct flame
Materials: Heat source, water, and a cooking pot
Procedure: Bring water to a boil in a small aluminium pot, then place the test tubes in the
water to heat the substance inside the test tube.
Circuit Components
Use: Building simple circuits, Ohm’s Law, amplifier, wave rectifiers
Materials: Broken radio, computer, stereo, other electrical devices
Procedure: Remove resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes, motors, wires, transformers,
inductors, rheostats, pulleys, gears, battery holders, switches, speakers and other components
from the devices.
Masses
Use: Calibrating and using beam balance and spring balance, Hooke’s Law
Materials: Known masses, beam balance, sand, stones, plastic bags, thread, paper, tape, pen
Procedure: Use a beam balance and known masses to measure exact masses of sand or stones.
Use a marker pen to mark the masses on the stones. If using sand, place a small piece of
plastic bag on the scale pan and fill it with sand until you have the required mass. Tie the
sand in the plastic bag with thread. Use paper and tape to make a label on the outside,
marking the mass with pen. These masses can be used in your school. Water can also be as a
known mass. The density of water is 1.0 g/ml, so you can use a known volume of water in a
bottle to create a known mass. Be sure to also account for the mass of the bottle.
Plane Mirror
Use: Laws of Reflection, periscope, water prism
Materials: piece of thin glass, oil lamp with a wick, Optional: small pieces of mirror glass are
cheap or free at a glass cutter’s shop
Procedure: Light the oil lamp so that it creates a lot of smoke. Pass one side of the glass
repeatedly over the oil lamp until that side is totally black. The other side acts as a mirror.
Iron Filings
Use: To map magnetic fields
Materials: Steel wool / Iron wool used for cleaning pots
Procedure: Rub some steel wool between your thumb and fingers. The small pieces that fall
are iron filings. Collect them in a matchbox or other container to use again.

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Checking Voltmeters and Ammeters/Galvanometers
Needed: Meters to check, a couple of wires, some resistors and a fresh battery.
Important note: There is a wrong way to hook up the meter. The needle will try to detect
down because negative and positive are swapped. If the reading is zero, make sure that you
try the opposite connection to be sure.
Voltmeters
Hook up the voltmeter across the battery. The battery is probably 1.5 V, but do not worry if
you see 1.1, 1.2, even if using a brand new battery. Try not to use a battery that reads much
below 1 V on several different meters.
Unusable Voltmeters
• Totally dead, no detection of the needle
• Voltage reading jumps excessively. Ensure that the connections are solid and test again.
• Measured voltage is totally wrong, not close to 1.5 V
Usable Voltmeters
• Read a voltage close to 1.5
• If the voltage if not 1.5 exactly, the voltmeter is probably working and the battery is just old
a bit.
Ammeters
Hook up the ammeter in series with a resistor. Because you do not necessarily know the
condition of the ammeter before testing, be sure to have several different resistors on hand.
An ammeter may appear not to work if resistance is too high or too low. Start testing
different ammeters.
Unusable Ammeters
• Totally dead, no detection of the needle
• Current reading jumps excessively (but check connections)
• Totally wrong, reads much different from other ammeters
Usable Ammeters
Reads a current similar to other ammeters.
Hard to say exactly what current, but feel free to calculate based on your resistor using V=IR,
although do not forget that there is some internal resistance “r” of battery, so V = I(R + r).
The resistance of the resistor is usually coded on the resistor in a series in stripes - see the
instructions under Resistors in the Sources of Equipment section.
Tip: You can hold the wires onto the battery with your fingers; the current is far too low to

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cause a shock.
Other: Now that you have tested to see if your voltmeters and ammeters work, you can feel
free to check all of them for accuracy, by calculating expected values and comparing
between meters. Most practicals will still work alright with somewhat accurate meters.
Chapter 2 : Physics Experiments Part I

SAMPLES

Expt 14: Elasticity

Learning Outcomes
• To explain the concept of elasticity.
• To demonstrate elasticity.
• To deduce the relationship between the applied force (tension) and the increase in length
(extension) from Hooke’s law.
Background Information
The force applied to a spring is related to the extension of the spring as it stretches under the
force. This is described by Hooke’s Law. Provided that the elastic limit of the spring is not
exceeded (meaning that the spring is not stretched too much), the extension of a spring or
other material is directly proportional to the load or tension force. This is because of its
elasticity.
Materials
Rubber band, spring balance*, and sling shot (catapult), metre rule, weights
Hazards and Safety
• When making the small extension of the rubber/spring balance, be careful not to use too
much force to avoid breaking the material.
Experiment Procedure
1. Take the rubber band or spiral spring and measure its original length. Record this
measurement. …………………………………………………………………………………
2. Hold the rubber band/spring balance and fix one end while slightly pulling on the other
end. Check the increase in length after stretching and record the new length………………….
Clean Up Procedure
After finishing the demonstration, untie the rubber band/spring balance and leave it in the
normal state as it was in the beginning.

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Discussion Question
Explain why the rope or spring breaks when very high tension (force) is used.
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Forces
Expt 18: Presence of Gravity
Learning Outcomes
• To identify the force of gravity as it acts on falling bodies
• To identify the effect of air resistance on falling bodies
Background Information
All objects on the earth experience a force of attraction exerted by the earth. This is a natural
force called Gravity and it acts on all bodies at all times. The force of gravity varies from one
point to another; some areas experience stronger gravity than others, but this effect is not
noticeable. All objects are pulled by gravity with equal force, regardless of their weights or
masses.
Materials
Various objects, a piece of paper, and a book (the book should be the same size or bigger
than the paper)
Experiment Procedure
1. Hold the various objects at shoulder height.
2. Drop the objects to the ground one at a time. Repeat this step, but releasing the objects at
the same time.
3. Observe if there is any difference in speed as the objects fall to the ground.
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Hold a piece of paper at shoulder height and then release it.
5. Place a piece of paper on top of a book and hold the book flat at shoulder height.
6. Release the two items together and observe any differences between the motion of the
paper by itself and of the paper and book together. …………………………………………..
….……………………………………………………………………………………………..

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….……………………………………………………………………………………………..
7. Bunch the paper into a tight ball and drop it again.
Clean Up Procedure
Collect all materials and return them to their proper place.
Discussion Questions
1. Did the objects fall at the same rate or at different rates? …………………………………
….…………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. Why did the paper fall slowly the first time? ………………………………………………
….……………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. Why did the paper fall quickly when it was placed on top of the book?…………………..
….……………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. Why did the paper fall quickly when it was bunched into a tight ball? ……………………
….……………………………………………………………………………………………..
5. What force is pulling all objects down? Does this force ever change?…………………….
….……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Expt 25: Air Pressure

Learning Outcomes
• To observe the effects of air pressure on a flexible material
Background Information
Air in a container pushes out with equal force on all sides of the container. If the pressure in
the container is low, the force is small; if the pressure is high, the force is large. If the
pressure is high, it is difficult to bend or crush the container as the air pressure inside resists
being pushed. If the pressure is high enough, it can cause a flexible container to be rigid.
Materials
Plastic straw, potato
Experiment Procedure
1. Hold a straw and push it hard into the potato.
2. Observe what happens to the straw.
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Place your thumb firmly over one end of a straw and push the other end into the potato.
4. Observe what happens to the straw and potato.
….………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Cleanup Procedure
Dispose of the potato and return the straw to its proper place.
Discussion Questions
1. Why does the straw not pierce the potato when your thumb is not blocking the back of the
straw?
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Why does the straw pierce the potato when your thumb is blocking the potato?
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Newton’s Laws and Forces

Expt 40: Inertia and Newton’s First Law of Motion
Learning Outcomes
• To understand the concept of inertia
• To demonstrate Newton’s First Law (the Law of Inertia)
Background Information
Newton’s first law, also called the Law of Inertia, states that ”an object in motion will
continue in that motion, and an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an
external force”. This simply means that an object will continue doing what it is doing and
will resist any changes. The inside of a fresh egg is liquid while the inside of a boiled egg is
solid. Therefore, if you change the motion of the shell of a fresh egg, the liquid inside will
resist the change and continue with whatever motion it had. If you change the motion
of a boiled egg shell, the inside of the egg will follow the same motion as the shell.
Materials
1 fresh egg and 1 boiled egg
Experiment Procedure
1. Place both eggs on the table and note that it is impossible to tell which egg is fresh and
which egg is boiled.
2. Spin the first egg.

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3. While the egg is spinning, stop it briefly with your hand and then release the egg. Record
any observations……………………………………………………………………………..
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. Spin the second egg.
5. While the egg is spinning, stop it briefly with your hand and then release the egg. Record
any observations. …………………………………………………………………………….
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Discussion Questions
1. Which egg is fresh and which egg is boiled?
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Why does the boiled egg stop completely when your hand releases it while the fresh egg
continues spinning? …………………………………………………………………………
….……………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Explain the motion of the eggs in terms of inertia.
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Expt 41: Conservation of Linear Momentum
Learning Outcomes
• To demonstrate the principle of conservation of linear momentum
Background Information
Everything has momentum which depends on its mass and velocity.
momentum = mass × velocity
The momentum of an individual body can change as its velocity or mass changes. However,
if two objects collide, the total momentum of the objects is conserved. This means that the
total momentum of the objects before the collision is equal to their total momentum after the
collision.
Materials
Toy car with motor, plane surface or smooth table, metre rule or tape measure, beam
balance*, different sized stones, and stop watch
Preparation Procedure
1. Measure the masses of different stones on the beam balance.
2. Measure the mass of the toy car.
3. Measure a distance of 2 m on the plane surface or table.
4. Make a mark at 0 m and place an obstacle at 2 m.
Experiment Procedure
1. Place the toy car at the 0 m mark on the table.
2. Release the car and start your stop watch.
3. Record the time it takes for the car to move from the 0 m mark to the obstacle at the 2 m
mark…………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Use this time and distance to calculate the average velocity of the car.
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Place a stone on top of the toy car (use tape or string if necessary in order to secure it).
6. Measure the new mass of the car with the stone on top. ………………………………..
7. Start the car and release it on the table at the 0 m mark.
8. Again, measure the time it takes for the car to reach the obstacle at the 2 m mark.
….…………………………………………………………………………………………..
9. Calculate the average velocity of the car and stone.
….……………………………………………………………………………………………

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…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
10. Repeat these steps for various stones, measuring the masses and average velocities for
each case.
11. For each case, calculate the momentum of the car and stone.
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
12. Record your results in a table. Fill in values for mass, time, velocity and momentum.
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
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.
13. Compare the values for momentum. ……………………………………………………….
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
Clean Up Procedure
Return all materials to their proper places.
Discussion Questions
1. What factors affect the momentum of the car? ………………………………………..
….…………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. When the mass of the car is increased by adding stones, what happens to the average
velocity? ………………………………………………………………………………………
3. What do you observe when comparing the values for momentum? ……………………….
….……………………………………………………………………………………………..

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Expt 53: Measuring Refractive Index of Glass
Learning Outcomes
• To explain the refraction of a light ray from one medium to another
• To show the refraction of a ray of light at different angles
• To apply Snell’s Law to find the refractive index of a medium by measuring incident and
refracted angles
• To see the effect of refraction on an image
Background Information
Light bends as it moves from one medium to another. When moving from a medium of low
density to one of high density, a ray of light will bend inward towards the normal;when
Moving out again from the medium of high density to the medium of low density, the light
ray will bend outward away from the normal.
Refracted light obeys Snell’s Law, which states that n1 × sin i = n2 × sin r where n1 is the
refractive index of the first medium, i is the incident angle of the light, n2 is the refractive
index of the second medium and r is the refracted angle of the light in the second medium.
Because we know the refractive index of air, and we can measure the angles of incidence and
refraction with a protractor, we can calculate the refractive index of any material.
Materials
Protractor from a mathematical set, pen, 30 cm square piece of thick cardboard from a box,
piece of white paper, four-figure or calculator, tape or glue, 4 pins or syringe needles,
rectangular glass block at least 6 mm thick from a glass shop (the glass block does not need
to be large: 8 cm × 10 cm is easily enough). Often the glass block can be found for free, just
make sure that the edges are even and that you can see through the block by looking through
the edges.
Hazards and Safety
• Be careful when using the glass. If you are using a local glass block from a glass cutter, the
edges may be sharp enough to cut skin.
• If using syringe needles, use pliers or a hammer to bend the end of the needles so that they
may not be used for any other purpose.
Preparation Procedure
1. Collect all of the materials on a table.
2. Tape or glue the white paper to the cardboard and cut the paper so that it is the same size
as the cardboard.

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Experiment Procedure
1. Place the cardboard flat on the table with the paper-side up.
2. Place the glass block in the center of the paper and trace it with a pen.
3. Remove the block from the paper; you should see its outline clearly from the pen.
4. Use a protractor to draw a line perpendicular (90◦ ) near the center of one of the long sides
of the glass block outline.
5. Extend this line through both sides of the glass block so that on the paper you should have
a picture of a rectangle with a line through its center.
6. Where the line intersects one of the long sides of the rectangle, make a mark and label it
O.
7. From the point O, draw a line outward at an angle of 10 degrees to the normal. Use a
protractor to do this.
8. Repeat this step to draw lines at angles of 20◦ , 30◦ , 40◦ and 50◦ to the normal, all
converging on the point O.
9. Replace the glass block in its outline on the paper.
10. Place two pins or needles on the line for the incident light at 10◦. Place one of the pins
close to the glass block and the other as far away as possible on the 10 degree line. The pins
should stick upright easily in the cardboard
11. From the opposite side of the glass block, look through the block so that you can see the
two pins on the other side through the block (do not look over the block).
12. Close one eye and move left or right until the two pins you see through the block are
perfectly aligned so that they look like one pin.
13. On this side of the glass block, place another pin close to the block so that all three pins
are aligned.
14. Repeat this step with a fourth pin closer to your eye.
15. Make sure that, as you look through the glass block, all four pins are aligned perfectly.
16. Remove the pins on this side of the block and mark their positions (the holes in the paper)
with a pen.
17. Use the straight edge of the protractor to trace a line through the two points to the edge of
the glass block.
18. Mark this line as 10 degrees.
19. Repeat steps 10 through 18 for the incident rays of 20, 30, 40 and 50 degrees. At the end
you should have five lines coming from your side of the glass block at different points, each

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labeled with a different angle. These lines should be diverging from one another.
20. Remove the glass block from the paper.
21. Using the straight edge of the protractor, trace a line from O to the point on the edge
where the ray labeled “10 degrees” emerges.
22. Repeat this step for each line so that you have five lines inside the glass block outline,
each connecting point O with one of the lines emerging from the block. These lines inside
the block are the refracted rays corresponding to each of the incident rays (10, 20, 30, 40 and
50 degrees).
23. Use the protractor to measure the angle between the normal inside the block and the first
refracted ray.
24. On a separate piece of paper, record the incident angle (10◦ ) and the corresponding
refracted angle (which should be around 7◦ , though this will change depending on the
material you are using).
25. Repeat these steps for the incident angles of 20, 30, 40 and 50 degrees and their
respective refracted angles.
26. Record these results in a table showing each incident angle and its respective refracted
angle.
27. Use a four-figure or calculator to find the Sine of each of these angles and record these in
your table as well.
28. Use a ruler to make a graph of sin r against sin i. The x-axis (horizontal axis) should
contain the values for the Sine of the incident angles, and the y-axis (vertical axis) should
contain the values for the Sine of the refracted angles.
29. Mark each of the five data points on the graph using your table of values for sin i and
sin r.
30. Use a ruler or other straight edge to draw a straight line through the five points. Extend
this line back through the y-axis (the axis containing values of sin r).
31. Calculate the slope of this line by using:
change in y
slope 
change in x
32. Calculate the refractive index of glass by using:
1
refractive index 
slope

Clean Up Procedure
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Return all supplies to their proper places making sure that the glass block is in a safe place
where it will not break.
….………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Discussion Questions
1. Why does light bend when moving from one medium to another?
….…………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. In what direction does light bend when moving from a low-density medium to a
high-density medium?……………………………………………………………………….
3. In what direction does light bend when moving from a high-density medium to a
low-density medium?……………………………………………………………………….
4. What other materials could you use to measure refractive index instead of the glass block?
….…………………………………………………………………………………………….
5. Why is it better to repeat the experiment for many angles of incidence instead of just one
angle?………………………………………………………………………………………..
….…………………………………………………………………………………………..
6. On the graph, what is the y-intercept? Why?……………………………………………..
….……………………………………………………………………………………………

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