ScienceIGCSE Practical Booklet

Name:________________________

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PHYSICS:______________________In your final examination there are a number of practical investigations that you can be assessed on. The best way to maximise marks on this is to use CORMS.C – Change - What are you changing in your investigation and to what range?O – Object – What is the focus of your investigationR – Repeats – How many times will your repeat the investigations and why?M – Measure – What will you measure and with what units?S – Same – What will you keep the same in your investigation? (At least two things).Diagrams can also be helpful to aid you in remembering what needs to be done in an investigation. It is not uncommon for some of these practical not to be completed during lessons and only covered as theory. THERE IS ALWAYS A LONGER ANSWER QUESTION IN THE PAPER WHICH IS WORTH 5 OR 6 MARKS.

THERE ARE OTHER PRATICALS THAT FORM PART OF YOUR COURSE BUT THESE ARE THE

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ONES YOU CAN DIRECTLY BE ASKED TO EXPLAIN.Use this booklet to complete CORMS and a diagram and method for the following investigations.

PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS1. Describe experiments to investigate the motion

of everyday objects such as toy cars or tennis ball.

a) Walking in a straight line

Cause of error:

b) Motion down a ramp

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Cause of error:

c) Find the average speed of an object in circular path. Describe a method the student could use to find the average speed

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2. Describe experiments to investigate the forces acting on falling objects, such as sycamore seeds or parachutes.

a) Parachute jumper or free falling objects

b) Drop a metal ball into a tall glass tube filled with oil to investigate terminal velocity

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3. Describe experiments to investigate how extension varies with applied force for helical springs, metal wires and rubber bands.

Basic plan:

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Graph:

Source of error:

Describe experiments to investigate how insulating materials can be charged by friction.

Method of Charging by friction:

Method of induction: gold leaf electroscope

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4. Describe experiments to investigate the refraction of light, using rectangular blocks, semi-circular blocks and triangular prisms.

a. Light ray passing through semi-circular block: TIR – total internal reflection.

b. Light ray entering a right angled glass block. Complete the path of the light inside the glass

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5. Describe an experiment to determine the refractive index of glass, using a glass block.

Method:

Data

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Improvements to the method:

Describe an experiment to measure the speed of sound in air.Method: using a microphone

To make the experiment more fair:

To improve the data:

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Method: by echo.

6. Describe an experiment using an oscilloscope to determine the frequency of a sound wave.

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7. Describe experiments to determine density using direct measurements of mass and volume.a) Finding the density of an irregular object

b) Finding density of a liquid for example labelled “sea water”

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8. Describe experiments to investigate the magnetic field pattern for a permanent bar magnet and that between two bar magnets.Method 1

Method 2

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11. Describe experiments to investigate how current varies with voltage in wires and resistors

Explain questions are repetitive and basically ask

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for same explanations. The following are common reoccurring explain questions, often worth 4 – 6 marks

1) The diagram shows an electric motor and the direction of current. Explain how the current produces movement of the coil

2) A student investigates how the resistance of a thermistor changes with temperature. Explain

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how the student can use the apparatus to investigate how the resistance varies between o0C and 1000C

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3) The diagram shows how air moves near the coast on a warm day. Explain why air moves this way

4) Explain Brownian Motion

5) Explain how a transformer works

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6) Use ideas of momentum and force to explain how a seat belt reduces the risk of injuries in a car crash – this applies to all kind of collisions and to jumping down with bend knees

7) The diagram shows the main parts of a nuclear reactor with uranium -235 undergoing fission in a controlled chain reaction. Describe nuclear fission and how a chain reaction is controlled

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8) Explain pressure

9) There have been several accidents in nuclear power stations. Explain why it is difficult to make surrounding areas safe again after a serious nuclear accident

10) How can a thick woollen blanket help to keep warm

11) Describe how a loudspeaker uses an electrical supply to produce sound waves

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12) Describe how on a traditional cooker energy is transferred from the hot plate to the potato

13) Use ideas about particle to explain why evaporation leads to cooling

14) Use ideas about particles to explain why a cooled balloon is smaller

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15) A student investigates the formation of an image in a plane mirror, using the apparatus shown in the photograph.

Along with answering questions about practicals you will need to draw some kind of graph. Again there are some guidelines which help you gain a lot of marks:

S.L.A.P.U.

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1.SCALE - Have you used more than half the graph paper? Are your intervals equal?

2.LINE - (if its needed) have you drawn a line of best fit with a ruler?

3.AXIS - Are they both clearly labelled? 4.PLOTS - Have you plotted your data correctly? +/- 1mm error

is allowed.5.UNITS - Have you written the units in brackets on your

graph?

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