KET Virtual Physics Labs

Lab Resources

Physics Lab Introduction

Lab Manuals

Motion of a Simple Pendulum
- Purpose
  
  In this lab, you'll travel to the western plains of the U.S., to Earth's moon, and then on to the asteroid Brian...
- Equipment
  
  Virtual Pendulum Apparatus, VPL Grapher, Pencil, Your Lab Manual
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the pendulum apparatus simulation to do this lab...
- Apparatus
  
  Rotate the handle on the spool to change the length of the pendulum...
- Introduction
  
  The obvious behavior of a pendulum worthy of investigation is its repetitious back and forth motion...
- Procedure
  
  We're going to look for any relationships that the period might have with the amplitude of the swing, the mass of the bob, and the length of the pendulum...
- A Note About the Graph Scaling
  
  A lot of people have an important learning experience with the first two graphs due to their choice of scales...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Velocity: A Bat's Eye View of Velocity
- Purpose
  
  There are a number of useful ways of modeling (representing) motion. ..
- Equipment
  
  Dynamics Track simulation, VPL Gapher, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Dynamics Track simulation to do this lab...
- Discussion
  
  We all know that bats use sound to locate objects in their environment...
- Familiarize Yourself with the Apparatus
  
  Let's try graphing. Click on the cart and drag it to the middle of the track. ..
- Procedure
  
  We're going to look for any relationships that the period might have with the amplitude of the swing, the mass of the bob, and the length of the pendulum...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Acceleration, Free Fall, Symmetry
- Purpose
  
  Observe an accelerating object and draw position vs. time (x-t ), velocity vs. time (v-t ), and acceleration vs. time (a-t ) graphs of its motion...
- Equipment
  
  Dynamics Track simulation, VPL Grapher, Pencil, Frame Flipper tool and video clips of vertical motion
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Dynamics Track simulation to do this lab...
- Discussion
  
  In our constant velocity, lab we used the motion sensor to measure the position of an object 100 times a second and plotted the data as a graph of position vs. time...
- Procedure
  
  We want to observe the motion of the cart moving freely up the ramp and then back down...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
The Force Table – Vector Addition and Resolution
- Equipment
  
  Force Table simulation, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Force Table simulation to do this lab.
- Explore the Apparatus/Theory
  
  We'll use the Force Table Apparatus in this lab activity...
- Procedure
  
  In this part, you'll add two forces to find their resultant using experimental addition, graphical addition, and analytical addition...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Dynamics – Free Fall, Apparent Weight, and Friction (Honors)
- Purpose
  
  To investigate the vector nature of forces...
- Equipment
  
  Virtual Dynamics Track simulation, VPL Grapher, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Dynamics Track simulation to do this lab. You will need to use the VPL Grapher to complete this lab.
- Explore the Apparatus/Theory
  
  Open the virtual Dynamics Track. You'll see the low-friction track and cart at the top of the screen. At the bottom you'll see a roll of massless string, several masses, and a mass hanger...
- Procedure
  
  We've found that writing down what we know and want to know is essential to successful problem-solving...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Conservation of Mechanical Energy; Work
- Purpose
  
  To study conservation of mechanical energy for a cart moving along an incline...
- Equipment
  
  Dynamics Track simulation, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Dynamics Track simulation to do this lab.
- Explore the Apparatus
  
  Open the Dynamics Track. You should be familiar with most of the features of the ramp and cart system from your study of kinematics and dynamics...
- Procedure
  
  The kinetic energy of a body is the energy associated with its motion...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Conservation of Momentum
- Purpose
  
  To investigate the behavior of objects colliding in elastic and inelastic collisions...
- Equipment
  
  Virtual Momentum Track simulation, VPL Grapher, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Virtual Momentum Track simulation to do this lab...
- Explore the Apparatus
  
  Open the Virtual Momentum Lab. A lot should look familiar after having worked with the Dynamics Track...
- Theory
  
  In class and in your reading, you've seen the following development of the concepts of momentum, momentum conservation, and their connection to energy conservation. (Vectors are shown in bold type.)..
- Procedure
  
  In most of this lab, you'll use your data to answer questions, even non-numerical questions...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Rotational Equilibrium
- Purpose
  
  To confirm that torque equals force times lever arm for a horizontal lever...
- Equipment
  
  Beam balance appartus...
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Rotational Equilibrium simulation to do this lab...
- Theory
  
  Up to this point in physics, we haven't allowed forces to act in such a way as to cause rotation...
- Explore the Apparatus
  
  Let's set up the apparatus just as it appears in Figure 1...
- Procedure
  
  Click Reset All to make sure that the apparatus is in its default arrangement. Leave "Auto-Release" on...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Archimedes' Principle
- Purpose
  
  To connect the words of Archimedes' Principle to the actual behavior of submerged objects...
- Equipment
  
  Virtual Buoyancy Aparatus, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Buoyancy Apparatus simulation to do this lab.
- Theory
  
  Archimedes' Principle is very easy to state in words, but learning how to use it takes practice in a variety of situations...
- Explore the Apparatus
  
  We'll use the Buoyancy Apparatus in this lab activity...
- Procedure
  
  In the following sections, you'll collect and analyze data to investigate Archimedes' Principle in some typical situations, such as the one suggested in Example 1...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Standing Waves in an Air Column
- Purpose
  
  To observe resonance of sound waves in an air column open at one end and closed at the other...
- Equipment
  
  Virtual Sound Waves Simulation, VPL Grapher, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Sound Waves simulation to do this lab...
- Explore the Apparatus/Theory
  
  Use Figure 1 as a reference to identify various parts of the apparatus...
- Procedure
  
  We'll continue with the same conditions—room thermostat set to 0°C, air in the tube, C4 selected, and the wave display set for a node at about 17 cm as in Figure 2...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Electric Fields and Potential
- Purpose
  
  To develop an understanding of the relationship between equipotential lines and electric field lines...
- Equipment
  
  Electric Field Mapping Apparatus , Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Electric Field Mapping simulation to do this lab.
- Theory
  
  Everyone has experienced the fun of rubbing a balloon against a sweater and then seeing it attach itself to nearly anything nearby...
- Explore the Apparatus
  
  Figure 7 shows the tools you'll be working with in the space between two parallel plates...
- Procedure
  
  We now want to investigate electric fields in three different configurations: the field between parallel plates, the field of a dipole, and the field inside a hollow shell located in an electric field...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
DC Circuits—Series, Parallel, and Combination Circuits
- Purpose
  
  To investigate resistors wired in series and parallel as well as combinations of the two...
- Equipment
  
  DC Circuits Apparatus, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the DC Circuits Apparatus simulation to do this lab.
- Explore the Apparatus
  
  The large blue area with the small dots (circles) is a circuit board where we'll create our circuits. ..
- Procedure
  
  Let's explore and see what's ahead. The circuits you'll need, shown in Figure 4, are available in the "Pick a circuit" pull-down menu...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
The Tangent Galvanometer
- Purpose
  
  To investigate the magnetic field at the center of a current-carrying loop of wire...
- Equipment
  
  Virtual Tangent Galvanometer, VPL Grapher, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Tangent Galvanometer simulation to do this lab...
- Theory
  
  You've learned that the magnetic field due to the current at a point in a straight wire takes on a circular shape around the wire (Figure (1a))...
- Explore the Apparatus
  
  We'll use our virtual Tangent Galvanometer to study this interaction between Earth's field and the loop's field...
- Procedure
  
  You'll use the overhead view for this part of the lab...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Faraday's Law
- Purpose
  
  To investigate and measure the field along the axis of a solenoid carrying a constant or changing current...
- Equipment
  
  Virtual Faraday's Law Apparatus, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Virtual Faraday's Law Apparatus simulation to do this lab.
- Theory
  
  We're surrounded in our daily lives by devices using Michael Faraday's and Joseph Henry's discovery that a change in the magnetic flux through a loop of wire will induce an emf in the loop...
- Explore the Apparatus
  
  Most of the important parts of the apparatus are labeled or recognizable from their images...
- Procedure
  
  You'll frequently be asked to set the "DC power supply" to a certain voltage, usually 30.00 V or 50.00 V. Why so precise?...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Image Formation by Plane and Spherical Mirrors
- Purpose
  
  To become familiar with the nature of the images formed by plane and spherical mirrors...
- Equipment
  
  Virtual Optical Bench simulation, Pencil
- Simulation and Tools
  
  Open the Virtual Optical Bench simulation to do this lab.
- Explore the Apparatus
  
  Open the Virtual Optical Bench simulation...
- Procedure
  
  We're going to look at the behaviors of our three mirrors to learn the nature of the images they form as well as the geometry behind the image formation...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...
Interference and Diffraction of Light
- Purpose
  
  To observe the behavior of light passing through various configurations of slits...
- Equipment
  
  Virtual Diffraction simulation, Pencil
- Explore the Apparatus
  
  Open the Virtual Diffraction simulation on the website.
- Theory
  
  While you're waiting for your opponent to arrive at the tennis court, you can warm up by hitting the ball against a wall...
- Procedure
  
  So how might we arrange for two sources of light to come together in phase, or out of phase, on a screen...
- Worksheet
  
  You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab...