• Preface
  • Getting Started
    
    These labs have been developed with a view to providing the students with meaningful and significant experience with experimental processes...
  • Role Of WebAssign
    
    Your physics department decides whether to use WebAssign for labs...
  • Lab Syllabus
    
    Lab assignments are common for all students taking the lab...
  • Working In Groups
    
    In your labs, you will be working in cooperative groups...
  • Tips From Students
    
    These tips are based on written comments from 275 former physics lab students who used WebAssign for their lab assignments...
• Lab 1 - Force Table
  • Introduction
    
    All measurable quantities can be classified as either a scalar or a vector. A scalar has only magnitude while a vector has both magnitude and direction. Examples of scalar quantities are......
  • Principles
    
    As mentioned above, a vector quantity has both magnitude and direction. A vector is usually represented by an arrow, where the direction of the arrow represents the direction of the vector, and the......
  • Objective
    
    The objective of this experiment is to find the equilibrant of one or more known forces using a force table and compare the results to that obtained by analytical method.
  • Lab Equipment
    
    Force table, protractor, ruler, strings, weight hangers, assorted weights, bubble level
  • Procedure
    
    Given two force vectors you will determine the third force that will produce equilibrium in the system. This third force is known as the......
  • Worksheet
    
    You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment in lab. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab......
  • Appendix for Lab 1
    
    Here is a list of all of the appendicies referenced in this lab.....
• Lab 2 - Uniformly Accelerated Motion
  • Introduction
    
    All objects on the earth's surface are being accelerated toward the center of the earth at a rate of 9.81m/s². This means that if you raise an object above the surface of the earth and then drop it, the object will start from rest and its velocity will increase by 9.81 meters per second for each second it is falling......
  • Principles
    
    In this experiment you will measure, with the aid of computer-based instruments, the position of a falling body as a function of the time elapsed since it was released. We adopt the downward direction as positive, and we denote displacements in that direction by y. When air resistance......
  • Objective
    
    The objective of this experiment is to measure the position of an object in free fall as a function of time and to determine the acceleration due to gravity.
  • Lab Equipment
    
    Picket fence, Photogate, Signal Interface, Data Studio software, Computer, Meter stick
  • Procedure
    
    A picket fence, which is a piece of clear acrylic (also known as Plexiglas or Lucite) covered with equally spaced black bands, will be dropped through a photogate connected to a computer. See Fig. 3. A beam of light passes from one prong of the photogate to the other......
  • Worksheet
    
    You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment in lab. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab......
  • Appendix for Lab 2
    
    Here is a list of all of the appendicies referenced in this lab......
• Lab 3 - Newton's Second Law
  • Introduction
    
    Sir Isaac Newton put forth many important ideas in his famous book The Principia. His three laws of motion are the best known of these......
  • Principles
    
    This force causes the ball rolling on the floor to decelerate (that is, it has a "negative" acceleration). According to Newton's second law an object will accelerate in the direction of the net force......
  • Objective
    
    The objective of this experiment is to verify the validity of Newton's second law, which states that the net force acting on an object is directly proportional to its acceleration......
  • Lab Equipment
    
    Low-friction track with pulley, a cart, string, balance, Data Studio software, two photgates......
  • Procedure
    
    You will conduct several trials, keeping the total mass M = m₁ + m₂ constant while varying m₁ and therefore m₂......
  • Worksheet
    
    You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment in lab. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab......
  • Appendix for Lab 3
    
    Here is a list of all of the appendicies referenced in this lab......
• Lab 4 - Conservation of Mechanical Energy
  • Introduction
    
    When a body moves, some things—such as its position, velocity, and momentum—change. It is interesting and useful to consider things that do not change. The total energy is a quantity that does not change; we say that it is conserved during......
  • Principles
    
    The total mechanical energy E of a system is defined as the sum of the kinetic energy K and potential energy U of the system. In the absence of non-conservative forces, such as friction or air drag, the total mechanical energy remains a constant......
  • Objective
    
    The objective of this experiment is to determine if the law of conservation of mechanical energy can predict the velocity of a rolling sphere after rolling down a ramp. You will test your hypothesis by placing the sphere at various heights......
  • Lab Equipment
    
    Inclined ramp clamped to a table, small steel sphere, meter stick, carbon paper, bubble level
  • Procedure
    
    You will place a small sphere at 5 different vertical heights h₁, allow it to roll down the ramp, and read the distance d from the edge of the ramp to the location where it hits the table. Independently, you will make a graph of the horizontal velocity......
  • Worksheet
    
    You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment in lab. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab......
  • Appendix for Lab 4
    
    Here is a list of all of the appendicies referenced in this lab......
• Lab 5 - Uniform Circular Motion
  • Introduction
    
    If you have ever been on an amusement park ride that travels in a curved or circular path, then you have experienced a force, called a centripetal force, pushing you into the ride......
  • Principles
    
    Newton's second law states that the net force F_net exerted on a moving body is equal to the product of a body's mass m and its acceleration a......
  • Objective
    
    In this experiment you will measure the period of rotation for an object and calculate the centripetal force acting on it. You will compare this centripetal force with an equivalent force needed to maintain the object at the same radius.
  • Lab Equipment
    
    Circular motion apparatus, assorted weights, bubble level, balance, stop watch, meter stick, spring
  • Procedure
    
    While it might be more fun to carry out this study on a midway ride, a simple laboratory apparatus shown in Fig. 4 below will be used to examine the nature of centripetal force. By using the centripetal force apparatus......
  • Worksheet
    
    You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment in lab. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab......
  • Appendix Lab 5
    
    Here is a list of all of the appendicies referenced in this lab......
• Lab 6 - Rotational Equilibrium
  • Introduction
    
    Have you ever tried to pull a stubborn nail out of a board or develop your forearm muscles by lifting weights? Both these activities involve using a lever-type action to produce a turning effect or torque through the application of a force......
  • Principles
    
    Torque is a measure of the turning effect of an applied force on an object, and is the rotational analogue to force. In translational motion, a net force causes an object to accelerate......
  • Objective
    
    The objective of this experiment is to learn to measure torque due to a force and to adjust the magnitude of one or more forces and their lever arms to produce static equilibrium in a meter stick balanced on a knife-edge......
  • Lab Equipment
    
    Meter stick, knife edge, known masses of varying values, unknown mass, balance
  • Procedure
    
    There are three parts to this experiment. In the first part, you will balance three forces on a meter stick and show that the net torque is zero when the meter stick is in equilibrium......
  • Worksheet
    
    You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment in lab. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab......
  • Appendix for Lab 6
    
    Here is a list of all of the appendicies referenced in this lab......
• Lab 7 - Simple Harmonic Motion
  • Introduction
    
    Have you ever wondered why a grandfather clock keeps accurate time? The motion of the pendulum is a particular kind of repetitive or periodic motion called simple harmonic motion, or SHM......
  • Principles
    
    A particle that vibrates vertically in simple harmonic motion moves up and down between two extremes y = ±A. The maximum displacement A is called the amplitude. This motion is shown graphically in the......
  • Objective
    
    The objective of this lab is to understand the behavior of objects in simple harmonic motion by determining the spring constant of a spring-mass system and a simple pendulum.
  • Lab Equipment
    
    Assorted masses, spring, meter stick, stand, stopwatch, string, pendulum bob, protractor
  • Procedure
    
    Using Hooke's law you will determine the spring constant of the spring by measuring the spring stretch as additional masses are added to the spring. You will determine the period of oscillation of the spring-mass system for......
  • Worksheet
    
    You will use a hard copy of this worksheet to enter data as you work through the experiment in lab. Print the worksheet and bring it with you to the lab......
  • Appendix for Lab 7
    
    Here is a list of all of the appendicies referenced in this lab......

Appendix

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