Integrated Physics and Chemistry
A 1:10 Experiment: Determining Volume
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This shouldn't be too difficult. Just remember what volume is: the amount of space something takes up. You need to determine the volume of two objects: a rectangular solid (like a shoebox or a piece of finished lumber) and an irregularly shaped object (like a rock). The volume of a rectangular solid is just length X width X depth. Measure the three dimensions and multiply them together. To measure the rocks you need to be more creative. If you drop them into a container that allows you to read the water level (pyrex measuring bowl, water bottle, even many blenders) then you can just determine the change in the water level after you drop each one in. You may have to remember that 1 milliliter = 1 cubic centimeter (or if you are in the English system 28.875 cubic inches = 1 pint) |
A 1:12 Determining Density
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A 4:14 Experiment: Pressure in Gases
This experiment will show why tires start to look flat when they lose pressure or when the vehicles they support are heavily loaded. Air pressure is F/A (force per unit area, which in the United States we usually measure in units of pounds per square inch or PSI). Your tire pressure (F/A) will always equal the weight of your car divided by how much overall area of your tires is touching the ground. In other words, the weight of your car exerts a downward force, which is supported by the four areas where your four tires touch the ground. When the air pressure in your tires gets low or the weight of your car increases, the tires can’t push back on your car as well to hold it up. The car will push down on the tires until they spread out and increase the amount of area that the pressurized tires are in contact with. This gives more area for the less pressurized air to act on. |
In this experiment you will use this knowledge to measure your tire pressure in two different ways. The easy way is to use a tire pressure gage. The more challenging way is to use your new knowledge that the tire pressure will always equal the weight of the car divided by the area that the four tires are in contact with the pavement. You can also use this knowledge to guess the weight of any car or truck. That’s a circus trick that could make you some money! |
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B 1:5 Experiment: Conservation of Energy You don't need to use marbles for this experiment. You just need a way to measure the impact of different sized balls when they roll down the same ramp. Rolling them down the same ramp from the same height will give them equal velocities, but that doesn't mean they have an equal amount of kinetic energy. If you roll them down a ramp at a shoebox, which one makes the shoebox move the farthest? Note: You don't have to do the graph part of the experiment (part 5), but please answer all the questions carefully. If you would rather not answer the questions, you can create the graph instead. I think this NCES website is great for making graphs |