First Year Laboratory

Department of Physics
Jahangirnagar University
Savar, Dhaka-1342

LIST OF EXPERIMENTS FOR THE FIRST YEAR B. Sc. (HONS) STUDENTS

Course No. : PHY-108 (Physics Lab-I)

Session : 2022-2023 (Batch No.: 52)

Experiment : A
A1. EXPERIMENT WITH SPRING:
a) TO VERIFY THE HOOKE’S LAW FOR A SPRING.
b) TO DETERMINE THE MODULUS OF RIGIDITY OF THE MATERIAL OF THE SPRING.
c) TO OBSERVE THE HARMONIC MOTION OF THE SPRING FOR DIFFERENT LOADS
ATTACHED TO IT.
A2. TO DETERMINE THE ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY ‘g’ BY MEANS OF A COMPOUND
PENDULUM.
A3. TO DETERMINE THE ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY ‘g’ BY KATER’S PENDULUM.
A4. TO DETERMINE THE SURFACE TENSION OF WATER BY CAPILLARY RISE METHOD.
A5. TO DETERMINE THE RIGIDITY MODULUS OF THE MATERIAL OF A WIRE BY DYNAMIC
METHOD.
A6. TO DETERMINE THE CO-EFFICIENT OF VISCOSITY OF WATER AT ROOM TEMPERATURE.
A7. TO DETERMINE THE MOMENT OF INERTIA OF A FLYWHEEL.
A8. TO DETERMINE THE YOUNG’S MODULUS OF THE MATERIAL OF A WIRE BY SEARLE’S
APPARATUS.
A9. TO DETERMINE THE SURFACE TENSION OF MERCURY BY QUINCKE’S METHOD AND
HENCE TO DETERMINE THE ANGLE OF CONTACT.

Marks Distribution for course No. PHY-108 (Lab-I)

Class Attendance 10
Note Book 10
Lab. Tutorial 20
Expt. A 30
Expt. B 30
TOTAL 100

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 First Year Laboratory
Department of Physics
Jahangirnagar University
Savar, Dhaka-1342

LIST OF EXPERIMENTS FOR THE FIRST YEAR B. Sc. (HONS) STUDENTS

Course No. : PHY-108 (Physics Lab-I)

Session : 2022-2023 (Batch No.: 52)

Experiment : B
B1. TO VERIFY OHM’S LAW BY USING A TANGENT GALVANOMETER.
B2. TO VERIFY THE LAW OF SERIES AND PARALLEL RESISTANCES BY MEANS OF P. O.
BOX.
B3. EXPERIMENT WITH SONOMETER:
a. TO DRAW n  l AND n  1 CURVES AND HENCE TO DETERMINE THE UNKNOWN
l
FREQUENCY OF A TUNING FORK.
b. TO VERIFY THE LAW OF STRETCHED STRING FROM THE n-l CURVE.
B4. a. TO DETERMINE THE RESISTANCE OF A VOLTMETER.
b. TO DETERMINE THE RESISTANCE OF A GALVANOMETER BY HALF
DEFLECTION METHOD.
B5. TO DETERMINE THE HORIZONTAL COMPONENT OF THE EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD AND
THE MAGNETIC MOMENT OF A BAR MAGNET BY MAGNETOMETER.
B6. TO DETERMINE THE INTERNAL RESISTANCE OF A CELL BY USING A POTENTIOMETER.
B7. TO DETERMINE THE FREQUENCY OF A TUNING FORK BY MELDE’S EXPERIMENT.
B8. TO COMPARE THE E. M. F. OF TWO CELLS AND HENCE TO DETERMINE THE E.M.F. OF THE
CELLS BY USING A STANDARD CELL.

Name of Teacher Short Name Allocated Experiment No.

Professor Dr. Md. Salahuddin MSU A2, A3, A4.

(Lab-in-Charge)
Professor Dr. A A Mamun AAM A1, B1.
Professor Dr. Md. Kabir Udding Sikder KUS A5, A6, A7.
Professor Dr. Humayun Kabir HK A8, A9, B2.
Mrs. Budrunnahar Dipa BND B6, B7, B8.
Dr. Kamrunnahar Mukta KNM B3, B4, B5.

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EXPERIMENT NO: A1
NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT:

EXPERIMENTS WITH SPRING:

a. VERIFYING THE HOOK'S LAW FOR A SPRING.

b. DETERMINATION OF THE MODULUS OF RIGIDITY OF THE MATERIAL OF THE SPRING.

c. OBSERVATION OF THE HARMONIC MOTION OF THE SPRING FOR DIFFERENT LOADS

ATTACHED TO IT.

THEORY:
(a) Let us consider an oscillating mass m attached to the lower end of a spring oscillating
up and down about an equilibrium position through a potential that varies as,
Vx   kx 2 ---------(1)
1
2

in which k is a constant. The force acting on the m is given by

dv  1 
Fx     kx 2   kx ----------------(2)
dx  2 
Such an oscillating particle is called simple harmonic oscillator and its motion is called
simple harmonic motion. The constant k being called the force constant of the spring or
spring constant. Equation (2) is generally known as Hook’s law. The negative sign in the
equation (2) indicates that F is restoring force, that is the spring exerts the force opposite
to the displacement of the particle.

Figure-1: Experimental set-up of Spring with different loads for the Hook’s Law.

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If we avoid the negative sign in equation (2) then we get

Fx   kx ---------(3)
F
or, k
x
mg
or, k ----------(4)
x
Equation (3) is the Hook’s law for the spring. Here, F = mg is the load or force where m
is the mass attached to the lower end of the spring and x is the elongation of the spring.
The spring constant k is determined from equation (4). Thus Hook’s law is verified by
measuring extension (x) for different loads (m).

(b) The rigidity modulus of the materials of the spring is given by

4NkR3
 4 ----------------------(5)
r
where N is the number of the turns of the spring, r = radius of the wire, k is the spring
constant and R is the radius of the spring.

(c) If the spring after clamping at one end and loaded with a mass at the lower end and
set to oscillate up and down then the period of vibration is given by
m  m
T  2      (6)
k
1
where m is the effective mass of the spring . The effective mass m  ms where ms is
3
the total mass of the spring.

Angular frequency of the spring is

2
      (7)
T

k
or,         (8)
m  m
From equation (7) the experimental value of  is determined from the known value of T
and from equation (8) the experimental value of  is calculated. Measured and
theoretical values of  are to be compared.
If the two values (both experimental and theoretical ) are almost same we can say
that the harmonic motion is observed.

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PROCEDURE:
(a) The total number of turns in the spring was counted.
(b) The outer and inner diameter of the spring by slide calipers were measured by slide
calipers . Then the spring’s radius R was measured. (Repeat 5 times).
(c) The diameter of the spring wire was measured by a screw gauge (Repeat 5 times).
(d) The weight of the spring was taken by laboratory balance.
(e) Clamping the upper end of the spring on stand the length of the spring was measured
by scale.
(f) Hanging 0.5 kg from the lower end of the spring and then the length of the spring at
equilibrium was measured. This was repeated with masses in steps as instructed .
Thus elongation x for each mass was determined.
(g) A graph m versus x was drawn and according to equation (3) this will be a straight
line passing through the origin. Thus Hooke’s law is verified. The slope of the
straight line gives k (Fig.-1).
(h) Using equation (5) the modulus of rigidity for the material of the spring was
calculated.
(i) Hanging 0.5 kg from the lower end of the spring and set into up and down oscillation
and time period for 50 oscillations by a stopwatch was counted and from this
calculate the time period T was calculated. A graph m vs. T2 was plotted which was a
straight line intercepting the X-axis at m (Fig-2). From equation (7) and (8)  was
calculated and compared.
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
TABLE –A : Data for the diameter (inner & outer) of the spring:
No. Inner/O Main V. S. R V. C. Value of Diameter Radius Mean
of uter scale /division cm. Venire scale D = (x + y) D Radius
Obs reading reading R of Inner
(n) cm. 2
. (x) y  (n  V.C) cm. & Outer
cm. R
cm.
cm.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.

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TABLE –B : Data for the diameter of the spring wire:

Number Main scale C.S. L. C. Value of Diameter Radius Mean

of reading division in Circular scaled = (x + y) d Radius
Readings (n) cm. reading r
(x) cm. 2 r cm.
y  (n  V.C) cm.
cm.
cm.
1.
2.
3.

TABLE –C : Data for the Elongation / Extension of the spring for

different masses:
Number of Additional Masses Length of the Extension
Readings (m) gm. spring with loads (x)
c. m. c. m.
1.
2.
3.

TABLE –D : Data for the Time period T for different masses :

Number of Mass m kg Time for 50 Period of oscillations Mean T Time period
observations. oscillations. T sec. Sec. squired T2
sec.
1.
2.
3.

TABLE –E : Data for the value of harmonic motion:

Number of Angular frequency Experimental angular Theoretical angular
observations. cycle/ sec. frequency cycle/ sec. frequency cycle/ sec.
1 1 =
2 2 =
3 3 =

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CALCULATION :

Vernier Constant (V. C) of the supplied vernier (slide) caliper.

Least Count of the supplied micrometer screw gauge

Value of the smallest division of the linear scale = cm/

Pitch of the screw gauge = cm.

Pitch
So Least Count (L.C) = cm.
Total number of division in the circular scale

Figure 2: Graph for Mass (m) vs. Extension (x)

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 Figure 3: Graph for Mass (m) vs. T2

RESULT:
a) After doing the calculation it was found that the magnitude of the K 1 , K2 , K3 are same
or nearly same and the plotted graph Mass vs. Extension (Fig-1) is a straight line
passing through the origin which satisfy the equation of F  x . So Hook’s law is
verified successfully.

b) The rigidity modulus of the material of the given spring is   dyne/cm2.

c) At last the magnitude of experimental angular frequency and theoretical angular

frequency were compared and it was found they were almost same. Hence, the harmonic
motion was observed properly and carefully.

DISCUSSION: SELF

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EXPERIMENT NO. : B1

NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT:

VERIFICATION OF OHM’S LAW BY USING A TANGENT GALVANOMETER.

THEORY:
Ohms law states “The current I flowing between any two points of a conductor of
resistance R in a closed circuit is directly proportional to difference of potential between
those point and inversely proportional to the resistance of the conductor, so long as the
temperature of the conductor remains the same”.
So if a cell of emf E internal resistance r connected in series with a resistance R and
a tangent galvanometer of resistance rg then I the current flowing through the
E
galvanometer is:
I= …………………. (1)
R + r + rg
Under this condition the galvanometer shows a deflection of θ ,

so that I ∝ tanθ ∴ I = k tanθ …………….…………. (2)

where k is called galvanometer constant.
E
 k tan θ
From equation (1) and (2) we get, R  r  rg

tan θ  R  r  rg  
E
or
k
k k
or cot θ =
E
(
R + r + rg ………. (3)
E
)
where r is the internal resistance of the cell/ battery, rg is the resistance of the
galvanometer and connecting wires. Now changing the value of R, different values of

θ can be obtained. For resistances the R1 , R2, R3 the deflection will be θ1 , θ 2 , θ 3

etc. From equation (1) R vs. Cot θ graph will be a straight line of the intercept
form.

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Hence ohms law will be verified if for different values of R, the above equation is
obtained.

Apparatus: Tangent galvanometer; Spirit Level; Resistances Box; Cell E;

Connecting wires; Commutator etc.

Fig-1: Circuit diagram of Tangent Galvanometer for verifying ohm’s law.

PROCEDURE:
1. All the instruments were arranged according to the Figure-1 carefully, as shown in
Figure-1.
2. The tangent galvanometer by means of the leveling screws was leveled, so that the
needle may be oscillated freely.
3. The coil was rotated until about a vertical axis so that at least one end of the pointer
indicates 00  00 on the scale, (at this position, the coil is parallel to magnetic
meridian and the needle is in the plane or the coil). As a precaution against the
accidental displacement of the instrument it is better to mark lightly the position of

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 the leveling screws on the table.
4. The plug of the resistance box R.B was removed and adjust until the deflection is
very nearly equal to 350.
5. The deflection of both the ends of the pointer was noted carefully avoiding parallax.
6. Again by the commutator the current was reversed and the deflections of the both
the ends of the pointer was noted. The mean value of the deflections of the both the
ends of the pointer was taken.
7. Putting R1 in the box and another resistance R2 was unplugged, so that the
deflection is nearly to 750.
9. Such readings in steps of 5 intervals from 300 to 750 was taken so that the
deflection was not less than 300 or more than 750.
10. The center of mass point was calculated and R vs. Cot θ graph was plotted.

EXPERIMENTAL DATA
TABLE : Data for the deflection of the Tangent Galvanometer pointer on the scale.

Number Resistance Deflection with current Mean tan θ cot θ (R + r + rg) ×

of in ( θ ) in degree deflection tan θ
Readings resistance ( θ ) in
box degree
(R) ohms Direct Reverse
End I End II End I End II
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

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To find ( r + rg ), resistance (R) along X-axis and the corresponding values of cot θ along
Y-axis was plotted and a straight line will be obtained which intercept X-axis and shows
( r + rg ). This line also proved that current varies inversely as resistance when e.m.f. is
changed.

Figure-2: Graph for Resistance (R) vs Cot θ

Now finding ( r + rg ) from the graph, obtained (R + r + rg) × tan θ in the last column of
the table and found it is constant.
CALCULATION : From graph we get, r + rg = ….. ohms
(R + r + rg)× tan θ = ….. and,
E E E
K1 = ; K2 = ; K3 = etc.
tan θ1 × (R 1 + r + rg ) tan θ2 × (R 2 + r + rg ) tan θ3 × (R 3 + r + rg )

E
or, (
tan θ R + r + rg = ) k
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RESULT: The values of (R + r + rg) × tan θ for each observation was calculated.
Using the values of tangents of tan θ from a table of natural tangents, rg is being known
and it is found to be nearly constant. Hence ohm’s law is verified successfully.
DISCUSSION: SELF

EXPERIMENT NO. : B4 (a)

NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT:

DETERMINATION OF THE RESISTANCE OF A VOLTMETER.

THEORY: If in a closed circuit E be the e. m. f of the battery of negligible resistance

R is the resistance taken from resistance box and R V is the resistance of voltmeter, the
current in the circuit of as shown in Figure-1 is,
E
I
R  RV
V = IR V
Hence, the voltage across the voltmeter,
 E 
i.e. V .R V
 R  RV 
ERV
Rearranging the terms we obtained, R  RV 
V
ERV
∴ R= R
V V
Thus the graph of R plotted against 1 is a straight line, whose intercept on the Y-axis
V
gives the magnitude of RV .

Apparatus:
(a) Voltmeter;
(b) Resistances Box;
(c) Cell E;
(d) One way Key;
(e) Connecting wires etc.

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 Figure-1 : Circuit diagram of voltmeter for determining its resistance.

PROCEDURE:

1. The circuit components were connected according to circuit diagram as shown in

Figure-1.
2. The resistances (R) were kept zero so that the voltmeter can show its full scale
deflection. Then the resistances (R) were taken OFF from the resistance box (R.B)
in step by step.
3. Increasing the resistance R from the resistance box in a suitable steps ( i. e. 500
Ω,1000 Ω…etc ) several readings were taken. At this stage, the value of resistances
(R) and corresponding voltmeter readings V were recorded in each case.
4. This process was performed until the voltmeter reading will be minimum on its
scale.
5. With the recorded data a graph with 1 along X-axis, while resistance (R) of the
V
voltmeter along Y-axis were drawn. The resistance of the voltmeter RV was
determined from the graph.

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 EXPERIMENTAL DATA
TABLE : Data for resistance (R) and corresponding deflection of the voltmeter
pointer on the scale:

Number of Resistance Voltmeter Reading Inverse of voltage,

Readings R (Ω) V (volt) 1 (volt-1)
V
1.
2.
3
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

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 Figure -2: Graph for 1 vs. R
V

CALCULATION :

From the graph the resistance of the given galvanometer RV = ........Ω

RESULT: The resistance of the given galvanometer RV is ......... ohms.

DISCUSSION: SELF

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