What should each practical look like?

• Title and date underlined

• Aim  Briefly describing the practical you are undertaking
• Equipment list
• Method
• Notes  Any changes that have been made or alterations to the intended method with
justification
• Healthy & safety  Hazard and risks identified and precautions taken
• Results table  Drawn neatly with a pencil and ruler, all units written in the heading of each
column, and all values in each column written to the same number of decimal places
• Analysis  A graph of your results, plotted neatly (in pencil), with a line of best fit drawn
• Conclusion  What inferences can you make from your results and analysis? Can you compare
any values to true values from literature, ensure you reference these values if so.
• Evaluation  Are there any improvements you could make for your experiment next time? Any
other lines of enquiry you could make or investigate?
Common Practical Assessment Criteria

The next slide will list the CPAC criteria that you are assessed on over the course of the A-level physics
curriculum. Take time to familiarise yourself with these criteria and see if you can focus on any areas you may
need to improve.
Common Practical Assessment Criteria
1a. Correctly follows instructions to carry out experimental techniques or procedures.
2a. Correctly uses appropriate instrumentation, apparatus and materials (including ICT) to carry out investigative
activities, experimental techniques and procedures with minimal assistance or prompting.
2b. Carries out techniques or procedures methodically, in sequence and in combination, identifying practical issues
and making adjustments when necessary.
2c. Identifies and controls significant quantitative variables where applicable, and plans approaches to take account
of variables that cannot readily be controlled.
2d. Selects appropriate equipment and measurement strategies in order to ensure suitably accurate results.
3a. Identifies hazards and assesses risks associated with these hazards, making safety adjustments as necessary,
when carrying out experimental techniques and procedures in the lab or field.
3b. Uses appropriate safety equipment and approaches to minimise risks with minimal prompting.
4a. Makes accurate observations relevant to the experimental or investigative procedure.
4b. Obtains accurate, precise and sufficient data for experimental and investigative procedures and records this
methodically using appropriate units and conventions.
5a. Uses appropriate software and/or tools to process data, carry out research and report findings.
5b. Cites sources of information demonstrating that research has taken place, supporting planning and conclusions.
The Electromagnetic Method
Electromagnet
We have an electromagnet which
is holding a metal ball.
This is placed a known height Signal
above a trap door. from
timer
A signal will simultaneously start

Height of fall
a timer and release the metal ball
from the electromagnet.
When the ball passes through the Trap door
trap door a second signal is sent
to stop the timer.
Signal to timer
 Improving the Trap Door Method
Electromagnet
The trap door method can
introduce minor errors due to the
time delay between the ball Signal
hitting the trap door and the from
signal being sent. timer

Height of fall
Therefore we could use a light
gate instead.
These devices send a beam of
light and when this beam is Light gate
broken the signal is sent.
Signal to
timer
Determining g by plotting graphs
The acceleration of free fall can y s (m)
be determined using the equation
s = ut + ½ at2.
∆y

Since the ball is being dropped ∆x t2 (s2)

and a = g we arrive at: s = ½ gt2.
x

From the equation for a straight Gradient = ∆y/∆x = m

line: y = mx + c .
Gradient = ½ g
2 (Gradient) = g
 Plotting to find g (SAMPLE DATA)
1) Find the square of the time, t.
y s (m)
2) Plot data into a suitable graph
3) Determine the gradient of the line
∆y
4) Calculate the experimental value for
g ∆x t2 (s2)
5) Calculate the percentage error x
between the experimental value
and the accepted value of 9.81 ms-2.

Time to fall, t (s) 0.132 0.165 0.198 0.231 0.264 0.297 0.33 0.363 0.396 0.429
Distance Fallen, s (m) 0.085 0.134 0.192 0.262 0.368 0.433 0.534 0.646 0.769 0.903
Gradient = 4.897… ms-2.
g = 2 (4.897…) ms-2.
g = 9.795… ms-2.
g = 9.80 ms-2 (3 sf)
Percentage error:

Percentage error:
(Actual value – Experimental value ) x 100 % = 0.1 % error
Actual Value
 Errors, confidence and percentages.
quantify
“To err is human, to forgive, divine.”

Without an associated error, calculated values are almost

meaningless.
Difference in values
Percentage error = X 100
Correct value (9.81m/s2)
But how do you know the correct value for g is 9.81 ms-2?

It sounds obvious that you would know it, but we must start getting used to referencing data and information in our lab write
ups.

References are what are placed in a lab report to show the reader where you have gathered information from. This could be from
a book, scientific journal or website.

Please use the remaining slides to ensure you include at least one reference during your write up. Examples of how to do this are
shown on the subsequent slides.
Referencing
Summary
To wrap up the key points you need to include in your lab write up…

1. Ensure you have a completed table of data and measurements for t and t2 for
each height.
2. Draw a graph of height, s, against t2. This can be stapled onto the corner of your
page so you can read data underneath.
3. Calculate the gradient of your graph and then calculate a value for g from it.
4. Write a short conclusion, this is where you compare your measured result to the
actual value for g. Try to include a reference here!
5. Write a short evaluation: how could you improve this experiment? Were there
any random or systematic errors unaccounted for? Is there anything you could
change about the data you collected, or your analysis?