The documents found herein constitute the chapters of a laboratory manual for selected experiments in Physics I (Mechanics, Fluids, Vibrations and Waves) and Physics II (Electricity, Circuits, Magnetism, Optics). Each lab involves the collection of data from various Measurements and the processing of that data in the form of Calculations. In the event the experiments cannot be realized physically, the manual still serves to convey the experience to an adequate extent. Following through with the calculations based on simulated data is a worthwhile exercise for students. If you are an educator, executable files to generate the data for each experiment can also be found here by clicking on the link to the request form in each individual experiment.
Acknowledgment by Author – Diego Castano, Ph.D.
I am indebted to colleagues, past and present (Bryan Armentrout, Victor Castro, Lawrence Hawkins, Stefan Kautsch, Andrew Kiene, Louis Nemzer, and Carlos Nunez), whose input, in one form or another, has been invaluable to the elaboration of the lab manual in its current edition.
I want to also thank Keri Baker whose diligent help and expertise have made possible the realization and set-up of this repository.
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Experiment 1.01: Measurement
Diego Castano and Victor Castro
Introduction to measurement/data analysis; measurements of an aluminum cylinder and cuboid are used to determine their densities.
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Experiment 1.02: Acceleration Due to Gravity: Vertical Drop
Diego Castano
The acceleration due to gravity is determined from the fall of a metal sphere.
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Experiment 1.03: Acceleration Due to Gravity: Inclined Surface
Diego Castano
The acceleration due to gravity is determined from the descent of a near frictionless glider on an inclined air-track.
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Experiment 1.04: Newton's 2nd Law
Diego Castano
The motion of a modified Atwood-type machine is studied.
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Experiment 1.05: Energy
Diego Castano and Victor Castro
The conservation of energy for the case of a descending glider on an inclined air-track is examined.
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Experiment 1.06: Momentum
Diego Castano and Andrew Kiene
The conservation of momentum for the case of colliding gliders on an air-track is examined.
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Experiment 1.07: Torque
Diego Castano
A mechanical balance is used to study the role of torque in states of static equilibrium.
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Experiment 1.08: Buoyancy
Diego Castano
Archimedes Principle is used to determine the density of an unknown metal.
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Experiment 1.09: The Simple Pendulum
Diego Castano
A simple pendulum is used to determine the acceleration due to gravity.
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Experiment 1.10: Standing Waves on Strings
Diego Castano
The fourth harmonic of a vibrating string is used to determine the acceleration due to gravity.
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Experiment 2.01: Coulomb’s Law
Diego Castano
The charge resulting from the static electrification of a Teflon plate is determined through its interaction with a neutral conducting sphere.
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Experiment 2.02: Electric and Potential Fields
Diego Castano
Electric field line maps for three 2-dimensional charge distributions are determined using a voltmeter.
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Experiment 2.03: Ohm’s Law
Diego Castano and Victor Castro
The resistances of three resistors are determined by varying the applied voltage and measuring the resulting current.
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Experiment 2.04: Kirchhoff’s Laws
Diego Castano and Andrew Kiene
A non-trivial resistor arrangement is analyzed
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Experiment 2.05: Wheatstone Bridge
Diego Castano
The Wheatstone Bridge is used to determine the resistances of five resistors.
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Experiment 2.06: Series RC dc-Circuit
Diego Castano and Victor Castro
The capacitances of two unknown capacitors are determined examining their charging behavior.
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Experiment 2.07: Magnetic Field of the Earth
Diego Castano and Victor Castro
The earth’s horizontal component of magnetic field is determined using a tangent galvanometer.
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Experiment 2.08: Series RLC ac-Circuit
Diego Castano and Victor Castro
Using the resonant behavior of a circuit consisting of a coil and known capacitor, the coil’s self-inductance and resistance are determined.
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Experiment 2.09: Reflection and Refraction
Diego Castano and Victor Castro
The laws of geometrical optics are studied by tracking light rays refracting across an air-glass boundary and reflecting off convex and concave mirrors.
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Experiment 2.10: Lenses
Diego Castano and Victor Castro
The focal lengths of converging and diverging lenses are determined.