COMPLETE EXPERIMENTS – MECHANICS

Objective: Determine the moment of inertia for various test bodies. A body’s moment of inertia around an axis of rotation depends on how the mass of the object is distributed with respect to the axis. This will be investigated for a dumbbell ... more

Objective: Confirm the conservation of energy with the help of Maxwell’s wheel Maxwell’s wheel is suspended from threads at both ends of its axle in such a way that it can roll along the threads. In the course of its motion, ... more

Objective: Confirm the conservation of energy with the help of Maxwell’s wheel Maxwell’s wheel is suspended from threads at both ends of its axle in such a way that it can roll along the threads. In the course of its motion, potential energy ... more

Objective: Experimental investigation of precession and nutation of a gyroscope and determination of moment of inertia A spinning disc exhibits motions known as precession and nutation in addition to its rotational motion, depending on whether ... more

Objective: Measuring the period of oscillation of a string pendulum with bobs of various masses. The period of oscillation T for a string pendulum is dependent on the length of the pendulum L, but does not depend on the mass of the bob m ... more

Objective: Description of elliptical oscillations of a string pendulum as the superimposition of two components perpendicular to one another Depending on the initial conditions, a suitable suspended string pendulum will oscillate in such ... more

Objective: Measure the period of an oscillating pendulum as a function of the effective component of the gravitational acceleration The period of a pendulum is lengthened by tilting its axis away from the horizontal, since the effective ... more

Objective: Work out the local acceleration due to gravity with the help of a reversible pendulum A reversible pendulum is a special design of a normal physical pendulum. It is able to swing from either of two mounting points and can be set ... more

Objective: Demonstrate the rotation of the earth with a Foucault pendulumA Foucault pendulum is a long string pendulum with a heavy bob, which can be used to demonstrate the rotation of the earth. In this experiment, a pendulum 1.2 metres ... more

Measure the oscillations of a coil spring pendulum using an ultrasonic motion sensor The oscillations of a coil spring pendulum are a classic example of simple harmonic oscillation. In this experiment, those oscillations are recorded by ... more

Objective: Measurement and analysis of simple harmonic rotary oscillation Pohl’s wheel or rotating (torsional) pendulum allows for the investigation of simple harmonic rotary oscillation. The only forces acting on the wheel are the restoring ... more

Objective: Measurement and analysis of forced harmonic rotary oscillation Pohl’s wheel or rotating (torsional) pendulum allows for the investigation of forced harmonic rotary oscillation. For this purpose, the oscillating system is connected ... more

Objective: Record and evaluate oscillation of two identical coupled pendulums The oscillation of two identical, coupled pendulums is distinguished by the period of oscillation and the beat period. The beat period is the interval between ... more

Objective: Investigate standing waves along a stretched coil spring and a taut ropeSome examples of where mechanical waves arise include a stretched coil spring, where the waves are longitudinal, or a taut rope where the waves are transverse ... more

Chladni figures-making sound visible   The Chladni figures are named after the German scientist Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni (1756-1827). Chladni excited the normal modes of thin metal plates covered with sand by stroking ... more

Sound waves propagate longitudinally in gases. The group velocity here is equal to the phase velocity. In this experiment, we will measure the propagation time of a sound pulse between two microphone probes in Kundt’s tube ... more

Sound waves propagate in gases in the form of longitudinal waves. The overall velocity is equivalent to the phase velocity. In this experiment a standing wave is generated inside Kundt’s tube with both ends closed off. The ... more

The equipment set consists of test rods of various lengths, made of different materials, two microphone probes, a microphone box for recording and amplifying signals and outputting them to an oscilloscope along with three mats. ... more

Objective: Determine the dynamic viscosity of an aqueous solution of glycerine Dynamic viscosity, the coefficient of proportionality between velocity gradient and sheer stress in a liquid, characterises how difficult it is for an object ... more

Objective: Determine the dynamic viscosity of an aqueous solution of glycerine Dynamic viscosity, the coefficient of proportionality between velocity gradient and sheer stress in a liquid, characterises how difficult it is for an object ... more

Objective: Measure the surface tension by the “breakaway” method To determine the surface tension of a liquid, a blade is immersed horizontally in the liquid and is slowly pulled out upwards while measuring the pulling force ... more

A flat, level beam’s resistance to deformation in the form of bending by an external force can be calculated mathematically if the degree of deformation is much smaller than the length of the beam. The deformation is proportional ... more

In order for solid bodies to be deformed, an external force needs to be applied. This acts against the body’s own resistance to deformation, which is dependent on the material from which the body is made, as well as its geometry ... more

Objective: Investigate uni-dimensional collisions on an air track One important consequence of Newton’s third law is the conservation of momentum in collisions between two bodies. One way of verifying this is to investigate collisions ... more

Objective: Determine the acceleration of a falling object. In free fall the distance fallen h is proportional to the square of the time t taken to fall that distance. The coefficient of that proportionality can be used to calculate the acceleration ... more