Virtually every student of physics has done an experiment to verify the inverse square law of light—light intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source of the light. With PocketLab Voyager this is a quick and easy experiment that is also a lot of fun to perform!
Over the past twenty years, scientists have discovered hundreds of what are known as exoplanets—planets that orbit stars outside of our own solar system. Different groups of scientists worldwide have used a variety of methods to detect these planets. In this lesson we will investigate a method that has been quite fruitful in finding exoplanets as a result of the Kepler Mission, launched by NASA in 2009. Another similar mission is CoRoT, led by the French Space Agency. These missions identify exoplanets by a method called transit, in which the b
Students use warm soup (must be lower than 70°C since this is the upper limit of the pocketlab temperature sensor). To determine it's specific heat capacity and decide which is best to take on a camp so it is still warm when they go for lunch. I tend to use this as a follow on project from investigating insulating materials so students can re use previous projects such as 'stubby holder' style devices which have kept drinks cool to reinforce ideas about heat transfer (and so that projects aren't wasted!).
Exploration
When a figure skater spins he/she uses the positioning of his/her arms to control the speed of the spin/ angular velocity. The angular momentum of the skater is always conserved, no matter the positioning of the arms, and can be represented by the equation L = Iw, where L is angular momentum, I is moment of inertia and w is angular velocity. The moment of inertia is an object’s resistance to change in angular velocity and is related to the distribution of the object’s mass.
Objective
Exploration
Angular velocity is the rate of rotation of an object along a specific axes. For example, the blades of a ceiling fan rotate around the fan’s central axis. Angular velocity is often measured in the number of degrees the object rotates every second (°/sec) or the number of complete revolutions every minute (RPM). The PocketLab’s gyroscope measures the angular velocity of the PocketLab about the x-, y-, and z-axis.
Objective
Exploration
We have previously learned that velocity is an object’s rate of change in displacement. Velocity is often measured as meters/second. Angular velocity however, measures the rate of change in the displacement of an object as it moves around a central point.
Explore air pressure and how it works. In a sealed syringe, as the plunger moves back and forth, the volume of air in the syringe changes. With a large enough syringe, a PocketLab can be placed inside to measure the change in pressure as the volume changes.
Exploration
When it is cold outside, it is often thought that fans aren’t needed. However, it may be that a fan can bring warm air near the ceiling down to floor level, increasing comfort without raising the thermostat. Energy could therefore be saved.
Objective
In this experiment, students will:
1) Determine how a ceiling fan affects the temperature in a room, both near the floor and near the ceiling.
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Exploration
Does closing blinds or curtains save energy? Often the blinds or curtains in a room are left open when it is cold outside, even when no one is using the room. Would closing them save energy?
Objective
In this experiment, students will:
1. Determine how to use curtains to save energy when it is cold outside.
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Exploration
What does it mean to change temperature? What is temperature? We know what it means to be hot or cold, but what does it mean when you measure the temperature of an item?
Objective
In this experiment, students will:
1. Understand how the temperature of the water is related to the movement (kinetic energy) of the water molecules.
2. Use observations to describe the principle of thermal expansion.
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