LESSON 4 - …………………depend on…………

………….
SCIENTIFIC Or
INVESTIGATIONS The ……………..changes as the
…………...changes
When physicists observe a
particular physical phenomenon
they will as questions as to how
or why it happens . A hypothesis
will be put forth and experiments
or scientific investigations will be
carried out to prove or disprove Hypothesis
the hypothesis. If the
experiments bear out the A general statement about the
hypothesis, the hypothesis may relationship between a
come to regarded as theory or manipulated variable and a
law of nature. If the don’t the responding variable.
hypothesis will be rejected or
modified. The hyphotesis should be written
In any experiment , the report on as :
the experiment will be based on The greater the………, the
these guidelines and follows a greater the…….
sequence as shown in the Or
following flow chart: The bigger the…………., the
smaller the…..

Manupulated variable

The quantity whose values we

deliberately choose to change or a
primary variable which causes other
secondry variable to change.

Responding variable

The quantity whose value depend on

the manipulated variable or a
secondry variable
which changes in response to the
change in the manipulated variable.

Fixed variable

The quantity whose value is kept

constant throughout the experiment.
Inference
Aim
Early assessment that is carried
out to answer the questions A statement to show the
raised. investigation of the variables
involve.
The inference should be written
as : The aim of the experiment should be
written as:

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To investigate the relationship Velocity,v
between ………..and ……………… /s
Time , t /
Apparatus s

List the apparatus and materials Volume , V / Pressure , P /

used so that at m3 Pa
least a set of data for manipulated
and responding
variables can be determined.

State the arrangement of the

apparatus that can
function by drawing a labeling
diagram . The data shown in the table must be
consistent in the number of decimal
Procedure places in accordance with the
respective measuring instruments.
State the method of controlling the For example,
manipulated variables Length, l / Time , t /s
State the method of measuring the cm
responding variables 0 12.8
Repeat the experiments at least four 2 25.6
times. 4 39.4
6 52.2
Tabulating the data
8 75.0
Record the data in the following table

Manipulated Responding
variable variable
If the data too small or too big use
the standard form number.

For example
Temperature 10 20 30 40 50
θ /oC
Density, ρ / 9. 8. 7. 6. 5.
Analysing the data
kgm-3 7 5 3 6 1
Plot a graph of ( Responding x 104
variable) against
(Manupulated variable) How to plot the graph ?

The title of the graph must be shown.

How to tabulate the data ?
The axes of the graph must be
labelled with the unit used.
The table muast be neatly drawn and
For example:
the data arranged in either and rows.
The names and symbols of the
manipulated and responding
variables must be written together
with the units.
For example,

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 The best straight line or the best
curve graph is the line that passes
through most of the points plotted
such that it is balanced by the
number of points above and below
the line.The line also must smooth.

The scale choosen must be easy to

use.
Scales such 1:1 , 1:2 , 1:5 ,1:10
,1:100 are preffered in plotting a
graph.
Odd scales such as 1:3 , 1:4 , 1: 6
, 1:7 , 1: 30
should be avoided in plotting a
graph.

Make sure the area covered by the

plotted points must not be less than
50% of the area of the graph paper. It is not advisable to plot graph by
joining point to point because the
For example: graph obtained is not smooth.

The scale on the axes must be

uniform and clearly marked with
value.
For example:

How to analyse the data ?

(a) Determine the relationship

between two variables.
Example :

All the points are marked with a

symbol such as a cross or circle and
the centre of the cross must
accurately positioned. y is directly proportional to x.
or y α x
or y = kx k = constant
The best straight line or the best or y = mx m = gradient
curve graph must be drawn. or y1 = y2
x1 x2

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 y increases linearly with x
or y = mx + c
m = gradient Draw a suffiecienly large triangle
c = intercept on axis-y to calculate the gradient of the
graph.
State value of the gradient with
correct unit.
The gradient of the graph is

m = y2 - y 1
y decreases linearly with x x 2 - x1
or y = -mx + c = QR
m = gradient QR
c = intercept on axis-y
(c) Determine the certain values
from the graph.

Certain important values can be

obtained from the graph plotted
by drawing a horizontal line or
by extrapolating the graph.
y is inversely proportional to
x
atau y α 1
x
atau y = k
x
k = constant

atau y1 x1 = y2 x2
(d) State the precautions should be
taken
For example:
The circuit connentions must be
taken
Off the switch when taking the
raeding of the meters.
Make sure the amplitude of
oscillation is small.

(b) Determine the gradient of the

graph
Example

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 TUTORIA

1 Which of the following is the best

way to tabulate the data ?

A Voltage, 0 5 10 15 20
V
Current, 0 1.7 2.5 3.4 4.2
I

B Time,t 2 4 6 8 10
/s
Density, 20 50 80 1 1
00 00 00 100 400
ρ / kgm- 0 0
3

C Period,T 1 1 1 27.9 36.0

/s 0.5 5.3 9.8
Distanc 2.5 3.3 4.6 5.8 6.9
e,d /m

D Object 5.1 8.7 1 16.5 18.6

distanc 1.6
e
,u / cm
Image 2.3 5 6.9 9 11.6
distanc
e,
v / cm

2 Which of the following scales is

the most suitable to plot a
graph?

A 1 cm : 3 unit B 1 cm : 5
unit
C 1 cm : 6 unit D 1 cm :
8.8 unit

3 Which of the following is the

best graph ?

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4 Which of the following graphs
show that y increases linearly
with x?
5 Hooke’s law states that applied
force F is directly proportional to
the extension x of spring if its
elastic limit is not exceeded.
Which of the following graphs
shows the Hooke’s Law?
6 The acceleration,a of an object
is inversely proportional to the
mass,m of the object under
constant force.
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Which of the following graphs
describes the relationship
between a and m .
7 An experiment is carried out to
find the relationship between
mass and acceleration of a
trolley on a wooden runway.
The experiment is repeated by
adding the number of trolleys.
The responding variable in this
experiment is
A the length of the wooden
runway.
B acceleration
C mass
8 In a simple pendulum
experiment, the length of the
pendulum and time for 20
oscillations are recorded.
The length of the pendulum is a
A manipulated variable
B responding variable
C fixed variable
9 Based on the graph above, what
is the gradient of the graph?
 A - 1.5 B - 0.7
C 0.7 D 1.0
E 1.5

The equation of the graph above

10 What is the unit of the gradient is
of the graph above?
A P = 10Q + 5 B P=
A m B m s 2
2Q + 10
C ms2 D ms- 2 C P = -2Q + 10 D P=
5Q – 10
11 A student plot a graph for a
physical quantity , Q on axis-y 14 The following figure shows a
against a physical quantity ,R graph U versus V.
on axis –x
The relationship between Q and
R is given by as Q - aR = b ,
where a and b are constants.
The gradient of vthe graph is

A a B R
b
Q Which of the following shows the
C b D a correct
relationship between U and V?
12 The resistance R and
temperature T for an electric A U=mV +m
conductor is given as R = r + n
aT with r as the resistance at
0oC dan a as a constant. B U=-mV +m
A graph of R against T is shown . n
C U=mV + n
n
D U=-nV +m
m
15 The pressure ,P of the gas is
What is the resistance ,R of the directly proportional to the
conductor at a temperature absolute temperature, T of the
60oC ? gas.
When P = 100 ,T = 50. What is
A 35 B 47 the value of P when T = 400.
C 86 D 93
E 180 A 0.8A B 125

13 C 200 D 800

E 2000

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16 Boyle’ s law state that the
pressure of the gas is inversely
proportional to the volume of the
gas.
The pressure of a buble under
sea surface is 120 cm Hg Pa and
its volume is 15.8 cm3. When the
buble rises to the surface of the
sea the pressure of the buble is
76 cm Hg.
What is the volume of the buble
at the surface of the sea?
19 A student carries out an
experiment to find out the
relationship between the change
in length , y , of a spring and
mass, m , of the load on the
spring. The arrangement of the
apparatus for the experiment is
shown in Figure 1 . The length of
the spring when a load is placed
on the piston is l .

A 10.0 cm3 B 25.0

cm3
C 124.8 cm3 D 309.1
cm3
E 577.2 cm3

17 An object is released from a

height , h and
the time taken to reach the
ground is t.2
h/m 20 x
t/s 2 4
2
If h is directly proportional to t
, what is the value of x in the
table above.

A 10 m B 40 m

C 80 m D 160 At the beginning of the

m experiment there is no load. The
E 240 m
18 Newton’s universal law of
gravitation states that the
gravitational force of attraction, F
between two point masses is
inversely proportional to the
square of the distance ,R
between them.
If the distance between them is
3R, what is the gravitational
force of attraction ?
A 9F B 3F
C F D F
length of the spring is lo . The
actual length of lo is shown in
Figure 2.
The experiment is repeated by
using load with mass , m , equal
to 0.5 kg , 1.0 kg , 1.5 kg , 2.0 kg
and 2.5 kg. The actual lengths of
the spring when the different
masses are used are shown in
Figure 3, Figure 4 , Figure 5 ,
Figure 6 and Figure 7.

3
E F
9

27
28
 Tabulate your results for m ,l
and y in the space below.
(a) Based on the aim and the
procedure of the experiment
state the:
(i) manipulated variable

______________________________
__

(ii) responding variable

______________________________
___

(iii) constant variable (c) On the graph paper , plot a

graph of y
against m.
______________________________
__ (d) Based on your graph, state
the
(b) Measure the length of the relationship between y and m
spring in Figure 2. .
lo = ___________________
______________________________
Measure the lengths l of the ___
spring in Figure 3 , Figure 4 ,
Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure ______________________________
7 when different load are ___
used.

In each case, calculate the

change in length, y , of the
spring where;
y = ( lo – l )

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30
 Graph T2 against l
T2 / s2

l / cm

0 20 40 60 80 100

31
l/cm
20 A student carries out an
experiment to investigate the
relationship between the length
of a simple oscillating pendulum (c) State one precaution for this
,l , experiment.
with its period, T.
The experiment is repeated ……………………………………
using different lengths,l, and …………
their corresponding periods, T,
are recorded. A graph of T2 ……………………………………
against l , is then plotted as …………
shown above.
(a) Based on the graph,
(i) State the relationship
between T2 with l.
……………………………
……………..

……………………………
……………..
(ii) Calculate period,T, when
the length
l = 45 cm.
(Show your working)

(iii) Calculate the gradient 21 The graph above represents

of the graph. graph W against V , where W
and V are the distances on a
wooden rod.

(a) Based on the graph state

the:
(b) Using the value of the (i) manipulated variable
gradient obtained from (a)(iii)
and the equation,
______________________________
__
calculate the acceleration
due to (ii) responding variable
gravity , g.
______________________________
___

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 (b) Calculate the gradient of the (b) State one appropriate
graph. hypothesis for an
investigation.
(c) With the use of apparatus
such as pendulum bob ,
string and other apparatus,
describe an experimental
framework to test your
(c) Determine the intercept on hyphothesis.
(i) axis- W In your description, state
clearly the following:
........................................ (i) Aim of the experiment
............ (ii) Variables in the
experiment
(ii) axis-V (iii) List of apparatus and
materials
........................................ (iv) Arrangement of the
............. apparatus
(v) The procedure of the
(d) State the equation of the line experiment which include
the method of controlling
............................................... the manipulated variable
................ and the method of
measuring the
responding variable
(vi) Way you would tabulate
the data
22 Pak Abu has a pendulum clock (vii) Way you would
as shown in the diagram below. analysis the data

Every day it was observed that

the clock was slow about 2
minutes.
Pak Ali raised the position of the
bob to correct the clock.
Based on the observations:
(a) State one suitable inference
that can be
made.

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