TEACHING MATERIALS

VISITING CERN

LINKS & BOOKS

HST

Jules Hoult - UK

All these activities are taken from the Advancing Physics AS specification CD-ROM available from Institute of Physics Publishing (http://post16.iop.org/advphys/publication.html) and are used with permission.
 

Planck's constant using LEDs

The photoelectric effect in reverse: the voltage needed to just produce light is measured for a range of coloured LEDs. If the energy given to each electron (eV) is plotted against frequency for each LED a reasonably straight line with gradient, h is obtained.

This experiment is very quick to do and can be use to provide quantitative reinforcement of the standard demonstration using UV light and an electroscope.

Construction details from the Advancing Physics CD-ROM
Pupil worksheet from the Advancing Physics CD-ROM
Teachers Notes from the Advancing Physics CD-ROM
Sample results with graph
 

An easy demonstration of the parabolic nature of projectile motion

Draw a parabola onto an overhead transparency and project it onto a large vertical wall. Put a pupil with a tennis ball at one end. With the rest of the class watching from the back of the room ask the thrower throw the ball along the line. Only a few practice throws are needed to get it spot on.

Pupil worksheet from the Advancing Physics CD-ROM
 

Young's slits experiment in a drainpipe

With the geometry of the above set-up there is no need for the single slit between the bulb and the double slit. This can be a useful discussion point with better pupils which can be linked to the clarity of wedge fringes as the gap between the slides becomes large.

A valuable consequence of the geometry is that only the Young's slit pattern within the single slit central maximum is visible and so demonstrating the two effects of double slit interference and single slit diffraction together can be saved until pupils are happy with just the double slit pattern and its explanation.

Construction details from the Advancing Physics CD-ROM
Pupil worksheet from the Advancing Physics CD-ROM
Teachers Notes from the Advancing Physics CD-ROM

Last modified: 28 June 2002