Exploring Motion with a Ticker Tape Timer
This week, I conducted a lesson on motion for my IP3 class using a simple yet effective tool: a simulated ticker tape timer. The objective was to help students develop an...
Demonstrations
Tensegrity Explained
There is a new internet trend called "tensegrity" - an amalgamation of the words tension and integrity. It is basically a trend of videos showing how objects appear to float above...
Braking of a Magnetic Pendulum with Copper Plate
In this video, we will observe how induced eddy currents in a copper plate slow down a magnetic pendulum. When the pendulum is set in motion, it usually oscillates for quite...
Non-Uniform Vertical Circular Motion
Using a chain of rubber bands, I swung a ball around in a vertical loop. This demonstration shows how the tension in an elastic band changes according to the position of the ball,...
Centripetal force on and off
Here's a quick video to demonstrate the movement of a ball initially moving in a circle before its centripetal force (contact force by the circular wall) is removed. The ball is...
Measuring speed of sound in air using Audacity
A physics demonstration on how to measure the speed of sound in air using Audacity , an open source audio recording software. There are Windows and Mac versions of this free...
Magnetic Force on a Current-Carrying Conductor
Using a neodymium magnet, some paper clips and a battery, you can demonstrate the magnetic force acting on a current-carrying wire while recalling Fleming's left-hand rule. Using...
Building a Simple DC Motor
Using material that is easily available, you can build a simple homopolar D.C. motor (one that uses a single magnetic pole. I made the video above to help you do so. The material...
Magnetic Shielding
I made this rather simple video this morning showing a physics demonstration on the effect of magnetic shielding. A paper clip is shown to be attracted to a magnet. A series of...
Newton's 2nd Law Experiment using Motion Sensor
For my students: To download the file and video for analysis using Tracker, right-click the file here... To verify the equation F = ma, where F is the resultant force on an...
Elevator Physics
In a recent IP3 class on Newton's 2nd Law, the students were presented the "Elevator Problem" based on the THINK Cycle approach - a version of inquiry-based learning that was...
Adiabatic Process Demonstrations
Here are some interesting lecture demonstrations on adiabatic thermodynamic processes you can carry out. In an adiabatic process, there is no heat transfer between the system...
Newton's Nightmare
This demonstration is called Newton's nightmare because it involves the slow dropping of a magnet that seems to be inconsitent with gravitational acceleration. Using the "CFILE"...
Diamagnetism
I didn't want to spend money on buying a piece of pyrolytic graphite and large neodymium magnets so I made do with what I have to make the following video. While diamagnetism is...
Displacement, Velocity and Acceleration of Bouncing Ball using Datalogger
A video tutorial on the use of the Addestation datalogger with its motion sensor to measure the displacement of a bouncing ball and to observe the velocity and acceleration using...
Using a datalogger to measure induced emf
This video tutorial is a guide for next week's practical for CG18/12.
Boyle's Law
Using a hand-operated vacuum pump, we can demonstrate the relationship between pressure and volume of a gas. According to Boyle's law, the pressure of a gas of constant mass and...
Polarization with 3 Filters
In what seems like a counter-intuitive demonstration, we can place a polarizing filter in between two other filters which do not transmit light in order to cause light to pass...
Polarization Using Sunglasses and a Computer Screen
Using a pair of polarizing sunglasses, you can demonstrate the effects of polarization together with a computer screen which is also polarizing. When the axes of polarization of...
Boiling under Reduced Pressure
With the help of a simple manual vacuum pump that is used to keep food fresh, we can demonstrate the effect of a reduced pressure on the boiling point of water. This leads...
Egg out of Flask
In a previous demonstration , we put a boiled egg into a flask with a mouth narrower than the egg. The challenge is now to remove the egg from the flask without breaking it....
Egg into Flask
This classic physics demonstration is used to show the effects of pressure difference between the atmosphere and a cooling volume of air. With a set of clean apparatus, you can...
Single Slit Diffraction using Fingers
This demonstration requires no material other than your own fingers. Hold your index and middle fingers close to each other, leaving a small slit between them about 1 mm in width....
Ionisation of Air to Remove Static Electric Charges
Materials Wool PVC pipe or plastic comb String Lighter Procedure Hang the string from an elevated position. Leave the bottom end free. Rub the PVC pipe with wool. This deposits...
Magnetic Shielding
Materials Bar magnet Paper clip (stainless steel) Plastic clipboard Steel bookend Procedure Before the demonstration, make sure that the paper clip is not already magnetised by...
Heat Capacity of Water
Water has a high specific heat capacity of about 4200 J kg -1 K -1 . When a little bit of water is placed in a balloon, it is able to absorb a significant amount of heat from a...
Homopolar Motor 2
This video demonstrates how a simple homopolar motor is made using a screw and a small neodymium magnet. The simplest possible motor one can make, it can be used to teach concepts...
Measuring the Force on a Current-Carrying Conductor
The force acting on a current-carrying conductor is given by $$F =BIl sin \theta$$ where B is the magnetic flux density, I is the current, l is the length of the wire and $\theta$...
Homopolar Motor 1
A homopolar motor is a simple electric motor that does not require the use of a commutator. The electric current flows in a fixed direction within the wires of the motor. The...
Cardboard Boomerang
A indoor boomerang can be constructed using 3 strips of cardboard put together. Throwing it may require some practice though but when you get the hang of it, it can inject great...
Tuning a Guitar using Resonance
There are many ways to tune a guitar. Many musicians would have tuned a string instrument using a tuning fork at some point. However, the conventional method of tuning with a...
Water Bender
A thin stream of water can be easily bent using a plastic comb or ruler which was previously rubbed with wool. This demonstrates the attractive forces between unlike charges....
Electromagnet
Materials Insulated wire (about 1 m in length) Iron nail (at least 5 cm in length) 1.5 V battery Adhesive tape Small metal paper clip Procedure Test that the iron nail is not...
Leyden Jar
A Leyden jar is a device used to store static electric charge. It can be used to conduct many experiments with electricity such as creating a spark across a gap. The diagram below...
Resonating Pendulums
The purpose of this demonstration is to teach the conditions and effects of resonance. Our setup includes three sinkers hanging from a rod. I give credit to my colleague Alan...
Electroscope
An electroscope is a device that can be used to detect or measure the amount of charge in its vicinity. One of the earliest electroscopes is the gold-leaf electroscope which was...
Oersted's Experiment
Hans Christian Oersted showed that an electric current can affect a compass needle in 1820. This confirms the direct relationship between electricity and magnetism, which in turn,...
How Does Siphoning Work?
A siphon operates through the combined effects of gravity and air pressure, which work together to move liquid from a higher elevation to a lower one. Gravity is the primary force...
Water in an Inverted Cup
This demonstration can be modified for use as a magic trick. Materials: Glass of water Piece of cardboard that is larger than the mouth of the glass. Procedure: Fill the glass up...
Crushing Can
We are usually unaware of the immense strength of the pressure due to the atmosphere around us, having taken it for granted. This demonstration will utilize atmospheric pressure...
Measuring Speed of Sound
Outline for Measuring the Speed of Sound Using a Tuning Fork and a Hollow Pipe Submerged in Water: Equipment Setup : Obtain a tuning fork of known frequency and a hollow pipe that...
Hanging Forks
This simple demonstration can be done anywhere at home using the following items: an empty glass a toothpick two forks The video below demonstrates how to do it. When the forks...
Cartesian Diver
Ever wondered how a submarine sinks and floats? The demonstration here can be used to explain the changes in forces involved and is going to impress most people who see it for the...