KeypointsusedinassessingphysicslabsatLiPoChunUWC

ToachieveconsistentmarkingofphysicslabsatLPCwedefinethekeypointstolookforinadvanceofmarking.Herearethekeypointslookedforinthewriteupssubmittedfor
moderation.Theyareincludedheresothatthemoderatorcaneasilyseehowtheaspectscoreswerearrivedatandjudgeiftheyaretoohard,toolenientorOK.
Somefeaturesarealwaysexpectedandthereforenotindicatedhere.
eginDCunitsarealwaysexpected;inDPPgraphsarealwaysexpectedtohavescaleswhicharesuitabletofillthepageandconvenienttouse,correctlylabeledandnumberedaxes,error
barswhereappropriate.

DataCollection,DataProcessingandPresentation,ConclusionandEvaluation
Code
M3

M5

T4

LabTitle
Static
Equilibrium

Newtons2ndlaw

Latentheatof
fusion

DataCollection
TranslationalEquilibrium
Directionsclearlymarked
(penaliseifvectorstooshort)and
hangingmassesclearlyidentified
witheachvector.
RotationalEquilibrium
Minimum3setsdatawithat
leastonewithmorethanone
hangingmassononeside
Lengthofcardontrolleyand
distancefromstarting
positiontolightgateclearly
statedwithuncertainties.
Severalrepeatedtime
measurementsforeach
acceleratingmass.
Massesoftrolleyand
hangingweights.

DataProcessingandPresentation
TranslationalEquilibrium
Vectoradditionclearlyshownand
discrepanciesofdirectionand
magnitudedetermined.

ConclusionandEvaluation

RotationalEquilibrium
Torquescalculatedcorrectly.

Correctanalysisofacceleration
fromrawdata.
Correctlypropagated
uncertainties.
Graphwitherrorbarsand
extremefits.
Gradientscalculatedcorrectlyto
givegg
Correctuseofformulato
calculatethelatentheatoffusion
ofice,l.
Basedonrecordeduncertainties,
correctpropagationof
uncertaintiestodetermine
uncertaintyinl.
Clearpresentationofcalculation

aspect1:
aspect2:
aspect3:

comparisonofcalculatedvalueagainstacceptedvalueof
335Jg1with%discrepancy
2principalsystematicerrors:temperatureoficeoftenwell
belowzeroCoricehasmeltedsignificantlywhen
transferred(iemassoficeincludessomewater)
Improvements
leticebegintomeltandthendrybeforetransferring

Code
T5

LabTitle
CharlesLaw

W2

EM2

Refractiveindex

Ohmslaw

DataCollection
Temperaturereadingson
heatingandcoolingthegas
columnclearlypresented.
Lengthofthegascolumn
correctlymeasuredfromtop
tobottom.Uncertaintyof
length1mm,uncertainty
oftemperature0.1C

Dataincludinganglesand
clearlymarkeduncertainties
Uncertaintiesofangles
measuredusingturntableis
2.
Clearpresentation

tabulatedVandIreadings
forbothlampandfilament.
UncertaintiesofVandI
correctfortheshunt/
multipliersusedonthe
metersandcorrectly
includingzerouncertainty
minimum5setsdatafor
each.Dataspreadoverrange
from0Vtoapprox.10Vfor
lamp,anduptoburnout
pointforexposedfilament

DataProcessingandPresentation
Datatableoflengthsofair
columnonheatingandcooling
allowingcomparisonatany
temperature
Wellscaledgraphshowing
extrapolationbacktozerolength
oftrappedaircolumn
Absolutezerooftemperature
determinedfrominterceptofbest
fitwithextremefitsdetermining
uncertaintyofresult.
Correctsizeerrorbarsandmax,
minslopesrequired.

LinearisationofdatausingSnells
lawtoplotsinivssinr.
Propagationofuncertainties
throughsinfunctiontogive
asymmetricalerrorbars
Clearlydrawnandanalysed
graphs
Correctanalysisofrealdepth
apparentdepthandcriticalangle

GraphofIagainstVforboth
filamentinbulbandwhen
exposedinwaterbothincluding
errorbarscorrectlydrawn
Correctcalculationofresistance
(usingchords)forfilamentin
bulb.
Gradientofexposedfilament
graphwithuncertainties
determinedbyextremefitsfor
calculatingresistance.

aspect1:
aspect2:

aspect3:

ConclusionandEvaluation
Somecomparisonofmeasuredvalueagainstaccepted273
Cwithmentionofuncertaintiesinmeasurement.Dont
penaliseifthisisimplicitintext.
Therearetwoprinciplerandomerrorsandsystematicerrors
aresmall.Dontpenaliseifthesearementionedhowever.
aircolumnlengthsmall(about2cm)/largeuncertaintyin
lengthofcolumnasshownbylargeerrorbars
largeextrapolationtogetzerooftemp.hencecantlocateit
precisely.
Improvements
increaseaircolumnlength
takeareadingsoverawiderrangeoftemperature(butcant
nowusewaterbath)

Markedaspect2andaspect3togetheranddropped1CompletetoaPartial
ifonlyonerandomerrormentioned.Ifneitherrandomerrormentioned,
butsomevalidpointsraisedgivetwoPs.
aspect1:
Comparisonbetweenrefractiveindicesmeasuredinparts1
and2forPerspexblock.Refractiveindexofglassblock
separate
aspect2:

Lookfor
Uncertaintyinangleusingturntableissignificant
PossibletohavesystematicerrorsifPerspexDnot
positionedcorrectly.
Someturntablenotaccuratecentredincorrectly

aspect3:
aspect1:

MorepreciseturntableandbetterlocatedDblock
Exposedfilamentresistanceissimilartoresistanceof
filamentinbulbwhenthepowerislow.Hotfilamentinthe
bulbchangesresistanceduetotemp.increase.Ohmslaw
obeyedwithexposedfilament

aspect2:

Uncertaintiesquitelargeduetolowprecisionofmoving
coilmeters.
Systematiceffectswhenchangingscalesonmeters.Also
localizedheatinginexposedfilamentgeneratesbubblesin
water,unstablereadingsandultimatelycatastrophicfailure.

aspect3:

Usemoreprecisemeters(DMMs).Stirringthewatercould
helptoimprovecoolingofexposedfilamenttoallow

Code

LabTitle

AN4

Betaparticle
absorption

O1

Focallengthofa
lens

G6

Bendingspaghetti

DataCollection
Observationsofexposed
filamentbeforeburnoutand
after.
Tabulatedreadingsofcount
rateagainstmeasuredfoil
thicknessandreadingof
platethickness
Dontpenalizefornot
recordingnumberoffoldsof
aluminiumfoil
Countratewhenmetalplate
sampleblocksbeam
Backgroundrate
Uncertaintyofmicrometeris
0.01mm

Tabulateduandv
measurementsoverarange
ofobjectdistances.
NominalFocallengthoflens
recorded(OKifno
uncertaintynotedasnone
readilyobtainable)
Uncertaintiesofdistances
correctlyrecordedas1
mm,uncertaintyofa
positiononammscale0.5
mm.
Diagramandequipmentlist

Usefultorecordobservations
suchastheinsensitivityof
thesystemtochangingv
whenvlargebutdont
penalizeforomission.
Datarecordedforlengthof

DataProcessingandPresentation

Alinearisationoftheabsorption
lawandgraphplotted.
Correctcalculationofuncertainty
ofcountrateaftercorrectionfor
backgroundrate
Dontpenalizeifyaxisscaleof
logcountratedoesnot
accommodatethecountrateof
metalplatetoalloweasy
extrapolation,providedgradient
withuncertaintiesiscorrectly
usedtopredictplatethickness
withuncertainties.

Graphof1/vagainst1/ucorrectly
plottedallowingforextrapolation
toatleast1axis.
Errorbarscorrectlycalculatedby
propagatinguncertaintyinuand
vthroughthereciprocalfunction.
Bestfitandextremefitsshown.

Cleargraphofdeflectionvmass

ConclusionandEvaluation
higherpowersandmorecontroloftemperature.

aspect1:
aspect2:

aspect3:

comparisonbetweenpredictedplatethicknessand
measuredvalue.
Uncertaintiestypically15%forcountratesandhighfor
smallfoilthicknessmeasurements.Largestuncertainty
arisesbecauseofthedistantextrapolationtoobtainplate
thickness
systematicerrorinfoilthicknessmeasurementdueto
foldingoffoil.Onsomegraphsthismaybeapparentasa
noticeablecurvature
usealargerrangeoffoilthicknesses
acceptlongercounttimesalthoughtheywouldhavetobe
muchlargertomakeimpact.
Usealuminiumplatesofknownthickness.

Markedaspects2and3together.Didnotpenalizeforfailingtoappreciate
significanceoflargeextrapolation.Appropriatecommentsaboutfoil
thicknessmeasurementsgenerallyaccepted.
aspect1:
Somecomparisonbetweenmeasuredvaluefromgraphand
nominalvalueoffocallength.Shouldincludeuncertainty
andwhetherresultsagree.Alsocommentspecificallyif
gradientequals1withinuncertaintytoverifylensformula.
aspect2:

Largeuncertaintyinimagedistancewhenimagedistanceis
large.Imagegetsverysmallanddifficulttoseeclearly
whenobjectdistanceislarge.Imageisdistortedinsome
positionsduetolensaberrations.

aspect3:

Improverangeofu,mayneedlongerbench.Takemore
repeatedreadings.

Studentswereadvisedorallythatapinattachedtothebottomofthe

Code

LabTitle

DataCollection
spaghetti,distancebetween
supports
Datatableofhangingmass
againstdeflection(or
positionofamarker)
Uncertaintiesofmassesand
positionofspaghetti
correctlyrecorded
Diagramshowingsetup,
equipmentlist

DataProcessingandPresentation
(orweight).
Errorbarsfordeflectioncorrectly
recorded
Ifthehypothesisisfordirect
proportionbetweendeflection
andhangingmass,graphmust
includeorigin.
Bestfitandextremefitsshownto
determinelinearity(andiftheline
goesthroughorigin).

ConclusionandEvaluation
hangingweightwouldallowaprecisedeterminationofthepositionona
mmscale.Thedeflectionofthespaghettifromitsundisturbedposition
withnomasswasthenlessstraightforward(studentswouldhavetosupport
masstodeterminepositionofpin).Studentsnotpenalisedfornotdetailing
this.
aspect1:

Thegraphshoulddemonstratethatthedeflectionofthe
spaghettifollowsHookeslaw,althoughlargeerrorbars
reducethesignificanceoftheconfirmation.

aspect2:

Uncertaintyofrulertoreadspaghettideflectionismost
significantrandomerror.Systematicerrorscouldinclude
positioningofweightandthemovementofthespaghettion
thesupportswhenloading.

aspect3:

Deflectionscouldbeincreased(reducingpercentage
uncertainty)usinggreaterdistancesbetweensupports.(Use
oftravellingmicroscopepossiblenoonementionedthis).
Repetitionswithdifferentspaghettisamplecanhelpbut
bringsinprobablylargerrandomvariationofspaghetti.
Markingpositionsforhangingmasses.

Aspects2and3takentogethermostlyandstudentscouldachievefull
markswithcommentonuncertaintyofdeflectionandvalidimprovement
suchastravellingmicroscopetomeasuredeflectionoruselongerspaghetti
toincreasedeflection.

PLANNING(A)
MostPl(a)exercisesweregivenintheform:InvestigateonefactorthataffectsX,whereXsuggestedthedependentvariablebutwasnotinitselfdirectlymeasurable.Atthetimeof
introducingthePlanningcriteriatostudentstheywereadvisedtowritetheirPl(a)answersin3clearsectionscorrespondingtothe3aspects.

PLANNING(B)
AllPl(b)exercisesweresetbygivingstudentsasamplePl(a)answerasthebasisfortheirPl(b).WherebothPl(a)andPl(b)wereassessedforthesamesituation,Pl(a)wasfirstcollected
fromallstudents,andthenthesampleanswerissuedbothasfeedbackandtosetthePl(b)exercise.
IngeneralstudentswerenotpenalisedifapparatuswasmentionedintheMethodbutnotstatedexplicitlyintheApparatussection.
Sufficientdataistakentomeanasufficientrangeofdataand,whereappropriate,sufficientrepetitionsofdatatoensurereliability.Ingeneraltherangemustbeexplicitlystatedorclearly
impliedtogainaCforthis2ndaspectegasimpleinstructiontorepeatwithseveralotherheightswouldgainamaximumofP.

Code
G2

LabTitle
Cratersin
sand

aspect1:
aspect2:

aspect3:

G3

G4

Flicked
rubber
band

aspect1:

Coolingof
hotwater
byfan

aspect1:
aspect2:

aspect2:
aspect3:

aspect3:

PlanningA
AnyreasonableRQbutmustbespecificaboutsizeofcraterie
depthordiametermeasuredacrosscrater.
Anyreasonablehypothesisinvolvingkineticenergyofballusedto
generatecrater.Uniformdecelerationmodeltoexplaindepthofcrater
acceptable.Penalizeforerroneousconservationofmomentum
arguments.
Variablesshouldincludeareasonablesubsetofthefollowing
Diameterordepthofcrater
droppingheightofball
ballvariables(massandvolumeorequivalent)
sandvariables(grainsize,packing,watercontentetc).

AnyreasonableRQbutmustdefinerangesomewhere(OKifdefined
inlaterpartofanswerbutnotspecificallyinRQ)
Expectmostexplanationstouseenergyarguments
Variablesshouldincludeareasonablesubsetofthefollowing
stretchedextension
heightoflaunch
angleoflaunch
rubberbandvariables
airspeed
AnyreasonableRQ
QualitativehypothesesOK.Lookforexplanationsintermsofcooling
byradiation,convectionandevaporationbutnotnecessarytoinclude
all3.
Variablesshouldincludeareasonablesubsetofthefollowing
ambientconditions(temperature,humidity)
initialwatertemperature
fanproperties(typicallyspeed)
distancebetweenfanandwater
beakermaterialproperties
dimensionsofbeaker(volume,height,openareaattop)

PlanningB
Asampleplanning(a)wasgivenheresothatstudentsallstartedwith
sameinformation.
aspect1:

Suitableequipmentincludingmeansofmeasuringdrop
heightsandcratersizeandequipmenttohandlethesand.
aspect2:
Forcontrolofvariablesspecificallylookfor:
releasemechanismofballshouldbegoodenoughto
controldropheightsimplydroppingbyhandfrom
aheightnotgoodenough
methodtocontrolsandsurfaceandpackingbetween
trials.
aspect3:
Meansofadequatelymeasuringdropheight,repeating
measurementsessentialatacertaindropheightandvary
dropheightoverasufficientrangeatleast5values
withmaximumheightgreaterthan3timestheminimum
height.
Asampleplanning(a)wasgivenheresothatstudentsallstartedwith
sameinformation.
aspect1:

Suitableequipmentincludingmeansofmeasuringrange
andextensionofRB(metrerule,tapemeasure).
aspect2:
Forcontrolofvariablesspecificallylookfor:
launchangle=0
fixedlaunchheight
airspeed(typicallywindowsanddoorsclosed)
aspect3:
Minimum5extensions.
Asampleplanning(a)wasgivenheresothatstudentsallstartedwith
sameinformation.
aspect1:
aspect2:

aspect3:

Mustincludemeansofmeasuringtemperature(ie
thermometer)andtime(stopwatch),fan,meansof
heatingwater,beaker.OKtoimplybydiagram.
Specificallylookfor:
controllingfanspeed,orientationandlocationwrt
beaker
ambientconditions
beakervariables(typicallyusingonebeaker)
volumeofwater
Sufficientlywiderangetemperatures(>40C)andat
least5differenttemperatures

Code
G5

LabTitle
Bending
wood

aspect1:
aspect2:
aspect3:

PlanningA
AnyreasonableRQwithdeflectionclearlydefined(typicallyangleof
bendingorverticaldeflectionfromhorizontal.
Difficulttoexplainquantitativehypothesissoqualitativeaccepted.
Variablesshouldincludethefollowing:

deflectingforce

deflection

locationanddirectionofdeflectionforcewrtblock

propertiesofwood

dimensionsofblock

distancebetweendeflectingforceandclamponblock

PlanningB