Physics (Period 2) Assignments

Spring Break Extra Credit Project

Pick one of the following ideas for 50 points extra credit!  Create a poster showing your experiment and all results.  Summarize what you did (including a hypothesis, experiment, and conclusion).

1. Batteries are made up of electric cells, which are composed of two unlike pieces of metal separated by a conducting solution.  A simple 1.5-volt cell, equivalent to a flashlight cell, can be made by placing a strip of copper and a strip of zinc (paper clip) in a moist vegetable or piece of fruit.  A lemon or banana works fine.  Hold the ends of the strips close together but not touching, and place the ends on your tongue.  The slight tingle you feel and the metallic taste you experience result from a slight current of electricity pushed by the cell through the metal strips when your moist tongue closes the circuit.  Try this and compare the results (on a poster with pictures and tables) for different metals and different fruits and vegetables.  What factors can you attribute to a stronger current?
2. Make a pinhole camera (http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/education/lessonPlans/pinholeCamera/pinholeCanBox.shtml).    Exposure times differ, depending on the kind of film and the amount of light.  Try different exposure times, starting at about 3 seconds.  Also, try boxes of various lengths.  You’ll find everything in focus in your photographs, but the pictures will not have clear-cut, sharp outlines.  The principle difference between your pinhole camera and a commercial one is the glass lens, which is larger than the pinhole and therefore admits more light in less time.  Chronicle your methods on a poster, labeling your pictures with the type of film and the exposure time.

• Do Chapter 21 #25-48 (pg. 323-324); Appendix F #1-7 (pg. 680)

• Do Chapter 22 #21-30 (pg. 338)

1. Choose one Physics related article (from a reliable source).
2. You must attach the article to your assignment.
3. Your paper should have the following format (typed, double spaced, 12-point font):
• Title of Article:
• Author:
• Source:
• General Topic: (i.e. Physics, Astronomy, Engineering, etc.)
• Summary: (at least 1 paragraph, do not copy article)
• How does the article relate to the Physics: (at least 1 paragraph)
• Opinion of the article and what it represents to the future of science: (at least 1 paragraph)
4. This is due at the beginning of the period on December 1/2.