Possible Titles For Experimental Projects
From Edexcel for the SHAP syllabus:
Interesting Project Titles from June 2001
These are examples of projects that have the potential to be successful.
1. Investigate the relation between the speed of a bubble of air and the viscosity of the fluid it
is travelling in.
2. How does the shape of an aerofoil affect lift force?
3. Is the light from a "white" LED white?
4. Creep rates in solder alloys
5. UV absorption: a comparison of different materials
6. How does the height of a model tower affect resonance?
7. Study of vortices created when a liquid exits through an orifice
8. Using Hall effect voltage to calibrate a flow rate meter
9. Factors affecting the range of a projectile launched from a model trebuchet
10. How does the size of a brake pad affect the braking force on a bike?
11. Investigating the motion of a water propelled rocket with factors such as aperture size and
water pressure
12. Varying the angle of an aerofoil and measuring lift
13. Effectiveness of different model structures at reducing earthquake damage
14. Variation of the speed of sound with pressure of a gas
15. Variation of surface tension forces with temperature
16. Compare the effectiveness of a car radiator system for forced and natural convection/different fan air flow rates / intermittent fan use.
17. Investigation of factors affecting rotational kinetic energy of a ball rolling down a ramp
18. Factors affecting the efficiency of a model wind turbine
19. Factors affecting the efficiency of an eddy current braking system
20. Measuring the thermal conductivity of glass, then the effectiveness of double glazing gap
size
21. Measuring the capacitance of coaxial cable then use as a method of determining its length given access to one end only
22. Measure the Doppler shift from a moving sound source and investigate the relationship
between v and Df.
23. Modelling a rainbow i.e. light through water droplet, hence predicting angles at which rainbow formed etc.
24. The use of cobalt chloride paper to find node/antinode pattern inside a microwave oven
AEB syllabus (not too ancient history)
Bouncing balls
Checking camera shutter speeds
Craters
Creep in given materials
Damped oscillations
DC motor
Dry batteries
Electromagnets
Fatigue in aluminium strips
Flame temperatures
Friction in curtain rails
How bubbles rise in liquids
Model water power station
Reinforced beams
Resonating glasses
Standing waves in a vibrating wire hoop
The "jumping ring"
The characteristics of a spark plug
The consistency of a drummer
The effects of polish on friction
The efficiency of a car jack
The penetration of nails into wood
The power outputs of model windmills
The strength of adhesives
Vibrations in a soap film
Viscosity of liquids
Attractive forces of electromagnet
Braided cables (cf non braided)
Factors affecting the optical properties of treacle
Fatigue in metals
Laminar and turbulent flow in clear plastic pipes
Objects in an air stream
P.d. between two electrodes
Photochromic sunglasses
Resonance in oscillators
Temperature distribution along lagged and unlagged bars
Temperature variation along an electric soldering iron
The behaviour of rubber and plastics under tension
The bending of a beam: variation with load and span
The characteristics of a windscreen washer pump
The efficiency of a laboratory condenser
The force required to remove nails from wood
The output characteristics of a small electric motor
The properties of an electromagnetic clutch
The strengths of wet and dry tissues
The transmission of sound along a stretched wire
The variation of conductivity of a salt solution
Thrust of model aircraft propellers
Transformer efficiency
Transmission of light through water
Woofers and tweeters
Factors affecting the e.m.f. of a copper sulphate concentration cell
Nuffield Physics (ancient history):
List of topics for investigation from the
old teacher's guide.
The shutter speeds of a camera
The accuracy of aim of an air rifle, catapult, or improvised gun
The true path of a ball thrown in air
Water drops falling on water (flash pictures?)
Splashing of moving drops hitting solids
A narrow water trough as an accelerometer
The profile of a rotating water surface
The precession of a gyroscope
Comparisons of human reaction times (between individuals; for different stimuli)
Time taken by a switch to make or break contact
Bouncing of relay contacts
How much does the air pressure in a football matter?
The performance of a firework rocket
The bounce-time of a ball
Factors affecting the friction of steel on ice
The effect of oil films between sliding metal surfaces
Does water absorb ultra-violet light?
How long does the flash from a flash bulb last?
How long does the flash from a xenon stroboscope last?
How does the light coming through a slotted wheel stroboscope vary with time?
Study the motion of a ball rolling on a turntable
What does an air track collision look like from a moving point of view?
The distribution of speed, or of energy, among balls rolling randomly in a shaking
The possible orbits of a pendulum bob
The motion of the tip of a vibrating wire
The performance of a water pump
The performance of a fan
The thrust of a propeller (in air, or in water)
The energy delivered by a catapult
Load and speed variations of a model aero-engine
The fuel consumption of a model aero-engine
The temperature changes and cooling of a model aero-engine
The air supply to a model aero-engine
Reduction of noise from a model aero-engine
Factors affecting beam bending
Factors affecting the buckling of a beam under compression
Factors affecting the flexing of a rotating shaft
The strength of girders of different construction (use balsa wood)
The energy stored in a spiral clock spring
Factors affecting the design of a good paddle wheel
Making strong concrete bars
The fracture of concrete by impact forces
Effects of reinforcement on concrete
The strength of fibreglass repairs (commercial fibreglass kits)
Ice is said to be made less brittle by freezing sawdust into it. Is it?
Variation of flow behaviour with rate of strain (silicone putty)
Effects of heat-treating razor blades
Heat-treatment of steel
Heat-treatment of copper
Heat-treatment of glass
Perspex is said to 'remember' that it has been deformed, for a while. Does it?
The strength of human hair
The strength of paper
The properties of glued joints
Making long lasting soap films
Adhesion of glues to metals, fabrics, etc.
How finely woven must umbrella material be?
The changes in melting point of a solder with composition
What is necessary for solder to flow?
The strength of a soldered joint
The bouncing of steel balls on glass
Impact cracks when steel balls are dropped on glass
Dents made in metals by balls pressed on them (Brinell hardness test)
The heating and cooling of stretched rubber
The creep of stretched rubber
The strength and fracture of taut rubber bands
The effect of temperature on stretched rubber
Changes of length of hair with moisture content
Factors affecting the growth of crystals
The sagging of taut wires loaded in the middle
The shape of a suspended loose chain
Will a hole at the end of a crack help to stop the crack from spreading?
What factors influence the production of good, uniform bubble rafts?
The effect of various sorts of perforations on tearing paper
The pressure—volume relation for a rubber balloon
The effect of temperature changes on the flow of motor oils
The design of a flow meter
Reduction in pressure with fast flow (Bernouilli effect)
Calibration of a V-slot flow meter (rate of flow from height of water in a
V-shaped slot)
Flow patterns in glycerine (see Shapiro, A. H. Science Study Series, Shape and
flow, Heinemann) .
The drag on spheres and other shapes in an airstream
The resistance to water flow of various plumbers' fittings (pipe, bends, etc.)
The drag on objects towed in water (changes with length, depth of water, and
many other factors)
When does water flow in a tube become turbulent?
The effect of changing the size or shape of the wings of a glider
The penetration of projectiles into soft materials
Load and speed variations for a parachute
A water-driven rocket
Measuring the viscosity of air
Factors affecting the performance of an air track vehicle
Making very big drops (oil in water and alcohol mixtures)
How do Plateau spherules form?
Soap films formed on spirals and other wire shapes
The behaviour of bubbles rising in liquids
The noise made by a kettle just before it boils (singing)
The airflow in a room with a heater
Smoke rings (a box with a hole at one end, and a flexible diaphragm at the other)
Vortex rings in water (drop coloured water drops onto clear water)
How much can a container be overfilled with water?
How does water drip from a narrow jet?
Variations in damping of a pendulum in air
Water from a tap running into a flat basin sometimes forms a smooth ring of water,with a circular edge beyond which the flow is rougher. What decides the size of
the ring?
Where does dust collect? Why?
Stiff standing rods will oscillate in an airflow. Investigate.
The supporting of a ball on a jet of air, or of water
The behaviour of coupled oscillators
How much damping is needed to stop oscillations?
Variable damping of a galvanometer
Oscillations of drops
Oscillations of rubber sheets
Oscillations of soap films
Oscillations of metal discs
Oscillations of thin panels (e.g. doors, sheets of hardboard, sheets of metal)
Oscillations of wire rings
Oscillations of solid bars (notes from a xylophone)
The factors affecting the performance of a sensitive flame
How long does a sound last in a large hall?
The propagation of sound at low pressures
Can the motion of air in a sound wave be made visible?
Slopping modes of oscillation in tanks of water
How to isolate laboratory apparatus from vibrations
Pearls in air- what makes them form easily? (See Nuffield 0-level Physics Guide to experiments IV. experiment 21b)
The resonance of a 'ticker timer'
The frequency characteristics of a cheap gramophone pick-up
The frequency response of a one-transistor amplifier with feedback
Photographing waves on strings or springs
The wakes of boats
Waves in moving water
Speed of waves in shallow water
Breaking of waves
The speed of ripples on water
What are the shadows of waves on a ripple tank shadows of?
The directional properties of a television aerial
Variation in response of a dipole with length of the dipole
Frequency range of a microphone
Audible range of humans and animals
The diffraction of sound waves
Producing and detecting ultrasonic waves
The pressure changes in the sound from an explosion
Reflection or absorption properties of materials for microwaves
Reflection or absorption properties of materials for sound waves
Sound-absorbing tiles sometimes have perforated hardboard over an absorbent
layer. Does the hole size matter?
The behaviour of a loudspeaker cabinet at low frequencies
The penetration of sound through double glazed panels
Waves in circular dishes
How good is a wax lens for microwaves?
The colours of thin films of oil on water
'Shadows' of hot air from flames or heated objects
The field of view of a simple telescope
The depth of focus of a simple telescope
The depth of focus of a microscope
The resolution of a microscope
Depth of focus of a camera
Photography through a microscope
Patterns in stressed materials between crossed polaroids
Moire fringes (patterns from overlapped regular grids)
Detection of small motions by interference methods (thermal expansion,
compressibility)
How much light is reflected at various angles by glass?
The sensitivity of Kodak P153 paper at various wavelengths
The adaptation to dark of the human eye
The resolution of close-spaced objects by the eye
Does photographic film fog equally if the light is bright and the exposure short, or
if the light is dim and the exposure long?
How big are the grains in a photograph?
How fast must a flicker be before it stops being observable?
Make a diffraction grating by photographic reduction, and test it
Do people vary in the range of wavelengths they can see?
How quickly does the iris of the eye contract when the light is made brighter?
Does the resolution of the eye depend on the illumination?
The performance of a pin hole camera
How much is scattered light polarized?
A dynamo as a speedometer (conversion to accelerometer?)
The efficiency of a dynamo
The efficiency of an electric motor
Load and speed variations of an electric motor
Efficiency of a transformer
Saturation effects in a transformer
Effect of air gaps in transformers or electromagnets
Eddy current losses in transformers (solid core)
Stray fields around transformers
The time taken for a fuse to blow
The conduction of electricity by pencil lines on paper
Conducting paper as a model for electric potential variations
Potential variations in a tank of conducting liquid
The time taken for ions to recombine (e.g. blown down-wind of a flame)
How good are 10 per cent radio resistors?
How good are 20 per cent radio capacitors?
Torque-speed variations of a gramophone motor
Energy emitted by a lamp bulb
Lifetime of torch bulbs
Does a photo-transistor respond instantly?
Variations of resistance with strain
How sensitive can a Wheatstone bridge be made?
Resistance changes of human beings with variations in emotional state
The running down and recovery of a dry cell
How much charge can a home-made accumulator store?
Electrolytic capacitors are said not to lose all their charge if short-circuited after
being charged for some time. Is it so?
An electroscope as a voltmeter
The sensitivity of an electroscope as a charge measuring device
Moving coil milliammeters as ballistic galvanometers
Make a capacitor microphone
The variation of the field of a small coil with angle
The contraction of a spiral carrying a current
The effect of thickness of metal on eddy current forces
How high will a 'jumping ring' jump? (A ring over an iron core with a coil
carrying a.c. on the core)
Frequency dependence of the impedance of an iron-cored inductor
The dependence of the speed of a d.c. motor on field current
Change in length of a nickel rod in a magnetic field
The voltage from a thermocouple
Temperature variations of transistor currents
Is it true that a dry cell is the most expensive way to buy electricity?
The design of an alternating current ammeter
Behaviour of two LC circuits coupled together
The design of an electronic exposure timer
The energy balance of a photocell
Electrical noise in a hot resistor
Does a flame conduct electricity?
Does hot air conduct electricity?
What factors make for good deposits of copper in electrolysis?
What factors affect heating by eddy currents?
How does the resistance between two points on a conducting sheet vary with
distance?
How does the resistance between two flat plates in a tank of conducting liquid v,
with their spacing?
Make an electrostatic dust collector
Magnesium oxide smoke collects in long fibres on electrodes at high potentials.
How does the resistance in an LC circuit affect the resonance?
How does the electron current in a radio valve vary with filament temperature?
Temperature variations with depth in soil
Temperature variations in air up to the top of a building
Wind speed variations with height
Temperature distribution in a room
Temperature variation on the surface of an iron
Heat losses from thermos flasks
Does anti-freeze freeze?
The temperatures in a flame
Making a thermistor into a thermometer
Absorption of thermal radiation by different surfaces (colours)
Emission of thermal radiation by different surfaces (colours)
Compare glass and polythene as greenhouse materials
How much thermal radiation does water absorb?
The formation of dew
The value of insulating materials (tea cosies, hot-water-tank lagging)
The behaviour of a thermo-electric heat pump (see item 1072)
The cooling of a cup of tea
Temperature distribution along a metal bar heated at one end
How fast does gas burn?
Make an air flow meter using a hot wire (resistance change)
Small drops of water dance about on very hot metal surfaces, without evaporating
(the Leidenfrost phenomenon). How hot must the metal be, and how small the drop?
The flow of heat through double glazed panels
The effect of pressure changes on the behaviour of a spark plug
The value of fins for cooling purposes
The growth of frost on cold surfaces
Variation in range of alpha particles with air pressure
Variation in range of beta particles in different metals
How many beta particles are scattered back from various substances?
The natural radioactivity of potassium salts
Can the background radiation be reduced by screening?