EXPIRMENT

OBJECTIVE:
i. use the physics of projectile motion to predict the distance a horizontally launched projectile will travel before hitting
the ground.
ii.identify the horizontal and vertical motion of a projectile really are independent

THEORY

The objective of this lab is to use the physics of projectile motion to predict the distance a horizontally launched
projectile will travel before hitting the ground. We’ll roll a steel ball down a ramp on a lab table and measure its
velocity across the table. We’ll assume that the ball will not slow down much as it makes its way across the table top,
and use this velocity as the horizontal launch velocity. Using this velocity and the height of the lab table above the
floor, we’ll use the physics of projectile motion we’ve been learning to predict how far away from the table edge the
ball will hit the ground.
When we make our prediction, we will specify the horizontal distance the ball will fly as a range of distances, based
on the uncertainty of the measurements we use to calculate our prediction. We’ll see whether our prediction is correct
within the range of uncertainty we specify.

Equipment

ramp White paper

Projectile Launcher and plastic ball Tape
Plumb bob marker
Meter stick pencile
Carbon paper table

Procedure

1. Measure and record length of ramp you are using here:__________

2. Position the ramp so that the end of the ramp is about 1meter from the edge of the table. Carefully measure the
distance from the end of the ramp to the table edge and record it here:
xtable=________ m
3. Now measure the time it takes for the ball to travel the distance from the bottom of the ramp to the edge of the lab
table.
-Make a mark on the ramp so you release the ball from the same spot each time
- Roll the ball down the ramp and across the table top, but catch it before it hits the ground.
Do not let the ball hit the floor!
- Use the stopwatch to measure the time it takes for the ball to roll from the bottom of the ramp to the edge of the
table
- Repeat this at least 10 times and record the in the table.
4. Use vhorizontal= xtable/average time to find the horizontal speed of the ball:
vhorizontal=__________m/s
5. Measure the distance from the table top to the floor record it here:
y=________m

6. Next, we’ll find the time, t, for the ball to fall from the tabletop to the floor. Use the equation

Take vi to be zero and a to be 9.81m/s2.

record it here: t=________s
7.using X floor =Vhorizontal*t calculate the horizontal distance across the floor the ball will fly before landing. use
Vhorizontal from step 4 and record here

X floor =______________m
8. Construct a target by making three lines on a piece of paper separated by small distance of measurement.
Predicted horizontal distance the ball will fly across floor: Δxfloor (predicted) = ______m

9. Locate your target on the lab floor by measuring the distance from the edge of the table to the spot on the floor
where you predict the ball will land. Place the piece of paper with the target
line on the floor at that location.
10. Place a piece of carbon paper over the target paper. Roll the ball off the ramp to see if it lands in between the
lines you’ve drawn on your paper.
11. Measure the distance to the landing spot and record.
xfloor (actual) = ______m
12. Calculate the difference between your predicted distance and the actual distance.
13. Calculate the percent difference between your prediction and the actual distance.

Lab Questions
1. People who have not studied physics sometime question whether the horizontal and vertical motion of a projectile
really are independent. Does this lab give you evidence to support this concept? Support your answer.
2. Imagine that we increased the height of the ramp to 20 cm, making the ramp a much steeper slope.
a. How would this affect the horizontal velocity of the ball off the end of the table?
b. How would it affect the drop time of the ball?
c. How would it affect the distance the ball flies?
3. Imagine that we increased the height of the table from the floor:
a. How would this affect the horizontal velocity of the ball off the end of the table?
b. How would it affect the drop time of the ball?
c. How would it affect the distance the ball flies?
4. What if you used a ball with twice as much mass, but similar size:
a. How would this affect the horizontal velocity of the ball off the end of the table?
b. How would it affect the drop time of the ball?
c. How would it affect the distance the ball flies?
5. Could you use the distance a horizontally launched projectile flies to find the initial velocity of the projectile?
Describe how.
6. How do you thing the results would change if you used a ping-pong ball instead of a steel ball?
7. Why didn’t we consult the manufacturer’s specifications to find the uncertainty of the stopwatch and include this in
our uncertainty?
8. Which uncertainty contributed the greatest relative uncertainty to the final answer?
9. Identify at least three plausible sources of systematic error that could be affecting our results.
10. One possible source of systematic error is that we assume the ball does not slow down as it rolls across the
table. If the ball does
slow down, how could we modify this experiment so we still predict the distance accurately?

Experiment
Inclined projectile(parabolic trajectory)/
Projectile
of Energy Motion and Conservation
OBJECTIVE:

i. use the physics of projectile motion to predict the distance a projectile projected at an angle will travel before hitting
the ground
THEORY
The motion of a mass launched into free fall with initial velocity, v, at an angle ’
relative to the horizontal, can be treated most easily by evaluating the horizontal (or
x) and vertical (or y) position in terms of the time (t) as two independent motions.
This problem, in which explicit expressions for y(t) and x(t) are obtained has been
treated in your text book. (We neglect air resistance while the ball is in free
fall.)

Figure 1: The Apparatus

The figure above shows the apparatus to be used in this experiment. A ball is released intoa tube
at the release point, rolls through the tube and emerges at the launch point.
You should measure the parameters shown explicitly in the figure, and the additional
parameter, ∆h0, which is used to estimate friction losses.

Remark: If you want to clean the tube beforehand, there should be a swab on a
string available.

Equipment

table White paper

Projectile Launcher and plastic ball(tube and ball) Tape
Plumb bob marker
Meter stick pencile
Carbon paper angle adjuctment
coin

Prediction of Position
Before you do the experiment, you should derive a set of equations at home that predict
the x-position where the ball hits the ground (y = 0). This expression should depend
only on the measured parameters shown in the figure: h1, h2, h3, D, L, as well as the
value of ∆h0. You will need to substitute these quantities rather than parameters we
do not directly measure, like v or ’0.
Rather than derive a single complicated formula for x in terms of symbols for all
the preliminary measurements, it is more convenient to calculate, in sequence, several
intermediate quantities and then combine them to find x. Bring the sheet with your
derivation of the formulae for x in terms of the measured parameters. You should
prepare this before coming to the lab! It should be attached to the report when you
are finished.

Procedure and questions

1. Find v, the magnitude of the launching velocity, by using the conservation of total
mechanical energy (incorporating the estimate of the energy lost to friction).
2. Find vx and vy, the horizontal and vertical components of v, by referring to the
geometry of the final section of the track.
3. Find t, the time the ball is in the air, by considering the vertical motion involving
vy and h2 alone.
4. Finally, find x.
Steps 3 and 4 may be combined by using the trajectory equation y(x), obtained by
eliminating the time in the equations for y(t) and x(t).
5.Choose the heavy metal ball to be your first ball. Adjust the screw such that the ball, when
released at the release point, just makes it to the launch point before reversing direction.
6.Record h01 and h0 2.
Increase h1 with the adjustment screw so that the ball will be launched. Make sure
that that h1 − h2 is at least twice as big as h0 1 − h0 2.
7.Measure all the required quantities and predict where the ball will hit the floor.
Place a coin at that position. Release the ball and see if the ball hits the coin.
Repeat the experiment for the same ball with a different height h1. (Check or
measure all relevant quantities.)
• Comment on your results
8.Repeat the same steps for the plastic ball, then the aluminum ball.
9.The difference ∆h = h01 − h0 2 provides a measure of the energy lost to friction as
the ball traverses the tube. Order the measurements of the balls from highest
friction to lowest friction. Explain why you might have expected this order.
10. Which ball would you have expected to fly the furthest horizontal distance from
the same release point? Why?
11. What are the major sources of error? How far off would your results be if you had
not corrected for the friction losses in the tube? From the comparison of your
results with the predictions, how much effect might the neglected air resistance
in the free-fall trajectory have contributed?
In this part of the experiment, you will take measurements of the hit position relative to
that predicted. These data will permit a measure of the spread, or uncertainty, from
the reproducibility of the results. You will take measurements for two balls (heavy
metal and plastic) for the same orientation of the launching tube.
12.Place a sheet of white paper on the floor centered at the predicted location and
place a piece of carbon paper on top of it. Tape them to the floor. Before proceeding,
make a guess of how large the spread of results will be! Roll a single ball about twenty times
using the same setup; you should obtain a number of points marked on the white paper. These
should be spread around the expected value. Do this experiment with different papers for the
heavy metal ball and for the plastic ball.
• How do you expect the spread of measurements to appear? (Qualitatively, not
quantitatively)
13. Describe and compare the two spreads. (How large is the spread? Is it uniform
in all directions? Should it be? Is the spread the same for both balls? Should it
be? Is the spread about as big as you expected?)
14. If the spread much bigger along the direction of the trajectory than perpendicular
to it, how would you interpret this?
15. Make a few suggestions for how you could have improved the first part of the
experiment so that you would always hit a smaller area, like that of a dime!
16.. You shoot a bullet with velocity v and an angle ’ to the horizontal direction
and observe where it hits the ground. You now increase the angle with which a bullet
is shot. Does it reach further or not? Does the answer depend on what the original
angle was?
17. Assume you cannot control the release point very well. (In the experiment we
control this quite well.) Suppose you sometimes release the ball further up the tube
and sometimes further down. How do you think this would affect the spread?
18. Assume you perform the lab outdoors, where there is a strong and unsteady
wind blowing along the length of the launch tube. How will your spread look in this
case?

Experiment
Center of Mass (Gravity)
Objective:

i) to determine the center of mass of iregular shape bodies using plab line method.

THEORY:

The weight of an object is concentrated at the center of gravity. The term center of gravity is used
interchangeably with center of mass . For a symmetrical object the center of mass is located at the geometric
center of the object. If the object is not symmetrical we can determine the center of mass using the method
below.

Materials :

Cardboard
Weight (washer, bolt, or fishing weight)
Hole punch
Nail
Pencil

Procedure:

1. Cut the cardboard into a strange shape. Do not use a circle, square, rectangle, or any other common
geometric shape.
2. Punch a hole near the edge of the cut-out cardboard piece and hang it from a nail.
3. Place the weight, a washer or bolt, on a thread and tie it off.
4. Hang the thread and weight from the nail in front of the cardboard.
5. Use a pencil to draw a plumb line down the cardboard where the thread touches. This marks your center line
from that hanging point.
6. Repeat step 2 and 5 in two other places on the cardboard.
7. Remove the cardboard from the nail and balance on the tip of the pencil. You should know where to balance
because it will be where all of the pencil plumb lines intersect, finding the center for you.

QUESTIONS:

1.Would the object balance if you placed the center of gravity on the tip of your finger?
2.What would happen to the center of gravity of the shape if you were to spin it freely?

Other Fun Center of Gravity Activities

1. Balance a ruler with a hammer. Take a rubber band or string and make a loose loop around the hammer and
ruler,as shown in the picture. Make sure the end of the hammer is touching the ruler, and then position the
ruler at the edge of a table, as shown. (You might have to re-position the string/ rubber band a few times to get
it just right. Why does this trick work? Analyze where the center of mass might be.
Where is the balance point? What is the heaviest part of a hammer?

2. Balance two forces with a toothpick. A common magic trick using the properties of center of gravity is
shown below.The two forks are balanced on the edge of the glass by a toothpick. Where is the center of mass
for the fork, cork, and toothpick system?

3. Stand with your back and feet against a wall. Have someone place a quarter on the floor at your feet. Try to
pick it up. Most people can't do it. Why? When leaning over to pick up object we use our keep our center of
gravity between our feet by moving our buttocks back as we lean over. When you are standing against a wall
you can't make these adjustments.
4. Stand against a wall sideways with your arm and leg touching the wall, with nothing to hold onto. Try to lift
your other leg straight out away from the wall. You won't be able to do it. Why? You are using the outside leg
to balance. Lifting it would cause the center of gravity to be outside your feet.
5. The “girls always win” chair lifting challenge. Place dining chair against a wall. Bend over the chair so that
your head touches the wall and your upper body is parallel to the floor. Lift the chair to your chest and then try
to stand up. How does it work? Men and women have their center of mass in different places. Men tend to
have broad shoulders and narrow waists, giving them a higher center of mass. Adding the weight of the chair
causes the center of mass to be over the chair. To stay balanced men have to use the wall.
When he tries to stand, he falls. Girls and women have their center of mass closer to their hips. Even with the
added weight of the chair, the overall center of mass is over the feet that the body is able to right
itself.
Once you complete the experiment, write a short explanation answering the questions above. What did you
learn? Was this surprising to you? Why?

EXPERIMENT
Circular Motion
Knowledge Objectives

· acquire vocabulary and learn relationships of variables expressed in the equations for circular motion.

· explain the relationship between force, acceleration, and velocity for circular motion. Reasoning
Objectives

· l use vectors to pictorially analyze problems for circular motion.

· interpret the relationship between the force on an object and the velocity of the object for circular
motion through the analysis of experimental data.

· analyze data in terms of accuracy and precision including tolerance. Skill Objectives

· collect experimental data within the tolerance of the measuring instruments for a circular motion
laboratory.

Goal:

to determine the relationship between the centripetal force acting on an object moving in a circle of
constant radius and the tangential velocity of the object.

Introduction:

An object that moves in a circle at constant speed v is said to experience uniform circular motion. The
direction of the velocity is continuously changing as the object moves around the circle. A force is
required to change the velocity vector. That force is directed along the radius toward the center of the
circle. The force cause the object to accelerate perpendicular to the velocity thus changing the direction
of the velocity vector without changing its magnitude. The magnitude of the acceleration is given in the
following equation
ac = v2/r

The time taken by a body to go around the circle once and return to its starting point is called a period.
The velocity of the object is given by the distance the object moves or a circumference divided by the
period.

v = 2pr/ T

According to Newton’s second law force is equal to mass times the acceleration the object experiences
due to that force. When the equation for centripetal acceleration is plugged into Newton’s second law
the equation for force centripetal is found.

Fc = mac and ac = v2/r then Fc = mv2 / r

From the centripetal force equation it is apparent that to keep an object moving in a circular path with a
constant radius the velocity must increase as the force increases.

Apparatus:

fire polished glass tube with rubber hose housing that is 15 cm long,

nylon twine

washers

paperclip

masking tape

rubber stopper

stop watch

balance

Procedure:

1.Measure the mass of a rubber stopper

2.Cut a piece of twine approximately 1.20 meters long and tie one end to the rubber stopper

3. Pass the other end of the twine through the glass tubing and attach a bent paperclip of known mass
to the end of the twine. The paper clip will be used to hold the washers

4.Measure a distance between .8 and 1.0 meters from the top of the glass tube to the middle of the
rubber stopper along the string. Record this value using the tolerance of the meter stick. This will be the
constant radius for the experiment.

5.Place a piece of tape to slightly below the bottom of the glass tube on the string. This will assist you in
keeping the radius of the revolving stopper at a constant value.

Mass of Rubber Stopper: ______Kg Length of String or Radius of Circle: ________m

6.Determine the mass of five washers and the paperclip and hook the washers onto the paper clip.
Record the total mass of the washers and the paperclip in your data table.

7.Now determine the weight or force the washers have on the rubber stopper. This can be done by
multiplying the mass in kilograms of the washers and paperclip by the acceleration of gravity or 9.81
m/s2. This force should be recorded in the data table.

Fg = W = mg

8. Hold the glass tubing in your hand and rotate the rubber stopper in a horizontal circle above your
head. Keep the tape close but not touching the bottom of the glass. The force of the washers on the
rubber stopper determines the speed that the rubber stopper must be revolving.

9.Have a partner determine how long the rubber stopper takes to make 30 revolutions. To find the
period or the time it takes the rubber stopper to make one revolution divide the total time by 30
revolutions and record the period in the table.

10. determine the velocity of the rubber stopper by dividing the circumference of the circle by the
period.

v = 2πr/T

11.Repeat the procedure using multiple of five extra washers each time. Make sure to find the total
mass of all the washers and paperclip each time.

question/analysis:

1. Make a graph of force versus the velocity squared of the rubber stopper.

2.Determine the slope of the line and compare that value to the mass of the rubber stopper divided by
the radius of the circle.
3.Determine the absolute and relative error between the slope or calculated value and the ratio of mass
and radius.

4. Justify how the data and graph support the equations for force centripetal. Explain how an object can
be accelerating without changing speed. Finally, describe the factors that led to the errors and how
errors can be eliminated

EXPIRMINT

THE ELECTROSCOPE

OBJECTIVES:

i) use a deceptively simple device, an electroscope, to study the nature of charge

Introduction:
In this part of the lab you will use a deceptively simple device, an electroscope, to study
the nature of charge. The electroscope’s primary working parts are two connected
conducting foil leaves that are free to move at one end. Figure 1 show a schematic of the
electroscope when it is (a) discharged (or neutral) and (b) charged with a net charge. (For
reference, on the electroscope, a 1kV potential results in the foil leaves fully deflecting.)
Recall that charge appears in two forms (positive and negative) and like charges repel. The
electroscope also has a case that must be grounded during the experiment in order to
protect the foil leaves from unwanted stray charge. A conductor allows charge to flow
whereas insulators do not.
Preliminary Questions: 1. Draw a picture of how the charges are distributed on the
electroscope before you start your experiment. 2. Draw a picture predicting what the
charge distributions and electroscope will look like if a charged object is brought close to
(but does not touch) the conducting knob? Will the net charge on the knob be of the same
or opposite sign? What will be the sign of the charge on the foil leaves be?

Figure 1: Schematic of the electroscope (a) without charge and (b) with charge.

3. Draw a picture predicting what the electroscope will look like if a charged object
touches the conducting knob. Will the net charge on the knob be of the same or opposite
sign? What will be the sign of the charge on the foil leaves? 4. How will you know if your
predictions are correct?

Experiments:

For each experiment you should record everything in your note book: briefly explain what
you did and how, as well as all you observed. Use pictures and diagrams as necessary. The
questions included below can be used as a guide, but should not be considered a
sufficiently complete record of what you did and observed. If you find you are having
difficulty getting reliable results, check the troubleshooting guide for solutions or ask
your TA.
1. Charge the rubber rod by rubbing with fur, and transfer some of the charge to the
electroscope leaves by touching the rod to the electroscope knob. This is known as
charging by conduction. Note what happens when said charged rod approaches the knob in
your notebook. (For reference, the rubber rod when rubbed with rabbit fur acquires a
negative charge, although there is no way to determine this with the electroscope.) How
does this compare to your prediction?
2. Touch the electroscope knob with your hand. Record your observations. How can you
explain your observations in terms of the movement of electric charge?
3. Again, transfer some charge to the electroscope using the rubber rod and fur. Without
grounding the electroscope, observe and diagram what happens when a lucite rod rubbed
with silk approaches the knob. Can you make any inferences about the sign of charge
acquired by the two rods?
4. (First discharge the electroscope by touching the knob and case simultaneously.) Charge
one of the rods. Make the leaves diverge by bringing the charged rod close to the knob,
but do not touch the electroscope with the rod. While keeping the rod at a fixed location,
ground the knob to the case, break the ground and then remove the rod. This is known as
charging by induction. Explain what happens when the same rod is brought near the knob,
and what happens when the other rod is brought near the knob (after charging the rods).
Explain each step in this process using diagrams and a brief description.
5. In the following give the proofball a charge by contact with a charged lucite or rubber
rod. Keep in mind that the lucite and rubber rods acquire opposite charges, and use
diagrams to explain and record results.
a. Connect the hollow conductor to the electroscope knob by fine wire. Discharge them.
Charge proofball by touching (avoid rubbing) it to a charged rubber or lucite rod, then
introduce the proofball into the hollow conductor but without contacting the conductor.
Ground the hollow conductor by touching it. Note behavior of electroscope. Break the
ground and remove the proofball. Test the relative sign of charge on the electroscope
(note whether it matches the sign of the rod you chose or the other one).
b. Repeat part a, but now ground the hollow conductor by touching it only on the inside
with your finger or a short conductor.
Record and explain your observations in terms of the movement of charge, using diagrams
to aid you.
Apparatus:
1. aluminum-leaf electroscope 2. insulated hollow conducting sphere 3. proofball 4. two
rods: lucite and hard rubber 5. two cloths: rabbit fur and silk cloth.

Experiment: Electrostatics
-IF Interactions of Forces
Students who demonstrate understanding can:
Use mathematical representations of Newton’s Law of Gravitation and Coulomb’s Law to
describe and predict the gravitational and electrostatic forces between objects
Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to
illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction

Introduction:

The two types of electric charge are negative and positive. Electrons have a negative charge. They are free to move
from one object to another. Protons have a positive charge and are located in the nucleus of atoms. They cannot
move from one object to another. Objects that have similar charges repel and opposite charges attract. Charge is
conserved. It can be transferred between objects. Materials have different properties depending upon their electron
configurations. Conductors are materials in which electrons are free to move. Metals are great conductors since they
have electrons in the outer energy levels that are shared over all atoms. Insulators are materials in which the
electrons are unable to move. They are trapped within bonds between atoms. Glass, rubber, silk and plastics are
examples of
insulators.Semiconductors are a third class of materials characterized by electrical properties that are somewhere
between those of insulators and conductors. Silicon and Germanium are examples of semiconductors. Insulators and
conductors can be charged by contact. This is known as conduction. Insulators can acquire a charge when they are
rubbed with another insulator. Rubber rubbed with fur becomes negatively charged and the fur becomes positively
charged. Glass can be rubbed with silk to give it a positive charge. Conductors transfer charges very well when they
are attached to a charged object. Conductors can be charged by induction. An object can be charged when a charged
object is brought near it. The field around the charged object induces or produces the movement of charges in the
other object such as a conducting sphere. If the sphere is attached to the ground by a wire then the metal object can
become the opposite charge as the charged object. A surface charge can be induced on insulators using an electric
field. A great example of this is when a balloon is charged by rubbing it on fur or hair and then attached to the wall.
The balloon induces a charge in the wall.

Apparatus:

electroscope, fur, silk, rubber rod, glass rod and pith ball

Procedure:

Part A:

1.Charge the rubber rod by rubbing it with the fur.

2.Bring the pith ball toward the rubber rod. Make observations as to what is happening. Record the observations as
diagrams and descriptions. Repeat the activity using the glass rod and silk.

Part B:

1.Bring a charged rubber rod near the top of the electroscope and then remove the rod. Make observations as to what
is happening. Record the observations as diagrams and descriptions. Repeat the activity using the glass rod and silk.

Part C:

1.Rub the charged rubber rod all over the top of the electroscope and then remove the rubber rod. Make observations
as to what is happening. Record the observations as diagrams and descriptions.
2.touch the electroscope with you finger. Make observations as to what is happening. Record the observations as
diagrams and descriptions. Repeat the activity using the glass rod and silk.

Part D:

1.Move the charged rubber rod near the top of the electroscope but do not touch it.
2.touch the electroscope with your finger while the rubber rod is still near. Remove your finger and then remove the
rubber rod. Make observations as to what is happening. Record the observations as diagrams and
descriptions.
3.Touch the top of the electroscope with your finger to ground it. Repeat the activity using the glass rod and silk.

Questions/Analysis:

1.Explain what is happening in each of the procedures using diagrams and a description of what the electrons are
doing.

2.Write an overall description of conduction and induction. Explain how these concepts are related to each of the
activities.
Exiperment
Charging and Discharging Capacitor Behavior
objective
• Describe the observed charging and discharging behavior of capacitors
• Describe the brightness of a lightbulb as the capacitor is in the process of charging and
discharging
• Couple the observed brightness of lightbulbs with a “microscopic”
explanation of the behavior of the charge inside the capacitor
• describe charging process a capacitor using a battery

THEORY

A capacitor usually consists of two conductors placed close to each other, separated by an insulator. It stores
electrical charge in units that are called a farad. Common capacitor values typically range from picofarads to
nanofarads to microfarads. To charge a capacitor, you need to wire a resistor or test light between the battery
and the capacitor. To measure the voltage of the capacitor before, during, and after discharging, use a
multimeter.

PART A : Charging a capacitor

materials required
- capacitor - voltmeter
- DC battery - wires
- Switch
- battery hollder
- resistor or test light
Procedure

1.Connect one end of the battery to the switch. If desired you can use a battery holder to make connecting the
wiring easier. Make sure the switch is open -- in the off position.
2. Attach a resistor or test light to the other end of the switch.
3.Secure one end of a capacitor to the resistor or test light. Wire the other end of the capacitor to the
unoccupied terminal of the battery holder.
4.Set the multimeter to its voltage reading setting. Place one lead across one end of the capacitor and the other
lead across the other end of the capacitor. You may need to find it necessary to use extra wires to hold the leads
in place.
5.Place a battery inside the battery holder, and close the switch.Observe the values on the voltmeter. The
charge on the capacitor should be approximately equal to that of the voltage from the power.
6.Discharge the capacitor quickly by replacing the battery with a wire. Do not touch the capacitor directly.
Again, observe the values on the voltmeter. The voltage will decrease to zero.
X Materials Needed
• Miniature incandescent lightbulbs, such as type 14 or 48
•Bulb sockets
•D cells and holders (two to four cells per group) or low-voltage DC power supplies
•Clip leads
•CASTLE or other capacitors with very large capacitance 0.025 F or greater
•Voltmeters or multimeters
•Compasses
•Stopwatches
note:
In this expirment, students build a circuit that allows them to observe a very large capacitor
charging and discharging, such as the circuit pictured in Figure below

PART B : Behaviour of capacitor charging and discharging with bulb

expirmental procedure and questions
To begin the activity, show students a schematic of the circuit and direct them to consider the capacitor
initially uncharged.
-Ask students to predict what happens to the bulbs when the switch is closed and the capacitors charge.
Then
-ask students to predict what happens to the bulbs if both switches are open,the capacitor initially charged,
and switch B is closed, allowing the capacitor to discharge.
-Students’ predictions could take the form of a paragraph, a sequence of events, or a series of diagrams
showing macroscopic behavior. After making predictions, students build the circuits and test their
predictions.
When bulbs are used as indicators of charge flow, it is essential that the capacitors have extremely large
capacitance. The miniature “round bulbs” (type 14) are recommended because they have smaller
resistance than type 48 “long bulbs,” although both types will work. Students are less likely to stop
charging before the end of the process because of the smaller charging time when using type 14 bulbs.
Students will be able to observe the bulb lighting briefly, a
powerful visual confirmation of what is going on in the capacitors.
40
An additional visual confirmation of the motion of charge occurs when a compass is placed under a wire.
- Place the compass on the table and have students hold the wire so that it passes directly over the top of
the compass, with the wire parallel to the compass needle and directly above it. This will produce the
maximum needle deflection for a given current in the wire. In both charging and discharging, the compass
deflects strongly at first, but gradually moves back to its initial position.
-The direction of the deflection is opposite for charging and discharging,indicating that the flow of
charge during the charging process is opposite to the flow during discharging.

After students have completed their initial observations, you could have them make an annotated diagram
explaining what they have observed in Figure below.It will be helpful to students toreview what they
have observed/know about capacitor charging before beginning the diagram.
Less
on 4:
Capacitors in Circuits
41
1.The bulbs are bright at first, indicating rapid transfer of energy (and compass needles deflect strongly).
2. The bulbs rapidly grow dimmer (and needle deflection decreases).
3. After a short time, the bulbs dim and go out (compass needle returns to normal orientation).
4.The compass needle near the bottom capacitor plate deflects, indicating charge flows.
5.No charge can flow across the capacitor gap.
6.After a long time, the capacitor has the same potential as the cell(s), and can be disconnected,
maintaining its stored energy. Students should depict with storyboards the process of a capacitor charging
(or discharging). The storyboard is a sequence of diagrams that pictures the essentialstages of a process.
Students may complete the storyboard by using plus/minus signs to represent charge.You may choose to
collect the storyboards and give individual feedback, or direct groups of students to produce whiteboards
depicting the process. Student
groups may be called upon to present their work to the whole class. You may lead a discussion of the
work, highlighting the conceptual successes and leading
students to correct flaws. Or, you may direct all student groups to display their
work around the room. Students circulate around the room, leaving useful
feedback (using dry-erase markers or Post-it Notes) on the whiteboards. After
receiving feedback, students should be directed to correct their diagrams until a
consensus is reached on a correct representation of the process.
If students still are not visualizing the process correctly, you may direct them to
construct a circuit similar to the one under study using a simulation. Observing
the behavior of this simulation will help correct any lingering misconceptions.

EXPIREMENT:Van de Graaf generator  

OBJECTIVE :
This lab involve the use of a Van de Graaff  generator,  which  produces
small amounts  of electrical charge. They are regularly  used in  elementary
schools,  high schools, colleges,and science centers. They pose no risk to health  or
safety. The only exception is to students with pacemakers or other such electronic medical  
devices. If you use a pacemaker or other such electronic medical device,please
contact  Dr.  Hynes
IMMEDIATELY  to  make  other  arrangements  for  lab.  It  is  very
unlikely  that  you  will  be  affected,  but  safety  
is  our  top  priority. Remember,  as  long  as  you  do  not  have
this  type  of  medical  device,  you  have  
absolutely  nothing  to  worry  about.
Pre-‐Lab:The Van de  Graaff Generator
A  Bit  of  History
The  Van  de  Graaff  generator  is  an  electrostatic  generator,
capable  of  producing  constant  electric  
potential  differences  reaching about  10  million  volts.  The models
that  you  will  use  (thankfully)  only  
achieves about  1%  of  that.  The  term  Van  de  Graaff electrostatic
generator may  sound  a  little  foreign,  but  
there  is  one  electrostatic  generator  that  you  are  no  doubt
familiar  with:  earth’s  atmosphere.  In  fact,  
some  of  the  most  famous  experiments  in  the  history  of
electrostatics  were  done  using  the  atmosphere.  
In  May  of  1752,  Benjamin  Franklin  performed  his  well-‐known
kite  experiment,  an  experiment  which  
strongly  suggested  that  lightning  might  not  be  so  different
from  the  sparks  he  produced  using  silk  and  
glass.  Interestingly,  not  long  after  Franklin  completed  his  experiment,
he  learned  that  he  had  been  
scooped  by  a  group  of  Frenchmen  who  had  read  one  of
his  recently  published  books.  It  turns  out  that  
both  groups  were  lucky  to  survive  the  experiments,  as  a
Swedish  scientist  died  the  next  year  while  
attempting  to  replicate  them.1
The  Van  de  Graaff  generator  itself  has  achieved  great  fame
as  a  tool  for  demonstrating  the  principles  of  
electrostatics  to  physics  students  in  spectacular  fashion. (The  world’s
 largest  Van  de  Graaff  generator,  
found  at  the  Boston  Museum  of  Science,  exists  solely  for
this  purpose.)  However,  the  Van  de  Graaff  
generator has also been  used  as  a  tool  for  doing  real  science
ever  since  its  invention  by  the  American  
physicist  Robert  Van  de  Graaff  around  1930.  The  high
potential  differences produced  by  large  Van  de  
Graaff  generators  are  still  used  as  particle accelerators  around  the
world.  While  they  can’t  accelerate  
particles  to  energies  of a TeV (1  trillion  electron  volts) like
the  Large  Hadron  Collider  at  CERN,  sometimes  
a  few  MeV’s  (millions  of  electron  volts)  is  all  a
researcher  needs.  Among  the  many  modern  uses  for  the  
Van  de  Graaff  generator  are  radiocarbon  dating,  x-‐ray
imaging,  and  the  production  of  particles  for  
medical  purposes.2
The  Van  de  Graaff  generator  even  played  a  role  in
a  recent  research  project  in  which  the  Wash  U  physics  
department  played  a  major  part.3 The  Stardust mission  sent a
spacecraft  through  a  comet  tail,  collected  
particles  that  had  blown  off  the  comet,  and  safely  landed
 back  on  earth.  In  order  to  calibrate  their  
collectors,  scientists  bombarded  them  with  small  grains  accelerated  to
speeds up  to  30  km/s.  Such  
incredible  speeds  could  most  efficiently  be  produced  using  large
Van  de  Graaff  generators.
University  of  Virginia  Van  de  Graaff  Resource
The  big  piece  of  equipment  in  this week’s experiment  is  a
Van  de  Graaff  generator  powered  by  a  hand  
crank.  A  Van  de  Graaff  generator  uses  some  clever  tricks  in
order  to  charge  a  metal  dome  to  a  very  high  
potential.  (The  Van  de  Graaff  generator  is  described  by
Moore  in  Unit  E,  pages  15  and  102  and by  Young  
&  Freedman  on  page  743.)  
The  University  of  Virginia  has  an  excellent  virtual
demonstration  of  the  inner  workings  of the  Van  de  
Graaff  generator.  You  can  find  a  link  to  this  demonstration
on  the  Pre-‐Lab  Links  tab  of  the  Electrostatics  
page  of  the lab  website.  Walk  through  the  presentation (that
is,  watch  the  videos  and  read  the  slides)
and  answer  the  following  questions.
PL1.  What  is  the  only  quick  way  to  discharge  a  fully
charged  Van  de  Graaff  generator?
PL2.  What  is  the  function  of  the  motor  of  the  Van  de
Graaff  generator?
PL3.  Will  a  Van  de  Graaff  generator  work  if  the  belt
and  the  pulley  are  made  of  the  same  
material?  Explain  briefly.
PL4.  The  outside  of  the  belt  carries  electrons  upward
toward  the  dome.  Where  do  these  
electrons  come  from?  (You  don’t  need  to  explain.  We  are  just
looking  for  an  object.)
PL5.  How  can  electrons  jump  from  the  outside  of  the  belt
onto  the  upper  comb  that  is  attached  
to  the  dome?  Why  aren’t  they  repelled  by  the  excess
electrons  that  are  already  on  the  dome?
PL6.  Is  it  possible  to  make a Van  de  Graaff  generator
with  a  positively  charged  dome?  How?
Part  I:  Howdy  Partner
The  Story
What’s  the  best  way  to  get  to  know  someone?  We’ve  always
found  that  it’s  by  delivering mild  electrical  
shocks!  Although,  I  suppose physicists  aren’t  necessarily  known
for  having  the  most  highly  developed  
social  skills…  
Equipment
• Van  de  Graaff  generator
• Grounding wand  (the  wand  with  a  wire  connecting  it  to  the
base  of  the  generator)
• Ungrounded  wand  (the  wand  with  no  wire  connected  to it)
•A  new  friend
1.  Experiment
The  goal  of  this  first  section is  to  get  a  basic  understanding
 for  how  to  use  the  Van  de  Graaff  generator  
and  the  wands  that  accompany  it.  The  first  thing  to
understand  is  that  these  devices  are  not  dangerous  
unless  you  have  a  pacemaker  or  other  such  electronic  medical
device.  If  you  have  an electronic  medical  
implant or  device,  please  alert  your  TA  immediately.  
Now,  even  though  the  shocks  you  may  receive  aren’t
dangerous,  they  can  hurt  a  tiny  bit.  This  is  
especially  true  if  you  get  shocked  through  a  finger  since
fingers  are  very  sensitive.  Getting  shocked  
through  your  elbow  feels  a  lot  better.  If  at  any  point
during  the  lab  you  are  worried  that  you’ve  built  up  
a  charge  and  that  you’ll  get  shocked  the  next  time  you
touch  anything,  it  is  highly  recommended  that  
you  touch  whatever  that  next  thing  is  with  your  elbow.  This
is  also  good  advice  if  you  happen  to  own  
one  of  those  couches  where  you’re  always  getting
shocked  after  you  watch  some  TV.
Read  This:  Make  sure  that  the  grounding  wand  is  plugged  into
the  Van  de  Graaff  generator  as  
instructed  by  your  TA.  If  you  are  having  any  problems
with  this  connection,  alert  your  TA.  
Do This:  Turn  the  crank  of  the  Van  de  Graaff  generator
three  times. Then  touch  the  dome  with  
the  grounding  wand.
1.1.  What  did  you  observe  when  you  brought  the  grounding
wand  toward  the  dome?  (Keep  this  
response  short.)
Read  This:  Hopefully  you  saw and/or  heard a  spark  jump  from  the
dome  of  the  Van  de  Graff  
generator  to  the  grounding  wand.  (If  not,  try  again.)  That’s
 a  pretty  sure  sign  that  the  dome  built  
up  some  excess  charge  as  you  turned  the  crank.
In  Part  II, you  will  determine  whether  that  
excess  charge  is  positive  or  negative.  Until  then,  forget  about
electrons.  We’ll  just  say  that  the  
Van  de  Graaff  generator  can  build  up  an  excess  charge
and  we’ll  think  about  how  that  excess  
charge can  move.
1.2.  Predict  what  will  happen  if  you  touch  the  dome  of
the  Van  de  Graaff  generator  with  your  
elbow.  (Be  sure  to  read  Appendix  A  about  making  predictions!)
Explain  your  reasoning.  This  
does  not  necessarily  require  equations.  (Note:  you  will  not
turn  the  crank  any  more  before  you  
touch  the  dome.)
Do  This:  Test  the  prediction  you  made  in  Step  1.2.
1.3.  Was  your  prediction  accurate?  If  not,  explain  where  your
reasoning  failed.
Do  This:  Turn  the  crank  of  the  Van  de  Graaff  generator
three  times.  Then  touch  the  dome  with  
the  ungrounded  wand.  (Not  the  grounding  wand.)
1.4.  What  did  you  observe  when  you  brought  the  grounding
wand  toward  the  dome?  (Keep  this  
response  short.)
1.5.  Predict  what  will  happen  if  you  touch  the  dome  of
the  Van  de  Graaff  generator  with  your  
elbow.  Explain  your  reasoning.  This  does  not  necessarily  require
equations.  (Note:  you  will  not  
turn  the  crank  any  more  before  you  touch  the  dome.)
Do  This:  Test  the  prediction  you  made  in  Step  1.5.
1.6.  Was  your  prediction  accurate?  If  not,  explain  where  your
reasoning  failed.
Read  This:  If  you  get  shocked  during  this  lab,  there’s
a  good  chance  that  you’ll  get  shocked  again  
the  next  time  you  touch  a  conductor  (although  this  depends
on  how  good  your  shoes  are).  You  
might  be  able  to  catch  your  partner  by  surprise!
Do  This:  Play  around  a  little  bit!  Make  a  new  friend!
Part  II: Charging  Up
The  Story
There’s  a very  funny scene  in  the  film  Ghostbusters where  Dr.
Vankman  (played  by  Bill  Murray)  is  testing  
out  the  effects  of  negative  reinforcement  on  extrasensory
perception  (or  ESP).  A  participant  in  the  study  
tries  to  guess  the  shape  on  a  card  that  Dr.  Vankman  is
holding,  receiving  a  mild  shock  if  the  guess  is  
incorrect.  
In  Part  II  of  today’s  lab,  feel  free  to  test the  effects
 of  negative  reinforcement  on  your  ability  to  solve  
electrostatics  problems.  You’ll  be  asked  to  make  predictions  as
you  work  through  this experiment.  To  
participate  in  this  study,  have  your  partner  shock  you whenever
your  prediction  is  incorrect.  Our  
preliminary  findings  indicate  that  you  will  indeed  be  more
knowledgeable  of  electrostatics  after  
completing  this  set  of  experiments.
Equipment
• Van  de Graaff generator with grounding wand  and  ungrounded  wand
• Tape
• Plastic  fork
2.  Are  You  the  Positive  or  Negative  Type?  
You’ll  begin  this  experiment  by  determining  the  sign  of  the  charge
 on  the  dome.  After  that,  you  can  use  
this  information  to  predict  the  outcome  of  various
experiments. These  experiments  can  be  a  little  
finicky.  With  that  in  mind,  always  test  your  predictions  at
least  twice.  If  your  results  are  inconsistent  or  
ambiguous,  it  is  recommended  that  you  consult  your  TA.
Do  This:  Cut  a  strip  of  tape  that  is  about  6  inches  
(~15  cm)  long.  Fold  about  1  cm  of  the  tape  over  
onto  itself  in  order  to  make  a  non-‐tacky  handle.  
Label  this  handle  with  a  T.  This  is  tape-‐T.  Stick  
tape-‐T  to  the  table  such  that  most  of  it  is  dangling  
down  over  the  edge.  Gently  brush  your  fingers  
over  the  tape  to  remove  any  static  electricity.
Do  This:  Repeat  the  previous  Do  This but  label  the  
tape  with  a  U.  This  is  tape-‐U.
Do  This:  You  are  about  to  stick  these  two  strips  of  
tape  together  in  a  very  particular  fashion.  Stick  
them  together  such  that  the  tacky  side  of  tape-‐T  
is  in  contact  with  the  un-‐tacky  side  of  tape-‐U.  See  
Figure  1.
Do  This:  Now pull  the  two  strips  of  tape  apart.  Affix  each  strip
of  tape  to  the table  such  that  
most  of  the  strip  is  dangling  over  the  edge.  This  time  do
not brush  your  fingers  over  the  tape.
Read  This:  In  the  process  of  tearing  the  two  strips  of
tape  apart,  you  have  given  each  a  net  
charge!  By  conservation  of  charge,  these  two  strips  must  be
oppositely  charged.  You  will  figure  
out  which  one  is  negatively  charged  and  which  one  is
positively  charged.  This  is  where  the  
plastic  fork  comes  in  handy.  FACT:  When  you  run  a
plastic  comb  through  your  hair,  the  comb  
becomes  negatively  charged.  If  you’re  a  fan  of  Disney
 movies,  you  know  that  a  fork  works  just  as  
well  as  a  comb. (Note:  cotton  or  wool  clothing  can  be
used  in  place  of  hair.)
2.1.  Describe,  perform,  and  analyze  an  experiment  in  order
to  determine  which  of  the  two  strips  
of  tape  is  negatively  charged  and  which  strip  is  positively
charged. Make  sure  your  procedure  
and  analysis  are  complete  and  easy  to  follow.  
Figure  1:  How  to  stick  tape-‐T  to  tape-‐U.
Read  This:  Now  that  you  know  about  the  charges  on  each  strip
of  tape,  you  will  use  them  in  
tandem  with  the  Van  de  Graaff  generator  in  a  series  of
experiments.  You  may  recycle  your  fork.
Do  This: Charge  up  the  Van  de  Graaff  generator. Grab  tape-‐
U  at  the  folded  end,  remove  it  from  
the  table  and  slowly  bring  it  toward  the  dome  of  the
generator. Make  sure  to  start  with  the  tape  
about  1  meter  away  from  the  generator.
2.2.  What  happens?  What  does  this  say  about  the  charge  on
the  dome  of  the  generator?
Do  This:  Recharge  your  tape  and  repeat  the  previous  Do  This.
Remember,  we  want  to  try  
everything  at  least  twice.  If  this  second  trial  agrees  with
your  first,  move  on.  If  not,  consult  your  
TA.
Do  This:  Stick  tape-‐U  back  on  the  table.
2.3.  Predict what  will  happen  if  you  remove  tape-‐T  from
the  table  and  slowly  move  it  toward  the  
charged dome  as  you  did  with  tape-‐U.  Explain  your  reasoning.
Do  This:  Put  the  prediction  you  made  in  Step  2.3  to  the
test. Again,  make  sure  to  start  with  the  
tape  about  1  meter  away  from  the  generator. Remember  to  test
your  prediction  twice.  
Recharge  your  tape  in  between  trials.
2.4.  Was  your  prediction  correct?  If  not,  explain  where  your
reasoning  failed. (And don’t  forget  
about  negative  reinforcement.)
2.5.  Predict the  results  (i.e.  the  behavior  of  the  strips  of
tape)  of  the  following  experiment and  
explain  your  reasoning:  After  charging  the  Van  de  Graaff
generator,  you  touch  the  ungrounded
wand  to  the  dome.  Then  you  move  this wand  toward  each
of  the  two  dangling  strips  of  tape,  
one  at  a  time.  
Do  This:  Just  to  be  safe,  recharge  your  pieces  of  tape
and  stick  them  back  on  the  table.  
Recharging  the  tape  is  an  especially  good  idea  if  either  strip
touches  the  dome  or  the  wands.
Do  This:  Put  the  prediction  you  made  in  Step  2.5  to  the
test. Remember  to  test  your  prediction  
twice.  Recharge  your  tape  in  between  trials.
2.6.  Was  your  prediction  correct?  If  not,  explain  where  your
reasoning  failed.
2.7.  Predict the  results  (i.e.  the  behavior  of  the  strips  of
tape)  of  the  following  experiment and  
explain  your  reasoning:  After  charging  the  Van  de  Graaff
generator,  you  touch  the  grounding
wand  to  the  dome.  Then  you  move  this wand  toward  each
of  the  two  dangling  strips  of  tape,  
one  at  a  time.  
Do  This:  Put  the  prediction  you  made  in  Step  2.7  to  the
test. Remember  to  test  your  prediction  
twice.  Recharge  your  tape  in  between  trials.
2.8.  Was your  prediction  correct?  If  not,  explain  where  your
reasoning  failed.
2.9.  Predict the  results  (i.e.  the  behavior  of  the  strips  of
tape)  of  the  following  experiment and  
explain  your  reasoning.  This  one’s  a  little  longer,  so  we’ll  give
the  steps  letters:
a) Charge  up  the  Van  de  Graaff  generator.
b) Move  the  ungrounded wand  to  a  distance  of  ten
centimeters  from  the  dome. Hold  it  
there  until  (e).
c) Touch  the  grounding wand  with  the  ungrounded wand.  (If  the
Van  de  Graaff  generator  
arcs  to  either  wand  at  this  point,  ground  everything  and  start
from  the  beginning.)
d) Set  the  grounding wand  down  on  the  table,  still  holding  the
ungrounded wand  10  
centimeters  from  the  dome.  (If  the  Van  de  Graaff
generator  arcs  to  either  wand  at  this  
point,  ground  everything  and  start  from  the  beginning.)
e) Pull  the  ungrounded wand  away  from  the  generator.
f) Bring  the  ungrounded wand  toward  each  strip  of  tape,  one
at  a  time.
Do  This:  Put  the  prediction  you  made  in  Step  2.9  to  the
test. Remember  to  test  your  prediction  
twice.  Recharge  your  tape  in between  trials.
2.10.  Was  your  prediction  correct?  If  not,  explain  where  your
reasoning  failed.
Part  III: Energy  Considerations
There  are  many  concepts  that  you  learned  last  semester  that
are  going  to  come  back  again  and  again  
during  the  spring.  Energy  is  one  such  topic.  There  are  all
sorts  of  new  places  where  we  see  energy  
changing  from  one  form  to  another  during  second
semester  physics.  The  transformation  of  energy  
between  different  forms  can  be  quite  spectacular  when  using  the
Van  de  Graaff  generator.  
Equipment
• Van  de  Graaff  generator  with  grounding  wand and  ungrounded
wand
• Small  fluorescent  light  bulb (found  inside  cardboard  tube)
• Test  lead with  banana  plug  on  one  end  and  alligator  clip
on  the  other  end
3.  Transferring  Energy  to  the  Generator  
Do  This:  Charge  the  generator  by  turning  the  crank  a
few  times.  
3.1.  Where  and  in  what  form  is  energy  stored  before
you  charge  the dome?
3.2.  Where  and  in  what  form  is  energy  stored  after  the
dome  is  charged?
Do This: Bring  the  grounding  wand  near  the  dome of  the
generator.
3.3.  Describe  what  happens. (No  explanations  of  “why”  needed – just
describe  what  you  see,  
hear,  etc.)
3.4.  What  happened to  the  energy  stored  in  the generator  when  you
brought the  grounding  
wand  near  the  dome? If  the  energy  has  changed  forms,
which  form(s) has  it  taken?
Read  This:  The  dome  of  your  Van  de  Graaff  generator  reaches
 an  electrical  potential  on  the  
order of  100,000  V  when  it  is  fully  charged.  Use  that
fact  and  a  rough estimate  of  the  dome’s  
radius  to  answer  the  following  Head-‐Scratchers.
3.5.  Approximately  how  much excess charge  is  stored  on  the  dome?
Make  sure  to  show  all  your  
work  and  justify  any  estimations  and  approximations that  you  make.
3.6.  Approximately  how  much  electrical  potential  energy  is
stored  by  the  dome?  Make  sure  to  
show  all  your  work  and  justify  any  estimations  and
approximations  that  you  make.
3.7.  If  you  ground  the  dome  (as  you  did  in  the
experiment),  then  all  of  the  excess  charge  on  the  
dome  will  flow  to the  earth.  How  much  electrical  potential  energy
is  stored  by  the  earth  if  it  has  
an  excess  charge  equal  to  your  response  to  Step  3.5?
Comment  on  this  result  by  considering  
conservation  of  energy. And  is  this  result  consistent  with  your
response  to  Step  3.4?
4.  Fluorescent  Light
Let’s  now  consider  how  this  room  is  lit.  Looking  upward
you  will  notice  that  the  light  is  coming  from  a  
series  of  fluorescent  light  bulbs.  In  these  systems  electrical  energy
 (which  originated  in  a  power  plant  of  
some  sort)  has  been  converted  into  the  light energy  that  eventually
reaches  your  eye.  
In  order  to  light  up  a  room,  the  two  ends  of  a
fluorescent  bulb  must  be  at  different  electrical  potentials.  
This  potential  difference  accelerates  electrons,  giving  them  kinetic
 energy  that  is  used  to  create  light.
(Light  is  produced  through  an  interesting  chain  of  events
that  you  will  investigate  a  bit  in  this  semester’s  
Spectra  lab.)  
Do  This: Connect  one  end  of  the  test  lead to  the  ground
 plug and  connect  the  other  end,  via  an  
alligator  clip,  to  one  end  of  your  small  fluorescent  bulb.
Holding  it  by  the  glass  tube,  place  the  
unconnected  end of  the  fluorescent  bulb  near but  not  touching
the  dome of  the  Van  de  Graaff  
generator.  (Keep  the  unconnected  end  a  few  millimeters  from  the
dome.)
4.1. Describe  what  you  observe when  you  crank  the  wheel  of  the
generator.
4.2. Detail  the  energy  transformations  taking  place  as  you
performed  the  previous  Do  This.  
Appendix  B  gives  specific  instructions  on  how  you  should
write  your  response  to  this  question.    
It’s  the  same format  that you  used  during  the  Playing  With
Energy  lab  of  the  first  semester.  
Do  This: Now  connect  one  end  of  the  light  bulb  to  the
dome of  the  generator  via  the  test  lead
and  alligator  clip (there  is  a  receptacle  for  the  banana
plug  on  the  top  of  the  dome).  Bring  the  
unconnected  end  of  the  light  bulb  near  the  dome of  the
generator.
4.3.  Describe  what  you  observe  when  you  crank  the  wheel  of
the  generator.
4.4.  Explain  your  observations  (Step  4.3)  in  terms  of  electrical
potential.
4.5.  Relate  the  experiments  you  have  just  done  with  the
fluorescent  light  to  birds  standing  on  
power  lines.
Part  IV:  Dielectric  Breakdown
Equipment
• Van  de  Graaff  generator  with  grounding  wand  and  ungrounded
wand
• Test lead
5.  Lil  Lightnin’
You’ve  probably  seen  some  pretty  fantastic  little  lightning  bolts  by
now.  In  this  Part,  we’ll  investigate  
those  in  a  little  more  detail.  And  you  probably  won’t  get
shocked.
First,  let’s  be  clear  about  what  happens  when  you  see  one  of
those  sparks.  It’s  the  result  of  a  
phenomenon  known  as  dielectric  breakdown.  When  the  electric
field  in  air  exceeds  a  value  of  about  
3  x  106 V/m, air  turns  into  a  conductor as  electrons  are  ripped
 from  the  air  molecules  by  the  strong  
electric  field. (This  critical  electric  field  is  called  the  dielectric
strength of  air.) We  will  learn  more  about  
why  light  is  produced  later  in  the  semester.  
Read  This:  Keep  in  mind  during  this  section  that  as  you
turn  the  crank  at  a  constant  rate,  new  
charge  is  added  to  the  dome  at  an  approximately  constant
rate.
Do  This:  Have  one  partner  turn  the  crank  at  a  gentle,
constant  rate.  Have  the  other  partner  hold  
the  grounding  wand  by  the  plastic  handle.  Slowly  vary
the  distance  between  the  wand  and  the  
dome  of  the  Van  de  Graaff  generator.  Observe  how  the
frequency  of  sparks  changes  as  the  
position  of  the  wand  is  varied.
5.1.  Record  your  observations.
5.2.  What  is  the  equation  for  the  electric  field  around
a  spherically  symmetric  charge  
distribution?
5.3.  Explain  the  connection  between  your  responses  to  Step
5.1  and  Step  5.2. A  complete  
answer  will  mention  how  excess  charge  is  added  to the  dome
at  an  approximately  constant  rate  
as  the  crank  is  turned.
Read  This:  You  have  seen  that  if  the  critical  electric  field
is  exceeded  in  the  entire  region  
between  two  conductors,  a  spark  can  jump  between  them.
Sometimes,  though,  the  critical  
electric  field  is  reached  only  in  a  small  region  around
a  single  conductor.  When  this  happens,  we  
get  entirely  different  results.
Do  This:  Remove  the  grounding wand  from  the  ground  plug.
Plug  the  long  test  lead  in  to  the  
ground  plug.
Do  This:  Have  one  partner  turn  the  crank  at  a  gentle,
constant  rate.  Have  the  other  partner  hold  
the  long  test  lead  by  part  of  it  that’s  plastic.  Slowly
vary  the  distance  between  the  tip  of  the  test  
lead  and  the  dome  of  the Van  de  Graaff  generator.
Observe  what  happens  as  the  position  of  the  
test  lead  is  varied.
5.4.  Record  your  observations  (what  you  see  and  what  you  hear).
Read  This:  The  observations  you  recorded  in  Step  5.1  and  Step
5.4  are  probably  different.  You  
might guess  that  this  difference  has  something  to  do  with  the
difference  in  geometry  of  the  
wand  and  the  test  lead, and  you  would  be  correct.  As
it  turns  out,  electric  field  lines  must  always  
intersect  a  conductor  at  a  90o angle.  This  fact  means
that  the  field  lines  will  be more  densely  
packed  around  an  object  with  a  small  radius  of  curvature (such
as  the  test  lead)  than  they  will
around  an  object  with  a  larger  radius  of  curvature (such  as  the
grounding wand) – this  is  another  
way  of  saying  the  electric  field  around  a  conductor
is  largest  near  points  and  other  regions  with  
a  small  radius  of  curvature.  With  this  in  mind, answer  the
following  Head-‐Scratchers.
5.5.  The  test  lead  has  a  smaller  radius  of  curvature  than
the  grounding wand, allowing  the  
electric  field  lines  around  the  test  lead  to  be  more  densely
packed  than  around  the  wand.  As  a  
consequence, if  the  grounding wand  and  the  test  lead  are  placed
 a  few  centimeters  away  from  
the  charged  dome (choose  one of  the  following)…
A. the  electric  field  around  the  test  lead  is  not high  enough
 to  attain  breakdown  and  no  
spark  is  observed.
B. the  electric  field  around  the  test  lead  is  so  high  that
the  breakdown  happens  so  fast  our  
eyes  can’t  see  it.
C. the electric  field  around  the  test  lead  is  large  enough  to
ionize  the  air  around  it,  allowing  
excess  charge  to  leave  the  test  lead  without  producing  an
observable  spark.
D. as  Yoda  would  say,  “the  Force is with  the  test  lead.”
5.6.  The  electrical  properties  of  that  test  lead  are  pretty  cool.
And  these  properties  can  be  put  to  
good  use.  What  is  a  real  world  scenario  where  something  like
this  test  lead  is  exploited?  (If  you  
can  think  of  more  than  one,  feel  free  to  show  off.)
Head-‐Scratchers
Don’t  forget  to  complete  the  following  problems.    They  should
 be  at  the  end  of  your  lab  report.    If  you  
want  to  work  on  them  during  lab,  start  a  new  page  in
your  lab  notebook.
• 3.5
• 3.6
• 3.7
• 4.5
• 5.5
• 5.6
.
 Making  Predictions
In  this  lab,  you  are  asked  to  make  many  predictions,  after  which
you  test  your  predictions.  It’s  okay  if  
your  predictions  are  wrong!  Do  not  erase  predictions that  you
discover  were  incorrect.  Incorrect  
predictions  will  receive  full  credit  as  long  as  you  “support
your  prediction  with  a  sentence  or  two”  as  
requested.  On  the  other  hand,  correct  predictions  will  receive
little  or  no  credit  if  you  do  not  explain  
how  you  made  your  prediction.
After  you  test  your  predictions,  you  are  asked  whether  or  not
you  were  correct.  If  your  prediction  was  
correct  and  complete,  just  draw  a  smiley  face.  If  your
prediction  was  incorrect  or  incomplete,  you  must  
explain  where  your  reasoning  failed.  Make  it  clear  that  you
understand  what  went  wrong.  Learning  what  
your  misconceptions  are  is  the  best  way  to  fix  them!  
As  mentioned  previously,  do  not  erase  incorrect  
predictions.    
Appendix  B:  Format  for  Responding  to  Step  4.2
In  the  Playing  With  Energy  Lab  of  the  first  semester, you
 looked  at  many  situations  where  energy  
changed  forms  over  and  over,  much  like  in  Step  4.2  of  this
lab.  When  responding  to  Step  4.2,  you  will  be  
expected  to  state  two  things.  First,  you  should  state  the
form  of  energy  input  and  the  form  of  energy  
output.  Then  you  should  detail  the  ways  in  which  energy  is
transformed  in  between.  Here’s  an  example  
of  what  will  be  expected.  
Example  Step:  
Detail  the  energy  transformations  taking  place  when  the  battery
 is  connected  to  the  fan.  
Example  Response:  
Input/Output: We  start  with  chemical  energy  in  the  battery
and  end  with  kinetic  energy  in  the  air.  [This  
should  be  a  complete  sentence.]
Transformations: The  format  is:  Mechanism  {input  form  of  energy
 →  output  form  of  energy}  
• Battery  {chemical  →  electrical}  
• Motor  {electrical  →  mechanical}  or  {electrical  →  rotational
kinetic}  
• Fan  blades  {mechanical  →  mechanical}  or  {rotational  kinetic
→  kinetic}