11th garde Physics SL Science Department

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Name: ____________________

1. Data analysis question.

A small sphere rolls down a track of constant length AB. The sphere is released from rest at A.
The time  t  that the sphere takes to roll from A to B is measured for different values of height  h.

track
h

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1
A student suggests that  t  is proportional to . To test this hypothesis a graph of  t  against
h
1
is plotted as shown on the axes below. The uncertainty in  t  is shown and the uncertainty in
h
1
is negligible.
h

2.0

1.5

t/s 1.0

0.5

0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
1
/ m–1
h

(a) (i) Draw the straight line that best fits the data. [1]

(ii) State why the data do not support the hypothesis. [1]

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(b) Another student suggests that the relationship between  t  and  h  is of the form

1
t=k
h

where  k  is a constant.

1
To test whether or not the data support this relationship, a graph of t2 against is plotted
as shown below. h

The best-fit line takes into account the uncertainties for all data points.

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

t2 / s2

1.5

1.0

0.5

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 –1
/m
h
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1
The uncertainty in  t2 for the data point where =10.0 m–1 is shown as an error bar on
the graph. h

1
(i) State the value of the uncertainty in  t2 for =10.0 m–1. [1]
h

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(ii) Calculate the uncertainty in  t2 when  t = 0.8 ± 0.1 s. Give your answer to an
appropriate number of significant digits. [4]

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(iii) Use the graph to determine the value of  k. Do not calculate its uncertainty. [3]

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(iv) State the unit of  k . [1]

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Turn over
2. Data analysis question.

Metal girders are often used in buildings that have been constructed to withstand earthquakes.
To aid the design of these buildings, experiments are undertaken to measure how the natural
frequency f of horizontal oscillations of metal girders varies with their dimensions. In an
experiment, f was measured for vertically supported girders of the same cross-sectional area
but with different heights h.

horizontal oscillations of frequency f

metal girder
h

ground surface

The graph shows the plotted data for this experiment. Uncertainties in the data are not shown.

70

60

50

40
f / Hz
30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
h / m
(a) Draw a best-fit line for the data. [1]

(b) It is hypothesized that the frequency f is inversely proportional to the height h.

By choosing two well separated points on the best-fit line that you have drawn in (a),
show that this hypothesis is incorrect. [4]

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(c) Another suggestion is that the relationship between f and h is of the form shown below,
where k is a constant.
k
f =
h2

The graph shows a plot of f against h −2 .

70

60

50

40
f / Hz
30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
h −2 ×10−3 / m −2

The uncertainties in h −2 are too small to be shown.

k
(i) Draw a best-fit line for the data that supports the relationship f = . [2]
h2

(ii) Determine, using the graph, the constant k. [3]

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(d) State one reason why the results of the experiment could not be used to predict the
natural frequency of oscillation for girders of height 50 m. [1]

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