Here is a synopsis of the physics laboratory experiments. If you would like to retrieve a copy of the experiment in wordperfect 5.1/5.2 format for the PC, click on the {WP} indicator to retrieve and save the experiment. If you already have these experiments, you might like to watch the revision date, to get the latest version. This date is printed in the experiment on its last page. The revision date for this page is 16 October 1998.
This is the first experiment in the physics sequence. The purpose of it is to introduce the student to the computer and to the visual representation of simple mathematical relationships. The appendix serves as a reference for the remaining experiments.
This is the second experiment in the physics sequence, and the first of three experiments concerning motion. The purpose of it is to allow the student to rediscover the concept of elasticity, and the basic principles surrounding it. The elastic properties of the Earth are mentioned in reference to earthquakes.
This is the third experiment in the physics sequence. The purpose of it is to continue the investigation of elasticity as applied to periodic motion. This periodic motion is generalized to orbital motion which is being explored in the astronomy sequence.
This is the third experiment in the physics sequence. The purpose of it is to build on the previous experiments and to introduce the free fall phenominon. Students rediscover Galileo's classic investigation of constant acceleration.
This is the fifth experiment in the physics sequence, and the first of two experiments concerning thermodynamics. The purpose of it is to permit the student to rediscover the relationship between an objects color and its ability to absorb heat. The concept of albedo in astronomy is introduced.
This is the sixth experiment in the physics sequence. The purpose of it is to permit the student to rediscover that the albedo of an ojects affects its cooling rate, and cooling itself is an exponential function.
This is the seventh experiment in the physics sequence, and the first of four concerning the behavior of light. The purpose of it is to permit the student to rediscover the inverse square law.
This is the eighth experiment in the physics sequence. The purpose of it is to permit the student to rediscover the characteristics of attenuation. Mention is made to the role of the Earth's atmosphere in attenuating solar UV.
This is the ninth experiment in the physics sequence. The purpose of it is to permit the student to rediscover that the color of an object is independent from its distance.
This is the tenth experiment in the physics sequences. The purpose of it is to permit the student to rediscover Wien's law.
This is the eleventh experiment in the physics sequence, and the first of three concerning the phenomena of radioactivity. The purpose of it is to permit the student to rediscover that the inverse square law is at work here as well as with light.
This is the twelfth experiment in the physics sequence. The purpose of it is to permit the student to rediscover that radioactive particles are attenuated with the same functional dependence as is light.
This is the thirteenth experiment in the astronomy sequence. The purpose of it is to permit the student to rediscover that radioactivity diminishes with time, in such a way as it can be used as a clock. The radon source is produced by placing a cotton pacth over the input of a vacuum cleaner. Naturally occurring radon is trapped by dust in the patch, and the patch is counted by the GM apparatus.
This is the fourteenth and final experiment in the physics sequence. The purpose of it is to permit the student to rediscover sveral important characteristics of magnetic fields. The experimental apparatus employs a magnetic field probe, and the students explore the field geometries of bar and disk magets, solenoids, and Helmholz coils.