It is such a shame that in this session we can’t run the purely practical sessions as we usually do, giving you a free hand to design your own experiments from scratch, but here is an introductory video with a practical you can do at home.
Don’t cheat! Try the experiment for yourself before you watch the end, and do make your predictions before you even start.
Remember in Science it is perfectly OK to be wrong, Scientist never look down on people if they are wrong, as it brings about its own answers. What Science is about it having an idea and testing it. So remember that in life! Learn from what we get wrong, but don’t punish yourself about it.
Introduction to the Heat Topic
This video introduces the Heat Topic using the Snowman investigation.
The Snowmen- This video just looks at the experiment
The Snowman Experiment, no blurb!
Lesson 2- Heat Transfer and Conduction
An introduction to Heat and Some information on Conduction. There are a few experiments demonstrated.
The video below is a bit advanced, but see how you get on!
It looks like some of you are going to be doing the electricity unit online. This is tricky but we’ll try to do as much practical as possible.
Please read the RISK ASSESSMENT IF WORKING FROM HOME
Risk Assessments S1 Electricity.xlsx
Hazard
Control Measures
Rechargeable Cells or PP3s
Do not use rechargeable cells, lithium batteries or PP3s (the flat ones) for your own electrical kits as they have low internal resistance and could cause a high current.
Use only 1.5 V cells and zinc chloride are safer than alkaline.
Dispose of these as instructed on the packet once they no longer work. (they should be fine for the whole block)
Don’t use cells that have leaked- they must not be emitting a liquid or a powdery substance.
Only use a maximum of 2 x 1.5 V cells at a time.
Kitchen foil
Kitchen foil boxes usually have a sharp edge to cut the foil. Ask a grown up to tear you some off if there is a chance you can cut your finger
Scissors
Beware of sharp edges on scissors
Parcel tape or sellotape
This can be very sticky and pose a risk to pets or young children, ask a grown up to help tape off the home made wires or complete the task well away from young children and pets.
Electrical kit use
Do NOT use your electrical kit near electrical sockets or electrical items.
Do NOT use near water and other liquids.
Static Experiments
Do NOT do your static experiements near electrical sockets or electrical items.
Balloons can cause a shock to children and pets if they burst so don’t over blow them or use sharp finger nails. Warn young children and keep away from pets.
Torch
If you take apart a torch do not lose any small parts that can be a choking hazard. Do not use LED torches. Make sure the cells in the torch haven’t leaked. You will know if they have as there will be a white powder or liquid.
These are the Video Links to the S1 Electricity Ohm Comforts Videos
Electric charge can be collected by rubbing two different surfaces together.
A Van de Graff Generator produces electric charges.
Check your answers from last lesson on the atom using the wordwall game. Review the work to make sure you could label a model of the atom.
Answer the microsoft Form on the Atom.
Static Electricity
Watch this video on static experiments. Try these at home and pop a picture in the comments of how you get on.
Watch the clips on the Van de Graaff Generator, it is just an effective way of collecting charge. There are instructions to make your own in the electrity notes in another post.
Mrs Physics has a hair raising experience for you during lockdown
Try some of these experiments. NB styrofoam means polystyrene in the UK and try a plastic ruler if you haven’t got plastic pipe.
Here are the individual videos of the static experiments
Polythene and acetate rods do they attract or repel?
Two polythene rods do they attract or repel?
Can you pick up toilet tissue (unused please) using a charged plastic rod?
Bending a fine stream of water/ liquid using a charged rod or charge plastic ruler. If you do this in the bathroom with a fine stream make sure you don’t have a carpet! It’s easier for boys to do this as they stand!
Separating salt and pepper.
Charged balloons
Lesson 3 and 4
Lighting a bulb and making your own electrical kit! (or breaking up your old torch)
Conductors and Insulators
Watch the video How to Light a Bulb
Watch the video clip about Making your own Electricital Kit. Try making your own electrical kit and post some photos.
Watch the video clip to improve your circuit and try to put a switch in your own circuit if you make one.
Now use your circuit to test materials for conductors and insulators. Instructions are in the clip below. Don’t forget to record your results in the table shown.
A conductor is a material with free electrons that allows electrons through it. An insulator is a material where additional electrons cannot pass through.
Testing for Conductors and Insulators using your homemade electrical kit
TESTING FOR CONDUCTORS AND INSULATORS
Lesson 5
Drawing Circuit Symbols
You should know
Drawing Circuits.
Circuit symbols are used to show how circuits can be built.
The circuit symbol for a cell, switch, bell, ammeter, voltmeter, lamp, power supply, resistor, wire, connected wire.
Make sure that you can draw circuits using the proper symbols and following the rules for drawing circuits.
Lesson 6
Multimeters
You should know
A multimeter can be set up to measure current, resistance or voltage.
When a multimeter is set up to measure current we call it an ammeter.
Resistance
Some materials have a high resistance and make it difficult for current to flow.
A continuity tester can be used to test for conductors and insulators.
Resistance is a measure of how difficult it is for the charges to move through an object.
The longer a wire the higher the resistance of the wire.
Voltage.
For most materials, as you increase the voltage the current increases.
Potential difference (p.d.) is often called voltage.
p.d. is the push that makes the charges move around a circuit.
Voltage is measured in volts.
Voltage is measured using a voltmeter, symbol V
Voltmeters are connected in parallel.
Watch the videos and answer the questions in the forms!
Lesson 7
Electrical Definitions
You should know
When electric charge moves we call it an electric current.
Current is a flow of charge (or electrons) around a circuit.
Materials that allow current through them are called electrical conductors.
Materials that do not allow current through them are called electrical insulators.
We use the symbol I to represent current.
Current is measured in amperes or amps.
Current is measured using an ammeter.
Ammeters are connected in series.
The symbol for an ammeter
For electrons to flow there must be a complete circuit.
A multimeter can be set up to measure current, resistance or voltage.
When a multimeter is set up to measure current we call it an ammeter.
A multimeter can be set up to measure current, resistance or voltage.
When a multimeter is set up to measure current we call it an ammeter.
Some materials have a high resistance and make it difficult for current to flow.
A continuity tester can be used to test for conductors and insulators.
Resistance is a measure of how difficult it is for the charges to move through an object.
The longer a wire the higher the resistance of the wire.
Voltage.
For most materials, as you increase the voltage the current increases.
Potential difference (p.d.) is often called voltage.
p.d. is the push that makes the charges move around a circuit
Voltage is measured in volts.
Voltage is measured using a voltmeter, symbol V
Voltmeters are connected in parallel.
Use the video to fill in the table of definitions
Ammeter
Charge
Circuit
Conductor
Continuity tester
Current
Insulator
Multimeter
Ohmmeter
Parallel circuit
Potential Difference
Resistance
Series circuit
The effects of a current
Voltage
Voltmeter
Term
Definition
the difference in the amount of energy that charges have between two points in a circuit.
electrons passing through a circuit
a meter to measure many different electrical quantities
a meter to measure resistance
a meter to measure voltage
a meter to measure current
a complete path for the current to follow
the quantity of unbalanced positive or negative ions in or on an object
the push that makes the charges move around a circuit
a material that free electrons can’t pass through
a material that free electrons can pass through
heat, light, magnetism and chemical effects
A circuit to test whether something is a conductor or an insulator, or to find faults in circuits
a circuit with more than one path for the current to follow
a circuit with only one path for the current to follow
is a measure of how difficult it is for a current to move through an object
Lesson 8
Building Circuits
Lesson 9
Modelling Series Circuits and Predicting Current and Voltage in a series circuit.
Series and Parallel Circuits
The two types of circuit are called series and parallel.
In series circuits the current is the same all round the circuit.
In series circuits the voltage across the components adds up to give the voltage of the supply.
Watch the video, it takes you through a model to help us explain series circuits and the rules for current and voltage in a series circuit.
Lesson 10
Modelling Parallel Circuits and Predicting Current and Voltage in a Parallel circuit.
You should know
Series and Parallel Circuits
You should know that
The two types of circuit are called series and parallel.
In parallel circuits the current splits up and some goes down each branch.
In parallel circuits the voltage is the same across each branch.
The current drawn from the supply increases the more components are connected in parallel.
When lamps are added in parallel the current drawn from the supply increases. This is because the overall resistance of the circuit is reduced.
The Parallel Model.
Watch the video and draw your own Town called Parallel Circuit
Note down what you expect then try things out of the Phet.
Lesson 11
Current and Voltage with Series and Parallel Circuits
You should know
Series and Parallel Circuits
The two types of circuit are called series and parallel.
In series circuits the current is the same all round the circuit.
In parallel circuits the current splits up and some goes down each branch.
In series circuits the voltage across the components adds up to give the voltage of the supply.
In parallel circuits the voltage is the same across each branch.
The current drawn from the supply increases the more components are connected in parallel.
When lamps are added in parallel the current drawn from the supply increases. This is because the overall resistance of the circuit is reduced.
The current in series and parallel is a word version of the instructions for the videos above on setting up the Phet to check the rules for current and voltage in a series circuit. It would also be a great introduction to resistance
The current and voltage questions are based on the questions produced by Mr Belford and cover identifying current and voltage readings with series and parallel circuits.
Lesson 12
Fruity Batteries.
You should know
How to design simple chemical cells and use them to investigate the factors which affect the voltage produced.
The first sheet is the brief version, the second one has more detail in it.
Don’t forget you can get more information and detail from the National 5 section of this website. GO to the PHYSICS NOTES link in the header and click on the DYNAMICS section. You can also answer some of the Compendium Questions and check the answers in the LO Answer section.
Below are the same files as above but as word versions
Here is the link to the questions for Newton’s Second Law F=ma. Don’t forget to use IESSUU when answering these questions but no need to write out the question, just summarise the information.
October 20th 2019 and after a week of worry I decided it was finally time to investigate the wormeries and see if the kilogram of worms were still with us. I am finding the stress and responsibility of these hard to take.
My plan, empty each wormery on an old piece of vinyl, investigate what is there and remake each one as they’ll be alone for a week. This was made more difficult as a very cute and friendly robin has been following me around the garden for the last fortnight and passes behind you after you’ve moved any piece of garden soil.
It was really heartwarming to see oodles of big fat juicy worms fall onto the vinyl. They weren’t moving much but were certainly a good size and huddled together in some big piles. The bottom of the blue wormery was quite wet, this was the one with no drainage. The paper had gone slimy and the potato skins were still undigested. Katrina, your McDonald’s straw is still there, but I think the bacteria might be thinking about working on it. So a new cardboard base, screwed up paper, the worms and then some partially digested compost. Lid back on and ready for off. The robin was flapping around so I posted a guard at the door.
Even the pink wormery had worms but the bottom was slimy with sand and paper- whoops I forgot to take a photo of this. So I’ve made up the box, with fresh cardboard and moved some of the worms from the blue box to the pink one and added more partially digested leaf mould / compost. Lid back on.
I was in two minds as to whether I ought to hold out one for the robin as a treat, but then Miss Crozier came to mind and I couldn’t bear to sacrifice one of the little cuties. Everything back in order, I stepped inside to get cleaned up and then remembered I ought to take a photo of the robin. It was then I noticed the escapees. I’ve no idea where they came from but at least 10 were making their way to freedom down the cracks in the paving and across the slabs. I couldn’t pull one up (see photos). If the robin gets you it isn’t my fault as I did give you a little tug to put you back.
So to the Sophie and Hollie- I’ve not killed them and they ought to be ready for you to get them through the winter next week!
Sorry the photos are in the wrong order with the escapees first.
Well, Wednesday 4th September one group in the Climate Catastrophe Group built their wormery. We are going to look into recycling of food and break down of fruit and vegetables. Worms do create greenhouse gases, but play an important part in maintaining the soil, which has taken a hammering over the last 60 years.
Unfortunately the worms arrived late on Thursday 5th September and had to be in the wormery before the weekend. The students hadn’t quite finished the wormery, so many came up during their lunch break and helped get the worms a temporary start. Our biggest concern is the amount of moisture that we need. The wormery isn’t a draining one, so getting the air and moisture levels is important. We also had to put all the worms in the one box as the second box wasn’t ready.
Let’s hope the worms make it through the weekend. The suspense is terrible and the temperature this weekend was pretty warm, the first dry weekend in four weeks- drat.
Thanks to Adam P for holding the camera as I did this demo. It shows so much Science in one large boiling tube! Convection, lack of conduction, state of matter, floating and sinking, density! Hope you like it.
The gauze is there only because the ice floats on the water and the ice needs to be at the bottom for the experiment to work.
These are a set of results from the Doll’s House. What happens at 20 000 s and what happens at 33,000s? State how the graph would be different if the house was well insulated? Why is the upstairs at a higher temperature? Try to describe the Physics behind each of the graphs.
Below are the resources for the HEAT topic that you’ll cover in S1 Physics. You might not be given all of the information by your teacher, but you can always use the additional materials to read around the subject, that’s what makes a successful learner, confident individual and responsible citizen.
Notes for the Heat Theory
Click on the red link below to open the theory notes in pdf format.
I’m getting into working to increase the profile of Climate Change/ Catastrophe to students as it will be the biggest concern to students in the next 20 years.
