Here is the suggested lab equipment for Modeling Instruction in High School physics. Most things can be scrounged, bought from Home Depot or a hardware store, or bought cheaply from a scientific supplier like Frey or Cenco.
The most important costly lab items are PASCO DYNAMICS CARTS. You'll want 8 of these for a class of 24 students. (But if you can't afford them, the PSSC dynamics carts or something similar will suffice. If you can afford air tracks, they give better data than the Pasco dynamics carts, but you start to lose the connection with real-life situations; concrete-minded students think of them as abstract.)
Although Pasco makes dynamics cart TRACKS ($189), you can save a lot of money by buying extruded aluminum threshold (or anodized bronze - more expensive) from Home Depot or Lowes. Get the kind by Macklanburg - Duncan Company (Ultra Industries, Inc.):
ULTRA THRESHOLD "fluted saddle": 1/2 inch high, 5 inches wide, 72 INCHES LONG!
Aluminum: UPC 043374 68338: $28. Pasco carts fit perfect! At Lowes: SKU#4337468353.
Two problems, though (both are surmountable, and teachers recommend these tracks): more friction than the PASCO tracks, and the track sags. To counteract both problems, slip 10 or so index cards under one end and 1/2 as many under the middle. "Put one pair of wheels on the outside, slightly slanted surface of the molding with the other pair in a groove. That way, even though the cart does not sit exactly level, the wheels in the groove ride on their circumferences (ie, outside rims) and rest nicely in the bottom of the single groove to minimize friction." For extremely low budgets, forget tracks; tilt the table a bit and prop a meter stick on the table to guide the cart.
For a class of 24 students (3 per lab station) here's the LOW COST supplies that you need, 8 each in most cases:
- STOPWATCHES. Pasco's stopwatches cost about $12, but the switches don’t always hold up to student use. Radio Shack makes a stopwatch (yellow sportwatch) that is durable and costs about $20.
- MASSES. Slotted are fine, from Cenco, Frey, etc. Or buy 1/2" I.D. "cut washers" from a hardware store.
- SPRING SCALES, preferably calibrated in Newtons, from a scientific supply company. 5 N maximum is best; 20 N will work.
- STEEL BALLS (1" diameter work fine) from Cenco, Frey, etc.
- METAL RAILS. You can make these from U-channel (extruded aluminum, 6' long) from Home Depot, or shelf bracket material (what you put the brackets into), again from Home Depot. Or use 2 long lab rods, side-by-side.
- BATTERY POWERED CARS (constant speed). Flip-over dune buggies from Kipp Brothers work well; they go at the right speed and they last 3 or 4 years, with care.
- Kipp Brothers, Inc.
- 240-242 S. Meridian St
- PO Box 157
- Indianapolis IN 46206
- Ph: 1-800-428-1153
- FAX: 1-800-832-5477
Item No. NB 2652 Flip over dune buggy. $3.25 ea or $36/doz (Note: the exact same buggy is sold by Cape-Tech for $5 and by Arbor Scientific for $8.) It's a good idea to have a couple of other types of cars that go at different speeds.
- PICKET FENCES, to use with photogates. While you can make the larger ones (5 cm spacing) out of plexiglass and black tape, it would be better to buy the 8 small ones from PASCO for they have a variety of picket sizes and a flag on each. You can purchase the large ones for $5 each from Vernier Software.
- SPRINGS, with 2 different force constants. You should order springs from a scientific supply company; those from a hardware store won't work well for the experiment.
The basic labs, with needed or suggested equipment, are listed below. Bear in mind that none of this is cast in stone. This list is to show you what works in a classroom with 8 computer workstations.
One more note: 2 PHOTOGATES are recommended for each lab station. The new ones by Vernier Software are the best. Use them with a RINGSTAND. 1 ULI MOTION SENSOR is recommended for each workstation. Start with only 2 FORCE PROBES for the entire class, and be sure to get Vernier's dual range force sensor because it is least frustrating to work with.
If you use CBLs instead of computers, an $18 adapter can be purchased from Vernier for use with the CBL which allows two photogates to be used for interval timing. Likewise, the older Vernier ULI motion sensor and dual range force probe can be used with a CBL, with 2 different $5 adaptors. (The new ULI motion sensor works with a CBL too.)
In unit 4, if you want to do video analysis, you could borrow a video camera and a VCR which has frame advance capability from the school library, media center, or athletic department. Physics Academic Software's VIDEOGRAPH are or VideoPoint are possible software choices, if you have Macintoshes. If you have PCs, your choices are Pasco's VideoPoint, or Worlds in Motion. (Obtain WIM from:
- Physics Curriculum and Instruction
- 22585 Woodhill Drive
- Lakeville, Minnesota 55044
- (612)-461-3470
- $160 for single copy, $300 for 10 users)
UNIT I
Pendulum Lab (essential)
- 8 stopwatches
- 8 sets-variable mass pendulum bobs
- 8 pendulum clamps
- 8 ringstands
If this lab is performed as a teacher-directed demo, one can get by with one pendulum apparatus and allow the students to perform the timing.
SUITE OF LABS (optional, to give students experience in collecting data, and to preview future activities.)
Inertial Balance Lab (Linear graph, + y intercept)
- Inertial Balance
- stopwatch
- clamp for balance
Dart Gun Lab (inverse proportion)
- Dart Gun
- Ring stand
- Tape measure
- Extension Clamp
- rubber stoppers
Swinging spheres lab (or ball and ramp lab) (square root relation)
- coat hanger pendulums
- drilled ball
- ring stands
- carbon paper
UNIT II
Battery powered vehicle lab
- 8 or 16 battery powered cars (fast & slow)
- stopwatches
- meter sticks or tape measures
- masking tape
Position match (optional)
- 8 motion detectors
- Software: MacMotion or Logger Pro from Vernier (or equivalent for IBM-compatibles)
UNIT III
Inclined Rail Motion Lab
- 8 metal rails
- 8 steel balls (1" diameter)
- 8 ring stands with clamp
- 16 photogates
- 8 Pasco dynamics carts & tracks
- 8 small picket fences
- 8 photogate mounts for tracks (or 8 air tracks/gliders/accessories)
- Software: ULI Timer (or equivalent)
Picket Fence-Free Fall
- 4 Large Picket Fences (1 for every two groups)
- 8 photogates
- Software: ULI Timer (or equivalent)
Slope of tangent (optional)
- Graphing Calculators (at least one for every group, one for each student is best
UNIT IV
Inertia Demo
- Block of Dry Ice (2 lbs in a cooler will usually last a whole day)
Gravitational Force Law lab
- 8 Spring scales (calibrated in newtons)
- 8 mass sets
- 8 mass hangers
- 8 ring stands with supports
- 8 hook collars (or means to hang spring scales)
Newton's 3rd Law activity
- spring scales (optional: 2 force probes)
- platform or bathroom scales
UNIT V
Modified Atwood's Machine Lab
- 16 photogates (8 will do if you use small picket fences instead of flags). Or
- 8 motion detectors
- 8 Pasco dynamics carts & tracks
- 8 small picket fences
- Large Mass Sets (sufficient masses to increase mass by 200g increments)
- Slotted mass sets
- mass hangers
- spring scales (newtons)
- table clamps
- rod-mounted pulleys
- pulley string
- balances
- Software: ULI Timer, MacMotion (or equivalent)
Friction Lab
- Force Probes
- Friction blocks
UNIT VI
Video analysis of projectile
- projectile launcher/modified tennis ball
- video camera
- 4-head VCR/Monitor
- VideoGraph, or World in Motion
- overhead transparencies
- overhead markers
Projectile trajectory prediction
- ball launchers
- stopwatches or photogates
- C-clamps
- steel balls
- meter sticks
- targets
- carbon paper
UNIT VII
Springs lab
- springs, 2 different force constants
- mass hangers
- mass sets
- rulers
PE vs. KE lab
- Coat Hanger Projectile launchers
- PVC stops
- drilled balls--various masses
- carbon paper
- rulers
- meter sticks
revised 6/99
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