Instructions to candidates:

Plan and carry out one of the investigations below. Use a planning sheet to help you. Try to identify
all the relevant variables in the experiment, and control those most likely to affect the experiment.

A full report is required.

Choose from:

1. Breaking hair: Investigate the factors.

2. Tearing Paper or card: Investigate the factors required to tear paper or card.
3. Craters in sand: Investigate the factors related to the crater formed by a falling object.
4. Investigate factors which affect the bounce of a ball.
5. Investigate simple musical instruments.
6. The efficiency of a Bunsen burner.
7. Factors affecting lift.
8. Investigation of damping in simple harmonic motion.
9. Factors affecting the flight of a Projectile.
10. factors affecting evaporation.
11. The Physics of a bow and arrow.
12. Investigate a vibrating ruler.
13. Tie 2 pendulums together with a piece of string and see what happens.
14. Investigate the bending of spaghetti.
15. Cooling ability of ice cubes.
16. Wobbliness of jelly.
17. Stickiness of blue tak.
18. Stretchiness of wire/rubber.
19. Refractive index of jelly.
20. Investigate catapults.
21. Drag on objects towed in water.
22. Speed of ripples on a liquid.
23. Batteries using lemons or potatoes, along with electrolytes and electrodes of different
metals. Investigate factors affecting the voltage produced by such a cell.
24. Factors affecting the safety of a bungy jump.
25. Investigate the domino effect with a set of dominoes.
26. Factors affecting the distance travelled by water from a drinking fountain (rubber
tube)
27. Factors affecting the time it takes for a submerged object to rise to surface of a liquid
(in swimming pool!)
28. Stopping distances on a bicycle.
29. Hole in a bottle/carton: factors affecting drainage.
30. Factors affecting the intensity of a light source.
31. Penetration of a dropped object eg a nail.
32. Electrical conductivity of a solution.
33. Descent of a parachute.
34. Output of a solar cell.
35. Terminal velocity in air/fluid.
36. Factors affecting the expansion of a balloon.
37. Factors affecting the reflection of sound.
38. Heat transfer from a lamp.
Some other ideas include:

39. Investigate one factor that affects the rate of flow of water through a tube.
40. What affects the speed of waves?
41. Carry out an experiment to investigate Ohm’s Law. Select your own equipment.
42. What factors affect the range of a projectile?
43. What factor affects the induced EMF?
44. What factors affect the refractive index of water?
45. Investigate one factor that affects the refractive index of a liquid.
46. What affects the rate of cooling of water.
47. Investigate the friction between two surfaces.
48. Investigate the force acting on a vehicle during a collision.

Or make up your own investigation!