INTRODUCTION 1
0.1 General Laboratory Instructions 1
0.1.1 Purpose of the Physics Laboratory 1
0.1.2 Instructions 2
0.1.3 Lab Logbooks 4
0.1.4 The Report 5
0.2 Measurements and Uncertainty 7
0.2.1 Types of Measurements 7
0.2.2 True Value and Error 8
0.2.3 Systematic and Random Errors 9
0.2.4 Precision,Accuracy and Reliability 10
0.2.5 The Gaussian(or Normal)Distribution 10
0.2.6 Uncertainty of the Measurement 12
0.2.7 Propagation of Uncertainty 15
0.3 Significant Figures 17
0.3.1 What Is a Significant Figure? 17
0.3.2 Arithmetic with Significant Figures 18
0.3.3 Rounding 19
0.3.4 Scientific Notation 19
0.4 Data Analysis 19
0.4.1 Tables 20
0.4.2 Graphs 20
0.4.3 The Method of Difference 22
0.4.4 The Method of Least Squares 23
0.4.5 Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel 24
0.5 Problems 28
UNIT 1 MECHANICAL AND THERMODYNAMICAL EXPERIMENTS 32
1.1 Measurement of Length 32
1.2 Measurement of Mass and Density 44
1.3 Determination of Rotational Inertia Using Cone Pulley Apparatus 53
1.4 Determination of Rotational Inertia Using Torsion Pendulum 60
1.5 Young's Modulus 67
1.6 A Study of Vibrating Strings 73
1.7 Newton's Second Law on the Air Track 78
1.8 Conservation of Momentum on the Air Track 86
1.9 Three-Line Pendulum 91
1.10 Measurement of the Ratio of Specific Heats for Gases 99
1.11 Measurement of Fluid Viscosity Using a Falling Ball Viscosimeter 105
1.12 Measurement of Coefficient of Surface Tension with the Ring Tensiometer 111
UNIT 2 ELECTROMAGNETISM EXPERIMENTS 116
2.0 Use of Common Electric Laboratory Instruments 116
2.0.1 The Voltmeter 116
2.0.2 The Ammeter 117
2.0.3 The Ohmmeter 118
2.0.4 The Galvanometer 118
2.0.5 Variable Resistors 119
2.0.6 The Inductor 121
2.0.7 Decade Capacitance Box 121
2.0.8 Resistor Color Codes 121
2.0.9 The Power Supply 122
2.0.10 The Standard Cell 123
2.0.11 Multimeter 124
2.0.12 The Signal Generator 127
2.0.13 Cathode Ray Oscilloscope(CRO) 129
2.0.14 Electronic Symbols 130
2.0.15 How to Wire a Circuit 130
2.1 Usage of Multimeters 133
2.2 Measurement of Voltage-Current Characteristic of Electrical Component 140
2.3 Wheatstone Bridge 145
2.4 Measurement of the Low Resistance by Using Kelvin Double Bridge Method 150
2.5 Determination of the Temperature Coefficient of Resistance 155
2.6 The Potentiometer 158
2.7 Construction of an Ammeter and Voltmeter 163
2.8 PN Junction Forward Voltage Temperature Characteristic 169
2.9 Electrostatic Field Simulation 174
2.10 The Hall Effect 179
2.11 Magnetic Field of a Solenoid 186
2.12 The Cathode Ray Oscilloscope(CRO) 191
2.13 Investigation of Magnetic Fields by Search Coil 201
2.14 The Series RLC Circuit 209
2.15 Measurement of the Speed of Sound in Air 214
2.16 Hysteresis Loop for Ferromagnetic Materials 220
2.17 The Transfer of an Audio Signal by an Optical Fiber 229
UNIT 3 OPTICAL EXPERIMENTS 236
3.1 Adjustment of the Spectrometer and Measurement of Prism Angle 236
3.2 Measuring the Refractive Index of a Solid 245
3.3 Newton's Rings 249
3.4 Fraunhofer Single Slit Diffraction 257
3.5 The Michelson Interferometer 262
3.6 Diffraction Grating 270
3.7 Polarization of Light 277
3.8 The Grating Spectrometer 288
3.9 Measuring the Sound Velocity in Liquid by Ultrasonic Grating 299
UNIT 4 PROJECTS 306
4.0 Introduction to Physics Projects 306
4.1 Design of Resistance Thermometer 309
4.2 Measuring the Acceleration due to Gravity on Earth 316
4.3 A Study of Vibration on Strings 316
4.4 Measuring the Viscosity of Liquid at Different Temperatures 317
4.5 Measurement of the Voltage-Current Characteristic of a Diode by Potentiometer 317
4.6 Determination of the Temperature Coefficient of Resistance by Potentiometer 318
4.7 To Find the Emf and the Internal Resistance of a Dry Cell 318
4.8 To Find the Maximum Power Transfer from Source to Load 319
4.9 Measurement of the Current in a Circuit by Using Compensation Method 319
4.10 Verification of Kirchhoff's Laws 320
4.11 Make Your Own Multimeter 320
4.12 Measuring the Speed of Sound in Pure Water 321
4.13 Study of Phase Difference Between Voltage and Current in Series RC and LR Circuit 321
4.14 Study of Resonance in Parallel RLC Circuits 322
4.15 To Study the Power Output of Solar Cells 322
4.16 Measurement of the Apex Angle of a Prism 323
4.17 Measuring the Refractive Index of a Prism 323
4.18 Measuring the Refractive Index of Liquids 323
4.19 Measuring the Dispersion Curve of a Prism 324
4.20 Measuring Wavelengths of Mercury Spectral Lines 324
4.21 Compare the Spacing Between the Tracks on a CD and a DVD 325
4.22 The Optical Rotation of Sugar Solutions 325
4.23 Construction of Telescopes and Microscopes 326
UNIT 5 PASCO EXPERIMENTS 327
5.1 Rotational Inertia 327
5.2 Driven Damped Harmonic Oscillations 331
5.3 Chaos 336
5.4 LRC Circuit 342
5.5 Magnetic Forces on Wires 350
5.6 Magnetic Fields of Coils 356
5.7 Earth's Magnetic Field 361
5.8 Atomic Spectra 365
5.9 Brewster's Angle 372
5.10 Photoelectric Effect 377
5.11 Blackbody Radiation 383
5.12 Cavity Radiation 387
APPENDIX 391
Table A.1 Values of some fundamental physical constants(MKS units) 391
Table A.2 Fundamental SI units 391
Table A.3 Some derived SI units used in physics 392
Table A.4 Tables of conversions 392
Table A.5 The SI prefixes 393
Table A.6 The Greek alphabet 393
Table A.7 The acceleration of gravity on the surface of the Earth at sea level 393
Table A.8 The acceleration of gravity at various altitudes on Earth 394
Table A.9 Young's Modulus for metals and alloys（20℃） 394
Table A.10 Density values for selected materials at 20℃ 394
Table A.11 Coefficients of viscosity of various fluid 395
Table A.12 Experimental surface tension values 395
Table A.13 Density values for water at different temperatures(1 atm) 396
Table A.14 The speed of sound 396
Table A.15 Some coefficients of linear thermal expansion 396
Table A.16 Thermal conductivities for selected materials 397
Table A.17 Some properties of dielectrics 397
Table A.18 Resistivities of some materials at room temperature（20℃） 397
Table A.19 Some indexes of refraction 398
Table A.20 Wavelength of spectral lines for common used light source 398
Table A.21 Mathematical symbols used in the text and their meaning 399
Table A.22 Derivatives of common functions 399
REFERENCE 400