Swiss Cottage Secondary Science Department

Physics Note: Practical I

Name: ( ) Date: __________

Class: __________

Using suitable instruments correctly and common precautions

In to collect reliable quantitative data, it is important for students to learn how to use
instruments correctly, select the best instrument that meets the purpose of the
investigation and take specific precautions when using certain instrument.

Precautions taken
• Give a reason to support why you chose the precaution. (i.e. Precaution =
Action taken + Reason stated)
For example: By placing eye in line with the marking on the ruler, parallax error
can be avoided which will improve the accuracy of the reading.
• A precaution should be stated as what action you have taken and NOT what you
ought to do.
• Do not use any precaution that was mentioned in the question paper. For
example, the question paper may ask you to take temperature by placing
thermometer in the middle of a beaker of water. So DO NOT write: One of the
precautions that I took is to ensure that the thermometer do not touch the sides of
the beaker so that I would not measure the temperature of the beaker.

Some examples of Invalid Precautions

• I must ensure that ruler is vertically clamped…, the screen, light source is in
line…, the room is dark enough…
• I ensured no parallax error, so that readings will become accurate…
• I must take readings directly on top of the meter rule to prevent parallax error…
• The light is turned off to get a good focus of the image…
• The retort stand is screwed tight to ensure it is not shaky…

Some examples of Valid Precautions

• When taking readings from the measuring cylinder, the bottom of the water
meniscus was read at the eye level (Action) to avoid parallax error (Reason).
• When taking readings from the ammeter, the pointer was read with its image (in
the plane mirror) in line with each other (Action) to avoid parallax error
(Reason).
• The ammeter was checked to have a zero error of +0.10 A. Each reading that
was subsequently taken had 0.10 A subtracted away.
 When taking readings, I looked down perpendicularly to the face of the metre
rule, in order to avoid parallax error.

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Swiss Cottage Secondary Science Department
Physics Note: Practical I
Apparatus for Measuring Length

Measuring Smallest Examples of Three

Instrument Division Precision Consecutive Measurements

metre-rule 1mm 0.1 cm 9.9 cm, 10.0cm, 10.1 cm

0.1 cm
0.001 m 0.099 m, 0.100 m, 0.101 m

digital vernier 0.01 mm 0.01 mm or 1.09 mm, 2.00 mm, 2.10 mm

calipers or 0.001 cm 0.109 cm, 0.200 cm, 0.210 cm
0.001 cm

digital 0.001 mm 0.001 mm 2.909 mm, 3.000 mm, 3.010 mm

micrometer or or 0.2909 cm, 0. 3000 cm, 0.3010 cm
screw gauge 0.0001 cm 0.0001 cm

Note:
1) Measuring tape has a precision of 0.1 cm and with a measuring range of up to
a few meters. It is more flexible and used to measuring a longer length.
2) When recording measurements, we can record the measurements shown on
the digital display on digital vernier calipers to 0.1 mm and digital micrometer
screw gauge to 0.01 mm.

(a) Metre Rule

Precautions you could adopt:

❑ Positioning the eye vertically above the scale to avoid parallax err or by.

❑ Place object to be measured on the ruler or use a set square to improve

alignment.
❑ Repeat measurements and calculate the average to reduce random error. (e.g.
thickness of wire, human reaction time, not suitable for e.g length of string)
❑ Range: up to one meter

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Swiss Cottage Secondary Science Department
Physics Note: Practical I
(b) Vernier Calipers

❑ A vernier caliper is used to measure short lengths such as the internal and
external diameter of a test tube.
❑ Range: Up to 15 centimeters

When the jaws of the vernier caliper are closed, the digital display should indicate a
zero reading. If it doesn't, the discrepancy is known as zero error (example of
systematic error) and must be reset using the zero button.

Precautions you could adopt:

❑ Closed the jaws of the vernier caliper, check for zero error. Reset to zero if

there is zero error to improve accuracy of measurements.

❑ Maintained firm grip on the object and tightened the locking mechanism so that

the vernier scale will not move when taking reading to improve accuracy of
measurements.

(c) Micrometer screw gauge

❑ A micrometer screw gauge is used to measure lengths of small objects such
as the diameter of human hair with a precision better than that of the vernier
calipers.
❑ Range: less than 2.5 centimeters

When the anvil and spindle are closed, the digital display should indicate a zero
reading. If it doesn't, the discrepancy is known as zero error (example of systematic
error) and must be reset using the zero button.

Precautions you could adopt:

❑ Closed the anvil and spindle, check for zero error. Reset to zero if there is zero

error to improve accuracy of measurements.

❑ Tighten the grip on the object by turning the ratchet only and stop turning when

a ‘clicking’ sound is produced to prevent over tightening.

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Swiss Cottage Secondary Science Department
Physics Note: Practical I
Apparatus for Measuring Time
Time can be measured with an analog stopwatch or a digital stopwatch. The SI unit
for time is the second (s).

Analogue stopwatch Digital stopwatch

Examples of Three
Measuring Smallest Precision Consecutive
Instrument Division Measurements

Analogue
stopwatch 0.1 s 0.1 s 25.1 s, 25.2 s, 25.3 s

0.1 s 0.1 s 25.1 s, 25.2 s, 25.3 s

Digital
stopwatch 0.01 s 0.01 s 25.12 s, 26.13 s, 2 6 , 1 4 s

Note:
When recording measurements, we can record the measurements shown on the
digital display on digital stopwatch to 0.1 s as human reaction time is about 0.3 to 0.5
seconds.

Measuring Time in Oscillations

A simple pendulum consists of a bob suspended from a fixed support by a string. The
length of the simple pendulum is measured from the point of suspension to the centre of
the pendulum bob. The string is pulled upwards or downwards till the required length
of the pendulum is obtained.

Split cork θ < 10º

Thread

Pendulum bob 4
Swiss Cottage Secondary Science Department
Physics Note: Practical I

❑ One period of a simple pendulum is the time taken for a complete oscillation. To
measure the period of oscillation, a reference point for starting and ending an
oscillatory motion is introduced. (the centre position is recommended to be
used as the reference position and a marker should be placed there for easy
reference)
❑ The simple pendulum should be set in motion first and starts the stopwatch after
the oscillation is stabilized.
❑ The duration of N oscillations should exceed 20.0 s. The accuracy of result can
be improved by increasing the number of oscillations.

Time taken
Period =
N oscillation

❑ The angle of oscillation should be kept small to minimise the effects of air
resistance.
❑ When the pendulum bod is oscillating, ensures that the oscillation is in an
elliptical plane.
❑ The period increases as the length of the pendulum increases.

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Swiss Cottage Secondary Science Department
Physics Note: Practical I
Apparatus for Measuring Volume
The SI unit for the measurement of volume is m3. As volumes measured in the
laboratory are small, alternative units such as dm3, cm3 and mm3 are used.
The conversion factors are given below:

1 cm3 = 1 ml; 1 dm3 = 1000 cm3 = 1 litre; 1 m3 = 1000 dm3

If the solid is too large and irregular, the solid is immersed in a displacement can
filled to the brim with water. The volume of displaced water can be read directly from
the measuring cylinder.

Apparatus for Measuring Mass

(a) Spring balance (Newton metre)

Spring balance makes use of the force to extend or compress a spring. It
measures weight when an object is attached to the hook. Modern spring
balances are calibrated in both kilogram and Newton. The SI unit used in the
spring balance is the Newton (N). Hence, can be used to measure weight
also.

(b) Electronic balance (Top pan balance)

The weight to be measured is placed on a top pan. The force of gravity
deforms a substance within the balance. This alters the resistance and
the current flowing through. The variation of the current with weight is
then calibrated in grams. The unit displayed on the electronic balance is
the gram (g).

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Swiss Cottage Secondary Science Department
Physics Note: Practical I

Electronic Smallest Examples of Three Consecutive

balance Division Precision Measurements

1 0.01 g 0.01 g 179. 99 g, 180. 00 g, 180.01 g

2 0.001 g 0.001 g 179.999 g, 180.000 g, 180.001 g

Apparatus for Measuring Temperature

The SI unit for temperature is Kelvin (K).and the common unit is degree Celsius.
Liquid-in-glass Thermometer
Example: Liquid-in-glass thermometer. It has a range of -10 °C to 110 °C.

Temperatures should be measured to half of a degree (i.e. ± 0.5 °C).

Precautions you could adopt:

❑ When taking a reading, it is essential that the eye be at the same level as the

mercury meniscus to prevent parallax error.

❑ For accurate measurement, the thermometer should be fully immersed in the

liquid without touching the sides of the container to reduce heat loss to container.
❑ If the temperature of a hot liquid is measured, a glass rod or a stirrer should be

used to stir the liquid thoroughly quickly before a reading is taken. This is to
ensure that heat is distributed evenly.

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Swiss Cottage Secondary Science Department
Physics Note: Practical I
Techniques used in Alignment
(a) To ensure that a ruler is set up vertically
Set up a plumb line and place the ruler parallel to it. If the ruler appears to be
parallel to the pumbline from the front and the side, the ruler must be vertical.

(b) To ensure that a ruler is set up horizontally

Set up a plumb line and place the ruler perpendicular to the plumb line. Use a
set square to ensure that the angle between the plumb line and the ruler is 90°.

Alternatively, one ruler can be placed at each end of the ruler and ensure that
the ruler is raised to the same height at both ends.

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Swiss Cottage Secondary Science Department
Physics Note: Practical I
Apparatus for Measuring Electric Current
An ammeter is used to measure electric current. The SI unit for current is the ampere
(A).
❑ An ammeter is always connected in series with other electrical components in

the circuit.
❑ Before switching the circuit, the ammeter should be checked for zero error and

subtract the zero error from the subsequent reading.

❑ When taking the reading, the image of the needle in the mirror can be aligned

with the needle to remove parallax error.

Apparatus for Measuring Voltage

The voltmeter is used to measures potential difference and the SI unit is the volt (V).
❑ The voltmeter is always connected in parallel across a resistor to determine

the effective potential difference.

❑ In setting up an electrical circuit, the voltmeter should be the last instrument to

be connected to prevent the voltmeter from being connected in series with the
resistances in the circuit.

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Swiss Cottage Secondary Science Department
Science (Physics) Practical

Precautions you could adopt when performing circuit experiment:

❑ Open the switch when readings are not taken to prevent overheating of the wire

which increases the temperature and hence affecting the resistance.

❑ The connections should be properly secured to prevent undesirable contact

resistance in the circuit across these connections.

Source of error for experiments involving bare metallic wire:

❑ There are kinks on the wire which affects the length of wire measured and

hence resistance.
❑ The cross-sectional area of wire is not uniform throughout. As the
cross-sectional area increases, the resistance decreases.

Light Experiments

Light experiments are generally performed using the ray box method or the optical
pins method.
Note the following when performing light experiments:
(a) Optical Pins:
❑ The optical pins should be position as far away from one another as possible

(more than 5.0 cm) to improve accuracy.

❑ The pins must be placed vertically upright to reduce error in alignment.

(b) Lenses
❑ The lens must not be tiled; otherwise the image formed on a vertical screen

may not be as sharp.

❑ Object and image distance should be measured along a line parallel to the

principle axis.
❑ The illuminated object should be placed in line with the optical centre of the

lens.

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