Physics 2007
Advice about assessment instruments
Extended experimental investigations: Ideas
for EEIs
This advice has been compiled by the QSA to help teachers plan and develop assessment
instruments for individual school settings. It suggests possible focuses for Extended experimental
investigations (EEIs) that:
• use equipment that should be readily available in most school laboratories
• provide opportunities for students to demonstrate aspects of each of the three criteria of the
syllabus.
It should be noted that:
• the list of suggested EEIs is not exhaustive
• methods and risk assessments of the EEIs are not included
• the concentration of various chemicals has not been included
• specifics about equipment have not been included
• the list of suggested equipment is not exhaustive.
List of suggested ideas
Table 1: Suggested EEIs — kinematics
Table 2: Suggested EEIs — electricity and magnetism
Table 3: Suggested EEIs — heat, sound and light
Suggested ideas
Table 1: Suggested EEIs — kinematics
Focus of investigation
Suggested equipment
• Factors affecting the amount of friction on
an inclined plane
• Factors affecting the speed of an object as
it moves freely down a slope
• toy cars, balls or wooden blocks of various
shapes, sizes and masses
• length of wood to form a ramp
• bricks
• stopwatch
• various materials to cover the ramp, e.g.
carpet, plastic
• smart phone with accelerometer app
(optional)
• Factors affecting the motion of a bifilar
pendulum
• Factors affecting the motion of a compound
or coupled pendulum
• Effect of amplitude variation on the period
of a simple pendulum
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string
ruler
stopwatch
various masses
retort stands
motion detector (optional)
• Energy losses in a bouncing ball
• Coefficient of restitution of bouncing balls
• Identify the centre of percussion (sweet
spot) of a bat or racquet
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balls various sizes and masses
metre ruler
motion detector (optional)
bats or racquets of various types
• Determination of Young’s modulus for
various elastic materials
• Factors affecting the period of a spring
pendulum
• slotted masses
• elastic materials of various lengths,
thicknesses of materials, e.g. springs,
elastic bands
• retort stand
• stop watch
• ruler
• electronic balance
• micrometre screw gauge or vernier calipers
(optional)
• motion detector (optional)
• Viscosity of different liquids
• Effect of temperature on the viscosity of a
liquid
• various viscous liquids, e.g. honey, motor
oil, vegetable oil, golden syrup
• large graduated cylinder
• marble or ball bearing
• stopwatch
• ruler
• refrigerator
• hot water bath
2 | Physics 2007: Advice about assessment instruments Ideas for EEIs
Table 2: Suggested EEIs — electricity and magnetism
Focus of investigation
Suggested equipment
• Factors affecting the resistance of a
conductor
• Resistivity of graphite
• conductors of various lengths, crosssections and materials, e.g. wire, graphite
• voltmeter
• ammeter
• connecting wires
• power pack or battery and variable resistor
• hot water bath
• Magnetic braking down an inclined plane
• permanent magnets of different sizes and
strengths
• length of wood to form a ramp
• bricks
• stopwatch
• alfoil
• OHT transparencies
• Factors affecting the force on a conductor
in a magnetic field
• Factors affecting the force between two
current-carrying wires
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• Magnetic damping of a simple pendulum
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voltmeter
ammeter
connecting wires
power pack or battery and variable resistor
permanent magnets of different sizes and
strengths
• electronic balance
string
iron sinker
retort stand
permanent magnets of different sizes and
strengths
• ruler
• motion detector (optional)
3 | Physics 2007: Advice about assessment instruments Ideas for EEIs
Table 3: Suggested EEIs — heat, sound and light
Focus of investigation
Suggested equipment
• Speed of sound at different air
temperatures
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large diameter PVC pipe sealed at one end
small diameter pipe open at both ends
water
set of tuning forks
ruler
air-conditioned room (temperature setting
must be able to be changed)
• Confirmation of Mersenne’s laws for
stretched strings
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slotted masses
slinkies of various lengths and thicknesses
retort stand
stop watch
tape measure
electronic balance
• Comparison of timbre of different musical
instruments
• Sound absorption by different densities and
thicknesses of foam
• Reverberation times in different volumes
• various musical instruments
• desktop or laptop computer with freeware
audio editor/recorder installed, e.g.
Audacity software
• microphone
• styrofoam sheets of various thicknesses
and densities
• Intensity and polarisation of light through
sugar solutions
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sugar
water
measuring cylinder
beaker
lamp or other bright light source
2 polarising filters
different coloured filters
• Relationship between refractive index and
wavelength of light for various materials
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Hodson light box (or optical bench)
different coloured filters
protractor
ruler
paper
prisms of various transparent materials
• Newton’s law of cooling
• Mpemba effect
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kettle, hot plate or Bunsen burner
beaker
water
thermometer
stopwatch
freezer or dry ice
4 | Physics 2007: Advice about assessment instruments Ideas for EEIs