Physics Lab report

Conduction:
Items used: five candles, an iron rod, a Bunsen burner and a ring stand.
Hypothesis: Prove that conduction takes place in the rod as the candles fall.
Procedure: A) We held up the metal rod horizontally by a ring stand.
B) We melted the bottom of the candles and stuck them onto the rod
with a distance between each candle.
C) We turned on the Bunsen burner; heated one end of the rod and
waited.
Results: The candles started to fall off; the closest ones to the Bunsen burner
fell off first while the ones on the middle of the rod fell off after quite some
time.
Reason: As one end of the rod is heated, the particles start to move faster,
pushing on the neighbouring particles and speed those up too. In addition,
there are tiny particles called electrons, which are free to move around in
metals, they speed up as the temperature increases and collide with atoms,
and make them vibrate faster until the thermal energy is moved from one end
of the rod to the other.

Convection:
Items used: Solid and powdered sodium permanganate, hot water, test tube
and a transparent bowl.
Hypothesis: Convection takes place in hot water because of the difference in
temperature.
Procedure: A) We filled up a bowl with hot water.
B) We put some powdered sodium permanganate in a test tube and
filled it with water. We shook it until it was completely mixed.
C) We then placed the tube into the bowl until it sank to the bottom.
Results: The water is coloured but not quickly, instead, the colour rose to the
top, across the surface then back down.
Reason: As the warm water from the tube is less dense from the colder water at
the bottom of the bowl, it will rise up while the denser water sinks so it will
displace it. . It will go through the convection current. What happens is that the
particles start to gain energy (which are hotter) and vibrate more rapidly, so as
they circulate, they transfer energy to other parts of the beaker.

Radiation:
Items used: 2 beakers, 3 wraps of aluminum foil, one black paper and two thermometers.
Hypothesis: How the different sides of aluminum have different effects on preserving heat.
(We also did a separate experiment with aluminum foil and black paper.)
Procedure:
Experiment A:
A) As the aluminum foil has two sides, one dull and one shiny; we wrapped one beaker
with the shiny side and the other with a dull side.
B) We poured hot water into both the beakers and placed the thermometers.
C) With the extra wrapping of aluminum, we covered it with as a lid to both the beaker for
the water particles not to escape.
Experiment B:
A) We wrapped one of the beakers with the shiny side of the aluminum foil and the other
beaker with black paper.
B) We poured hot water into both the beakers and placed the thermometers.
C) With the extra wrapping of aluminum and black paper, we covered it with as a lid to
both the beaker for the water particles not to escape.
Control variables: Same type of aluminum foil, same starting temperature, same beakers,
same thermometers, same room temperatures, same volume of water.
Results:
Experiment A: The beaker with the shiny surface had a higher reading than the dull surface.
Experiment B: The beaker with the black surface had a lower reading than the shiny surface.
Reason:
Experiment A: The beaker with the shinier surface had a higher reading on the thermometer
because it is the worst emitter and absorbers of heat yet the best reflectors. The beaker with
the dull surface had a lower reading because it had lost some of its heat to the surroundings,
as dull surfaces are the best emitters and absorbers of heat and the worst reflectors.
Experiment B: Same as the first experiment. Just as the dull surface of the aluminum; the
black surface are the best emitters and absorbers of heat and the worst reflectors so it had
lost some of its heat to the surroundings.