Go to the following website to conduct the experiment. https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/states-of-matter-basics/latest/states-of-matter-basics_all.html
Selecting the States option in the physics simulation, explore how density generally changes as the state of matter changes between solid, liquid, and gas. However, for which material do you find that its solid is less dense than its liquid? Discuss an application of this interesting phenomenon in the Applications section of your Experiment Report on the next module page.
The Experiment Report should cover all activities and simulations in your chosen module experiment simulation/topic. If specific questions were posed in the activities of that simulation, they should be answered in an appropriate section of the Experiment Report.
The Experiment Report must be submitted utilizing the following format, based on the results of the assigned module experiment.
Physics Experiment Report Format
Name: Do not expect credit if not included.
Title: The experiment name. Do not include the Module number. Again, do not expect credit if not included.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a statement the experiment is designed to test or disprove. Note: experiments are designed to test or disprove, not prove, hypotheses as there are always additional tests that could be performed. Hypotheses should make specific, testable predictions and are often in IF-THEN form, e.g., “if x is changed, then y will occur.” A hypothesis answers the question, “What is the point of the experiment”?
NOT a hypothesis: “to prove Newton’s 2nd law” or “to see what happens if I…”
IS a hypothesis: “if an object moves with constant velocity, then its distance will increase linearly with time
Overview
The Overview is a paragraph describing the approach or strategy used to test the hypothesis. It should include what was tested and how it was tested.
Procedures
See Experiment Instructions (use this phrase; do not include the actual procedures from the experiment).
Results
State the most important numerical, graphical or qualitative results obtained from performing the experiment. If there is a data table, include it here.
Uncertainty & Error
Discuss sources of uncertainty (due to limited measurement precision, e.g., length measured to the nearest millimeter) and error. Sources of error include modeling errors (differences between the physical system your predictions are based on, and the real system) and experimental errors, both systematic (errors that always shift results in one direction) and random (equally likely to cause overestimates and underestimates). For computer simulations, discuss real-world sources of uncertainty or error that were not simulated.
Conclusion/Summary
Discuss how the experimental results support rejecting or accepting (again, not proving) the hypothesis. Discuss the relevance of uncertainties/errors to these conclusions. Propose experiment improvements and/or future directions for experimentation.
Application
Discuss at least one real-world application of the physics concept(s) tested in the experiment and include a discussion of the experiment-specific question (hypothesis) highlighted near the top of this document.
This is an Experiment Report Example is located in the files
Be sure to discuss in the Applications section (as appropriate for the simulation chosen to examine for the report):
an explanation of how a heavy steel aircraft carrier can float in water (from the assigned module experiment Physics Simulation 1)
an application related to the material whose solid is less dense than its liquid (from Physics Simulation 2)
The single most important requirement for an experiment report is clarity. It should be written in such a way that someone who has been unable to conduct the experiment would be able to clearly understand what was done, the results, and why it mattered.
All experiment reports should be:
concise, clear, and contain the necessary details for a well-developed explanation.
well organized so the reader is able to quickly find the information needed or of interest.
relevant and rational so the reader is able to validate the summary or conclusion.
address all rubric assessment areas (see grading rubric).