AP Physics B 1st Semester Lab Bases Questions Skills Worksheet:

Every year on the Physics B exam there are Lab Based Questions (LBQ)
These LBQs come in 3 types:
1) Gathering information from a graph and drawing graphs
2) Linearizing graphs
3) Desiging and laboratory experiment and procedure to determine something
Lets look at theach skill:
1) Gathering information from a graph and drawing graphs:

Before we can even start we have to know what kind of graph we are dealling with. So, the first
thing to do is read the title of the graph and look at the axis to see what the graph is about.

There are three ways to gather information about a graph:

1) Read the graph! (A velocity vs- time graph will tell you the velocity and any time.)
2) Find the slope. (The slope of a v vs- t graph gives you the acceleration.)
3) Calculate the area under the graph. (The area of a v vs- t graph gives the deisplacment.)
Remember that the units of the slope and the area give you a clue to what they repesent.
Here is a run down of most of the graphs in Physics B and what the slope and area give you.
Type of graph
Displacment time
Velocity time
Acceleration time
Force time
Force displacment

2) Linearizing Graphs:

3) Designing a Lab:

What the slope represents:

Velocity
Acceleration
Jerk
Work and the change in Energy

What the area represents:

Displacmment
Velocity
Impluse and the change in Momentum
If it is a spring problem - Spring Constant (k)

2000M1. A motion sensor and a force sensor record the motion of a cart along a track, as shown above. The cart is given a push so
that it moves toward the force sensor and then collides with it. The two sensors record the values shown in the following graphs.
a. Determine the cart's average acceleration between t = 0.33 s and t = 0.37 s.
b. Determine the magnitude of the change in the cart's momentum during the collision.

2002B2 (15 points) A 3.0 kg object subject to a restoring force F is undergoing simple harmonic motion with a small amplitude. The
potential energy U of the object as a function of distance x from its equilibrium position is shown above. This particular object has a
total energy E: of 0.4 J.
(a)

What is the object's potential energy when its displacement is +4 cm from its equilibrium position?

(b)

What is the farthest the object moves along the x-axis in the positive direction? Explain your reasoning.

(c)

Determine the object's kinetic energy when its displacement is -7 cm.

(d)

What is the object's speed at x = 0 ?

(e)
Suppose the object undergoes this motion because it is the bob of a
simple pendulum as shown above. If the object breaks loose from the string at
the instant the pendulum reaches its lowest point and hits the ground at point
P shown, what is the horizontal distance d that it travels?

1998M1. Two gliders move freely on an air track with negligible friction, as shown above. Glider A has a mass of 0.90 kg and glider
B has a mass of 0.60 kg. Initially, glider A moves toward glider B, which is at rest. A spring of negligible mass is attached to the
right side of glider A. Strobe photography is used to record successive positions of glider A at 0.10 s intervals over a total time of 2.00
s, during which time it collides with glider B.
The following diagram represents the data for the motion of glider A. Positions of glider A at the end of each 0.10s interval are
indicated by the symbol A against a metric ruler. The total elapsed time t after each 0.50 s is also indicated.
a. Determine the average speed of glider A for the following time intervals.

i. 0.10 s to 0.30 s

ii. 0.90 s to 1.10 s

iii. 1.70 s to 1.90 s

b.

On the axes below, sketch a graph, consistent with the data above, of the speed of glider A as a function of time t for the 2.00 s
interval.

2006B1B

(2000 M1) You are conducting an experiment to measure the acceleration due to gravity gu at an unknown location. In the
measurement apparatus, a simple pendulum swings past a photogate located at the pendulum's lowest point, which records the time t 10
for the pendulum to undergo 10 full oscillations. The pendulum consists of a sphere of mass m at the end of a string and has a length
l. There are four versions of this apparatus, each with a different length. All four are at the unknown location, and the data shown
below are sent to you during the experiment.

(cm)
12

t10
(s)
7.62

18

8.89

32

12.08

a.
b.

c.

T
(s)

T2
(s2)

For each pendulum, calculate the period T and the square of the period. Use a reasonable number of significant figures. Enter
these results in the table above.
On the axes below, plot the square of the period versus the length of the pendulum. Draw a best-fit straight line for this data.

Assuming that each pendulum undergoes small amplitude oscillations, from your fit determine the experimental value g exp of the
acceleration due to gravity at this unknown location. Justify your answer.

1996B2 (15 points) A spring that can be assumed to be ideal hangs from a stand, as shown
above.
a. You wish to determine experimentally the spring constant k of the spring.
i. What additional, commonly available equipment would you need?
ii. What measurements would you make?
iii. How would k be determined from these measurements?
b. Assume that the spring constant is determined to be 500 N/m. A 2.0-kg mass is attached to
the lower end of the spring and released from rest. Determine the frequency of oscillation
of the mass.
c. Suppose that the spring is now used in a spring scale that is limited to a maximum value of 25 N, but you would like to weigh an
object of mass M that weighs more than 25 N. You must use commonly available equipment and the spring scale to determine the
weight of the object without breaking the scale.
i. Draw a clear diagram that shows one way that the equipment you choose could be used with the spring scale to determine the
weight of the object,
ii.
Explain how you would make the determination.

2002B6. (10 points) In the laboratory, you are given a cylindrical beaker containing a fluid and you are asked to determine the density
of the fluid. You are to use a spring of negligible mass and unknown spring constant k attached to a stand. An irregularly shaped
object of known mass m and density D >> ) hangs from the spring. You may also choose from among the following items to
complete the task.
A metric ruler
A stopwatch
String
(a) Explain how you could experimentally determine the spring constant k.

(b) The spring-object system is now arranged so that the object (but none of the spring) is immersed in the unknown fluid, as shown
above. Describe any changes that are observed in the spring-object system and explain why they occur.
(c) Explain how you could experimentally determine the density of the fluid.
(d) Show explicitly, using equations, how you will use your measurements to calculate the fluid density . Start by identifying any
symbols you use in your equations.

1999M1 In a laboratory experiment, you wish to determine the initial speed of a dart just after it leaves a dart gun. The dart, of mass
m, is fired with the gun very close to a wooden block of mass M0 which hangs from a cord of length l and negligible mass, as shown
above. Assume the size of the block is negligible compared to l, and the dart is moving horizontally when it hits the left side of the
block at its center and becomes embedded in it. The block swings up to a maximum angle from the vertical. Express your answers to
the following in terms of m, M0, l, max, and g.
a. Determine the speed v0 of the dart immediately before it strikes the block.
b. The dart and block subsequently swing as a pendulum. Determine the tension in the cord when it returns to the lowest point
of the swing.
c.

At your lab table you have only the following additional equipment.
Meter stick
Protractor
Spring

Stopwatch
5 m of string

Set of known masses

Five more blocks of mass M0

Without destroying or disassembling any of this equipment, design another practical method for determining the speed of the
dart just after it leaves the gun. Indicate the measurements you would take, and how the speed could be determined from
these measurements.