Sample Lab Final Exam questions and exam hints.

Sample Questions

1. Which of the following devices is a crucial part of an electric motor?

A. magnets. B. springs C. compasses. D. ammeters

2. In laboratory, some groups swung a pendulum between two poles of a magnet and the pendulum came to a stop after one or two swings. Why did the pendulum stop?

A. Electric sparks flew between the pendulum and the poles of the magnet.

B. the magnet and the pendulum were wired in series.

C. the pendulum contained a copper plate with no slots in it, and electric currents in the plate (called "eddy currents") were an energy sink

D. the swinging pendulum generated an electrical current in the magnet, which flowed between the two poles of the magnet, demagnetizing the magnet.

3. The next question asks you what pieces of equipment you would need in order to measure various quantities. The equipment available to you is, in alphabetical order:

bathroom scale - a scale which can measure weights up to 300 pounds (approximately 150 kg) with an accuracy of 0.5 kg (1 pound).

Beaker - a 500 ml beaker with lines on it marked at 100-ml intervals

Compass - a magnetic compass which, if there are no other magnets around it, points north

electronic balance -- a Scout electronic balance that can measure weights up to 400 grams with an accuracy of 0.01 grams:

graduated cylinder - having a capacity of 50 ml.

Motion detector - a device which was hooked up to a computer

Ruler - a meter stick which measures distances up to 1 meter

Tape measure - a tape measure that can measure distances up to 50 meters

Thermometer - a glass thermometer which reads from 0 C to 100 C

timer - a stopwatch which can measure times to an accuracy of 0.1 seconds

3. What devices could you use to measure the velocity of a moving object?

A. timer only. B. timer and a ruler or tape measure.

C. thermometer D. tape measure and electronic balance

4. In various devices in the laboratory, rotors ran up and down small plastic tracks, or metallic spheres kept moving in circular paths, following the same paths again and again. How did these devices work?

A. the principle of conservation of energy permitted them to run on forever in spite of friction.

B. a battery in the base of the devices provided the energy to keep the device moving.

C. superconducting lubricants in these devices permitted them to keep moving indefinitely.

D. the magnets and the batteries in the base of the devices were wired in series.

Correct answers

1A, 2C, 3B; a motion detector would also be a correct answer for #3; 4B

Exam Hints:

This is an open-book, open-lab notebook exam. It covers all of the labs up through the lab on the seasons. If you went to lab and your mind was there as well as your body, you should be able to do well. I have two suggestions for studying for this exam:

First, be sure you can remember what the lab exercises were. We did some labs some time ago. You may not need to remember the details but you should remember the labs themselves.

Second, try to make your lab notebook as organized as possible. What I do with my notebooks is to put page numbers on the pages. You can then create a brief table of contents, so that if a question comes up about the four powders lab, you can find the relevant pages in your notebook easily. You can use other schemes - post-it notes, colored inserts, whatever works for you.

I am not in a position to provide lots of sample questions. The purpose of providing the above questions is to give you an opportunity to see what the possible questions are like.

If there are questions on this exam please contact Harry Shipman, even if your principal class instructor is someone else.