Question

Practical 1(a). Using the apparatus shown (retort stands, clamps, split corks, a metre rule, thread and a weighing balance), perform an experiment to investigate horizontal oscillations of a loaded metre rule: measure the mass M of the rule; suspend it by two vertical strings of length l=70 cm with separation d=80 cm; suspend a mass m=20 g at the mid-point via a thread of length h=15 cm; displace and release to oscillate horizontally; time 20 oscillations; evaluate T, T² and T⁻¹ for m=20,30,50,70,100 g; tabulate; plot a graph of T² against m; determine the slope, s; state two precautions.

Accepted Answer

This is a practical experiment: the student records the time for 20 oscillations at each mass, computes the period T (time/20), tabulates m, t, T, T² for all 5 masses, plots T² (y-axis) against m (x-axis) — expecting a straight line through the origin (since T²∝m) — and reads the slope s = Δ(T²)/Δm from the graph. Precautions include ensuring smooth, regular oscillations in the horizontal plane and avoiding parallax error when reading the metre rule.

WAEC Physics 2021 Theory — Question 31

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