Use of Apparatus and Techniques

What Use of Apparatus and Techniques covers

Use of Apparatus and Techniques belongs to specification section 1.2, practical skills assessed mainly through the Practical Endorsement (Component 04), which is reported separately as a pass or fail; the written papers also set questions on it in practical contexts. It covers analogue apparatus and interpolation, digital instruments and multimeters, timing methods that increase accuracy, calipers and micrometers, constructing and checking d.c. circuits, signal generators and oscilloscopes, generating waves and light, ICT and ionising radiation.

The 7 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Analogue apparatus and interpolationRecall questions on interpolating between scale marks and recording the result, avoiding parallax, zeroing a newtonmeter, reading thermometers, cylinders and pressure gauges, and reducing uncertainty in an angle.Open →
• Digital instruments and multimetersRecall questions on setting and connecting a multimeter, measuring resistance out of circuit, the uncertainty of a digital display, a fluctuating last digit, the tare function, and over-range readings.Open →
• Timing and methods that increase accuracyRecall questions on timing many oscillations, the marker used when timing a swing, reaction time in hand timing, set squares and plumb lines, and light gates with interrupt cards.Open →
• Calipers and micrometers for small distancesRecall questions on the resolution of micrometers and vernier calipers, reading a vernier scale, the micrometer ratchet, finding and correcting a zero error, internal jaws and the depth probe, measuring a wire's diameter and cross-sectional area and the percentage uncertainty in the area, over-tightening on soft objects, and the limited range of a micrometer.Open →
• Constructing and checking DC circuitsRecall questions on checking a build against the diagram, components that must go the right way round, protecting the supply, a rheostat used as series resistor or potential divider, and tracing faults.Open →
• Signal generators, oscilloscopes and generating wavesRecall questions on what a signal generator supplies, the time-base and volts-per-division controls, reading frequency and peak voltage from a trace, and measuring wavelengths of sound, water waves and microwaves.Open →
• Light, ICT and ionising radiationRecall questions on why a laser suits interference work, wavelength from double slits and gratings, data-logger sensors and sampling rate, correcting a count for background, and identifying radiation by absorbers.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Use of Apparatus and Techniques further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Peak voltage vs Peak-to-peak voltage

  Peak voltage: the greatest potential difference reached either side of the centre line, which is half the full vertical span of an alternating trace. Peak-to-peak voltage: The full vertical span of an alternating trace, measured from its lowest excursion as far as its highest.

• Rheostat vs Potential divider

  Rheostat: a variable resistor used with two terminals, so moving the slider changes the current in the whole circuit. Potential divider: A variable resistor used with three terminals, the supply across the whole track and the output taken at the slider, giving an output voltage variable smoothly from zero up to the full supply.

• Vernier calipers vs Micrometer

  Vernier calipers: an instrument reading a length as fine as 0.1 mm over a span of roughly 150 mm. Micrometer: An instrument reading a length as fine as 0.01 mm, with jaws opening only about 25 mm.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is meant by interpolating between the markings on a scale?

   Model answer

   It means estimating the position of a reading that falls between two marks, normally to the nearest half division, so a further figure is obtained from the scale.

2. 2

   A rule is marked in millimetres and a length falls between the 24 mm and 25 mm marks. State how the reading should be recorded.

   Model answer

   It should be recorded as 24.5 mm, with an uncertainty of ±0.5 mm.

3. 3

   How is parallax avoided when an analogue meter is read?

   Model answer

   The eye is placed directly above the pointer, and where the meter has a mirror scale the eye is moved until the pointer covers its own reflection.

4. 4

   What must be done for a liquid-in-glass thermometer to give a correct reading?

   Model answer

   The bulb must be fully immersed in the substance, and time must be allowed for the thermometer and the substance to reach the same temperature before the scale is read.

5. 5

   Why should a spring newtonmeter be zeroed while held in the direction in which it will be used?

   Model answer

   The weight of its own moving parts acts along that direction, so the zero shifts if the instrument is checked horizontally and then used vertically.

6. 6

   A protractor is marked in degrees. Suggest how the percentage uncertainty in an angle can be reduced.

   Model answer

   Arrange the measurement so the angle is as large as possible, since the ±0.5° reading uncertainty is then a smaller fraction of it.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Use of Apparatus and Techniques revision questions

What does Use of Apparatus and Techniques cover in OCR A-Level Physics B?

7 subtopics: analogue apparatus and interpolation, digital instruments and multimeters, timing and methods that increase accuracy, calipers and micrometers for small distances, constructing and checking dc circuits, signal generators, oscilloscopes and generating waves and light, ict and ionising radiation. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Use of Apparatus and Techniques organised?

By the OCR H557 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.