VCE Physics: Practical Activities Common Exam Errors Revision Advice Exam advice

1. VCE Physics: Practical Activities Common Exam Errors Revision Advice Exam advice

2. Practical Activities Types / Styles Criteria for selecting Activities Reporting Assessment

3. Types / Styles of Practical Activities

4. Types / Styles of Practical Activities

5. Types / Styles of Practical Activities Examples Familiarisationexercise Using a CRO and other devices Exploration Introductory Light activities Dissection of a DC motor

6. Types / Styles of Practical Activities Examples Simulation (Spreadsheet investigation) Radioactive Decay Telescope Planetary data Demonstration (POE) Properties of a, b and g Magnet in Al tube

7. Types / Styles of Practical Activities Examples Self paced activity Booklet of Electricity experiments Booklet of Electronics exercises Class exercise Half life experiment Photoelectric Effect experiment Twirling a tuning fork at the ear

8. Types / Styles of Practical Activities Examples Formal experiment Snell’s Law Net F = ma Circular motion Magnetic field of a solenoid Investigation Numerous

9. Types / Styles of Practical Activities Examples Excursion VCE Physics Day at Luna Park Brash’s Soundhouse Australian Synchrotron Scienceworks VSSEC CSIROSEC Prac TestDC Circuit measurements Location of virtual image

10. Criteria for selecting Practical Activities Selecting both the activity and the type: Learning benefit Equipment Time Comfort level Behaviour

11. Reporting How should the students present what they have learnt? Oral Poster IT based Written * Answers to set questions * Log book entry * Formal write up

12. Assessment Alternatives can range from: Completed? Y/N Overall grade, A - E Raw score out of 10 Satisfactory completion Criterion referenced

13. Units 3 & 4 Assessment Unit 3: Extended Practical Investigation They design and carry out an extended practical investigation. They collect accurate data, evaluate the quality of data and measurement processes, and make conclusions based on the data.

14. Units 3 & 4 Assessment Unit 3: Extended Practical Investigation Students: select focused research questions and formulate a quantitatively testable hypothesis. identify variables of significance to an investigation and decide the appropriate variables to be controlled. adapt or extend given methods, and design their own methods, for the control of variables and the systematic collection of sufficient relevant data .. record raw qualitative and quantitative data accurately and …

15. Units 3 & 4 Assessment Unit 3: Extended Practical Investigation Students also: present processed data, including correct use of units, symbols and formulas, to ensure that relationships between variables are evident. identify sources of error and estimate uncertainties in, and reliability of, data and derived quantities. analyse procedures and results, taking into account limitations of, and weaknesses and errors in, techniques and equipment. Identify and explain alternative interpretations of data and results.

16. Units 3 & 4 Assessment Unit 3: Extended Practical Investigation Teacher’s decisions: How much class time? From which Area of Study to choose topics? How much topic choice to give the students? Group size? How much home time? Use of log books? Format for the write up? Marking procedure?

17. Units 3 & 4 Assessment Unit 3: Extended Practical Investigation (EPI) Marking Procedure VCAA Assessment Booklet Descriptors for EPI Descriptors in table format

18. Units 3 & 4 Assessment Unit 4: Report on selected Practical Activities Teacher’s decisions: Which Area of Study to choose pracs from? Which pracs? Use of log books? How much home time? Format for writing report? Structure of the report? Marking procedure?

19. VCE Physics Resources for Teachers

20. Resources Formats: Text CDROM Website

21. Resources Text: • VCAA booklet (pages 46 – 88) • Teacher’s Guides • Old Prac Guides • Old Problem books • Old Exam and Trial papers

22. Resources CDROMs: • Colin Hopkins • Teacher Support kits • Conference Proceedings

23. Resources Websites: • VCAA • www.vicphysics.org • Textbook sites • Web 2.0 sites for Students

24. Common Exam Errors

25. Common Errors: Connected Bodies Examples: Horse pulling a cart, Mass over edge pulls another along table. Error: Apply net force on system to each mass. Misuse internal forces. Consider: Questions 3 & 4 from 2010 Exam.

26. Average: 0.7 out of 2 (35%), Only 10% got 2 marks. Average: 1.1 out of 2 (55%), 51% got 2 marks. Consequential on Q’n 3. Common errors: assume a = g or loss of GPE of mass 2 = gain in KE of mass 1

27. Common Errors: Connected Bodies Method: • Label all forces acting • The whole system and each mass of the system accelerates at the same rate • Apply Newton’s 2nd Law: Net Force = Mass x Accel’n applies to each mass in the system and to the whole system as well. • Forces between masses in the system are examples of Newton’s 3rd Law.

28. Common Errors: Circular Motion Examples: Banked curves, crests in road Error: Include centripetal force as another force, misunderstand reaction force. Consider: Questions 5 & 6 from 2010 Exam.

29. Average: 0.9 out of 2 (45%), 51% got zero) Average: 1.5 out of 3, 48% got 3, 48% got zero

30. Common Errors: Circular Motion Examples: Banked curves, crests in road Error: Include centripetal force as another force, misunderstand reaction force. Method: Better to only refer to centripetal acceleration and then apply Newton’s 2nd Law. Consider: Questions 5 & 6 from 2010 Exam.

31. Common Errors: Collisions Examples: Elastic, and inelastic collisions (both sticky and non-sticky) Error: Assume momentum temporarily goes into ‘storage’; assume all rebound collisions are elastic. Consider: Questions 15 - 17 from 2010 Exam.

33. 36% got full marks 56% got full marks 35% got full marks

34. Common Errors: Collisions Examples: Elastic, and inelastic collisions (both sticky and non-sticky) Error: Assume momentum temporarily goes into ‘storage’; assume all rebound collisions are elastic. Method: Include graphs on 2 page summary. Consider: Questions 15 - 17 from 2010 Exam.

35. Common Errors: Electric Circuits Examples: Diode circuits Error: Don’t realise diode restricts voltage. Consider: Question 2 from 2010 Exam.

36. Average: 0.7 out of 2, 62% got zero, most assumed Total R = 700 ohm

37. Common Errors: Electric Circuits Examples: Diode circuits Error: Don’t realise diode restricts voltage. Method: Do prac showing voltage across a diode is constant and independent of resistor values, while it is on. Consider: Question 2 from 2010 Exam.

38. Common Errors: Electromagnetic Induction Examples: Induced EMF with changing Flux Error: Don’t realise that only a changing magnetic flux induces an EMF. Consider: Questions 8, 9 and 11 from 2010 Exam.

40. Average: 0.8 out of 2,51% got zero,some drew sine waves, many missed the point of different gradients. Average: 0.4 out of 1, both Faraday and Lenz were accepted.

41. Average: 1.0 out of 2, 33% get zero, Many said the induced flux opposed the original flux rather than the change in flux. Others had right reason, but wrong direction.

42. Common Errors: Electromagnetic Induction Examples: Induced EMF with changing Flux Error: Don’t realise that only a changing magnetic flux induces an EMF. Method: Demonstration as an POE, with students drawing graph of flux (with direction) and observing induced EMF. Consider: Questions 8, 9 and 11 from 2010 Exam.

43. Revision Advice for Students • Prepare a one page summary as soon as you finish an Area of Study, • Use it with extra problems until the weeks before the exam, • Maintain a regular routine of doing exam type problems after finishing an Area of Study, • Two weeks before the exam prepare the first draft of the two page summary,

44. Revision Advice for Students In the two weeks before the exam: • Use the draft with past exam and trail papers, • For June exam, one exam 90 min paper per day under exam conditions at home, for a fortnight is doable, • Evaluate performance after each exam and revise draft accordingly,

45. Exam Advice for Students • Use the 15 minute reading productively, • Attitude: Remember if you are finding the exam fairly hard, don’t panic, because the rest of the state is probably also finding it hard. The reverse also applies. • Read the Question Carefully: The exam will have many instances where you have to read a graph or interpret data. In many cases the values will need to be converted to SI units, e.g. cm  m, kN  N, MPa  Pa.

46. Exam Advice for Students • Highlight data and important information as you read the question. • Show working every time. • Written response: Answer in point form. • Don’t look for complexities in the question. Assume the simplest explanation.