I have a new course starting next semester and need some ideas. The course
will concentrate on graphical analysis with some additional miscellaneous
topics. In general, the course will cover graphical techniques to find the
relationship of a set of data pairs (not concentrating on theory) and written
reports discussing the analysis will be a fundamental part of the course.
So, I am looking for simple experiments/projects that show linear, quadratic,
exponential, power, or sinusoidal relationships, etc. I've listed some
topics below, and need more ideas. The course is not concentrating on any
one science area, so topics from biology, chemistry and other fields are also
welcome. Ideas can include in-school experiments, out-of-school experiments,
or data that is available from other sources such as the internet.
Thanks,
Bob Carlson
Possible Topics:
Linear:
Resistance as a function of length
Constant velocity
Z versus atomic number and n+p versus atomic number
Continental drift? Is there data on the internet?
Circumference versus diameter
Quadratic:
Dropped ball
Fan starting
Log-log:
Planet period versus mean distance from sun
Period of a simple pendulum
Resistance as a function of cross section area
Areas and volumes of geometrical shapes
Semi-log:
Newton's Law of Cooling
Bacteria growth
Light intensity as a function of distance
Light absorption as a function of plastic thickness
Shake pennies and remove heads
Radioactive decay
Compound interest
Capacitor voltage versus time
Sinusoidal:
Mass-spring system
Annual temperature for a city
Rotating wheel
Miscellaneous:
Finding the heights of buildings using a protractor
Conservation laws
Height of a bouncing ball versus the number of bounces
Use a protractor, compass and ruler to derive sine, cosine & tangent for
various angles