Observe and investigate - Sample Essay

My aim for this experiment is to observe and investigate how high a bug-up toy can jump. The jump will be measured and for variation I will add plastercine to prove if it will alter the height of the jump. Method: In order to do this experiment I am going to be using one bug-up toy. The reason for this is because it will benefit that the experiment is a fair test rather than changing and using different toys. All you have to do to use the bug-up toy is just simply press down onto it and after a few seconds the bug-up will jump. I will measure the height of the jump by using a meter ruler stick and stood up vertically straight.

After a number of results recorded I will then add some plastercine to see whether it turns out that it does affect the weight of the bug-up. It will work when I record it with the plastercine and a sudden change has occurred in its height. I will watch the bug-up jump and record the result of the height that it jumped. This can cause slight problems because if you look at it from a normal view, you may not be able to see where it actually reached, so I must avoid the parallax error. ‘ Factors affecting the jump height: There are many factors that I have to come across and have to control.

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These factors are critical to keeping the experiment a fair test. Although I will be working indoors throughout the experiment it should still be mentioned that weather could affect it. The shape of the bug-up toy can alter the air resistance thus causing it to go higher or less high. Some bug-up toys tend to rotate in the air when I used them for the first time. This can be a problem as it won’t be so efficient. If this is to occur I will have to stop this from happening. The mass or weight of the toy can affect its performance, the bigger the mass the lower the jump.

I will attempt to control this factor by keeping it light and may make different recordings with added mass. They all include a sucker to hold down the bug-up so that the person’s finger can be released to avoid human error. Although it is holding down the toy it may make the toy to jump lower than without the sucker and it will alter the time longer before jump. I can’t really do much about it but just continue. The spring can be different. It can either be soft or stiff. The stiffer the spring, the higher it jumps but size does matter. So I may have a smaller spring than someone else.

The bug-up toy may need to be pressed on against harder or longer to work at its best. It wouldn’t matter much to me I assume. There may be a point where I would make a mistake with the bug-up, which the term used for is known as human error. Hypothesis: I predict that in the start of the experiment the bug-up toy will commence at its top performance. Every time I add mass after recording further readings, the height will gradually decrease. In a way the correlation between the height and the mass will turn out to be inversely proportional.

The term inversely proportional indicates that if one value is doubled, then the other value is halved (as shown on the graph example below). Inversely Proportional Scientific Knowledge: When we are walking, driving, cycling or doing anything with one forward movement or energy, we always come across air resistance. It’s the air molecules we push into and many of the times it slows down the speed at which we are heading. It is literally everywhere and so is energy. Around any simple object or thing or person energy is transferred from one energy to another. Below is an energy transfer diagram of how the bug-up toy works:

1. Elastic Strain Energy (E. P. E. )- this evolves the energy stored of the spring and the sucker after the release of pushing down on it. It can also be elastic potential energy. 2. Kinetic Energy and sound (K.. E. )- it is when the sucker has let go and sprung up into the air. It is the first movement of the bug-up toy. Sound energy is transferred just as it takes off into the air. 3. Gravitational Potential Energy (G. P. E. )- it is the point where the bug-up has stopped in the middle of the air before it begins to descend back down. Due to the gravitational pull of the Earth it forces the bug-up to turn.4. Kinetic Energy and sound (K . E)- this is the point when it is falling back to the ground. Sound is caused when it lands on the ground.

To explain all of this in short and brief then perhaps an energy flow diagram will do: E. P. E K. E. (Sound) G. P. E K. E. (Sound and heat) Preliminary Work: Just before I begin the actual experiment I have to make sure that my method and planning is literally acceptable and to get the feeling of using the bug-up and get the experience of using my method. It is basically the early work stages of the experiment but it doesn’t count.

In preliminary work I can observe whether my method will be a good fair test and give out good fair results. I can study the means of handling the bug-up. I found out its maximum height it can jump and placed a ruler on the height and then work it out from there. Also I can make sure that the measurements I am reading are accurate, as well as the amount plastercine I put in the bug-up and its mass. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Electricity and Magnetism section.



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