CSET Science Physics case studies
CSET Science Physics · Put your knowledge to work in context.
This independent study page provides practice for CSET Science Physics. Its editorial learning areas include Energy; Life Sciences; Mechanics; Waves Optics; Modern Physics; Earth Sciences; Space Sciences; Chemistry; Experimental Reasoning. The CSET Science Physics case studies are 5 cases and about 2,225 words.
1Block on a Rough Incline: Does the System Move at All?
A 4.0 kg wooden block on a rough plane inclined at 25° to the horizontal is joined by a light string, passing over a small pulley at the top of the plane, to a 2.5 kg mass hanging freely. The coefficients of friction between block and plane are μs = 0.45 and μk = 0.35.
696 words, about 3 min2Resolving the Sodium Doublet: Which Order, and Is the Grating at Fault?
A student uses a plane transmission grating marked '500 lines per mm' and 10 mm wide to try to resolve the sodium doublet at 589.0 nm and 589.6 nm. A collimator produces a parallel beam that falls on the full width of the grating, and the diffracted light is observed through a telescope.
699 words, about 3 min3Mass-spring measurements and an energy cross-check
A classroom group studies a horizontal cart attached to a spring on an idealized low-friction track. For this calculation the spring is massless, the track is level, friction is neglected and the restoring law is linear over all displacements used.
265 words, about 1 min4Calorimetry with a container that absorbs heat
A student places a hypothetical metal specimen into water in an insulated calorimeter. All numerical thermal properties are supplied for this exercise rather than inferred from a material name.
273 words, about 1 min5Comparing photon energy with a supplied work function
An idealized photoelectric experiment uses a clean hypothetical emitting surface with work function 2.30 eV. The surface name is deliberately unspecified: the work function is a supplied model parameter.
292 words, about 1 min