CSEC Physics case studies
CSEC Physics · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Physics is a CSEC subject examined by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC®) and listed under Mathematics and Science. CSEC subjects are examined for certification at the General and Technical Proficiencies, and the Council states that these proficiencies provide students with the foundation for further studies and entry to the workplace. The CSEC Physics case studies are 5 cases and about 3,327 words.
1Trolley, Ticker-Tape and a Claim About Inertia
A student investigates Newton's second law with a 0.500 kg trolley on a horizontal runway, pulled by a string over a pulley by a 0.100 kg hanging mass. A ticker-tape timer vibrating at 50 Hz marks the tape, and the displacements in four successive 0.20 s intervals are 4.0 cm, 10.4 cm, 16.6 cm and 23.0 cm.
740 words, about 4 min2Kettle Efficiency, a Missing Lid and a Claim About Destroyed Energy
A 2.0 kW kettle is filled with 0.60 kg of water at 24 degrees Celsius and switched on. A student times it to reach a steady 100 degrees Celsius: 115 s.
674 words, about 3 min3Slide Projector: Image Size Limits in a Small Room
A student is setting up a slide projector using a single converging lens of focal length 15.0 cm. With the screen 1.20 m from the lens he obtains a sharp image of a slide 3.5 cm wide.
574 words, about 3 min4One Socket, Two Appliances and a Melting Fuse
A workshop runs a 2400 W heater and a 1200 W kettle from a single 240 V, 13 A wall socket through a 4-way extension lead. The lead has 8 m of cable with a total resistance of 0.16 ohm and a 13 A fuse in its plug, and it is left coiled on a reel.
692 words, about 3 min5A Six-Hour Source, Background Counts and an Open Day
A school physics department keeps a sealed source whose radionuclide has a half-life of 6.0 hours. At 09:00 a student records 480 counts in 60 s with the source in its holder in front of a GM tube.
647 words, about 3 min