IB Physics HL case studies
IB Physics HL · Put your knowledge to work in context.
IB Physics HL is the higher-level physics course within the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, a two-year pre-university qualification taught in schools worldwide and recognised by universities for admission and, in some cases, credit. It suits students who want a rigorous, mathematically grounded treatment of physics and who intend to study engineering, the physical sciences, medicine or another quantitative field. The IB Physics HL case studies are 5 cases and about 3,530 words.
1Loop-the-loop: energy margin and the meaning of a light-gate speed
A student is testing a loop-the-loop track. A trolley of mass 0.85 kg is launched from the bottom by a spring and must stay in contact with the track at the top of a vertical circular loop of radius 0.42 m.
741 words, about 4 min2Syringe compression: leak, dead volume or a lagging thermometer?
A student investigates the compression of air in a sealed transparent syringe. The syringe contains 20.0 cm³ of air at 21 °C and 101 kPa.
732 words, about 4 min3Two-speaker interference: a 'quiet point' that is not a minimum
A student sets up two identical loudspeakers on a bench, separated by 1.10 m, facing a flat wall 3.00 m away. Both speakers are driven in phase by the same signal generator at 1.20 kHz.
653 words, about 3 min4Magnet in a copper tube: eddy-current braking versus 'copper is not magnetic'
A student drops a small cylindrical neodymium magnet through a vertical copper tube. The tube is 0.60 m long, with inner diameter 12 mm and wall thickness 1.5 mm.
676 words, about 3 min5Photoelectric effect: extracting h and the work function from stopping potentials
A student uses a vacuum photocell with an unknown metal cathode. Light from LEDs of wavelength 400 nm and 500 nm is shone on the cathode, and the stopping potential is measured with a variable reverse voltage.
728 words, about 4 min