Measurement
PIRA classification 1A
53 Demonstrations listed of which 18 are grayed out
Grayed out demonstrations are not available or within our archive and are under consideration to be added. |
1A10. Basic Units
PIRA # |
Demonstration Name |
Subsets |
Abstract |
1A10.10 |
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Show English and SI units of length, mass, weight, and time. |
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1A10.20 |
pira200 |
Show students a 1 lb mass and a 1 kg mass. |
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1A10.21 |
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Show students a calibrated weight set or multiple sets, that they may encounter in they Labs. |
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1A10.30 |
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This is a calibrated stainless steel bar with 100 1cm marking on it, know as a Standard Meter. |
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1A10.31 |
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This is a set of calibrated measuring blocks that are precision gauged for measuring thickness with high accuracy, which is know as Hoke Gauge Block Set. |
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1A10.36 |
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Length of meter stick cut to be equal to the distance light travels in one nanosec (0.29 m). |
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1A10.35 |
Meter Stick |
pira200 |
Show the relative length of the meter and the yard. |
1A10.40 |
All Clocks |
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Set out a timer with a one second sweep, an hour glass, a metronome, etc. |
1A10.40a |
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A standard inverted pendulum metronome with adjustable weight to change the beat frequency. |
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1A10.40b |
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This stop clock can measure time with a accuracy of one one-hundredth of a second. |
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1A10.40c |
Hour Glass |
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Set out a hour glass. |
1A10.45a |
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Put out a phone and call WWV to listen to the signal. |
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1A10.45b |
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Go to http://www.nist.gov/pml/div688/grp40/wwv.cfm to access the same signal online. |
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1A10.45c |
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Radio Receivers that pick up the WWV time signal. |
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1A10.48 |
Orrery |
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Get the Orrery from Astronomy to show sidereal time. |
1A10.49 |
Sidereal Time |
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Two clocks on permanent display show Greenwich and Sidereal time. |
1A10.50 |
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Put out a one liter wood cube that has cm square rules on one face. |
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1A10.55 |
Mass, Volume, and Density |
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Compare wood and aluminum cubes, each with 10 cm sides, (equal volume). Compare a 10 cm aluminum cube with a 10 cm sq x 4 cm lead block (equal mass). Compare an aluminum cube with 10 cm sides to a 10 cm sq x 4 cm aluminum block (equal density). |
1A10.60a |
Avogadro's Number Box |
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A cube with sides of 28.2 cm has a volume of 22.4 l at STP. |
1A10.60b |
Avogadro's Number Box |
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A 22.4 liter box to represent the volume of one mole at STP. |
1A10.65 |
Mole Samples |
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Show mole samples of carbon, iron, copper, zinc, etc. |
1A10.70 |
Density Samples |
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One kg samples of lead, aluminum, water, wood each have 5 cm square bases. A one meter frame shows the size of approximately 1 kg of air. |
1A20. Error and Accuracy
PIRA # |
Demonstration Name |
Subsets |
Abstract |
1A20.10 |
Gaussian Collision Board |
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Balls roll down a nail board into parallel chutes forming a probability curve similar to the distribution of molecular velocities. |
1A20.10a |
Gaussian curve: Probability Board |
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1000's of small ball bearings are funneled down through an array of posts to form the Gaussian Curve. (Must be retrieved from the Physics Museum) |
1A20.11 |
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256 Small steel balls fall into 9 columns or bins to form a probability curve similar to a Gaussian distribution. |
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1A20.15 |
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A bowl of a few thousand colored balls. The ball colors correspond to the number of balls in the bowl. Paddles with holes for the balls can be used to sample different numbers of balls. |
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1A20.20 |
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Flip coin to show 50/50 probability. |
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1A20.25 |
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Use them to show that the probability distribution is centered over 7. |
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1A20.31 |
Contact Time Measurement |
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Measure contact time of two hammers being struck together. A pulse generator is gated to a pulse counter while the hammers are in contact. Frequency of the pulse generator can be changed to vary accuracy. |
1A20.40 |
Calipers |
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Demonstrate the use of a micrometer, spherometer, and vernier calipers. |
1A20.41a |
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Demonstrate the use of a vernier caliper. Use commercial large scale verniers to show how they work. |
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1A20.41b |
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Demonstrate the use of caliper by using a large scale wooden vernier caliper to show how calipers work. |
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1A20.41c |
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Demonstrate the use of a spherometer calipers. |
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1A20.41d |
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Demonstrate the use of a micrometer calipers. |
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1A20.51 |
Lead Ping Pong Ball and Foam Chunk |
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Students judge weight of a white lead filled ping pong ball and a chunk of black foam. |
1A20.60a |
Reaction Timer |
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Cover 3/4 or more of a stop clock face. Push the stop button when the hand shows. Measure the time. |
1A20.60b |
Reaction Time, Two button |
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Start by pushing and holding the start button. Move you hand over and hit the stop button as fast as you can once the counter starts to count up. Counter is in milliseconds and has a random start-up. |
1A30. Coordinate Systems
PIRA # |
Demonstration Name |
Subsets |
Abstract |
1A30.10 |
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Aluminum stand that holds 3 arrows to show Cartesian unit vector. |
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1A30.15 |
Non-Orthogonal Frames |
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A model for demonstrating the geometry of vectors in non-orthogonal frames. |
1A30.21 |
Euler's Angles |
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A model that demonstrates the orientation of an arbitrarily oriented set of orthogonal axes with respect to another orthogonal set which is fixed. |
1A30.22 |
Euler's Angles - MITAC gyro model |
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Use the MITAC gyro {1Q50.30} as a classroom model to help illustrate Euler's angles. |
1A30.30 |
Polar Coordinates |
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A model that shows the relationship between polar and Cartesian coordinates. |
1A30.35 |
Radian and Steradian, Models |
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Cardboard cutouts. |
1A30.40 |
Chalkboard Globe |
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Draw coordinates on a 20" plain globe. |
1A40. Vectors
PIRA # |
Demonstration Name |
Subsets |
Abstract |
1A40.10 |
Vectors |
pira200 |
Use separate arrows of different lengths to show vector sums and resultants. You can also illustrate the commutive law of vector addition by producing the same resultant when varying the order of the vector addition. |
1A40.15 |
Project Components of a Vector |
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A horizontal arrow is shadow-projected onto two screens at 90 degrees, facing the class. |
1A40.20 |
Folding Ruler |
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A large version of the folding carpenter's rule of four 2' sections with painted arrows. |
1A40.25 |
Tinker Toys |
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Use tinker toys to represent vectors. |
1A40.30 |
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Use archery arrows on a magnetic whiteboard to show vector addition and subtraction. |
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1A40.50 |
Vector Displacement |
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An overhead projector device using two compass needles to show that a vector remains invariant when displaced. Diagram. |
1A50. Math Topics
PIRA # |
Demonstration Name |
Subsets |
Abstract |
1A50.10 |
Radian |
pira200 |
Show a flexible strip of plastic or string equal to the radius of a large disc, then bend it around the circumference and mark off the radians. |
1A50.30 |
Sine, Cosine, and Circle Linkage |
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Linkages connect a spot moving around a circle with spots moving orthogonal as the sine and cosine. (Item was converted to show the relation of circular and oscillating motion.) |
1A60. Scaling
PIRA # |
Demonstration Name |
Subsets |
Abstract |
1A60.10 |
pira200 |
"Powers of Ten" is a 13min movie, covering scales from the universe to sub-atomic. |
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1A60.11 |
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A Java Scrip that is similar to the old movie "Powers of Ten" with a modern twist. |
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1A60.40 |
Scaling Cube |
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A large cube made up of 27 smaller ones is painted black on the outside. Knock the stack apart and show the increase in surface area by the preponderance of unpainted surfaces. |