with mr mackenzie
I set my alarm clock for 4am and was disappointed to find a sky full of clouds that would prevent us from viewing the transit of Venus from Thurso and the surrounding area.
The BBC Horizon programme broadcast last night was very good. You can still catch it on iPlayer for the next week or download it using the link below.
The big man of Physics has a special message for you:
I have classes periods 1 & 4 but you are free to stop by E3 any other time before the exam if you need some help.
Past papers and solutions for 2001 to 2011 are now available on the advanced higher physics revision page.
BBC2 showed a really good programme about satellites last night. This screenshot showing a satellite passing over the Highlands is taken from about 17 minutes into the show. Click on the picture to visit the BBC’s own page about the documentary.
It was quite eye-opening to see just how much modern society relies on satellite technology.
You can download the entire programme using the link below.
This week is your last chance to submit a draft of your investigation report for proof reading. I have already given you a copy of the SQA guidelines for candidates. You might also find the attached uncertainties document helpful. Pay special attention to the final page; reports that fail to account for calibration uncertainty will be penalised by the external marker.
If you are struggling with uncertainties in Excel, have a look at the two linest documents I posted earlier this year.
Ria asked if a slinky really stops in mid air when it is released. Eoin helped us to find out the answer.
It’s easier to see what happens if you watch a slow motion version.
Or even slower motion.
Why does that happen?
Those of you not out celebrating New Year might have spotted a programme called Beautiful Equations on the BBC schedule. The programme follows an artist as he asks about five famous physics equations.
One of the featured equations should be familiar to you from unit 1 of the AH Physics course;
Hopefully you recognise this as Newton’s equation for the gravitational force between two bodies. I have extracted the nine minutes or so relating to Newton’s work and embedded it below.
The link below will download the entire programme, which also looks at 
This week’s episode of Band Goes the Theory was about the Fukushima disaster in Japan. Part of the programme was filmed at Dounreay, where Dallas investigated the methods being used to decontaminate the site. You can watch the part about Dounreay by playing this clip.
The whole programme is available for download using the link below (large download).
This tutorial will help you with adding a line of best fit to your LO3 graph. If you use the linest function, you can extract useful information on gradient and intercept of the line. There are also screenshots to show how error bars can be added to individual points.
Excel Tutorial: Using LINEST function, Plotting a graph, Adding Error Bars
I have added a download link to a short pdf on the use of linest.
You completed the practical aspect of your LO3 task today.
For next week, please process your data so you can show me
This will probably be easier to complete if you use a spreadsheet program such as Excel or OpenOffice. You will need diagrams for the procedure section of your LO3 report. Scanned images of the apparatus are available here.
