A spring scale was constructed by attaching several extension springs in series. The springs were acquired by disassembling a collection of staplers; however, these springs proved to be limited in their use, since they did not have a clearly defined elastic limit. The spring scale constructed has a k value of 7.05 ± 5.7x10-3 N/m. The measurement error was calculated to be equivalent to 0.34 grams. The scale is accurate to 1 gram and has a functional range from 60 grams to 450 grams.

In this experiment western milfoil, a common fresh water plant, was used to determine the rate of oxygen production during photosynthesis. The rate was determined based on the amount of gaseous oxygen produced by a given number of plants over a period of time. The combined results of ten trials yielded an average oxygen production rate of 0.57μmol/m²/s ± 0.016μmol/ m²/s. This rate is comparable to those of various other aquatic plants, which vary from 0.1μmol/m²/s to upwards of 5μmol/m²/s [2].

During the game of squash, the transfer of thermal energy to the squash ball is integral to increase the bounce height of the ball. This investigation involves the transfer of thermal energy to squash balls of the same brand and specification to observe the effect on hang time. Preliminary work involved determining the specific heat capacity of the squash balls. On completing the investigation, the results showed a linear relationship between the thermal energy applied and the hang time.

An experiment was performed to measure the impulse of the A8-3 Estes model rocket engine. The measurements were obtained by mounting an engine vertically onto a frame and measuring the changing weight of the assembly during the firing period for six trials. Thrust was calculated by the difference in measured weight from the rest weight while accounting for the mass loss rate. The impulse of each of the six thrust curves was averaged to find the final impulse measurement: 2.36 (+/-) .16 N-s. Estimates of the average thrust and exhaust velocity were also calculated from the impulse measurement.

Light bulbs play an indispensable role in our lives as they provide unhindered ability to see the world even during the night. Efficiency of light bulbs is becoming increasingly important, and through this experiment, light bulb efficiencies are analyzed from measurements of relative light intensity and power input of various bulbs. Furthermore, this report is aimed to increase awareness of the efficiency advantage in fluorescent bulbs and to encourage their usage in the interest of conserving energy.

The two interconnected rubber balloons system is a demonstration widely used to show the effect of surface tension; however, the nature of the rubber skin, sizes of the balloons limit the ability of this demonstration. In this research, I measured the circumference and pressure of balloons for the calculation of surface tension. It was found that the demonstration can be done between circumferences of 30 cm to 50 cm for the party balloons to show the effect of surface tension as explained by the Laplace-Young equation.