High School Physics Lab Manual — Quiz

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who publishes the High School Physics Lab Manual?
A) National Science Foundation
B) OpenStax, Rice University
C) Texas Education Agency
D) The College Board

2. According to the manual, accuracy refers to:
A) The spread between a group of repeated measurements
B) How close a measurement is to the correct value
C) The number of significant figures in a measurement
D) The resolution of a measuring instrument

3. Precision refers to:
A) How close a measurement is to the correct value
B) The difference (or spread) between a group of repeated measurements
C) The type of instrument used to measure
D) The units used in a measurement

4. What section of each lab lists the learning objectives, or "take away points"?
A) Process steps
B) Data and observations
C) "In this lab you will learn" section
D) Assessments

5. In Activity 1, what method is used to measure the volume of an oddly shaped object?
A) The triple beam balance method
B) The displacement method
C) The spring scale method
D) The significant figures method

6. According to the text, which of the following is true about zeros in significant figures?
A) Zeros are never considered significant
B) Zeros surrounded by nonzero digits on both sides are considered significant
C) Zeros are only significant if they appear to the left of a decimal point
D) All trailing zeros are always significant regardless of a decimal point

7. What does the "Safety precautions" section of an activity provide?
A) A list of materials needed for the activity
B) Bullet points describing how to prevent injury during the activity
C) The learning objectives of the activity
D) The TEKS standards tags

8. What do TEKS tags found within activity titles and assessments help students do?
A) Identify the materials needed for an activity
B) Quickly find and review lab materials relevant to Texas state standards
C) Determine the correct number of significant figures
D) Measure volume using the displacement method

Short-Answer Questions

9. Explain, using the example of measuring a piece of string, the difference between accuracy and precision.

10. Describe how the displacement method is used to measure the volume of an object, and explain why it is useful for certain types of objects.

11. According to the preface ("To the Student"), what should you do if you are ever unsure about a lab procedure, and why is this important?

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Answer Key

1. B) OpenStax, Rice University
2. B) How close a measurement is to the correct value
3. B) The difference (or spread) between a group of repeated measurements
4. C) "In this lab you will learn" section
5. B) The displacement method
6. B) Zeros surrounded by nonzero digits on both sides are considered significant
7. B) Bullet points describing how to prevent injury during the activity
8. B) Quickly find and review lab materials relevant to Texas state standards

1. Accuracy refers to how close measurements are to the correct/true value (e.g., measurements close to 30.48 cm); precision refers to how consistent or close together repeated measurements are with each other (the spread), regardless of whether they are close to the true value.

1. The displacement method involves placing an object into a container with a known volume of water; the change in fluid level when the object is fully immersed indicates the object's volume. This method is useful for measuring the volume of oddly shaped objects, where it would otherwise be hard to determine dimensions directly.

1. Students should ask their teacher before proceeding if unsure about a procedure. This is important because improperly performing lab procedures can result in poor data, the need to redo experiments, damage to equipment, or injury to oneself or classmates.