Top Tips
This is a PHYSICS task so there should be plenty of
PHYSICS in it. Wider context stuff will make it more interesting (social,
economic, cultural, historical aspects) but the bulk of the marks are available
for good A level PHYSICS. Don't forget to include plenty of it.
Do not include anything you don't understand. If you say
what the specific heat capacity of a material is be prepared to answer
the question "so what does that mean then?"
Don't forget to hand in a good sources sheet. Something like the one below will do with about 5 sources.
| Source | URL | Description | Information it provided | Notes |
| WebElements | www.webelements.com | Online periodic table with lots of information about the elements. Produced by Mark Winter of the University of Sheffield. | Properties of Aluminium and other metals including Young's Modulus, density and melting point. | Excellent source. Very easy to use. |
You should have a title slide at the start and one showing
the different sections your presentation will contain. the last slide should be
conclusions / summary.
The properties of the material should be related to a
particular application. This is what it means by a "clear context". Do not just
do a report about Aluminium and its uses. Focus on one particular use.
If you get stuck ask for help. before the handing in
deadline you could offer to show your teacher the presentation and ask for
comments.
Try to do a calculation of your own with the
data you find, e.g. The density of aluminium is 2.4 x less than steel but it is
1.7 x less strong. Create your own graphs showing this kind of data.
Compare your material with alternatives. A table comparing
advantages and disadvantages of one material over another will get good credit.
In your report include lots of illustrations , graphics
etc. NOT lots of text. That can be in the notes you hand in.
You should spend about 5 hours in total on this task including researching.
