IP Physics Plasticine: 7 Experiments that Turn Soft Clay into Hard-Won Marks
05 Jul 2025, 00:00 Z
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Q: What does IP Physics Plasticine: 7 Experiments that Turn Soft Clay into Hard-Won Marks cover?
A: Malleable, cheap and exam-friendly, plasticine is the stealth MVP of IP and H2 Physics practical work.
TL;DR
Plasticine is cheap, fast to reshape, and tends to stick on impact. That makes it useful for hands-on mini-labs that practise core Physics ideas (density, motion in fluids, inelastic collisions, centre of mass, deformation, and pressure). This article lays out seven mini-labs, common slip-ups, and a 5-day micro-practice plan.
Log these mini-labs in our H2 Physics Experiments hub so your Paper 4 practical plan stays coherent.
Exam-Scope Disclaimer
Stokes' Law is not explicitly named in the SEAB syllabi for O-Level Physics 6091 and H2 Physics 9478. Treat the viscosity experiment below as enrichment and follow your teacher’s guidance on what to memorise versus what to interpret from a provided relationship.
Keep your practice loop tight via our IP Physics tuition hub-it links each topic here to quizzes, diagnostics, and WA-style problem sets.
1 Why every H2 lab issues a lump of plasticine
- Malleable & re-usable - one block can be rolled into spheres, flattened into pucks or packed onto carts in seconds.
- Safe & classroom-friendly - no shards, no bounce, no toxic dust.
- Density is measurable - plasticine density varies by brand and how it’s packed; measure it from mass and volume if your experiment depends on it.
- Sticky on impact - guarantees a perfectly inelastic collision every time, a requirement in many momentum tasks.
IP exam setters exploit those virtues because they let students focus on data handling and uncertainty, not tricky apparatus.
These guides track SEAB GCE O-Level Physics (6091) scope (exams from 2026) with IP-focused practical emphases.
Note: Use your school’s scheme of work and lab briefings for sequencing-schools can reorder topics and practical activities.
2 Seven physics ideas a clay lump can prove
2.1 Density without Archimedes
Roll five different-mass spheres, measure mass (digital balance) and diameter (vernier calliper). A log-log mass-vs-diameter³ plot gives the density as the gradient. Students spot linearisation and propagate percentage uncertainties in one go.
2.2 Stokes' law in a jam jar
Drop the spheres through glycerine or honey, time the last 10 cm fall. Plot radius² against terminal velocity; gradient yields the fluid viscosity via
