Carry out a practical investigation to test a physics theory relating two variables in a non-linear relationship
NZQA suppresses grade rates for low-cohort standards.
You'll design and run a hands-on physics experiment to test whether a real theory correctly predicts how two variables connect in a non-linear (curved) relationship. You'll collect data by changing one variable over a good range, figure out the uncertainties in your measurements, plot your results on a graph, and explain what your findings say about the physics theory you were testing.
You collect appropriate data, calculate some uncertainties, create a graph that lets you find the relationship, and write a conclusion stating your equation and how it compares to theory.
You describe which other variables you controlled or monitored, use techniques to improve accuracy, show uncertainty on your graph in a way that matches your data, and compare your result to theory using actual numbers.
You discuss what other variables could have changed and how they would have affected your results, explain where the theory might not work (especially at extreme values), explain any surprising results you got, and show how all this affects whether your conclusion is trustworthy.
Standards typically taken alongside or after this one. Same subject, grouped by level.