In this unit I learned about Newton's First Law, Inertia, Net Force, Equilibrium, Speed, Velocity, equation for a straight line, and Acceleration. I also learned different formulas and equations to go along with each of these concepts.
Newton's First Law and Inertia: At the beginning of this unit, the first things we talked about was Newton's First Law and Inertia. Newton's First law states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. Inertia is another way to refer to Newton's First Law. An example of Inertia is when there are plates on top of a table cloth and someone pulls the table cloth out from under the dishes and the dishes remain on the table. They remain at rest and don't move with the table cloth, because they were not being acted upon by an outside force. Inertia is occurring but you cannot say that the reason this happens if because of Inertia, because Inertia is a property. Another good way to think of Inertia is by saying things like to continue doing what they are doing, so if an object is at rest it will want to stay at rest. One more example of Inertia is if you throw a penny up in your hand it will land right back in your hand. There is no force that is causing the penny to move forward with the car.
Net force and Equilibrium: Netforce is once or more forces acting upon an object at once. A force is either a push or it is a pull. So and example of net force would be the following:
This is an example of an object moving at a newt force of 10 newtons. Newtons is the measure of force. If the force of friction ( the amount of resistance) were to be 10N then the net force would be equal to 0N which would mean the object would be at equilibrium. If an object is either moving at a constant velocity or the object is at rest then it is at equilibrium because there is no force, or the force is equal.
Speed and Velocity: Speed is how fast an object is moving. There are many ways to measure speed but in Physics the most common way is m/s. In order to determine speed, you have to use the equation which is distance/time. Speed is different from velocity, because velocity requires a specific direction. Velocity is the speed of an object that is moving in a specific direction. In order to change velocity, there needs to be an outside force acting on the object. Another way to change your velocity is by changing direction. Changing direction does not change the speed though. An example of this is a race car rounding the corner at 90 km/hr. The car would continue at a constant speed but it would not be going at a constant velocity, because it is changing direction.
Equation of a straight line: The Equation of a straight line is y=mx+b. The y in this equation stands for time and the m stands for 1/2 a and the x stands for time^2. So this equation could also be written as d= 1/2 at^2.
Acceleration: Acceleration means an increase or decrease in speed. In order to find acceleration you would use the equation of change in velocity/ time. The unit used for acceleration is m/s2.
In this picture, it shows how the ball accelerates based on the height of the ramp. If you want to determine how fast an object is moving then you would use v=a (acceleration) x t (time). And if you want to figure out how far an object is going you would use the equation d=1/2 at2. Acceleration means how much the object is speeding up. In order to have a constant acceleration then the increase must be equal. For example going from 52 to 54 to 56 would be a constant acceleration, or going from 56 to 54 to 52. If an object is moving from 50 to 58 to 59 then it would not be constant.
Me as a Student
I think that the the most difficult part for me this unit was the equation for a line and graphing. After watching the video made by my classmates about graphing and equations, it made it much more clear. I took notes on that video and I understand when and why I use certain equations. I also reviewed labs and old notes to see where I used this equation. The lightbulb clicked for me when I re-watched the podcast on this topic, because they explained it in a way that made it easy for me to understand. They also had visuals which made it even clearer.
I think that I have had a pretty good understanding of Physics so far this year. I have completed my homework, and I really appreciate the videos Ms. Lawrence made because they helped to hammer in the concept that we learned. I think that the blogs have been successful in helping us as students explain what we have learned. I think that I have put a lot of effort into making sure my blog posts are good, but I do think that there is room for improvement. One way I could improve my blog posts is by making them even more detailed and accurate. In Physics I see the use of creativity by coming up with scenerios that Physics can be applied to such as a car driving around a race track. I think that I do take my time working on problems, but I could be even more detailed in my answering. My goals for the next unit is to make sure I completely understand a concept before taking a quiz on it. I also need to work on showing all of my work on a quiz. I could do this by writing out the formulas and all the information needed on a problem even if it seems unecessary before completing it. I think that I also need to participate and ask more questions in class.
Making Connections
Physics is seen in everyday life. A few examples of where is see Physics include driving down the road and in sports. When I drive to school and we turn out of my driveway onto cane creek road, we are experiencing a change in acceleration because we are both turning and speeding up. We are not moving at a constant velocity though when we are moving, because we are changing speed and direction. During field hockey practice I see Physics all the time. When I hit the ball it is not longer at rest because I hit it with an outside force. The stick causes the ball to move until the grass (another force) causes it to slow down and eventually stop. If the ground was completely flat and even then the ball would continue to move because an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.
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