Another Season Come and Gone

Another unit down! Time really does fly at the Asheville School. It's hard to believe that we already have test on Unit Two material. There's definitely a lot we covered. In this unit, we focused of various different subjects. One of the many was Newton's 2nd law. We learned that the acceleration is directly proportional to the net force but indirectly proportional to mass. We also covered various concepts on falling, and the affect it has. In the first concept, we learned that free fall is when there is no air-resistance; basically, gravity is the only force acting on it. Therefore, the acceleration will always be 10m/s^2. To figure out how tall something you can use the equation d=1/2gt^2. G stands for gravity, t stands for time, and d stands for distance. To figure out how fast something fell, we can use the equation v=gt where g stands for gravity, t stands for time, and v stands for velocity. The next concept we learned about was throwing things up at an angle. This is similar to free fall, except you have to account for the inertia and time it takes for the ball to reach the top of its path, and then start falling into free fall. We count backwards from the velocity by 10, until the velocity is zero. Then, we can use the same method as we did in free fall, and count forward from zero on the velocity. Next was the idea of projectile motion, which gets a little more complicated. In projectile motion, something is dropped from a certain height, and falls in the shape of a parabola. To figure out how many second the item is falling, or how far away it needs to be dropped to land on a certain target, we need to calculate both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. The vertical direction is set up the exact way we would set up a free fall equation. The horizontal direction isn't that hard either. The horizontal velocity will always be constant, so if something has s velocity of 10m/s, then it will stay uniform in the horizontal direction. Throwing at an angle also uses both the horizontal velocity and vertical velocity. The velocity will still be constant in the horizontal direction, and we can still calculate various factors in the vertical velocity by using similar methods as we did in throwing at an angle and free fall. However, if we want to figure out the velocity of the ball throughout, we need to use some geometry, namely, Pythagorean theorem. It can seem complicated, but after a while it seems pretty simple. Finally, we learned about falling with air resistance. We learned that air-resistance is directly proportional to velocity. Also, air resistance is dependent speed. The greater the speed, the greater the air resistance. If a parachutist jumps out of an airplane, eventually they will reach a point where air resistance is equal and opposite to the weight and they are at terminal velocity, or, as we know, equilibrium. In this concept, acceleration will not always remain 10m/s^2. To figure out the acceleration, we use the equation a=fnet/mass or a=weight-air resistance/mass. Something that has challenged me this unit is remembering all the various elements of each different concept. An example of this is remembering in free fall and throwing things up at an angle, the acceleration will always be 10m/s^2. Unfortunately, this is one concept we mixed up in our podcast. I've gotten so used to the concepts we learned in the first unit, so it's definitely an adjustment trying to rewire my brain to understand unit two. Even though I have faced some challenges during this unit, I've also found some ways to overcome these obstacles. One way to help keep things straight in my head is by writing a study guide of everything we learned about this unit. I read over it multiple times and make sure I understand what I am saying, and also check for errors. Something else that helps too is re-watching the videos. It might seem tedious, but it really helps to refresh our mind. I feel like this has been a successful unit in physics. Whenever I had a question about what we were learning, I always talked to Ms. Lawrence. I also feel that my confidence when solving physic's problems has increased. I don't get as flustered as I did in the beginning when an equation didn't work out. I have more patience, and feel more secure in my skills. My goals for the next unit are to keep studying, keep re-watching the videos, and keep a positive attitude. I've found in the past it's almost impossible to achieve a goal if you constantly have a negative attitude about it. To achieve these goals, I will make sure to ask questions when I have them, review, and better prepare myself for test and quizzes than I did in the first Unit. Hopefully, all these qualities will help me keep a great year of physics going strong!

Jump Around

Whenever my cousins and I are together, we tend to get a little insane. On our recent family trip to Pennsylvania, we decided to jump off the ledge of a nearby bench. Each jump, we tried to land on a manhole about 5 feet away. Not only did it make for a great picture, but also demonstrated falling at an angle. This is one element of projectile motion we learned about. Remember the rolling ball lab? Yeah, that thing that we learned about two weeks ago. To figure out the exact spot something will hit when it is falling at an angle, we have to calculate both the vertical and horizontal distances and velocities. Think of it as an equation. Say the bench was 2 feet tall and we were jumping at a velocity of 5m/s. How long would it take me and my cousins to reach the manhole? Think you can figure it out?

Wow, did I really just see that?

Talk about daring. In a new scientific feat, a man named Felix Baugartner achieved what seemed like the impossible, flying at supersonic speed. He was lifted up into space, in a helium filled balloon, and from there he jumped. That takes some serious guts. Not only did Baugartner help in the scientific world, but he also demonstrated the concept of falling through the air. Just like the parachutist in Ms. Lawrence's video, Felix falls to earth's surface, and doesn't pull his parachute until he reaches terminal velocity. This is the exact scenario we had on a recent class worksheet. Only this time, the stakes are higher, and everyone is on edge.

We're Free-falling.

I decided to take a break from musical resources and instead used an informational video. The experiment these boys undertake is similar to the one that we preformed when we tried to get the height of 3rd Anderson. They went about it in the same manner that we did, although their equation was a little different. The video helped make the concept of free falling more interesting for viewers. Also, the dramatic music added an extra touch. It can be a little over-the-top at times, (aka when they demonstrate with someone "jumping off of a building") but they still take a very sensible route to find their solutions.However, my one concern for this video was instead of throwing a ball of the cliff, they threw a television. I hope it was broken or else some parent might have gotten a little ticked.