11/30 Zimmerman

We turned in our Newtons Law Test Review. Hewitt Reading questions on friction was assigned for homework. Class activities consisted of working hard on the Newtons Law Test. It was fun. Something crazy that happened today is that there is a new memory deletion for our calculator for todays test. This crazy thing happened because we used matrices. We didnt really learn or cover any new material in class. We just slave over our test. But one thing I learned is that if you need help, you should wake up extra early and get help! Team I ♥ Life was about to protest the test because a team member was missing (Nathan Turner I) but then he pulled through and showed up, so all was good.

Question of the day:

If your tires lock up when you travel at a high rate of speed on an icy road, what kind of friction exists between the tires and the icy road?

Highly Intelligent answer:

Great question ch. Thanks for asking. The answer is that the friction would be called sliding friction. When the tire is rotating, its surface does not slide along the road surface, and friction is static friction. But when your breaks lock up the tires are not rotating thus resulting in sliding friction.

11/30 qod

If your tires lock up when you travel at a high rate of speed on an icy road, what kind of friction exists between the tires and the icy road?

--ch

11/29 qod

What is my policy about conversion factors on tests?

--ch

11/28 Wandersee

WELCOME BACK!!

I hope everyone had a great break and is ready to jump back into things! Today in class, we did the Inertial Pendulum Lab. In this lab we explored a device called an intertial pendulum. Note: this device is DANGEROUS! Make sure to tape the "hazardous projectiles" (as described by Coats-Haan) in place before letting the pendulum swing. The point was, to see if the weight of an object has an effect on the period of the device. See, the gravittional force of the mass is removed because the two pieces of spring steel on the device move the mass to a point of equilibrium. After completing the lab, we worked with our teams to correct our diagnostic tests. We took these at the beginnning of the unit. These were turned in at the end of the class. For homework, we were assigned a worksheet of force law practive problems. In addition, a lab report for the Inertial Pendulum lab is due next Tuesday. Oh, and don't forget! We have a test coming up on Wednesday. If you didnt pick up the review before break, make sure to do that.

Question of the day: If you were on a space shuttle, what is one way that you could determine the mass of an object?

Answer: If you wanted to determine the mass of an object in space, you could use the inertial pendulum to time how long it takes for the pendulum to make 20 cycles and then compare with previous findings. I think that the pendulum works nearly the same in space.



11/28 qod

If you were on the space shuttle, what is one way that you could determine the mass of an object?

--ch

11/22 Vidas

Today was a fantastic day in Honors Physics.  We started the day with our Toys in Space presentations, in which we compared the behavior of the toys on Earth and in space.  Each group presented, we made predictions, and then we watched a demonstration video.  Johnny was the wonderful person in charge of lights, but sometimes he slacked a little.  After the presentations were finished, we turned in our predictions papers, and Hunter gave us a great story about never giving up that actually didn’t have that meaning at all.  Instead, it just said not to waste your money trying to get a big Scooby-Doo at King’s Island.  Coats-Haan reminded us that the Newton’s Law Test Review was just sitting on the counter if anyone had the urge to work on it over Thanksgiving break.  The key is online, and it is due Wednesday, Nov. 30, the day of the test.  At the very end of class, we were so honored to pass around Coats-Haan’s prized possession- a piece of a space shuttle.  Happy Thanksgiving:)

QOD: Which toy was your favorite? How was its behavior different when it was in orbit than when it was on the Earth's surface?

My favorite toy was obviously the ball and cup because that was our group’s toy, and it made Hunter feel like a Mexican child.  On earth, you were able to get the ball into the cup, and it would stay there.  In orbit, the demonstrator showed that while he was able to get the ball into the cup, it wouldn’t stay there. Instead, the ball hit the cup but then pushed away. 

11/22 qod

Which toy was your favorite?  How was its behavior different when it was in orbit than when it was on the Earth's surface?

--ch

11/21 Turner

Tears of joy were streaming down my face as I entered room number 266. I gazed with wonder upon my instructor, her presence seemed to fill the room to a point of suffocation. After diligently checking the board the majority of the class produced their Spring Problems worksheet, and then compared it to the key. The trickiest problems by far were number 5 and 6, which involved the spring actually being released. Next, we watched as our lovely teacher demostrated microgravity through the following: A wonderous picture on the board of a no-doubt scale model of the earth depicting what would happen if someone threw a baseball at 8000 m/s, next we watched a video correcting the false assumption that bodies float in space because of a lack of gravity, after this Coatshaan demostrated why objects were weightless in free fall by dropping a cup with 2 holes in it that was filled with water, and then finally we played with toys. I thought the most interesting thing we learned today was that microgravity is really just the fact that an object is accelerating at the same rate as gravity therefore giving the illusion of a lack of gravity.

QOD- What is microgravity?  Where can we experience it?  Why do we experience it there?

Microgravity is the illusion of a lack of gravity, we can experience it while in free fall or when in orbit. We experience it there because we are accelerating at the same rate as gravity.

11/21 qod

What is microgravity?  Where can we experience it?  Why do we experience it there?

--ch

11/18 Tesmer

Today, in 3rd period Honors Physics we had a wonderful time. First, we turned in Hooke's Law lab from the previous day, if we hadn't turned it in already. Then, the Newton's Law practice problems worksheet was checked. We compared our answers with the key and went over a few of the tricky problems on the board. Next, we took notes on springs and Hooke's Law. We learned some exciting information. All of the intelligent honors physics students now know that a force exerted by a spring is a contact force. It also is a variable force. This means that the force depends on the amount that the spring is extended or compressed. Also, we were informed that an ideal spring is directly proportional to the amount that it is compressed or extended. The spring from the Hooke's Law lab that we did the previous day was pretty darn close to being an ideal spring. The next notes were learning the Hooke's Law is F=-kx, where F is the spring force, k is the spring constant, and x is the position of the spring. The negative sign indicates that the force of the spring is always in the opposite direction of x. When x is equal to zero, the spring is at equilibrium. When x is greater than zero, the spring is stretched and vice versa. Moreover, the units of the constant, k, are usually Newtons per meter. After the notes, we were instructed to complete a spring pair check, which I had to do on my own because, unfortunately, my highly intelligent partner, Liz Alaimo, was absent. Even so, the pair check was quickly completed by most. We then were given the opportunity to start on our homework which was a spring worksheet. This worksheet is due on Monday. While we were finishing our pair check and beginning our homework assignment, Coats-Haan told us that she will not be assigning any more homework, after this spring worksheet of course, until after Thanksgiving break. There were many cheers around the room. Also, she said that we will not be taking very many notes after Thanksgiving break. Much thanks goes out to Coats-Haan for this wonderful gift!

QOD:
What is the first thing you should do when you solve a spring problem and how does this help you determine the sign of the spring force?
The first thing you should do when solving a spring problem is to determine whether the spring is being extended or compressed. This will tell you whether x is positive or negative. Then, after multiplying x and k together, you will be able to determine whether the force of the spring is positive or negative.

11/18 qod

What is the first thing you should do when you solve a spring problem and how does this help you determine the sign of the spring force?

--ch

11/17 Schwab

Today we started off by checking out homework, the tension worksheet. Coats-Haan talked about 28, then went through 30,33, and 34 step by step on the board. She explained that if you don’t want to worry out which to cos’ or sins to make negative when setting up the equations that you could just figure out the angles in relation to the positive x axis, and just add them all together.

At this point the room was strangely silent and Coats-Haan said, “ Lets move on, cause it’s so quiet I’m getting creeped out” It was interesting because all members of “Team I <3 Life” were here today.

We then started the Hooke’s law lab, in which we added weight to a string and measured the distance the spring stretched.  We also had to change the weight in g to kg, then to N. Then we made a graph, force vs.  distance measurement. We then used linear regression, and drew the line of best fit.

Our homework was passed out to us, Newton’s Law Practice Problems.

QOD-  Is the spring force constant or does it depend on how far it is stretched or compressed?  Support your answer with evidence.

A-    The spring stretched proportionally to the force exerted on it. You can tell this because when you plot the points from the lab you get a pretty close to perfect diagonal line. 

11/17 QOD

Is the spring force constant or does it depend on how far it is stretched or compressed?  Support your answer with evidence.

--ch

11/16 qod

What are the 4 different ways we could solve the simultaneous equations in tension problems and why are matrices the best way?

--ch

11/15 Miley

First thing we did in physics today was check over homework, which was pg. 75-76 of our lab manual. Most of the problems occurred on the back of our homework. Most of us believed that since N was equal and opposite to W, that N and W were an action-reaction pair. But since both N and W were acting on the apple, an action-reaction pair was impossible. An action-reaction pair only occurs when the action and reaction after on different objects. We also later had to clarify that that hand and apple were an action-reaction pair because both forces were acting on different objects (the apple pushes on the hand and the hand pushes on the apple). Also, when the N force was increased to 2 Newtons, the apple accelerated upward and the magnitude in comparison to W was twice as much. The last question also needed some clarification. Since the apple left the hand, N force would be zero causing the net force only to be the value of W since it's the only force acting upon the object. After reviewing the homework, Mrs. Coats-Haan handed out our homework for the evening, Newton's Law. We then had time to work on our lab "Rocket Power" which was from pages 85-86 of our lab manual. Our team struggled with this lab at first because we didn’t tape the balloon on correctly, but also because Nathan and Clay were lost without their other “I <3 Team Life” members Michael and Johnny. On top of the heart break of doing his first lab without “I <3 Team Life”, Mrs. Coats-Haan abused Nathan by throwing tape at him. But as we continued, the lab became easier. We first had to hold a string across the room with a half of a straw on it. We then had to blow up a balloon and tape the balloon onto the piece of straw as we held the neck of the balloon to make sure the air wasn’t released. Then we let the balloon go and watched it goes across the string. We did this procedure several times, but with a different independent variable by changing the degree the balloon was released at. We then built a rocket using two balloons and a bottom-less cup. Nathan at first had some trouble creating the rocket, but with some words of wisdom from Johnny he was able to build the rocket and we were able to finish the lab. The idea behind the rocket is that the second balloon would lose its air as the cup was released from rocket. Since the cup and balloon were gone, the other balloon lost mass allowing it to accelerate faster. This lab was able to demonstrate Newton’s Second Law of Motion stating the idea that mass and acceleration are inversely proportional. Through this lab, we can also answer the question of why rockets have stages. Just as our rocket needed to lose mass, the stages of a rocket help it to lose mass through the release of fuel. The smaller mass gives the rocket a larger acceleration giving the rocket the energy it needs to leave the Earth. All in all, today’s physics class was very entertaining and knowledgeable.

11/15 qod

Why do rockets have stages?

--ch

11/14 Meese

Today in 3rd period Honors Physics was a great one indeed. We started off the class by turning in our POGIL from class on Friday and checking ourhomework from the weekend, lab manual pages 80.5 and 80.6, which are also known as the free-body diagram. After quickly going through a worksheet that was easy, we proceeded on to the next task on the board, which was an activity in which Newton's 3rd Law was explained with a balloon, a pin, a pencil, a string and a straw. I am sure the Lakota is happy that Mrs. Coats-Haan is intelligent enough to explain such an important concept with such cheap equipment, I applaud you for this effort. But, back to what happened, After the balloon was blown up (despite being in Symphonic Winds, I sadly did not get past this step) we would blow up the balloon through a straw contraption and when released the air would propel it around. Although this was fascinating experiment, I was quite discouraged at my inability to blow up the balloon and thus began to move onto the next aspect of class, note taking. In the notes we covered Newton's 3rd Law of Motion (Also know as the Law of Conservation of Momentum) that states that for every force there is an equal, opposite force. for example, as I sit in this chair and type this blog, the chair, although not moving, is pushing down on the ground as the ground pushes up on it. Now if that isn't fun, I don't know what is. Then we watched Julius Sumner Miller's rendition of Newton's 3rd Law of Motion, where did crazy examples and bored the class with Latin to start off the video. After filling out lab manual page 69, which went along with the video, and we turned that in immdiately after the video. After this we resumed note taking by going over problems on the example sheet, which was where our time unfortunately ran out for the day.  The homework for tonight was lab manual page 73 and 74, which I was able to finish in next period's class. I am purposefully trying to lengthen my blog and use a more expanded vocabulary because of my aspiration of writing a physics blog comparable to that of Dwight Hu. Kevin Cleaves sent me a blog that Dwight had perviously written (I think in AP, possibly in Honors) and it was the most beautiful thing that I have ever read in my life. The sentence structure and the vocabulary were unmatched, rendering Dwight as the official physics blogmaster of the world. My hopes and dreams are to one day be able to write a Dwight Hu-like blog, although this is an enormous task, with diligence and perserverance I hope to eventually obtain this skill. All of Dwight's blogs put my feeble attempts to shame, but this is meerly the starting point of the long road that is to write a blog comparable to that of the great Dwight Hu.

QOD: Newton's 3rd Law of Motion pertains to the balloon activity because the air being pushed out of the balloon must have an equal and opposite force to counteract it and thus the balloon was able to move in a circular motion.

11/14 qod

How does Newton's 3rd law apply to your balloon helicopter?

--ch

11/11 qod

How is the normal force oriented to surfaces?

--ch

11/10 Lee

At the beginning of class, we turned in pages 73-74 of our handbook which was our homework the night before.  Then, we checked our answers for page 127 numbers 1-9.  We worked through some problems in class.  Next, we were instructed to get out our Presentation Problems sheet to work through examples using Newton’s second law.  This included FOXY! Then, Coats-Haan gave the delightful news that numbers 37 and 40 on our quarter exam were graded wrong and that if we initially got the correct answers she would add two bonus points to our second quarter test.  Then ,we got our quarter tests back to look at grades and ask questions.  She recollected the tests as we started to work diligently on our pairs check.  Most groups finished with enough time to start the additional homework which is page 127 numbers 10-17. 

Qod answer:

To find the acceleration of the object when you know the multiple forces acting on it, you use FOXY to fins the force and direction.  Then, you divide the force by the mass of the object and you have the acceleration.  The acceleration is in the same direction as the force. 

11/10 qod

If you have several forces acting in multiple directions on an object, how do you determine the object's acceleration?

--ch

11/9 qod

How are mass and weight different?

--ch

11/4 qod

Explain how Newton's first law applies to one of the many demonstrations today.

-ch

11/3 qod

When did you have to apply a force to keep the bowling ball on the inertia ball track?

--ch