This week we learned more about momentum and the transfer of energy. We also used this new thing called gosoapbox that I thought was a great idea personally. It was nice that throughout the class period you could answer questions about the lesson that the teacher puts up there. I remember that we had to do a lab that involved using that website and looking things up online. I think that it's a great idea.
The entire week we were working on our Newton Cradles. They were due on Thursday and we had to present them on Friday. I think Devin and I's project worked pretty well. We used ping pong balls that had needles stuck in them for eyelets for the string. We cut out an old shoebox and used that for the frame.
We were told that the more rigid the object is, the more efficiently it transfers energy. Even though ping pong balls are necessarily the most rigid objects, the still transferred the energy well. We could do all the tricks that we were supposed to do. We could drop 1, 2 and both ping pongs from both ends and have good results.
This week also involved the new soapbox website that we used. The lab that we had to do with it involved us watching a video that Mr. Abud made I think explained what an impulse was and then he asked us a question at the end that we had to answer on twitter. (I'm taking that from memory, so I am probably wrong but that's what I thought it was talking about.) I feel like we should use gosoapbox more often.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Week 27 Reflection
This week was all about momentum and energy transfer. We have a project that is due on thursday that involves us making a Newtons Cradle to demonstrate what we are learning. We also worked with the cars on the track to demonstrate how momentum is transferred to another object.
Momentum is the movement after a force has been applied to an object. So if I push a ball on the floor and nothing else pushes the ball afterward, its momentum is carrying it. We also did work with "Momentum Blocks". You take the velocity of the object in meters/seconds and put that one side of the block and then you take the mass in kilograms and put it on the other side and multiply them. That is how you get your momentum in kg/meters/second.
This project that we are doing will be a good way to demonstrate transfer of momentum. The more rigid the spheres are, the better the transfer. I know that if you apply a force to a sphere (in this case gravity) it will hit the sphere next to it and start a transfer in momentum until it reaches the last sphere which isn't blocked by anything. This is where it gets its motion from.
This week we also worked with the cars on the tracks to demonstrate what the transfer of momentum looked like with two things that could freely move and weren't blocked by anything. We pushed one car into the other and observed what happened. What happened was usually the car that was hit would take off and the other car would stop completely. This is because the car that was hit took all of the energy and left the other car with nothing.
I think that this week was very succesful. I believe that I got everything that was taught to me. I'm pretty sure that I had some trouble with certain things on the exam, but I think I did fairly well, just by judging from taking the test.
Momentum is the movement after a force has been applied to an object. So if I push a ball on the floor and nothing else pushes the ball afterward, its momentum is carrying it. We also did work with "Momentum Blocks". You take the velocity of the object in meters/seconds and put that one side of the block and then you take the mass in kilograms and put it on the other side and multiply them. That is how you get your momentum in kg/meters/second.
This project that we are doing will be a good way to demonstrate transfer of momentum. The more rigid the spheres are, the better the transfer. I know that if you apply a force to a sphere (in this case gravity) it will hit the sphere next to it and start a transfer in momentum until it reaches the last sphere which isn't blocked by anything. This is where it gets its motion from.
This week we also worked with the cars on the tracks to demonstrate what the transfer of momentum looked like with two things that could freely move and weren't blocked by anything. We pushed one car into the other and observed what happened. What happened was usually the car that was hit would take off and the other car would stop completely. This is because the car that was hit took all of the energy and left the other car with nothing.
I think that this week was very succesful. I believe that I got everything that was taught to me. I'm pretty sure that I had some trouble with certain things on the exam, but I think I did fairly well, just by judging from taking the test.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Week 26 Reflection
This week we learned more about energy and how to calculate it. We learned what joules, watts and power is. We also used the results of an experiment that we did last week to get practice on finding joules, watts and power. The experiment was where we had our class run up the stairs in groups and time themselves. Using these measurements, we could find joules, watts and power.
We learned that joules are a measure of energy. You find it by doing the equation massXgravityXheight. To get watts you just divide that whole equation by the time. Finally to get the horsepower, you multiply the watts by 0.0013. We also learned that power is a rate of joules/time.
The experiment where we had people run up the stairs really helped me learn about joules, watts and horsepower. Everyone timed how fast they could run up the stairs and we put everything into the equation to get joules. It all started to make sense to me when everything had a place in its equation and we could get a number that represented the energy.
We also had an assesment this week. It was about everything that we had learned about energy. I was very thankful for the review the day before because there were still some things that I hadn't really understood up until then. Things like the fact that power is a rate and not a unit and the difference between power and work.
We learned that joules are a measure of energy. You find it by doing the equation massXgravityXheight. To get watts you just divide that whole equation by the time. Finally to get the horsepower, you multiply the watts by 0.0013. We also learned that power is a rate of joules/time.
The experiment where we had people run up the stairs really helped me learn about joules, watts and horsepower. Everyone timed how fast they could run up the stairs and we put everything into the equation to get joules. It all started to make sense to me when everything had a place in its equation and we could get a number that represented the energy.
We also had an assesment this week. It was about everything that we had learned about energy. I was very thankful for the review the day before because there were still some things that I hadn't really understood up until then. Things like the fact that power is a rate and not a unit and the difference between power and work.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Week 24 Reflection
1. Some factors that could have made the boat sink: if the tape was not pressed on tight enough or was coming off in some places. This could expose seams that let water in.
If there were any cuts in the cardboard. This could disable the waterproof outside by letting the inside meet water.
If it was not stable enough to handle the weight of two people. This could cause the boat to sink because of the sheer weight from the people.
2. To stay afloat, you must have a wide enough base to distribute the weight of the sailors. You must also duct tape every seam so that water has no chance of getting into your boat and sinking it. Also, having a flat bottom helps to distribute the weight and make it easy to climb into and keep in balance.
3. The knowledge of the lowest center of mass is most stable is very important because the captain is in charge of directing the building of the boat, so making a design that includes that principle is essential for making the boat float.
4. Our groups boat sunk at the starting line due to small cut that had appeared in the side of the box. We didn't have any ductape to fix it with, and it ended up being our downfall. Other than that, we had a very strongly built boat.
5. I think that the best rowing technique is to have the two sailors alternate on which side they paddle. This way, it keeps the boat fairly straight.
6. What I would do differently is that I would put pieces of cardboard on the creases in the cardboard and tape them to have an even stronger frame for the boat. And pack extra ductape.
If there were any cuts in the cardboard. This could disable the waterproof outside by letting the inside meet water.
If it was not stable enough to handle the weight of two people. This could cause the boat to sink because of the sheer weight from the people.
2. To stay afloat, you must have a wide enough base to distribute the weight of the sailors. You must also duct tape every seam so that water has no chance of getting into your boat and sinking it. Also, having a flat bottom helps to distribute the weight and make it easy to climb into and keep in balance.
3. The knowledge of the lowest center of mass is most stable is very important because the captain is in charge of directing the building of the boat, so making a design that includes that principle is essential for making the boat float.
4. Our groups boat sunk at the starting line due to small cut that had appeared in the side of the box. We didn't have any ductape to fix it with, and it ended up being our downfall. Other than that, we had a very strongly built boat.
5. I think that the best rowing technique is to have the two sailors alternate on which side they paddle. This way, it keeps the boat fairly straight.
6. What I would do differently is that I would put pieces of cardboard on the creases in the cardboard and tape them to have an even stronger frame for the boat. And pack extra ductape.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Week 23 Reflection
This week we mostly discussed how energy is transferred to different objects. We used a demonstration with a bowling ball and a string to show how energy dissapates. Also, this weeks lab was testing to get measurements on a car that bounced off of walls on each side of the track.
The demonstration showed that energy will constantly leave an object if no other force is acting on it. If you swing a bowling ball by a string and release it from a certain point, it will not return to that point because some of the energy had dissipated from it and it is not swing with as much force as it originally had.
We also learned that you can feel, hear and even see energy dissapating into another object. Like if you get hit with a ball, the bruise that you get is a result of the energy from the ball affecting the nerves in your arm. You can see energy dissipating by seeing if another object moves after being hit by something else. Hearing energy dissipate is like when you shoot a basketball and it makes a clanking sound off of the rim because you missed.
This lab that we did this week involved us measuring the distance traveled by a car on a track that bounced off of walls. We had to measure the distance within two seconds. Then we had to make LOL graphs that showed where all the energy was at the time of each of the 5 trials. This lab helped me get that the more potential you put into something, the farther it will go.
I believe that I get everything thats being taught this week. I found it really interesting that dissipated energy came in the form of sound. Actually, this whole energy unit that we're doing now is pretty interesting.
The demonstration showed that energy will constantly leave an object if no other force is acting on it. If you swing a bowling ball by a string and release it from a certain point, it will not return to that point because some of the energy had dissipated from it and it is not swing with as much force as it originally had.
We also learned that you can feel, hear and even see energy dissapating into another object. Like if you get hit with a ball, the bruise that you get is a result of the energy from the ball affecting the nerves in your arm. You can see energy dissipating by seeing if another object moves after being hit by something else. Hearing energy dissipate is like when you shoot a basketball and it makes a clanking sound off of the rim because you missed.
This lab that we did this week involved us measuring the distance traveled by a car on a track that bounced off of walls. We had to measure the distance within two seconds. Then we had to make LOL graphs that showed where all the energy was at the time of each of the 5 trials. This lab helped me get that the more potential you put into something, the farther it will go.
I believe that I get everything thats being taught this week. I found it really interesting that dissipated energy came in the form of sound. Actually, this whole energy unit that we're doing now is pretty interesting.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Week 22 Reflection
This week is kind of hard to write about since the lowerclassmen had their tests this week. But we did investigate more about how to build our cardboard boats. We also had a lab at the end of the week that allowed us to experiment with surface area and the amount of weight it holds.
I was told this week that if we have a wide surface area on our boats, it will be able to hold and distribute the weight better. But, if it's too wide and there is not enough weight it will sit on top of the water. This will make it hard to steer since there is no water pressure. If it sits to far under the water, then it will be to hard to steer because of all of the waters force on the boat.
This lab that we did on friday was a great example of how the boat takes and distributes weight. If you had a large surface area and a strong bottom, then it would stay afloat. You had to make sure that all of the seams were sealed because water leaking in was the boats downfall.
I believe that I have an idea of what I want our boat to look like. I know that it should have a flat bottom to hold our weight. It should also sink just far enough into the water to give us enough pressure to steer.
I was told this week that if we have a wide surface area on our boats, it will be able to hold and distribute the weight better. But, if it's too wide and there is not enough weight it will sit on top of the water. This will make it hard to steer since there is no water pressure. If it sits to far under the water, then it will be to hard to steer because of all of the waters force on the boat.
This lab that we did on friday was a great example of how the boat takes and distributes weight. If you had a large surface area and a strong bottom, then it would stay afloat. You had to make sure that all of the seams were sealed because water leaking in was the boats downfall.
I believe that I have an idea of what I want our boat to look like. I know that it should have a flat bottom to hold our weight. It should also sink just far enough into the water to give us enough pressure to steer.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Week 20 Blog Reflection
This week we spent a lot of time dicussing the topic of the centripital paths of the moon and the earth around the moon. We tried to get if the moon orbited around the earth or the sun. To demonstrate this we tried to use some kids from our class and have them move like cars passing each other in lanes.
So from all of the discussing that we did this week, we learned that the earth orbits the sun. The moon also orbits the sun. We learned that the path of the moon makes a certain "flower" shape if we trace it. It is constantly being pulled by the sun and then pulled back by the earth. So the path of the moon is not orbiting the earth, rather it's always "speeding" past the earth and then "slowing" down and getting back in the fast lane.
The demonstration that we did for this concept was we took kids from our class and we had one be the sun, and the other two be the moon and earth. We had the earth student orbit the sun at a constant speed. Then we had the moon student go on the outside and pass the earth, then move in between the earth and sun and slow down. This would continue to make the moons path.
This week was pretty successful I think. I now know that the moon, along with the earth, revolves around the sun. All of the other things that we were being taught this week I understand well, so I don't really have any questions yet. The coolest thing about this week is that we were talking about centripital motion with a car attached to a string and now we're talking about centripital motion with things as big as planets.
So from all of the discussing that we did this week, we learned that the earth orbits the sun. The moon also orbits the sun. We learned that the path of the moon makes a certain "flower" shape if we trace it. It is constantly being pulled by the sun and then pulled back by the earth. So the path of the moon is not orbiting the earth, rather it's always "speeding" past the earth and then "slowing" down and getting back in the fast lane.
The demonstration that we did for this concept was we took kids from our class and we had one be the sun, and the other two be the moon and earth. We had the earth student orbit the sun at a constant speed. Then we had the moon student go on the outside and pass the earth, then move in between the earth and sun and slow down. This would continue to make the moons path.
This week was pretty successful I think. I now know that the moon, along with the earth, revolves around the sun. All of the other things that we were being taught this week I understand well, so I don't really have any questions yet. The coolest thing about this week is that we were talking about centripital motion with a car attached to a string and now we're talking about centripital motion with things as big as planets.
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