PENDULUM

Newton's First Law: 

The 1st Law states that an object in motion or at rest stays in motion or at rest unless acted upon by an external force. This has to do with our capstone project because the pendulum would continue to swing if the force of gravity and friction were not acting upon it.

Newton's Second Law:

The 2nd Law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force of the object. This has to do with our experiment because the force required to move the pendulum is equal to the mass times the acceleration.

Newton's Third Law:

The 3rd Law says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, this is directly related to our project because the pendulum does not just stop when it is dropped and it reaches its equilibrium point, it rises to about the same height as it was dropped.

Potential Energy:

When the bob is held at a certain height or in the moment when the bob stops at the peak all of the energy is Potential. Because potential energy is pent up energy, where the object has the potential to use energy. This can be shown by the equation for Potential Energy, PE = mass x gravity x height. This shows that all the energy is being stored up because of the height, mass, and gravity.

Kinetic Energy: 

Kinetic Energy is greatest at the point of equilibrium because there is no potential energy because it is at its lowest point so no energy is pent up it is all in motion. PE = 1/2 mass x velocity^2, all of the energy is Potential because it has no height and no energy stored, it is all being used. 

This experiment is so relevant because pendulum's have been an important part of our history. It was discovered in  1602 by Galileo Galilei. The regular motion of pendulums was used for timekeeping, and was the world's most accurate timekeeping technology until the 1930s. Pendulums are used to regulate pendulum clocks, and are used in scientific instruments such as accelerometers and seismometers. Historically they were used as gravimeters to measure the acceleration of gravity in geophysical surveys, and even as a standard of length.

The Education Value of Creative Disobedience

This was a very interesting read for me, it inspired a lot of questions for me. I completely agree that if kids discover things on their own and are encouraged to discover and all that jazz, they will most definitely be better developed and we will see a change in education but I fear that in our culture it is virtually impossible for every kid. Let me explain myself. There are a few vital problems in that theory that we are forgetting, kids are first with their parents and that is where they learn a lot of their habits. It is a sad but true fact, if every kid had this writers parents who encouraged her to ask questions and learn from a very young age, then there would not be a problem, but A LOT of kids don't. A lot of kids have parents who either have no idea how to raise a child or they just don't care. When I was volunteering with a kindergarten class I saw some kids who clearly were encouraged by their parents or older siblings or someone and I saw some that were clearly ignored. You could always tell because when we tried to let them loose and figure out things, some would catch on and start trying to figure things out and the others would sit there or just follow another kid copying whatever he or she would do. I think where they have it completely right is when they say that the problem is kids are afraid to be wrong. But I am not sure if that can be changed solely by a child's education, the problem is often in their upbringing and I am not sure what we can do about that. But I think all of this is why I want to be a teacher, even though it seems hopeless, I know what a good teacher can mean and I hope that I can be that for the kids I come in contact with and do my best to help who I can.

Physics????

What I think is so very cool about physics is that every time you find these random rules and equations, then you try them out, they will always prove themselves to you. There is something really comforting about that. This can be shown by all of our experiments that we did in class. When you measure the force of something with one of those springy things then you find the mass of the object and then the acceleration it will equal the same as what you measured.

Example: If you find that the force a car is exerting is equal to 15,000 N with those springy thingys. Then you measure the mass of the car and you find it is 1005 kg. Then find the acceleration (if the car went from 0 to 75 in 5 seconds then it is (75m/s-0m/s) / 5s you get that it equals 15m/s^2) Then we know from Newton's Second Law that Force= mass x acceleration so F= 1005kg x 15m/s^2 = 15,075 N, pretty darn close right?

What I also find to be very interesting about physics is the conservation of energy that before and object is dropped, or thrown, or released all of it's energy is potential but when it is in motion it is a combo and at certain point it is all converted into Kinetic energy and when it hits the ground, or whatever it converts back into potential. It is pretty amazing that when an object is just sitting on a table it has a ton of potential energy.

Example: If a 2 kg vase is sitting on a ledge 1.5 meters off the ground, according to the equation PE=mgh=
 2kg(mass) x 9.8m/s^2(acceleration due to gravity) x 1.5m(height) so PE= 29.4 Joules and that completes fully into KE and then right back to PE, NOTHING is lost. It's crazy!

Sorry if I explained things too much I do it because it helps me understand fully.

Momentum and Energy

MOMENTUM

Definition: 

Momentum is a vector describing objects in motion according to their mass and their velocity.

Calculate:

To calculate momentum you need to know the mass and velocity of an object. So Momentum= mass * velocity. For example, to describe the momentum of a semi truck you need its mass which is 36,287.39 kg (80,000 lbs) and its velocity which is 26.8824 m/s(60 miles/h). Then you multiply them so

 36,287.39kg * 26.8824m/s= 9,754,921,329.36 kg*m/s

Units:

kilograms * meters/second or kg*m/s

Impulse:

Impulse is defined as force with respect to time, essentially it is the change in the momentum of an object.

Conservation of Momentum:

Essentially what the law of Momentum Conservation is that during a transfer of momentum, or a collision, the momentum of both objects before is equal to the momentum after the collision, the momentum lost by one object is is the same as the momentum gained by the other object.

ENERGY!

Work:

Work is when a force acts upon an object to cause a displacement of the object. You need a force, displacement, and cause to get work done on an object. Work= force * distance.  

For example if you push a box 6 meters by exerting 12 Newtons of force the work done would be 72 meters * Newtons. The unit for work is meters * newtons which is called a joule so the work done on the box would be 72 Joules. 

Energy:

Is the capacity of a physical system to do work. Energy like mass can neither be created or destroyed. All energy is measured in Joules as well.

Kinetic Energy:

Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. 

Kinetic Energy= 1/2 mass * velocity squared or KE= 1/2mv^2

For Example: The Kinetic Energy of an object that is 40kg and is going 9m/s is 360 Joules because it is currently in motion. 

Potential Energy:

Potential Energy is defined as the energy an object can store according to its position, basically the potential and object has to move. 

Potential Energy according to gravity is the energy stored in an object before is drops into free fall.

Potential Energy =mass * gravity * height or PE = m*g* h

For example, if you push a person with a mass of 60 kg off a cliff that is 10 meters high when gravity= 9.8m/s^2 . So 60kg*10m*9.8m/s^2 which equals 5880 kg*m*m/s^2 which equals 5880 Joules. 

Conservation of Energy:

The conservation of energy is that energy, like mass, can neither be created or destroyed, it can only change, so kinetic energy does not disappear it changes to potential energy of some other type of energy.