Mr. Bouyer

Day 1 - 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Lab | Vocabulary Test

Physics Newtonian physics Motion Reference point Speed	Distance Time Average speed Velocity Vector	Direction Graph Independent variable Dependent variable Slope

To measure movement, some point must be considered as nonmoving.
Earth is the most common frame of reference, however:
• Earth rotates on its axis at almost 1100 miles/hour.
• Earth moves around the sun at over 68,000 miles/hour.
• The whole galaxy is rotating at about 490,000 miles/hour.
• Is there a universal frame of reference we can use to define the motions of all things?

To calculate speed, use the equation - Speed = distance / time

Use the Factor Label Method for speed calculations.

Average speed: the speed of moving objects is not always constant:

Average speed = total distance / total time

Civil Engineer

Velocity: speed in a given direction. Speed only gives distance and time. Velocity gives distance, time, and the direction of travel.

Velocity is known as a vector quantity because it has both speed and direction. Vectors can be use to graphically represent the mathematics of motion. The length of the line represents the quantity (speed) and the arrow indicates the direction.

The vector diagram here might represent the motion of an airplane. The first blue arrow shows the speed and heading of the plane. The second blue arrow shows the speed and direction the wind is blowing. Since the wind is changing the speed and direction of the plane, the two vectors are added, head to tail, to determine the actual speed and direction traveled. If the length of the blue vectors is drawn to scale, the length of the red vector will indicate the actual velocity of the plane.

Test Your Concept Understanding: Use at least one paragraph to respond to each of these reference point situations. You are a passenger in a car stopped on the side of a hill. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a tree on the side of the road begin to move forward. The world you live in has three dimensions; length, width, and height. Your experience in life involves motion in all three dimensions. Now, suppose you lived in a world with only two dimensions; length and width. Motion in this world can only be in those two dimensions. You have explored this world and found there is a uncrossable boundary surrounding your world. Work the following speed calculations: An airplane travels 500 miles in 2.5 hours. What is the speed of the plane? A toy car rolls down a ramp covering 24 feet in 6 seconds. What is its speed? A top fuel dragster covers the quarter mile in 4.5 seconds. What is its speed in miles per hour? A rifle bullet travels 6000 feet in 4 seconds. What is the speed of the bullet? As an object's velocity increases, so does its mass. This increase in mass is negligible at normal velocities (Newton's physics). As the velocity approaches the speed of light (Einstein's physics), the increase in mass becomes significant. The phenomenon can be shown mathematically by the equation: In this equation mo is the object's rest mass when velocity is 0. The variable c is the speed of light, 3 X 10 8 meters per second. You must show your work to receive credit for these problems. An object with a rest mass of 50 kilograms is traveling 2.70 X 10 8 meters per second (90% the velocity of light). What is the object's mass at this velocity? What is the mass of the same object if it is traveling 2.85 X 10 8 meters per second (95% the velocity of light)? What is the mass of the same object if it is traveling 2.97 X 10 8 meters per second (99% the velocity of light)? What is the mass of the same object if it is traveling 2.99 X 10 8 meters per second (99.99% the velocity of light)?

Day 3

How are speed and velocity different?

In-class Assignment 193:
This assignment must be turned in by the end of class today to receive credit.
Scoring criteria

1. Read this biography of Sir Isaac Newton.
   1. In what year was Newton born?
   2. How old was Newton when he died?
   3. How old was Newton when he entered Cambridge as a student?
   4. Between 1665 and 1666, Newton had lots of time to work on his theories at home because Cambridge was closed. Why was Cambridge closed at this time?
   5. In what year did Newton become a professor at Cambridge?
   6. Newton lectured at Cambridge for 18 years. Describe how he conducted his classes.
   7. When first appointed professorship, Newton chose optics for the subject of his lectures and researches. What did his research at this time lead to?
   8. Newton's Corpuscular Theory was one idea that was totally wrong. What did this theory try to explain?

2. There are many different ideas about the baseball pitch known as a "curveball". There are even people that will tell you it is an optical illusion! After exploring the websites below, write at least one paragraph to answer the question "Why do curveballs curve?"
   The Exploratorium
   NASA

   Use this Java applet to experiment with a curveball.

Day 4

What does the slope of the line on a distance-time graph represent?

Distance - Time Graph:

Time is the independent variable and always plotted on the horizontal axis.
Distance is the dependent variable and always plotted on the vertical axis.
A graph of constant speed will always be a straight line.
The slope of this line indicates the speed.
Review the seven steps of graphing.
View an example of a Distance/Time Graph made with PowerPoint.
• This graph represents the motion of a person. Can you describe what the person did?

Portfolio Assignment 194:
This assignment must be in your portfolio at the end of the semester to receive credit.
Scoring criteria

1. Use PowerPoint to make a graph of this problem:

   A person walks 100 meters in 50 seconds, stops to rest for 30 seconds,
   then runs back to the starting point in 15 seconds.

   • Insert this grid on a blank PowerPoint page.
   • Review this graph scoring rubric. Keep these criteria in mind as you complete the graph.
   • Print the slide of the graph.

2. What was the average speed of the person in problem #1?

3. Read about the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
   1. For what purpose was the tower built?
   2. On what month, day, and year did work begin on the foundation of the tower?
   3. How tall is the tower? Give your answer in both meters and feet.
   4. Was the tower originally designed to lean?
   5. As it leans, how many meters does the seventh ring of the tower extend out over the first ring?
   6. The tower has a circular foundation with a diameter of 19.6 meters. The tower has a mass of 14,500 metric tons. Calculate the pressure the tower exerts on its base, in kilograms per square meter.

  Portfolio assignment 192, optional assignment #3. These answers are rounded off:

1. 130 kg
2. 160 kg
3. 360 kg
4. 600 kg

A reference point is the point assumed to be unmoving by which motion is described.

Velocity describes direction while speed does not.

The slope of the line on a distance-time graph represents speed.