Monday, March 14, 2011

Monday, March 14, 2011

Quiz on Graphical Addition of Vectors

Vector worksheets 3 and 4

Friday, March 11, 2011

Rocket 1 Lab

Write-up mandatory for students who scored less than 80% on test.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

One third of class out due to Girl's BB game.

Showed Physics Extravaganza Video and students did spinning plates

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Went over test.

Did Vector Worksheets 1,2

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Test on Linear Motion

Monday, March 7, 2011

Review for test.

Some students worked on problem worksheet others tried Quia quizzes.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Review. Went over end of chapter questions.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Thursday, Mar 3, 2011

Students divided themselves up into groups of 3 or 4 and did the Ball and Ramp Competition.

Finished Hewitt video and talked about why astronauts in space shuttle appear weightless.

Test on Chapter 2 is next Tuesday.
Bring textbooks to class the next few days.

Wednesday, Mar 2, 2011

Answered any questions on problem packet.

Started showing Hewitt video on Vectors and Projectile Motion.
Showed how you can plot trajectories by falling below the no gravity case.

Explained "Tower" problem and described tomorrow's Ball and Ramp Competition.

Test on Chapter 2 is next Tuesday.
Bring textbooks to class the next few days.

Tuesday, Mar 1, 2011

Finished graphical method and showed several examples.

Handed out RA 2.5 due tomorrow as a summary of the graphical method.

Monday, Feb 28, 2011

Did all homework problems on board.

Started Graphical Method

Friday, February 25, 2011

Friday, Feb 25, 2011

Quiz on Rockets using Sus-it-out method.

Bike and Bee problem.
There are many ways to solve problems, some easy, some hard. The trick is knowing which method to use.

Reviewed Sus-it-Out method.
Derived the two extra equations for the Equation Method.

Gave the students a packet of problems.
Required them to do problems 10,11,12,14,16,18,19,20

Do others for practice or to prepare for the test.

We will have a test either the end of next week or shortly thereafter.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wednesday, Feb 23, 2100

Quick review of Introduction to linear motion
displacement vs distance
instantaneous velocity
Picket Fence value for g = 9.799 m/s/s
How to calculate "How Fast"

Described the "Sus-it-Out" method to determine "How Far"
a = (vf-vi)/t or vf = vi + a * t (what you end up with is what you start with plus the rate times the time)
vavg = (vi + vf)/2
d = vavg * t (d = displacement)

Did several examples for dropping an object, throwing an object up, throwing an object down.

Handed out RA 2.3 for homework tomorrow
Handed out CD 2.1 If you do the concept development sheets and hand them in, you can get more than one change to get 100%

Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011

Went over homework on math skills.

Introductory lecture on linear motion

Intro
Definition:
distance
speed
average speed
instantaneous speed
displacement
rate
average velocity
instantaneous velocity

Showed example of difference between a rate (hourly wage) and the rate of a rate (the rate at which your hourly wage increases). Used this to distinguish between velocity and acceleration.

Did examples to calculate acceleration.

Example of riding in my car to show that you can "feel" acceleration (because of inertia) even though you cannot feel constant velocity.

Used g = 10 m/s/s near the surface of the Earth to calculate how fast a dropped object is falling after a time t.

Showed picket fence lab and measured the acceleration of gravity in the classroom as g = 9.799 m/s/s

Friday, Feb 18, 2011

I was sick so the sub handed out RA 2.1, RA 2.2, and RA 2.3 for class to work on. Unfortunately, he only handed out the front side of RA 2.3.

Thursday, Feb 17, 2011

Finished going over math skills used in physics:
Using a calculator, unit conversions
Handed out worksheet for homework.

Wednesday, Feb 16, 2011

Students used max min slope to find average slope and uncertainty.

Students paired up with laptops. Showed how to use Excel and Linest function to find uncertainty in slope.

Tuesday, Feb 15, 2011

Went over graphing skills.

Students did Graphing Lab (Round Objects Lab)

Monday, Feb 14, 2011

Intro to what is physics

Can't say the rule

Cosmos video

Explained and went over Sun Lab

Friday, Feb 11, 2011

Finished going over Textbook Scavenger Hunt

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Thursday, Feb 10, 2011

Collected Sun Lab Reports

Wrote up new Lab description with everything in correct order but most students did not need it.

Went over Textbook Scavenger Hunt:
1. Roemer and speed of light
2. Black hole box - singularities (North Pole)
3. Number of Earths that span Sun, number of Suns that span the Earth-Sun distance, definition of meter to get scale of Earth
4. Graphs - make line graphs to find relationships between variables. Best graph is a straight line through the origin because then the mathematical relationship is y = mx
Showed how to deal with units of slope and area for velocity vs time graph.
5. Exponential gain - derived equation
6. Forgot to show butterfly effect - do that tomorrow
7. Express to impress - relative sizes of nucleus and hydrogen atom
8. Definitions - work
9. Can't see atoms in visible light - probing device is too large.
10. Fermi number calculation
11. Density - sink or swim
12. Demo with hot/room/cold water

Santa Poem
Thumbs up for Santa, Right
Fingers curl, spin day to night
These same fingers also show
The way around the Sun we go

HW - Tell parents about 1 or 2 things we discussed today.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Wed Feb 9, 2011

BULA!

Hand back Course Expectation Quizzes

Beautiful day for the Sun Lab

Went over how to gather data, how to calculate the uncertainty using the min max method, how to calculate the uncertainty using the method of relative uncertainty.

Went outside and did the lab.

Lab write-up due tomorrow:

Name:
Partners:
Date:
Name of Lab: Sun Lab

Data Table:
(In data table format)
distance from hole to screen (cm): L +/- delta L
diameter of image (cm) D +/- delta D

Calculations:
Min Max Method:
Max value of ratio = (L+deltaL)/(D-deltaD)
Min value of ratio = (L-deltaL)/(D+deltaD)

Ratio = (Max+Min)/2

Unc = (Max-Min)/2

Value = ratio +/- unc (given to correct number of sig figs and decimal points)

Method of Relative Uncertainty
Ratio = L/D
unc = ratio *(deltaL/L + deltaD/D)

Value = ratio +/- unc (given to correct number of sig figs and decimal points)

Conclusions:
The number of Suns that span the distance from the Earth to the Sun, as calculated by the Min Max Method = ratio +/- unc

The number of Suns that span the distance from the Earth to the Sun, as calculated by the Method of Relative Uncertainty = ratio +/- unc

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Tues Feb 8, 2011

Start with a BULA! and Say Something Nice to Your Partner

Collect Parent Notification Forms
Collect Course Expectation Forms

Check for Textbook Covers
Those without covers by Wednesday will stay after school in my classroom and put on a cover.

Quiz on Expectations

Asked who told their parents about any demo we did yesterday.

Students did Textbook Scavenger Hunt - due at end of period.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Mon Feb 7, 2011

HW due tomorrow:
Hand in signed course expectation form
Hand in signed Parent Notification form
Cover textbook
Do Quia quiz on A1 General Knowledge
Try Quia quiz on Day 1 Review

Quiz tomorrow on Expectations.

Hand out:
Student Profile - Students complete and put in bin for 10 pts
Course Expectation Form
Student and Parent Form for Course Expectations - students return for 5 pts
Parent Notification Form - Students return one signed copy for 10 pts. (Keep the other at home since it has my contact info)

Go over Expectation Form in some detail
Quiz tomorrow on Expectation Form
Hand out Quia Passwords
Assign Quia Quiz on A1 - General Knowledge

Tried showing demos
Demo: Magic Jar
Plastic sheet stays due to air pressure
Idea: Air is made of matter - in fact, air is about 20% oxygen and 80% nitrogen
All matter is made of small particles called atoms

Demo: Stream of water is attracted to charged strip
Idea: This shows electrical nature of matter - water is the Mickey Mouse molecule with a plus side (at the ears, hydrogen) and a negative side (at the head, oxygen). The molecule rotates to present the opposite charge to the charged strip.

Demo: straw charged by sweater on plastic bottle. Straw is attracted to finger. Finger has water in it. Idea of charge polarization.

Demo: 2x4 attracted to charge ebonite rod. Also due to charge polarization.

Demo: Magic Jar
If I remove the plastic sheet, the water stays. This is due to cohesion (attraction between like atoms)
Showed diagram of origin of surface tension
Showed meniscus from water (adhesion greater than cohesion) and that of mercury (cohesion greater than adhesion)

Demo: Van de Graaff
Idea - like charges repel

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Friday, Jan 7, 2011

Students worked on Concept Dev sheets (due today)
Students worked on Problems

Students worked on the Energy Quias

Thursday, Jan 6, 2011

Energy Card Test

Energy problems

Students had difficulty with these so I postponed test until next Tuesday.

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010

Finish energy cards

Energy Problems

Tuesday, Jan 4, 2011

Energy Cards

Monday, Jan 3, 2011

Hand back and go over labs.

Show Hewitt video on Energy

Problems with DVD player so did not get to demos:
Show Kinetic Energy Balls demo

Show ballistic pendulum for finding speed without using the photogate.