Water, Water Everywhere

Honors Physics launched into a discussion of buoyant forces, often using water as the example fluid Buoyant forces explain the floating or sinking of an object in any fluid and the calculation of buoyant forces is a convenient method to determine not just floating/sinking, but apparent weight of an object, as well. Rely on good ol' ρVg to calculate buoyant force and remember that volume is the same for the object and the displaced fluid. Tomorrow's lab will allow you to use buoyant forces and how they change with depth to assess the density of water and compare that value to the theoretical 1000 kg/m³.

Physical Science investigated heat transfer between two bodies of water. A comparison of the heat gained by the cold water and the heat lost by the hot water showed good agreement with conservation of energy. The discrepancy could easily be explained by the fact that the calorimeters were open at the top to the atmosphere. The graphs demonstrated that the rate of heat transfer was the same for both water samples and clearly showed when the equilibrium temperature was reached (when there was no longer a temperature gradient to create a net direction of heat flow). Tomorrow, we will discuss more fully the concept of temperature and begin to investigate ways in which substances can transfer heat energy. BTW - good job on the Work and Energy exams!

Physics completed their examination of simple machines today with a discussion of yesterday's inclined plane lab and an overview of mechanical advantage, efficiency and a review of conservation of energy. Tomorrow, we will review the rotational dynamics worksheet problems and address any questions for Tuesday's midterm exam. From there, we move into fluids.