Points to Ponder

You Might Be a Physics Student if ...

... if you have no life — and you can prove it mathematically.
... if you know vector calculus but you can't remember how to do long division.
... if you chuckle whenever anyone says "centrifugal force."
... if you've actually used every single function on your graphing calculator.
... if it is sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you are working on a computer.
... if you frequently whistle the theme song to "MacGyver."
... if you always do homework on Friday nights.
... if you know how to integrate a chicken and can take the derivative of water.
... if you've calculated that the World Series actually diverges.
... if you hesitate to look at something because you don't want to break down its wave function.
... if you have a pet named after a scientist.
... if you laugh at jokes about mathematicians.
... if the Humane Society has you arrested because you actually performed the Schrodinger's Cat experiment.
... if you can translate English into Binary.
... if you can't remember what's behind the door in the science building which says "Exit."
... If you are completely addicted to caffeine.
... if you avoid doing anything because you don't want to contribute to the eventual heat-death of the universe.
... if you consider ANY non-science course "easy."
... if when your professor asks you where your homework is, you claim to have accidentally determined its momentum so precisely, that according to Heisenberg it could be anywhere in the universe.
... if the "fun" center of your brain has deteriorated from lack of use.
... if you'll assume that a "horse" is a "sphere" in order to make the math easier.
... if you understood more than five of these indicators.
... if you make a hard copy of this list, and post it on your door.

The Day O' Tests

Physics and Honors Physics had a graded learning experience today for the Heat chapter. Tomorrow, both courses start applying what they learned about heat, temperautre and internal enegy to the field of thermodynamics. We will discuss the laws of thermodynamics, thermodynamics processes, heat engine function and fun stuff like that.

Physical Science completed their discussion of wave types and watched video clips illustrating longitudinal and transverse waves. Be very clear about definitions, descriptions and examples of mechanical/electromagnetic and transverse/longitudinal waves. That is always present on MCAS exams. Tomorrow's lab activity will have students create transverse waves using a pendulum swinging with simple harmonic motion. Wave features will be identified and measured and wave speed will be calculated. Have the homework worksheets completed, but if you don't have time to do the 14.2 section review questions, you can hold off on that until Monday. Do read the section though, as it will discuss the topics that you will investigate in lab.

Newton's Law of Cooling and Waves

Physics reviewed for tomorrow's test and worked on an activity for calculation heat transfer associated with temperature change and with phase change. The solutions for this are posted on the class website.

Physical Science reviewed their film question and the issue of simple harmonic motion and discussed transverse and longitudinal waves. Tomorrow, we will review transverse/longitudinal waves and add surface waves to our wave-classification scheme. I have a few video clips to illustrate the different wave types and we should have time to begin discussing wave features and wave speed.

Honors Physics performed a lab demonstrating Newton's Law of Cooling. C block had some calculation issues and it took me a bit to figure out why. (1) T₀ means original temperature difference (water temp - room temp), NOT original temperature of water. Not many people seemed to notice that distinction. (2) The k value was based on time in minutes (your x-axis reported time in minutes). For the prediction of temperature at 800 seconds, you had to use 13.3 minutes for the t value in the calculation. Your overall technique was just fine, just a few little issues kept the value from being close to the actual, measured value.

I Admit It

I didn't post yesterday since I got home and crashed on the couch with my dogs for the evening. My corpus is still on vacation schedule...I don't feel too bad though as I was able to make it successfully through the school day (which is more than I can say for a lot of the folks in the building).

Physics and Honors Physics wrapped up their investigation of heat and temperature. Physics completed their lab unit yesterday and discussed heat transfer in class today. Honors Physics discussed heat transfer yesterday and had today for review. Tomorrow, Physics will have their review day and Honors Physics will conduct a lab investigation for Newton's Law of Cooling. NLC posits an exponential relationship for cooling rate and you will investigate this and the appropriate mathematical model tomorrow. For all upper-division people - exam on Thursday.

Physical Science started their wave unit yesterday by discussing the basic definition and categorization of waves. Today, students watched Mythbusters, yes Mythbusters. This particular episode had two segments - one concerning concepts about heat, temperature and fluid behavior and one concerning vibrations, waves and resonance. Complete the question sheet by tomrrow using your notes on the show, your book or any other resources you have available. Tomorrow in class we will discuss another method for categorizing waves and start to describe general features and characteristics of wave forms.

Speaking of Mythbusters, here is a fun clip demonstrating a Ruben's Tube, which uses fire to visualize sound waves:

Coolness Test

If you get this joke, you are cool. If you don't, you have some work to do...

The Home Stretch

I guess I can consider the world back on track. Tomorrow starts the normal weekend and then it is back to the salt mine. As predicted, I have watched movies, played videogames and read. And, to staunch the myth that teachers only read dry and crusty course-related material, I can certify that nothing I read over the vacation had any scientific or literary worth whatsoever. Also, all my movie and tv watching was centered around truly awful offerings that would offend the sense of anyone with a crumb of taste. Life has been good.

In respect to books, I have decided to trade in my Sony eReader for the regretably-named Kindle 2. I love to read and plow through several books a week when time permits. If you have a small place, like me, books pile up quickly and there are only so many shelves one house can hold. Ebooks are a nice way to pull together a huge library of material and have it always on hand, even when you travel, while not adding hundreds of pounds of weight to your floors. Another nice thing is that if a book disappoints, there is far less guilt deleting a file than giving away the distressing volume. Lastly, ebooks are cheaper than their print counterparts. Even though the selection of ebooks runs a poor second to print volumes, new titles are being offered in both formats and older material is being converted all the time. For serious readers, some form of digital reading device should obtained with haste. The main reasons that I'm trading in my Sony eReader is that Amazon offers slightly cheaper ebooks and I think publishers are going to favor the Kindle format owing to Amazon's selling power and that the Kindle has no-cost wireless connectivity that allows you to immediately download a new book. That is big with me - if I finish reading something, I want something new to read right away and if I really liked the book I probably want to read other titles by the same author. The Kindle will give the immediate satisfaction that I desire. Besides that, any old digital reader will work fine.

So, for those who offer up excuses like carrying around books, not being able to get to a bookstore, etc. for not reading - you're busted. Dive in head first and start exploring the wonderful world of print. You can still game and watch junk films and be a general cultural washout, like me, but at least you'll be a far more erudite one...

Awake, At Last

Finally waking from the nap that began on Friday afternoon, I am ready to jump into the deep end of the vacation pool. Hopefully, y'all are well ahead of me on that issue...

Friday tied up loose ends with Physical Science for the heat unit. When we return, we begin our examination of waves. This will work us through the waves and electromagnetic radiation components of the curriculum frameworks. Physics and Honors Physics will complete their study of heat. As announced, expect a test in the latter part of the week we return.

When we get back, be prepared for 8 weeks on non-stop schooling. Yes, I know that it will be rough and seniors, especially, will be hard-pressed to focus. But, just bite the bullet and power through the time. It is very easy and very common for students to start to fade during Quarter 3 and this is where it usually begins. Stay motivated!

Enjoy the break! If you're like me, you'll be watching movies, playing videogames and reading. Here's a good piece of advice for choosing books:

Just Long Enough

The snow held out just long enough for Physics to conduct their phase change investigation. Once again, the data was very good. Plateaus on the heating and cooling curves at a fraction of a degree off zero degrees Celsius. This despite the fact that a few lab groups did their best to ignore the lab protocol and had to be bailed out several times by yours-truly...Tomorrow, we'll discuss the investigation and discuss the concepts of specific heat and calorimetry.

Honors Physics discussed specific heat and explored the workings of the calorimeter. You will get to use a calorimeter (not the bomb style) during the two investigations on Friday, which center on heat of fusion and rates of heat transfer.

Physical Science - Exam Tomorrow! A few people asked if I was going to collect the Daily Objectives and I said that I wouldn't, this time. This is a rather hectic week for lots of people, so I'll not be taking this work tomorrow. Expect, though, that I WILL collect it a week or two after you return from vacation. On Friday, you will have the opportunity to work through heat and temperature questions from the 2004-2007 MCAS exams.

The End is in Sight...

Friday looms and, for some, vacation will be starting Wednesday or Thursday. Make sure to tidy up loose ends in your classes before you go to ensure that you have a fun vacation and a peaceful return.

Physics delved into the definition of heat energy and discussed patterns of heat transfer between objects. Tomorrow's lab will target one result when heat energy is gained or lost by an object - a phase change. Honors Physics conducted that lab today and a few groups, especially in G Block, got squiffy results. It wasn't until I tidied up after you left that I got an inkling of the reason for the squiff. It didn't register when I saw people setting up that a number of groups in the previous class had left their test tubes in the graduated cylinders that you used to measure your water. Since the tubes had been immersed in a salt slurry, it is probable that some of the salt was transferred to the cylinders and, then, into the water that you used for your experiment. That would definitely have caused a problem with the heating/cooling pattern of your water, especially since the sample had such little mass. We'll discuss the lab tomorrow in class and then continue on with our discussion of heat.

Physical Science completed their heat energy unit today. We went over the state curriculum frameworks to demonstrate that we had indeed hit all of the required material and went over the homework for phases of matter and phase changes. The test on Thursday will include material from the Heat and Temperature chapter and this last bit of material from the Matter chapter. We did relatively little math in this unit (temperature conversions, calculating heat gained/lost using specific heat), but we did cover a good bit of information. Make sure you are firm on all definitions, processes and variables/units. Graphing skills were emphasized over the last few days and you should be able to interpret a phase diagram - what is the melting point/boiling point, how much energy was removed in the freezing of the substance, etc. Come with your completed worksheet and questions for review tomorrow.

Speaking of graphing skills..

Heat

Not in the classroom, mind you, but in all of today's lessons. Physics and Honors Physics began their exploration of heat energy. We contrasted heat, internal energy and temperature, compared the three major temperature scales and discussed thermal expansion. Physics will continue on tomorrow with a lecture that stresses the connection between heat energy and work and a more in-depth coverage of internal energy. Honors Physics will conduct a lab investigation documenting the melting and freezing patterns of water. We haven't quite hit phase change yet, but this will actually allow you to independently investigate the relationship between heat energy and change of state.

Physical Science conducted a lab investigation in which they determinted the heat of fusion of water. One lab group measured/calculated the value to within 5% of the actual value! The other groups were in a respectable ballpark, as well. Heat of fusion - the amount of heat energy added to change a fixed mass of substance from solid to liquid or removed from a fixed mass of substance to perform a liquid-solid phase change. No temperature change occurs during a phase change - this energy is used solely to cause the necessary reconfigurations necessary for the phase change to occur. We will dig into this topic tomorrow and re-examine the design of phase diagrams. Remember - exam for the Heat unit falls on Thursday.

One Week and Counting

By this time next Friday, everyone will be whoopin' and hollerin' that vacation has begun. I will be leading the pack...

Physics and Honors Physics endured their Fluid Mechanics exam today. Performances ranged from FANTASTIC! to oh dear...This chapter was problematic due to the intrusion of snow days, professional development days and midterm week, so if your score was not the greatest don't feel too bad - just make sure the next exam is shows strong improvement.

Physical Science topped off their discussion of phases of matter with a few demonstrations and video clips of the gas laws and properties of plasma. On Monday, we turn our attention full force to phase changes, starting with the lab determining the heat of fusion of water. Every material has a characteristic amount of heat that is required to cause a phase change for a fixed amount of mass. For the solid-liquid phase change it is the heat of fusion; for the liquid-gas phase change it is the heat of vaporization. Plan on the exam for this unit falling towards the end of next week.

Here's another item for the "Sad but True" file:


more animals

Fun and Games

Physical Science investigated the change between the liquid and solid state for water today. The highlight, I think, was that groups got to send people outside periodcally to obtain snow for their ice bath. The results were very good and exactly what I expected to see. That flat section of your heating and cooling curves occurring at virtually the same temperature (which was suspiciously near 0°C) was the take-home message. Flat line - no temperature change, even though heat energy was still flowing into or out of the water in your test tube. That is what happens when substances change from one state of matter to another. Energy gained or lost does not contribute to a change in the indivdual particles' kinetic energy - it is instead used to take the material through the process of changing state. And, the plateau was the same whether you were melting or freezing the substance - the melting and freezing points occur at the same temperature. We'll get into this in some detail over the next few days.

Physics and Honors Physics were treated to a discussion of the ideal gas law and its offspring - the laws of Boyle, Charles and Gay-Lussac. Demonstrations and video clips made the day a multimedia circus. Always a party in physics class...Remember to come with any questions tomorrow for review for Friday's exam.

Snow...yahoo...

More snow today, but at least it shouldn't be enough to cancel school tomorrow. I'd rather not find myself in the classroom in July, and that could happen the way this winter is going. Plus that gosh-darned groundhog saw his shadow and I trust his judgement far more than that of any of our local weather forecasters...

Physics engaged in an investigation centered around Boyle's Law. Like Honors Physics yesterdy, the data was wonderful. Boyle's Law is one of those tenets of science that is easy to understand from a personal experience and common sense standpoint. Remember though, that it only relevant to (a) gases and (b) gases exposed to a constant temperature and concentration. We'll play with the ideal gas law tomorrow and pay special attention to gas samples in which the number of gas particles remains constant.

Honors Physics - discussion and demonstration of Bernoulli's principle and an examination of problems involving Bernoulli's equation. Like the other statements of conservation of energy that we've discussed, this one requires careful consideration of the situation at hand before scripting the appropriate form of Bernoulli's equation to use for analyzing changes in the fluid system. Can the equation be used with gases? Yes, provided you take into account the density changes that gases experience with varying pressures.

Physical Science - I read over your responses to the practice MCAS open response question and most of you did a good job! Clear, concise...looked very much like the top-scord example that we read in class. A few parts of the question could have used a bit more specific explanation, but even the state-provided student response lacked detail for part C of the question, in my opinion. A few folks need to work a bit in tightening up responses: remember to read over what you wrote and make sure that what you put on paper is what you actually had in your mind. We'll get plenty more practice before MCAS so everyone can hone their skills. Tomorrow, we start our investigation of states of matter and changes of state with a lab investigation targeting melting and freezing of water. You'll collect temperature data during the freezing and melting process and use the information to draw heating and cooling curves.

Monday

Many folks were feeling lazy today and I hope that the work they didn't do in class will be completed at home. We will be going over it in class tomorrow and who knows if I'll get a hankering to call on people to put problems on the board...

Physical Science worked on specific heat problems from past MCAS exams. As you see, you could be asked to do a straight calculation or work with the concept of specific heat and heat transfer. We'll discuss the multiple choice tomorrow and read through the scoring rubric and exemplars provided by the state for the open response.

Physics discussed and watched demonstrations of Bernoulli's principle. We'll discuss the conceptual questions tomorrow before starting on the Boyle's Law lab activity.

Honors Physics conducted the Boyle's Law exercise today and got very good results. We will discuss the gas laws after we complete our examination of Bernoulli's principle and Bernoulli's equation. Here are a couple of Boyle's Law videos:

With a balloon:


In association with breathing:


EGGS!!