It Was a Dark and Stormy Morning

Ok, that storm was a wonder to watch - safely inside my classroom so I didn't get wet, unlike some folks.

Honors Physics continued on with their study of motion and introduced the concept or rate of motion. Distance/displacement, speed and velocity are used synonymously in daily life, but have radically different meanings in physics. The source of the difference is that distance and speed are scalars and displacement and velocity are vectors. We'll hit those ideas harder in the next chapter. Tomorrow, we add acceleration to the pot and begin to pull all these descriptors of motion into a series of classic equations - the kinematics formulas.

Physics B took time to review last night's work on motion and speed before adding a new concept to the pot - acceleration. Remember that acceleration is the rate of change of velocity, not just the magnitude of the velocity change and it may involve a change of the speed of the motion or the direction or both. Tomorrow's lab will give you the opportunity to work will all of these descriptors of motion and practice interpreting motion graphically.

Physics F jumped into motion with an examination of the definition of motion and the importance of a frame of reference. We spent time with two ways to describe the rate of motion - speed and velocity. Tomorrow, we'll add acceleration to the mix and, with those three values (plus time), you are well equipped to describe, in detail, the motion of any object.

Physical Science explored and practiced working with dimensional analysis for converting metric units. One-step conversions tend to be easy, two-steps are more difficult and require more care in setting up. Unit conversions make an appearance throughout the year in a wide variety of problems, so lock that skill down quickly! Tomorrow - moving on with more math skills you'll need for success in physics. Here's the answers to your homework problems, so you can spot check if you want to:




p. 17

1. 0.55 m
2. 3500 ms
3. 1600 kg
4. 0.0025 m
5. 40,000 micrometers
6. 2.8 mol
7. 6100 mA
8. 3000 ng

Worksheet

1. 0.100 kg
2. 5.98 x 10³⁰ mg
3. W
4. 4.448 x 10⁵ g x cm²
5. 6.67 x 10^-11 N x km²/g²

Homework

Honors Physics - Practice 2B
Physics B - Read lab protocol sheet
Physics F - p. 25 of ancillary packet #1,2, 6-12
Physical Science - Complete metric conversion worksheet