Motion!

B, C and E Blocks began their study of motion today with an overview of distance/displacement and speed/velocity. We will dig into the difference between scalar and vector quantities in more detail in the next chapter, but hopefully everyone got the basic idea that vectors require a statement of direction, whereas scalars only report magnitude. We also looked at the importance of a frame of reference for evaluating motion and started quantifying motion changes graphically and with the velocity formula. Tomorrow, C Block will conduct a lab investigation that will take a very graphical approach to the study of motion, using a motion detector to track a ball tossed into the air. B and E Blocks will move on to a discussion of acceleration and the major kinematics formulas.

F Block reviewed last week's material on the scientific method and metric system, then launched into the area of accuracy/precision. Accuracy problems are usually our fault somehow, but precision limitations stem from the physical design of the measuring tool. To correctly report the precision of a measurement, rely on significant figures. This is especially important with using several measurements in a calculation. In the case of ambiguous trailing zeroes, fall back on scientific notation. Truthfully, it's more efficient to report all values that way since it can make estimated calculations easier, but SI prefixes work well, also. Tomorrow - we begin our study of motion!

...and yes, this image is relevant to motion, so don't mock me...