Surrounded on All Sides by Motion

Honors Physics and Introductory Physics enjoyed their chance to demonstrate their knowledge and skills while Physics A and B soldiered on through accelerated motion. We'd already covered motion with constant velocity and added a new twist today - what happens if the velocity changes? Remember that acceleration is not the magnitude of the velocity change, it is the rate of the velocity change. If two objects have the same velocity change, but it occurs faster for one of the objects, that object has a higher acceleration. Acceleration is also direction-dependent. Unlike displacement and velocity, which would share the same direction, acceleration is independent of the two and can share the same direction of have one that is completely different. Be very careful assigning signs to velocity and acceleration when working problems and pay attention to the sign when you solve for one of these variables. The homework problems will let you practice solving motion problems, using a variety of formulas. Sometimes one formula is required, sometimes it may require more than one. And, you might take a route to a solution that is not the same as the person sitting next to you. All of that is perfectly fine - do what it takes to appropriately use the tools at hand to get the answer.

Tomorrow, Honors Physics takes off into 2-dimensional motion with a look at vectors, Introductory Physics starts their own study of 1-dimensional motion, Physics B takes on a lab that lets people analyze the motion of a cart along a ramp and Physics A will examine properties of objects in free fall.