Test Day Plus Heat and Machines

Physics A and B tackled their circular motion exams and turn their attention tomorrow to forces in fluids. We'll look at buoyancy, pressure with depth and the relationship between speed and fluid pressure among other things.

Intro Physics springboarded from work and power into the topic of machines. We looked at the basic function of all machines (make work easier) and discussed the force-distance tradeoff that comes with using a machine. We used real-world examples to highlight this idea and those same examples came into play when discussing mechanical advantage. Make sure you are aware of the difference between actual and ideal mechanical advantage and can use the appropriate formula to calculate this value for a machine. Tomorrow's lab will focus on levers and pulleys as examples of machines and we'll talk about the other four classic simple machines on Friday.

Honors Physics moved into the area of heat and temperature today. We connected temperature with the average kinetic energy of particles in a system and looked at the blanket topic of internal energy, which envelops both kinetic and potential energy. The potential energy piece we'll get to when we talk about phase change, but you got a hint of that in yesterday's lab. We ended the period by beginning a discussion about temperature scales and that is where tomorrow's work will commence.