We're Back!

The lovely holiday break is over and now it's back to work

Speaking of work, that's what Intro Physics jumped into today, building on the introductory lab work we did before break. Today, we defined work, described situations where a force is and is not doing work on an object, examined the concept of net work and why work can be positive or negative, defined power and emphasized the fact that power is a rate function. Tomorrow, we'll look at the math for work and power and begin to discuss machines, using our lever lab to highlight the conversation.

Physics D took on the nature of temperature today. We defined temperature as the average kinetic energy of particles in a substance and and how that idea differed from internal energy. We discussed temperature change and thermal expansion, then examined the three main temperature scales. We'll pick up there Thursday before launching into heat energy and heat transfer. Tomorrow, two labs on heat transfer and latent heat.

Physics F and Honors Physics conducted lab work for heat transfer and latent heat. Warm and cold water were mixed together and their heating/cooling curves were examined. We calculated the heat lost by the warm water and the heat gained by the cold water and determined that it was the same, as it should be in a closed system. Honors Physics then designed new calorimeters to try and minimize heat loss to the environment and met with varying levels of success. The second lab investigated the latent heat of water (the heat necessary for a phase change). Honors Physics tested both an ice cube at it's melting point and one taken directly from the freezer. We'll discuss this lab tomorrow as me begin our unit on heat and temperature.