Facing Vacation

The snow day yesterday will push Physics D, F and Honors Physics exams back one day, so they'll be the Thursday of the week we return from vacation. Between yesterday and today, these blocks moved forward with their study of sound. We looked at sound intensity, relative intensity and the decibel scale, structure and function of the human ear and how intensity and frequency play into human ability to hear. Today, Physics F worked with a lab centering on sound production by natural and artificial sources, how multiple waves are analyzed by the principle of superposition and how telephone companies code information in touch-tone systems, while Honors Physics moved forward into harmonic series and standing waves. Make sure you can properly calculate harmonic series for vibrating strings, pipes open at both ends or pipes closed at one end, in addition to determining wavelengths of standing waves based on the length of the vibrating string or air column.

Intro Physics built on their work with heat transfer by discussing the third method of heat transfer, radiation, and looking at examples of how heat is transferred as an energy wave. We then turned attention to specific heat and calorimetry. We defined specific heat and discussed how that property explains why some materials change temperature readily and others resist temperature change. We then looked at calorimetry and how a calorimeter uses the Law of Conservation of Energy to determine the specific heat of a material or the energy content of a fuel or food. When we return, we'll practice with specific heat and using the idea of energy conservation to solve problems involving heat transfer.

Have a good vacation!