It's All About Newton

Honors Physics spent time working with the idea of weight and the normal force. The weight of an object varies with location, though mass remains constant. We'll get into the force of gravity a little later to see why this variation in weight occurs. We then turned attention to calculating normal force for objects on horizontal surfaces (where it is equal and opposite to the object's weight) and on inclines (where it is equal and opposite to the component of the object's weight that is perpendicular to the incline). We also investigated how external forces acting on an object, such as pushes and pulls affect the normal force. Your homework problem has you work through these ideas and here are the answers if you want to check your work:

1. 342 N
2. 186 N
3. 2.3 m/s²

We'll go over this problem tomorrow before using the ideas we've been working on to tackle friction.

Physics B and F reviewed for their forces and laws of motion exam. Catch me tomorrow before school if you have any additional questions.

Physical Science started class by going over their graphing assignment. A graph of force (dependent) vs. mass (independent) produced a very nice straight line, corresponding to the tenets of N-2. The slope of the line represented the mass of the object. Students then investigated Newton's 2^nd Law of Motion with a lab activity. A constant force produced predictably diminishing accelerations as the mass of the object increased. N-2: acceleration is directly proportional to net force and inversely proportional to inertia (mass. We'll discuss the lab tomorrow and go over the N-2 homework questions/problems from yesterday.

Homework

Honors Physics: Complete normal force homework problem
Physics B and F: Prepare for exam
Physical Science: Complete lab write up