Energy (1/22 - 1/26)

https://goo.gl/iyD3GQ

Summary: 
     Energy is a scalar quantity and is measured based on the movement of an object. There are two types of energy that can be measured: potential energy and kinetic energy. Potential energy is the potential magnitude of an object based on its vertical and horizontal position. An example of potential energy is a biker on a hill. At the top of the hill, he has potential energy due to the fact that he is in close proximity of going down the slope and gaining speed/energy. Kinetic energy is the energy in an object while it is in motion. Using the biker on the hill once more, once he bikes down the hill, his potential energy turns into kinetic energy. As he gains speed, his kinetic energy increases along with his speed.

SP5 - Using Mathematics:

     This week I used mathematics to find the potential and kinetic energy of an object. This was used in a worksheet given to us with the intent to understand both types of energies. While we were working on it, we found that the formula for potential energy was PE = m x g x v. In other words, the formula for potential energy is mass times gravity times height. To apply this formula we were given scenarios such as finding the potential energy of a 3 kg brick loaded onto a seat-top 0.45 meters high. We plugged in the numbers into their respective variables and plugged in 9.8 for the gravity since that is the gravity on earth. My group and I eventually found the formula for kinetic energy which was KE =1/2mv^2 which is half the mass times velocity squared. Similar to potential energy, we were given problems to show that we fully understood it and could apply it to real life situations. Our example was to find the KE of a 625 kg roller coaster going at 18.3 m/s. Once more, we plugged in the numbers to their respective variables, squared the velocity and halved the product of the mass times the squared velocity. 

Acceleration Part 2 (1/17 - 1/19)

https://goo.gl/sKJ2Hb

Summary:

      Acceleration is the change in the velocity of an object over time. There are a few ways to make an object accelerate. You can roll off an object from an inclined surface and due to gravity, it will move down the inclined slope and accelerate. The other way is to input energy into it. An example of this the combustion of gas in order to power the pistons which increase the speed of a car. The formula of acceleration is: (V2 - V1) - (T2 - T1). The equation means to divide the change in velocity and divide it by the change in time. The quotient is measured in length/time^2. To write acceleration on a position/time graph, change the slope of the line over time and to write acceleration on a velocity/time graph, change the y-axis direction of the line.

SP4 - Analyzing and Interpreting Data:

     This week I completed the acceleration lab activity. The goal of this experiment was to learn how to measure acceleration and further understand how it works. I achieved that by analyzing and interpreting the data recorded. In the experiment, I worked with two other people in order to track the acceleration of a toy car. We put it on an inclined surface. When that happened, I called out the intervals of time and for each second, the two other people that I worked with pointed to where the car was for each second. We repeated the process two more times, inclined the inclined surface and repeated the process again. By the end of the experiment, there was a total of 3 trials. From those trials, we were asked questions to reflect upon acceleration such as how to calculate and measure acceleration and were asked to graph it on.

Acceleration (1/8 - 1/12)

https://goo.gl/dWS2mq

Summary:

     Acceleration is a vector quantity that measures the rate of change in the velocity of an object over time. Acceleration is measured on an acceleration graph where velocity is on the y-axis and time is on the x-axis. The steeper the line is, the bigger the change in velocity is over a short amount of time. If the line is completely horizontal, that means that the object isn't accelerating and thus remains a constant speed. If the line is horizontal and at the x-axis, the object is at rest, meaning that it isn't moving. The formula to find acceleration is the change in velocity divided by the change in time. The unit for the quotient then becomes length/time^2. 

SP3 - Planning Investigations: 

     This week I investigated on how acceleration works. To do this, I worked with two other people and gathered tracks, a book, a yardstick and a toy car. The first step was to assemble a track and a yardstick together. Then, we stacked books under one end so that end was inclined. The next step was to put the car on the ramp and let go of it. One person was to call out the intervals of time since the release of the car and the other two people were to mark where the car was in those intervals of time. We had to repeat this 2 more times and find the average position in each interval of time from those 3 trials. After repeating the trials 3 times, our group was supposed to stack another book with the intent of making the ramp more steeper thus increasing the acceleration of the toy car. From this experiment, I further understood how to find the acceleration of an object.