Conceptual: Energy

Today and tomorrow you are reading about energy and completing Energy I. I cannot post the reading here, so don't lose yours. I will be out on Friday, but if you have any questions email me or post here (which will automatically email me).

Conceptual: Momentum Test!

Your test is today. You've had two class days and a 4-day weekend to get ready for this...just sayin'. There is an extra-credit word find with vocabulary words from the next unit available for a limited time.

Honors: Momentum/Rotational Motion/Gravity Study Guide

I was going to try to squeeze in a lab before the next unit...but then almost no one turned in Momentum III and those that did left most of it blank. I also found out that I'll be gone on Friday and I didn't want you doing a lab while I'm gone. So today (and tomorrow and Friday) are going to be work days. In addition to completing Momentum III like you were supposed to, you can work on the study guide for our second test, which will be Monday.

Study Guide

AIMS Days

I will see half of you Monday and half of you Tuesday due to the AIMS testing schedule. Conceptual classes, you have work time to prepare for your test on Wednesday. Honors classes, you will be learning a little about angular momentum (see below).

Honors: Momentum III

I wasn't sure how many of you would be here today, so we just worked on some practice problems in the form of Momentum III.

Conceptual: Study Guide Answers

Today we played a bit with angular momentum. The answers to the study guide I gave out yesterday are below.

Honors: Collisions

Today we talked about the two kinds of collisions and did some math for inelastic collisions. We also tried out several collisions on an air track. There are some videos of this demo from several years ago on YouTube (thanks to the long-ago-graduated Edgar):

Elastic Collision I
Elastic Collision II
Inelastic Collision

Tony tried to film some more today...they are a bit shaky.

Elastic Collision 1
Elastic Collision 2
Elastic Collision 3
Inelastic Collision 1
Inelastic Collision 2
Inelastic Collision 3

Homework is Concept-Development 7-1.

Conceptual: Momentum Study Guide

 Unit 9 Study Guide

Honors: Recoil

Guns recoil when fired to conserve the total momentum. Here is a video we watched that shows recoil fairly dramatically. No homework tonight.

Conceptual: Momentum Practice

Today we are catching up and doing some practice problems. We'll probably have a test next Wednesday, after Rodeo Break.

Conceptual: Collisions

Today we talked about the two kinds of collisions and did some math for inelastic collisions. We also tried out several collisions on an air track. There are some videos of this demo from several years ago on YouTube (thanks to the long-ago-graduated Edgar):

Elastic Collision I
Elastic Collision II
Inelastic Collision

We did several others in class...but I guess you had to be there. Homework this weekend is Concept-Development 7-1.

Honors: Bouncing

Today we talked briefly about bouncing then spent the rest of the period practicing momentum math. Videos of bouncing are here and here.

Homework is Ranking Tasks: Momentum and has two sides (pictures below).

Honors: Impulse

Impulse helps us explain why impacts with squishy things like airbags hurt less than hard things like steering wheels. Homework: Momentum II.

Conceptual: Recoil

Guns recoil when fired to conserve the total momentum. Here is a video we watched that shows recoil fairly dramatically. No homework tonight.

Honors: Momentum

Momentum intro! Your homework is Momentum I.

Conceptual: Bouncing

Today we talked briefly about bouncing then spent the rest of the period practicing momentum math. Videos of bouncing are here and here.

Homework is Ranking Tasks: Momentum and has two sides (pictures below).

Honors: Tides

Today we talked about tides and black holes. If you missed the notes, the Wikipedia acticle on tides is quite good. For our class, we care about what causes the basic tides, spring tides, and neap tides. You will not be held responsible for all the details in the Wikipeida article...although the whole subject is quite fascinating. 

Here is a video we watched of the very dramatic tides in the Bay Of Fundy.

Here is a video of the amazing Neil DeGrasse Tyson explaining black holes. My pictures are backwards from his explanation - I drew a person diving in, while he talks about a person going in feet first.

Homework: Tides

Conceptual: Impulse

Impulse helps us explain why impacts with squishy things like airbags hurt less than hard things like steering wheels. Homework: Momentum II.

Honors: Orbits

Today we talked about why astronauts seem to be floating when in orbit even though they are not "weightless." We also derived an equation for the mass of a body that is being orbited.

Conceptual: Momentum

Momentum intro! Your homework is Momentum I.

Honors: Law of Universal Gravitation

Today we sort of derived the Law of Universal Gravitation. Later we'll play with the math of orbits with this equation, but for today your homework is conceptual: Universal Gravitation I.

Honors: Centrifugal Force

Today we briefly talked about centrifugal force, which is a pseudoforce (fake force) but is still pretty cool. Centrifugal force appears if you have a rotating reference frame and is indistinguishable from gravity to a person inside that rotating reference frame. We watched a couple of clips from 2001: A Space Odyssey that show how a rotating reference frame could be used to create "artificial gravity."

Conceptual: Study Guide 8 Answers

Here are the abridged answers for the study guide posted yesterday. We also counted stamps.

Conceptual: Microgravity and Unit 8 Study Guide

Today we very briefly talked about why astronauts orbiting earth seem to be "weightless" but are not. The rest of the time was used to start on your study guide (I'll post the answers tomorrow). We'll be counting stamps tomorrow and your test is on Friday.

Honors: Centripetal Force

Today we talked about centripetal force and practiced a problem combining circular motion and friction. Your homework is Circular Motion II.