Blog Post #6

This week, we've taken a break from kinematics and have moved on to learning about vectors. A vector is a mathematical quantity with both a direction and a magnitude. In more simplified terms, vectors explain "which way" and "how much". In this picture I've captured two "Equivalent Vectors" (hence the title in brown). To be equivalent, both vectors must be drawn to scale and maintain the same direction. This photo gives an example of two vectors, both 19 cm in length and both pointing in the same direction. Color has absolutely nothing to do with being equivalent, so the fact that one vector is blue and the other is purple doesn't matter. I just wanted to make my picture a little more colorful (: So I swear I haven't looked at anyone else's blog yet, but Mr. Blake, I'm going to bet that I'm not the only one with this idea haha. Being that you told us that taking a picture of arrows was the easiest :p

Blog Post #5

A SERIES OF EVENTS...

So my original plan was to upload a video of myself riding the "GREEN-MACHINE", but......it didn't work! So I decided to take screen shots from the recording and create this "series of events...": a step by step display of the ride I took on the Green-Machine (:

Riding this contraction (I'm not too sure if its classified as a bike or something), involves many kinematic elements. Kinematics deals with distance, scalars, vectors, displacement, average speed, velocity, and acceleration. When I began my ride, I started about 40 meters away from the green garage door you see in the background. This would be classified as the "total distance" traveled. My "displacement" was also 40 meters being that I did not ride back to my starting point. My complete ride consisted of me accelerating down the street then accelerating back up the street in order to come to a complete stop. I relate my journey to how you would throw a ball up in the air. When a ball is thrown in the air, its acceleration going up goes: fast, slow, stop (peak). Coming back down, its acceleration goes: stop(peak), slow, fast. I relate my journey to acceleration of the ball when traveling upward. I accelerated up the street quickly, then slowed down, and swerved roughly to a stop. Trust me, stoping suddenly on this thing isn't as easy as it looks. It takes balance because the tires are pretty slippery. I actually don't have very good balance, so I'm not too sure how I'm able to pull this off :p But anyway, that was my day + physics (:

Blog Post #4

This entire week, we've still been practicing formula problems involving kinematics. All of our problems involve these variables: distance(d), acceleration(a), time(t), final velocity(V), and original velocity(Vo). As one of our examples, Mr. Blake used an Expo pen to give us a better understanding of acceleration. He threw the pen up in the air and caught it at the same level as when he threw it. He then explained that the pens velocity traveling upward as well as the pens velocity traveling downward is the same when caught at the same level. This afternoon, after my younger sister and I were finished practicing throwing, our youngest sister brought out her glove and started doing this:

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as she continuously threw the ball up and caught it at the same level, it reminded me of the demonstration we had in class. As my sister threw the ball, its velocity going upward and downward remained the same. We try to practice with her as often as possible so she can be good like us ;p (just kidding) But just like physics problems, practice makes perfect.

Blog Post #3 (Olympics Lab)

During the week, we studied the relationships between distance and time through our Physics Olympics Lab. We observed the relationships by looking at four different activities: bunny hop, balance walking, gentle jog, and sprint. Each activity was timed and done for a 50 meter distance. It was concluded that as the distance increased so did the time it took to cover the distance. This concept is relatable to our kinematics unit because it is the study of movement and we move in different ways everyday. This is the razor scooter I've had since I was in 1st grade. Every time my distance increased, so did the time it took to cover the area. This scooter has covered a great distance in its lifetime. As you can see, by the missing cushion on the handle bar, my scooter is pretty worn out. I've used it for everything; to get to softball practice, to ride to my uncles house, and to ride just for fun. After all of that, she's still going strong. See mom, I told you I'd use it more than once (: