While some are contemplating the end of the world, I am studying for physics. Here are the essential oscillations equations to know for our test tomorrow.
Oscillations (Includes SHM, Springs, Pendulums):
F=-kx
xmax=A
vmax=Aw
amax=Aw2
T=1/f and f=1/T
w=angular frequency=2(pi)f=2(pi)/T
v=wr
Potential Energy= (1/2)kA2cos2(wt)
Kinetic Energy= (1/2)kA2sin2(wt)
Total Energy= (1/2)kA2
x(t)= Acos(wt + phase shift)
v(t)= Awsin(wt + phase shift)
a(t)= -Aw2cos(wt + phase shift)
Tspring=
Around the holidays, people typically gain weight as cookies, candy canes, and other treats are around every corner. But, this Christmas, you can lose weight! Without a diet, and without exercise, there is one answer to the essential question: "How can I lose weight?" Simple. Go to the moon.
Here is the calculation to prove this solution really works!
1) Find g:
g=[G(mass of moon)]/[(radius of moon)^2]
g=[6.67x10^(-11) x 7.35x10^22]/[(1737000 m)^2]
g=1.62 m/s^2
2) Conver
As we are in our second independent unit, I thought I little review picture couldn't hurt. Remember:
1.) Max acceleration is achieved when the spring is at -amplitude or +amplitude.
2.) Max velocity is achieved at equilibrium.
And, along with this, we must know:
KE= (1/2)kA2sin2(wt) w= angular frequency, k= spring constant, A= amplitude, t= time
PE= (1/2)kA2cos2(wt)
These equations are useful when finding the Potential or Kinetic Energy at time, t, in the oscillation.
Every high school student treasures his or her first college letter in the mail. However, when the letters begin to consume your recycle bin, they become overwhelming. Each letter seems to advertise the same things: a nice campus, low student:teacher ratio, updated infrastructure, and groundbreaking research. So, when something different comes in the mail, it is exciting. Recently, I received a letter from the University of Akron advertising their Corrosion Engineering major, which is not offere
As Thanksgiving is just around the corner, retail stores are bombarding consumers with Black Friday ads. The ads show glittery, appealing products at low-prices. But, what the ads do not show--crowded parking lots, irritated customers, and stampedes-- you must watch out for. To minimize your risk of injury, here is some physics advice if you are one of the bold buyers who battles Black Friday crowds.
1) Attempt to maximize your power (force dotted with velocity) beforehand. A balance of
Opening a fresh jar of pickles can be challenging. If you are somebody who struggles opening jars, don't be discouraged, physics can help. If you run the jar under hot water, the lid will become easier to turn. But, why? Metal has a higher coefficient of expansion than glass does. So, as the jar stays under the hot water, the metal expands a tiny bit, and the glass stays the same. There is no longer a need to workout, just run your tricky jars under the faucet, wait a minute, and let physi
While I was dutifully studying physics today, because we are in our independent unit, I remembered the experiment Mr. Powlin did last year with the forks and toothpick. This experiment shows the concept of center of mass quite nicely. First of all, center of mass is the point on a system that moves as if all the mass of the system were concentrated at that point, and all external forces acted only on that point. In the magical experiment Mr. Powlin did last year, he shoved two forks together, so
When an adventuresome IHS student ventures out of the school building to the turf field, he or she passes the WindTamer and solar-powered lights. I do not know how much energy the turbine actually harnesses, but it is cool nevertheless. How does the WindTamer work? The WindTamer turbines create two vacuums which suck air through the blades, and the blades rotate (creating rotational kinetic energy). One of the vacuums is behind the blades, and the other is behind the turbine. The blades used in
In class today, while doing the preliminary questions to the lab, we debated whether a clay or rubber ball, of equal mass, would push a door closed more. At first, I thought that the clay would close the door more; but, since the masses are equal, I rethought my intial response. The question is basically asking which medium will create the greatest impulse. Because the clay sticks to the door, the collision is inelastic, and energy is lost as the clay sticks to the door. Because the rubber ball
This is a picture of our beautiful catapult. The potential energy of the garage springs was converted into the kinetic energy of the arm. We positioned the beam across the catapult at about a 45 degree angle with the base. This angle maximized the range of the softball. For our first two launches, we had padding on the center beam, to absorb a bit of the kinetic energy of the arm, so the wood wouldn't break. But, for the third trial, we took off the padding, and the wood ended up cracking. The m
This weekend, my brother was flipping through the TV channels, and a very interesting sport came on. The Dutch sport of Fierljeppen, similar to pole vaulting, involves a person sprinting, jumping onto a long pole at an angle, climbing to the top of the pole while it tilts over, and hopefully landing on sand on the other side of a pond. This sport is also known as canal jumping, as the athlete clears a body of water. In terms of the energy of Fierljeppen, here it goes. A person of mass, m1, and v
This is my first blog post with nothing to do about soccer! Tonight, when my dad was reading the Democrat and Chronicle, and I was doing my Calculus homework, he read me a blurb about an American and French Physicist who just won a Nobel Prize in Physics. The paper didn't explain much of anything in terms of what these physicists did to merit the prestigious award. I think the brief description was because the physicists, Serge Haroche and David Wineland, studied quantum physics and applications
A couple games ago, my soccer team had ample opportunities to score against Gates Chili. We managed to sky the ball over the net from the six yard line, in the first five minutes of the game. After thinking about how hard it is to miss the goal from this distance, I thought I would compute the angle, theta, needed to clear the crossbar (8ft off the ground) from the 6-yard line. Given:
*average velocity of shot ~45ft/s
(this value varies between male/female, and level of play)
*delta x=18ft
*
Yesterday, the Girls' Varsity Soccer team started out with our first win! We scored a late goal with less than 2 minutes left in the game to make our way into the finals (of the tournament) on Saturday. After the celebrations and high fives, the referee came up to me and asked, "Have you taken Physics?" A bit taken by surprise, I responded "Yes." She went on to compliment the power and velocity of my punts, but she questioned the height. She believed, given the power behind the punts, tha
So, this first blog entry is an introduction to me, goalkeeper0. As seen in my username, I obviously am a goalkeeper (for soccer)...I will soon post a blog entry about a recent soccer/physics encounter of mine. So, about me. I am interested in a combination of all three sciences, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Thus, in college, I hope to study biomedical engineering-- which brings together both engineering and medicine. Biomedical engineering appeals to me, because of its many different career
