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The first point of sectional finals, we have serve. Ace. A couple more aces and a big serving run and we are now up 18-3. We end up winning the first set 25-6. 25-6. 25-6, in sectional finals, against Pittsford Sutherland. It is clear now who has the momentum moving forward. The momentum from the first set carried us in the next two sets and we end up winning the match and sectional finals. In a sport, when a team has the "momentum" in the game, it means that they are the ones on the move and will be hard to slow down and stop. In physics, momentum is the product of mass and velocity, and the equation is p=mv. Therefore, as mass or velocity increases, so does momentum. Momentum is also a vector quantity, so it has a direction to go along with the magnitude. A change in momentum is the impulse which uses the equation J=Ft. It would take a large amount of force in a large time to create a big impulse or change in momentum. Last night, Sutherland started to create an impulse in the second and third set, but it wasn't enough to sway the momentum in their direction. Here's a video of the final point of the match last night!

As I was scrolling through Instagram, I came across a post by Nasa that said today, October 14th, 2017, is the 70th anniversary of supersonic flight. Supersonic flight is when something is traveling faster than the speed of sound, which is 343 m/s. Of course for the past 70 years this has only been done by noncommercial planes. Well, Nasa is currently working on making supersonic flight a reality for commercial planes. That would mean that you can travel from New York to Los Angeles in 2 hours. Now it takes over 6 hours. Nasa has been researching shock waves, cruise efficiency, and the effect of sonic booms on the environment. Sonic booms are loud boom sounds caused by the waves of sound. It occurs when an object travels at supersonic speed. If Nasa is able to make this a reality in will revolutionize modern travel.

In the spirit of Halloween, I created a spooky story that links together a couple of multiple choice problems from the Work, Energy, and Power exam that we took on Wednesday 10/25 last week. I hope you enjoy and Happy Halloween! A person pushes a box across a horizontal surface, but there is so much more to the story. The boy pushing the box across the creaking floorboards of a desolate hallway looks over his shoulder, fearing for his life. Someone had blackmailed him into bringing the 40 kilogram package to room number 207 in the haunted hotel on Mansfield Street, so he put all 20 bottles into a box and went to the hotel precisely at 10 o’clock. Despite the fact that his bones were shaking, he continued to push the box at a constant speed of 0.5 meters per second. The box slides along the dusty floor with a coefficient of friction of 0.25 and creaks with every step he takes closer towards room 207. He reaches the door and slowly enters. The first thing he notices is a massive grandfather clock covered in cob webs that stands directly in the center of the room. Its frictionless pendulum has a length of 3m long and swings with an amplitude of 10°. He stares long and hard at the clock as its pendulum swings from its maximum displacement where it has a potential energy of 10J, to its lowest point at vertical position where it has 10 J of kinetic energy. But he knows that somewhere along its path it has an even amount of both kinetic and potential energy of 5 J. He is so mesmerized by the massive clock that he doesn't hear a 2000 kg car accelerating from rest at 3 m/s^2 down the street. Lucky for the boy, the car goes by the hotel at a speed of 20 m/s. With his eyes still transfixed on the clock, moving in sync with the clocks pendulum, he begins to feel like he is floating in a void of black space. The clock is the only thing in sight besides darkness. Suddenly he is blinded by a flash of bright lights and the sound of loud screaming fills his ears. As he snaps back to reality and his eyes begin to adjust to the light, he realizes that he is surrounded by a large group of grotesque zombies that are slowly closing in on him. He grabs on tightly to the massive grandfather clock and squeezes his eyes shut. A cold hand touches his shoulder and he lets out an ear piercing scream. Just when he thinks he has reached the end, he hears laughter. Upon opening his eyes, he recognizes the faces of the zombies. They are his friends! And they have thrown him a surprise birthday party inspired by his favorite TV show, The Walking Dead! Good thing that he brought the soda! Happy Halloween y'all!