Home

 

Read What is Physics?
found below and answer these Questions

 

Sheldon from the Big Bang explains physics

 

Why is Science Important?

from Alom Shaha on Vimeo.

"The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that
it is comprehensible."

- Einstein

Over Arching Concept

If a mass speeds up, slows down or changes direction,
a net Force Must Be Present - Newton


What is Physics?

 

An Overview of Quarters 1 and 2 Physics is the study of the physical world. It answers the questions you asked when you were a small child. These are questions many of us no longer ask. Why is the sky blue? Where does the sun go at night? Where does the moon change shape, and where does it go in the morning? Why does a pencil appear to bend when placed inside a glass of water? Why does a rainbow appear when we use a garden hose on a sunny day? And the question my wife asked her physicist uncle when she was a child; "How are those people able to talk from inside the radio, and how come you can hear different people when you turn the knob? And my favorite question is, what makes the world go round? And sorry, people, it's not love.

Physics is the study of the physical world. It answers the questions you asked when you were a small child. These are the questions that many of us no longer ask. Why is the sky blue? Where does the sun go at night? Where does the moon change shape, and where does it go in the morning? Why does a pencil appear to bend when placed inside a glass of water? How come you can make a rainbow with a hose on a sunny day? And the question my wife asked her physicist uncle when she was a child; "How are those people able to talk from inside the radio, and how come you can hear different people when you turn the knob? And my favorite question is, what makes the world go 'round? And sorry, people, it's not love. 

Physics has answers to all these questions.  Einstein said the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible. In other words, the most unbelievable thing about all the complexity we see around us is that it can be understood, described, and explained using a relatively small set of laws and theories. Physics is the science that sets out to discover the equations and laws that explain and describe the physical world.

The first topic we will investigate this year are the set of laws that governs motion. By the 16th century, astronomic observations had revealed that we were all traveling through space on a large, somewhat spherical rock that rotated on a tilted axis and orbited a medium-sized, orange star. That rock, the earth, also curved around the sun in an oval-shaped path. In the 17th century, a physicist explained why the Earth had rotated nonstop for over four billion years and why all the planets in our solar system curved around the sun.   

That physicist was named Isaac Newton, and in the 17th century, he shocked the world by stating that the movement of all the celestial bodies in our solar system was not guided by supernatural forces, as most people of his day thought, but could be explained using the very same physical laws that governed the movement of objects on the earth. For instance, the same forces that explain why a rock thrown across a field curves to the ground can also explain the moon's movement around the Earth and Saturn's path around the sun.   Newton's 3 Laws of Motion and his Universal Law of Gravity were the first universal laws proposed by any scientist and helped us make sense of all the motion we see around us. How can the earth spin daily for over four billion years without a push? We will answer that question a few months after studying Newton's Laws concerning net forces and motion. 

The journey to understanding how forces affect motion begins with a crucial step: meticulous measurement and description of motion. In science, understanding how something works often starts with precise measurements. Kinematics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical techniques to describe and measure motion.    

 


 

Video Instruction

showmethephysics.com

 

 

Questions to Investigate

1. How is speed different than velocity?

2. How is speed measured?

3. How long is a meter?

4. About how fast do you walk? (in m/s)

3. How is displacement different than distance?

 

Unit I - Mechanics - Study of the relationship between force and motion

 

I. Kinematics - Mathematical methods of describing and predicting motion

 

Describe motion by using:

A) Average Speed

 

 

Average Speed
of 120 miles per hour

can also be written ...

 

 

 

120 miles/hr

per = divided by

 

Could mean travelled

120 miles in one hour

 

OR ....

 

 

60 miles in ...

 

1/2 hour (30 minutes)

 

 

 

 

30 miles in ...

 

 

15 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

OR 15 miles

 

 

 in 7.5 minutes

 

 

 

 

Can you believe the speed limit in
Calgary, Canada is 100
!!

 

 

 

 

100 km/hr  ≈ 60 mph

 

 

Avg. Speed - how much distance an object covers per unit time


1)
Units: m/s, km/hour,

          miles/hour

 

Average Speed = Δd/Δt

 

 

 

Distance

 

(meter ≈ 1 yard) 

(km ≈ .6 miles) 

 

 

Time
 - secs, minutes, hours

 

 

 

 

Ex 1) An object travels 5.0 meters in 2.0 seconds.

 

Find its speed.

 

Speed = Δd/Δt

 

 

= 5.0 m/2.0 sec

 

 

 

= 2.5 m/s

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ex 2) An object moves at a rate of 3.0 m/s for 1.5 seconds.

 

How far did the object move?

 

 

Speed =Δd/Δt

 

3.0 m/s = Δd/1.5 sec 

 

 

Δd = 4.5 m 

 

 

 

 

Motion Map

 

3.0 m/s for 1.5 seconds

 

 

 

 

 

 

Δd = 4.5 m

 

Photos made by Eadweard Muybridge (1830- 1904)
Animation by User Waugsberg

Public Domain

 

Ex 3) An object moves at rate of 4.0 m/s over a distance of 10. meters.

 

How long did it take to travel that distance? t = ?

 

Speed = d/t

 

 

4.0 m/s = 10. m/t

 

 

(Cross Multiply)

 

 

(4.0 m/s)t = 10. m

 

(Divide by 4)

 

t = 2.5 seconds

 

 

 

 

 

Motion Map

How much time to travel 10 m @ 4 m/s?

 

 

 

 

 

 

t = 2.5 seconds

 

 

 

 

Motion Plots I

 

 

 

© Tony Mangiacapre., All Rights Reserved [Home]
Established 1995
Use any material on this site (w/ attribution)