Hovercraft Lab 9-4-14

     
         Today we in Physics class, we did a lab on hovercrafts. If I had to explain to someone else how it felt to ride on a hovercraft, I would tell them that I felt out of control. I would tell them to expect noise, movement, and an out of control feeling. Riding on a sled or a skateboard is different, because they are both on the ground experiencing friction. Riding a hovercraft does not involve friction, so there is no force to slow it down unless an outside force, such as a person, comes into contact with the hovercraft. I learned that inertia is not the force causing a hovercraft to move continue moving forward at a constant velocity, but rather a lack of force. Net force is an outside force that causes acceleration, so an example of that would be when a classmate was ready to slow down the hovercraft, turn it around, and push it. Equilibrium occurred during the second stage of the hovercraft lab when the hovercraft was moving at a constant velocity, because Newton's First Law states that things in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. Based on this lab, acceleration seems to depend on force. For example, Corrie and Orlando pushed me forcefully on the hovercraft to create acceleration. Also based on this lab, I would expect to have a constant velocity when there was no net force in action. Some classmates were harder to push than others, because it takes more force to create acceleration with a larger mass.

Inertia Resource

I chose this video, because Khan Academy is used by Asheville School teachers, so I know it is a reliable source and will not give me false information. This video exemplified the difference between mass and inertia. Although the assignment did not involve mass, the comparison helped me to better understand inertia itself. Inertia is the property of an object that determines how hard it is to change the velocity of that object. Resistance à acceleration. Mass is a measure of how resistant an object is to acceleration, or in other words, a measure of inertia. Inertial mass and gravitational mass are equivalent, because they measure the exact same thing. This video was beneficial to me, because it helped me understand that the mass of an object can determine it's inertia. Knowing this information helped me to better grasp the concept of inertia.

What I Expect to Learn in Physics

     
          In physics this year, I expect to learn the skills to understand what is going on around me in the everyday world, such as why a ball falls from the top of a building at the same speed as a feather does. While developing these learning skills, I expect to learn how to predict outcomes in the future.
Lastly, I expect to learn how these things affect me personally in MY everyday life. I think physics is important, because it explains the perceived unexplainable. I want to fill my bowl of curiosity. In the process of learning about the importance of physics, I think it is important to learn how to decipher why these things are happening. Finally, I think physics is important, because it opens up your mind to new ideas that you may have never thought possible. I think problem solving is thinking about the logic of an outcome. Why do you think this will happen? What is your reasoning behind it? I don't have any specific questions about physics, but rather I am just open to learning how it works and why it works. That is a giant question within itself. My goals for physics this year is to be confused about a concept, then comprehend it, and then be able to explain the concept to a peer. Rather than setting a goal to get an A in the class, I have decided that I just want to understand physics. Asheville School always encourages it's students to not worry about a grade, but rather about the learning process and I have finally come around to doing that.