No Effect

Physics homework for 3/31/15:

Ripple Effect

           Today we learned about waves and we did a wave lab using slinkies and what not. We also checked our data and what have you. 

           The amount of a solvent does not change the density of it or the buoyancy of other objects. For example, if you dropped a beach ball in the ocean and in a sink it would still float because the amount of whatever does not affect it. We know density is only affected by mass and by volume because the formula for density is D = m/V. Thus in turn buoyancy is not affected by the amount of a solvent because buoyancy depends on density. Plus, I have tested this before and as an example when I leave a plastic bowl in a slightly filled sink it floats and when the sink is a bit fuller it still floats. I feel like the amount should affect it though because it is really annoying having all those bowls float around in your sink and the whole purpose of me filling the sink is usually so that the bowls soak all together. Instead I have to manually fill each bowl and what have you. Adding on, usually people add more solvent to make things sink but things like ice and what not unfortunately still float. I guess it would just be more practical some how. And while quantity can be a part of density everything is proportional to volume so it just remains the same. It is like having a 10 kg tub of water take up 2 m or whatever be the same as a 20 kg tub of water take up 4 m of space because in the end the density is still 5 and the buoyancy of the object remains the same. 

Bye guys :33~

Simple Harmonic Motion

Physics homework for 3/30/15:

              

Simply Motion and Gravity

                Today we finished our pendulum lab and we also compared our data. Additionally, we took some notes on what affects pendulums and what not.

                First of all, what is simple harmonic motion? Simple harmonic motion is basically when something carries out a repetitive back and forth or up and down motion. So for example, a pendulum swinging on its own from a string has simple harmonic motion. You can tell when something has simple harmonic motion if it only takes gravity for an object to constantly go back and forth or up and down and also if an object is just constantly making that repetitive up/down and left/right motion.
                In my own day, I have witnessed simple harmonic motion from a metronome. Metronomes (the old fashioned ones) only require you to pull the dial back once and once you let go the musical timing device will go back and forth on its own for however long it may go.
                I also play the guitar so when I play I notice that when I strum the strings the strings vibrate up and down repetitively for a long time unless you stop the strings. This may be more of vibration but technically all you need to do is touch/pluck the string and the string will move on its own after like with a pendulum or a metronome. Drum cymbals can also vibrate/go up and down after they are hit.
               Finally, when I am washing up at home sometimes if there is a basin of water in the sink or whatever and I leave an object in the water that floats it bobs up and down. All I need to do is leave a less dense object in the water and gravity helps the object go up and down and up and down... It is different from the other examples but it has the same principle. I think Cartesian divers are better examples of objects bobbing or one of those things out at sea but generally it is all quite similar.

Bungee jumping may count too! I mean technically once you are left to go on your own you bounce up then down and then up and down due to gravity :D. But I don't bungee jump every day xD.



:D <3 Bye bye! 

Electricity Generator

Physics homework for 3/18/15:

The Power of the Sun

               Today we finished our generator notes and we continued working on our projects.

               I am personally most interested in the solar power generator because of the renewable resource of the sun being its power source and because of how much it could help the environment and stuff. It is interesting because of how it needs no moving parts and because of how it eliminates the burning a resource that heats water process that other generators go through. Adding on, the way the sun generates power for these generators is cool too as it basically just involves radiation and what have you. 

               Solar power works by using sun rays to excite electrons in solar panels (the material used for those panels is called a "photovoltaic" material). These cells convert sunlight into electricity and once electricity is created the electrons can flow through wires to the devices that need energy or they can flow through some kind of circuit. With solar power there are these things called inverters and meters that help the electricity flow through out the house. An inverter converts the electricity for household use whilst the meter connects the system and monitors the electricity. The meter turns backwards when it needs to switch off I believe. 

               Sun power seems better because in comparison to the other generators this one requires less burning and water, it requires a few things that don't need to move, it is clean, renewable, it can't hurt anyone, etc. While not as efficient as say hydroelectric or nuclear power it may be worth the money, planning, and time and maybe we can soon make it more efficient? Since our Earth is already in danger and has its problems because humans can be selfish sometimes this may be what we need. The only drawback is it is not on demand and it takes up space. Plus, if you got it from the government it would be funded by tax money which is not necessarily great as someone else earned that to pay for you, you know? But taking some extra steps can be worth it if it means more building and planning and even more expenses. Taking care of the Earth will not be easy and it is not 100% easy but we can do it and it is worth it. Also, having electricity for a while will not kill us and it may teach us to do more than stay glued to our technology. It could help us regulate our lives and what not differently even if we had to change as a whole for it. The money could cause economic troubles but I feel like if everyone was willing enough to come up with a solution and strengthen the economy that would not be as much of a problem but it all depends. Not everyone is willing and not everyone cares, but it is not impossible and it would really generally help having solar power even with its inefficiency.

Note: Solar power is inefficient because it cannot light up too much, but maybe we can innovate something? Obstacle have never stopped us before and we lived pretty well even without our Bookfaces and Smartefones.

>:3 Good bye! :3 <3

D: Don't wanna be this...(OmgitissotruethoughIamsosorryMrSun).

B) Same.

Appliances

Physics homework for 3/10/15:

Electric Appliances: Electricity is Love, Electricity is Life

Today we mainly took notes and we worked on solving various V=IR problems. :D

        

                  I will give the information involving voltage, current, etc. from my Lenovo laptop's battery, from my Apple iPod, and from my Kenmore heater. Since I do not have a phone to take photos with I cannot post any quality photos but I do have my crappy webcam so that will do. I am going to write the information and post the pictures as well.

Kenmore heater:

Input: 120 V = V and 800 W = P

Lenovo battery:

I believe this one converts energy from 100-240 V = V 1.5 A = I (input) to 20 V = V an 3.25 A = I (output)

Apple iPod:

Input: 5-30 V = V and 1 A = I

EXTRA: 

Lenovo laptop:
I cannot take a picture of this appliance because it is my laptop itself and my webcam is not that flexible, but the sticker underneath the laptop says that the input is 20 V = V and 3.25 A = I  just like the battery!

Pretty quick and easy homework :D~, good night vwv!!~



Oh boy x33...

Circuit Diagram

Physics homework for 3/4/15:

Symbolic Diagrams

            Today we focused generally on circuit diagrams and how they work and are drawn and what not :D. We also used a little free program to help us visualize these diagrams even more.

            Symbols are a great, simple, easy, and recognizable way to represent things. But why are some symbols used to represent certain things like say a line for a wire? Well, I shall attempt to explain why!

           So let's go through the basic symbols like the light bulb from the first picture. We use a little circle with loops in it connecting to parts of a wire probably because bulbs look quite like that with their spherical shape and with their little metallic pieces inside of the glass. And it is very easy to draw two loops, a circle, and lines and still make it look like a light bulb. Straight lines for wires makes sense as well because again, we can easily draw a few lines and still recognize them as wires. As for batteries (portrayed as one short line and one big line next to each other with a "plus" and "minus" sign; see picture 1 and 2) it is a little harder to decipher. It may be hard to tell what it is without physics knowledge even though almost everything else is easy to figure out even without physics, and I don't even know why batteries are represented like that but maybe because it is pretty simple and it looks like a real battery sort of? The "-" and "+" may give it away and it is probably used because batteries have those signs on them to indicated their charges. I guess the battery symbol is also made the way it is to differentiate from the capacitor symbol. Also the "ammeter" and "voltmeter" can't be drawn in detail but the circles with the "A" and "V" on them do give away that one probably deals with "amps" or "current" and that the other deals with "volts" or "voltage/energy" because in physics "a" and "v" represent those things. Plus, the circle makes it look like a connected item and not like a power source or something so we don't get confused. As for a resistor and a switch I am assuming the resistor is a squiggly line either because that is how the electrons move when they pass by the resistor, OR, because it looks like it's "messing something" up or ruining the flow so that might represent restriction. And it is not in a circle or anything to show it may be some sort of device, a resistor is a device but it is a little different from a battery and stuff. The switch is probably the way it is to help us remember open and closed circuits and maybe also because it looks like a light switch kind of? In general, these are easy to draw and physics probably uses a specific kind of symbol as say with a company it'd be easier and better to print up and make some fancy logo, but for physics we need an easy and universal way to represent schematics.

             Using symbols obviously makes it easier to represent without having to draw some elaborate sketch or without having to get lots of tools out, because if we have symbols that mean something and are as simple as lines and circles then we can draw them in a flash. But it also helps us visualize the actual circuit and understand how it works without the actual equipment. Why? Because it is a general drawing/schematic of the real thing that we could sketch out any time and personally take ourselves through. We could use it to imagine electrons and how they would flow and all that. Of course knowing the physics is important to really understand it, but sometimes without a visual people can't really understand it and things get too general. Like for me, I get energy, electrons, volts, etc. all mixed up sometimes but then I think of a circuit diagram and remember how it all works. It also makes it easier for people to share ideas about circuits and build them because they can sketch a quick plan and share it with anyone because they will recognize the symbols.

             Symbols can make it hard to use a circuit diagram and build as circuit as even though the diagrams help they are not 100% accurate in a way and when you try and build a real life circuit it can be tricky if you're only using a diagram. Plus, it makes it harder to change a circuit because you have to erase your sketch and redo things whereas it is quicker with real equipment like actual wires and stuff because you can unclip stuff and move it around. It does not make much harder for me, personally, it mainly seems to be a beneficial thing.

EXTRA CREDIT: Hmm, something new that would be nice if it had symbols for it... Maybe words that are important for everyone to know no matter what they speak and no matter what country they're in? Like the words on signs for example. I know the signs are supposed to be symbolic but sometimes that is not enough like with a speed limit or like with a closed off area. Maybe a speed dial or a "no" sign would work for those things, but especially in a diverse place like America it would be helpful to have these kinds of things. Not sure, I don't have many good ideas D:.

vwv Good night! <3

Pretzel Circuit

Physics homework for 3/2/15:

Pretzel Activity

          

       Today we did an activity called the "electron shuffle" and basically this activity involved a couple of things. Firstly, it involved a different representation of circuits and it also involved teaching us about circuits. Next, it involved everyone in the class being assigned a certain role; the majority of the class were electrons (and the students represented electrons in the circuit) and around four other students took on different roles. Two students represented light bulbs and these two students specifically held buckets unlike the "electrons" and unlike the other two students (most of us also held papers that stated our roles).  As for the other two students, one kept track of the number of students passing the light bulbs I believe by using a clicker, and the other represented the "battery" of the circuit. But there is a small catch; the "battery" handed out energy that was represented by pretzels. In fact, the pretzel bag was more of the "battery" and the pretzels were the "volts" or was the "energy" given to the electrons. There was also tape used to represent "wires" and the "electrons'" paths.

       With our roles and what not in mind, we started off traveling through a series first then a parallel. In the series, every "electron" lined up on one side of the room on the "wire" (tape). The "electrons" traveled to the "battery" (pretzel bag) first and each one was given two "volts" (pretzels) each time they passed by the "battery" empty handed. And only two "volts" were given during both the series and the parallel. Next, all of the students/"electrons" traveled in a nice straight line where there was no cutting and dropped off one "volt"/pretzel to each "light bulb"/student because the "volts" were to be distributed evenly. And once they were split and all, the electrons would go back to the "battery" for more, but they HAD to have no "energy" in their hands. This all stopped once the person using the clicker got 30 "Amps" (30 people passing the "battery"). After that we made a diagram and what not and it showed us our current plus our volts. 

      Then we finally repeated this process except this time we all traveled through a parallel circuit. So the only real differences were Miss Reid chose which paths the "electrons" had to take and the electrons dropped off two "volts" to whichever "light bulb" they passed because they would only pass one "bulb" no matter which path they took so there are no other "bulbs" that the "pretzels" need to be split amongst.

Pretty fun, right? :D

<3 xDDDD

Good night!! :333