Hovercraft Interia

A.) What does riding on a hovercraft feel like? What would you tell someone to expect if they hadn't tried it? why is riding on a sled, skateboard, etc different than a hovercraft?

   Riding a hovercraft a hovercraft is a lot of fun. It feels like you are floating in mid air! Although, for someone that hasn't ridden one before, I suggest to expect a feeling of instability when starting and stopping. Now if you are to ride a vehicle like a skateboard, it differs than when on a hovercraft. It differs because when riding on a skateboard there is friction between the wheels and the ground. A hovercraft has neither, therefore there is no friction to control the craft and the direction it goes in.

B.) What did you learn about inertia, net force, and equilibrium?

  I didn't learn anything new about inertia, net force, and equilibrium. I already knew that inertia is Newton's first law of motion. The law which states " an object at rest will stay at rest or an object in motion will remain in motion at the same speed in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." I already knew that net force was the vector sum of all the individual forces acting on an object. I also knew that an object can have a net force of zero and still be moving. I knew this because another word for zero net force is gravity. Lastly, I knew that equilibrium is when forces are equal so they cancel each other out. All is well when there is balance!

C.) Based on this lab, What does acceleration seem to depend on?

Acceleration depends on an unbalanced force acting on an object. In other words, the people pushing created the unbalanced force which caused the hovercraft to accelerate.

D.) Based on this lab, when would you expect to have constant velocity?

 I would expect to have constant velocity once an unbalanced force was no longer acting on the object. In other words, when the people stopped pushing the hovercraft.

E.) Why were some members harder to stop than others?

Some members were harder to stop than others because some members had more mass than others. If an object in motion has more mass, then it'll take more of an unbalanced force to stop it.

F.)  Layton Orme Oliveria (me) saluting physics!

This video on the law of Interia taught me that "objects have a tendency to maintain velocity unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." To demonstrate this they used a block, a smooth surface, and a hard surface to provide an example. They explained how the net force is the friction and the interaction between the block and the ground. The net force is acting against its motion, the force of friction. However, if the surface was made smoother (eliminating the friction) the block would continue to travel. Lastly, If you dragged a TV across your carpet, you are counter acting the net negative force and keeping the velocity constant. Therefore you are balancing the forces. Overall, it showed me two new things. First, it explained how an outside force could be something as small as a rough surface. Secondly, it explained how one must balance the force in order to move the object at rest.

Newton's First Law of Motion: Intertia (Video 1)

The law of inertia states that " all objects will remain in a state of rest or continue to move with a constant velocity unless acted upon by an unbalance force." In this video, I learned that objects will be at rest because forces are balanced. When the hand (the unbalanced force) acted upon the card, the card became an object in motion. However, the penny stayed because there was not enough of an upset in balance to move the penny. So the force of gravity pulled the coin down.

Exceptions, Questions, and Beliefs

With the start of the new year, I cannot wait to begin Mrs. Lawrence's physics class most of all. Although, I have a difficulty focusing in sciences. Henceforth,  I've set a few goals that should help keep me on track. My first goal is to better my ability to  understand and apply concepts. Secondly, I plan to get at least a B, if not better. Finally, I plan on studying at least a week in advance for each test. Now one can't have tests without something to be tested on. Therefore, In physics class, I hope to learn a variety of concepts, theories, and laws. I'm eager to learn why a diver must cut cross current to get back to the boat caught in a strong current. I'm anxious to learn how one can measure the distance from the top of a cliff to the bottom using just the object. Lastly, I'm tingling with excitement to learn how a knowledge of physics can help one win a tug of war. However, despite how eager I am to get started, one must take a step back and ponder why it is important to learn physics at all. I believe it may be important because in some cases such as the diver's, it can save a life. I also believe it's important because it helps people see the connections between phenomenas. Although, perhaps the most important reason of all is that it can help us understand how our complex world works. For example, think of Newton's laws of motion.  Thanks to two of his discoveries we understand  the relationship between an object's mass, acceleration, and applied force. Additionally, we understand that for every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction. However, one cannot solve that relationships equation( F=ma) without being able to problem solve. Personally, I think problem solving is applying concepts that one has learned in order to produce an answer. Now in order to get an answer, there must be a question and I have many questions about physics. For example, how many sections is physics divided into? I'm curious because I want to know why they can be and why they were divide into those sections. Secondly, Who are the most influential people in the world of physics and why? I want to know how their discoveries and theories helped to shape our understanding of the world.  Lastly, to what extent does physics help us understand the world around us? I 'm so inquisitive because I want to know because I want to know if there is a subject that has such a minimal limit, one can spend a lifetime studying just one section of it. Hopefully these questions can be answered and that this will be a good year!