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This is physics

Physics is really fun because we get to play with toys. We've learned all sorts of things like mechanics and waves and electricity.



Electronic Portfolio

Introduction

Physics Carols         

The Massachusetts framework which I feel this creative piece demonstrates is 2.5 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

       Provide and interpret examples showing that linear momentum is the product of mass and velocity, and is always conserved (law of conservation of momentum). Calculate the momentum of an object.

It also demonstrates is 2.1 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Interpret and provide examples that illustrate the law of conservation of energy.

The directions for this assignment were to write a song about a physics topic we have studied this year to the tune of a holiday song.

I chose this piece because I am proud of my songs. My two songs are to the tune of is the Thanksgiving Song, and Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.

I liked this piece because it was fun to write and fun to sing. I like music and I love children’s songs more than anything, and I was happy to be able to use them for physics. I also liked doing this because I got to use my creative side to create my songs.

If I could redo this work I feel that I could have improved it by picking longer songs where I would have changed more of the words. For my rewrite of Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, most of the words are the same as in the original song.



Physics Toy Poster         

The Massachusetts framework which I feel this project piece best demonstrates is 1.3 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Create and interpret graphs of 1-dimensional motion, such as position vs. time, distance vs. time, speed vs. time, velocity vs. time, and acceleration vs. time where acceleration is constant.

The directions for this assignment were to research and test the physics aspects of a toy and create a poster about it.

I chose this piece because I am proud of my work. I put a lot of time into researching my toy and collecting and analyzing my data. I am also especially proud of my poster, because I hand drew the cars on it.

I liked this piece because it was a very open ending and creative project. It was fun to design my own experiments, take my own data and find my own conclusions. It was also fun to design and create my poster. I also liked this project because it was one of the few things I’ve done in physics where I was able to incorporate my artistic skills.

If I could redo this work I feel that I could have improved by collecting more data on acceleration of the car and analyzing the relationships between the mechanics of the car (like the gears) and the motion of the car.



Force Lab         

The Massachusetts framework which I feel this laboratory exploration piece best demonstrates is 1.6 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Distinguish qualitatively between static and kinetic friction, and describe their effects on the motion of objects.

It also demonstrates is 1.5 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Use a free-body force diagram to show forces acting on a system consisting of a pair of interacting objects. For a diagram with only co-linear forces, determine the net force acting on a system and between the objects.

The directions for this assignment were to study the affects of elastic force and friction on an object.

I chose this piece because it was a well thought out and well plans example of the laboratory process. It shows the process and data collection, along with the analysis and conclusions. Even though I have trouble while completing this lab, I still produced a well-polished lab write up in the end.

I liked this piece because it included all the necessary parts of a lab. I also liked this because I originally had trouble with the laboratory processes, but in this lab I was finally able to produce a cohesive lab write-up.

If I could redo this work I feel that I could have improved by being more organized while collecting data and following instructions. If I had done that, I wouldn’t have run into the problems I had and I would have produced a better lab write-up.



Heat Lab         

The Massachusetts framework which I feel this problem piece that I still don’t understand best demonstrates is 3.4 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Explain the relationships among temperature changes in a substance, the amount of heat transferred, the amount (mass) of the substance, and the specific heat of the substance.

The directions for this assignment were to investigate how liquids heated and cooled.

I chose this piece because I didn’t understand the lab. While I understood all of the heart topics taught in class, I had a lot of trouble with this lab. I still do not understand it.

I disliked this piece because I feel that I did grasp the subject matter. If I had better understand what the lab was and how and why to do it I would have really liked it, because heat was my favorite part of c-term.

If I could redo this work I feel that I could have improved by taking better data and doing better analysis. I would have been able to do that if I had better understood the lab so I also should have taken more time to understand what I was looking for before I started testing.



Work-Energy-Power             and Capacitors        

The Massachusetts framework which I feel these pieces that show how I’ve grown best demonstrates are 2.3 and 2.4, and 5.3 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Describe both qualitatively and quantitatively how work can be expressed as a change in mechanical energy.

        Describe both qualitatively and quantitatively the concept of power as work done per unit time.

        Analyze simple arrangements of electrical components in both series and parallel circuits. Recognize symbols and understand the functions of common circuit elements (battery, connecting wire, switch, fuse, resistance) in a schematic diagram.

The directions for these assignments were to investigate work energy and power and to investigate capacitors.

I chose these pieces because they show how I’m grown. The first lab is very short and unorganized even though I have all of the data and conclusions right. The second one is well organized well put together, and well explained. The second one also includes diagrams and pictures and the first one does not.

I liked these pieces because the work-energy-power lab was fun because I was able to find out the power in my legs. The capacitor lab was fun because I like electricity best.

If I could redo this work I feel that I could have improved by putting more time and effort into organizing the work energy power lab and going more indebt with my conclusions in terms of my fit models.



Interference of Waves – Ripple Tank PowerPoint         

The Massachusetts framework which I feel this presentation piece best demonstrates is 4.1 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Describe the measurable properties of waves (velocity, frequency, wavelength, amplitude, period) and explain the relationships among them. Recognize examples of simple harmonic motion.

The directions for this assignment were to create a PowerPoint presentation showing what was studied about interference of waves in the ripple tank lab

I chose this piece because I felt we did a good job on it. It took our team a while to finally get to interference during the ripple tank lab, but when we did, we collected and analyzed data well.

I liked this piece because this was a nice PowerPoint presentation. Our pictures that we used were well thought out and well made in Geometer’s Sketchpad. Overall this presentation was well made, well presented, and informative.

If I could redo this work I feel that I could have improved by not wasting time in the previous classes so that we could have spent more time on this portion of the ripple tank lab. We may have reached more conclusions and found more information, if we had given this section more time.



Polarized Light and Light Intensity         

The Massachusetts framework which I feel this graph interpretation piece best demonstrates is 4.1 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Describe the measurable properties of waves (velocity, frequency, wavelength, amplitude, period) and explain the relationships among them. Recognize examples of simple harmonic motion.

The directions for this assignment were to take data on the amount of light going through polarized lenses and the affect of distance on light intensity.

I chose this piece because this was my favorite graph-interpretation activity we did all year. I liked light and it was interesting to see how polarized lenses change how much light is outputted at different angles.

I liked this piece because I did it well. My data was really good and I was able to get very good fits for it.

If I could redo this work I feel that I could have improved by lengthening my conclusions. I would go more in depth to the relationships between my fits and my data.



Friday Problem: October 27         

The Massachusetts framework which I feel this piece that I initially had trouble with but now seems trivial best demonstrates is 1.6 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Distinguish qualitatively between static and kinetic friction, and describe their effects on the motion of objects.

The directions for this assignment were to find the distance of a baseball player sliding given only the initial speed and the kinetic coefficient of friction.

I chose this piece because it was one of my favorite Friday Problems. When we first started learning friction, I had a lot of trouble, but doing this Friday problem helped me better understand it. This was originally an assessment question that I got wrong and doing it as a Friday problem made me finally understand friction.

I liked this piece because it was a fun Friday problem to do and I did it well. I also liked it because I learned a lot from this Friday problem because it was originally something I didn’t understand

If I could redo this work I feel that I could have improved by having a better extension.



Light Paper         

The Massachusetts framework which I feel this additional piece best demonstrates is 4.1 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Describe qualitatively the basic principles of reflection and refraction of waves.

The directions for this assignment were to write a paper which described the findings of all of the light investigations we did in class such as mirrors, lenses, and diffraction.

I chose this piece because I am very proud of this paper. I put a lot of time into it and it was very well done.

I liked this piece because the light labs were the most fun labs we did all year. It was nice to put them all together into one huge paper, because I like writing papers.

If I could redo this work I feel that I could have improved by doing diverging lens better. Diverging lenses was the only part of this paper I didn’t have good data for so therefore I couldn’t write any conclusions for. I also would have improved my lens diagrams (not included).



Circuit Newspaper         

The Massachusetts framework which I feel this additional piece best demonstrates is 5.3 in the Physics Learning Standard which states:

        Analyze simple arrangements of electrical components in both series and parallel circuits. Recognize symbols and understand the functions of common circuit elements (battery, connecting wire, switch, fuse, resistance) in a schematic diagram.

The directions for this assignment were to create a two page newspaper with the findings of our first few circuit labs.

I chose this piece because I am proud of it. My newspaper was really well made on Microsoft Publisher, and my stories were very creative. I personified the aspects of the circuits and wrote them as if they were breaking news stories.

I liked this piece because it was the most fun lab write-up all year because it was the most creative lab write up. The creative projects in physics are always my favorites.

If I could redo this work I feel that I could have improved by putting more time into it and understanding coils better.








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