Our physics class is modeled after the AP Physics C Mechanics class. So far, we have covered a variety of topics, including kinematics, dynamics, and circular motion. We have completed various labs to discover different physics topics, and those are honestly the best part of the class. One of my favorite labs we did was a Nerf launcher lab where we measured the angle at which the Nerf projectile made it up out of the launcher, and then we applied the launcher’s spring constant to find the max height it achieved when fired straight vertical. The class is extremely fun as it mixes both lectures with cool labs. Below is an example of a larger assignment and a lab report.
This was a multi-stage rocket problem that we had to solve using kinematics. The rocket had multiple stages, including a propulsion stage, a free-falling stage, and a parachute phase. We had to solve all of these phases individually and then find out where the rocket would land. This problem allowed me to combine multiple different skills into one problem and allowed me to see how they all connected.
This was a cool lab we got to design and execute in small groups. My group decided to see how an incline would affect the acceleration of a cart by using a modified Atwood’s machine on the end of a frictionless cart. Then, we measured the cart’s acceleration to see how the incline impacted it. We created this incline by adding blocks under the track. We ended up being able to confirm our hypothesis that as the incline increased, the acceleration would decrease as there was more energy needed to pull the cart up due to the increase in potential energy.