Physics, taught by Mrs. Chase, is a class that dives into how the world works through the lens of algebra and calculus. We cover key topics throughout the year including kinematics, energy, momentum, and circular motion, following AP Physics C Mechanics curriculum. This class moves at a relatively fast past, and homework is assigned almost every night. I find this class to be quite difficult, yet rewarding when I find myself to do well on a quiz or a test.
In the dynamics lab, we chose to explore the relationship between an incline and acceleration of a Vernier cart traveling along a metal track in a modified Atwood’s machine. The incline was continuously increased to observe this relationship, and Vernier Graphical Analysis was used to record our data as well. We used free-body diagrams to show the forces on each mass, and derived equations based on them. This was one of my favorite labs as it allowed us to work in groups and choose a research question of our choosing!
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Acceleration on an inclined plane was the first lab report we completed this year in physics. The objective was to determine the acceleration of a cart using Vernier Graphical Analysis and compare the measured result to the expected value. The most difficult part of this lab was learning how to determine the equation from my graph using linear regression as it was a bit new to me. It allowed us to gain some insight on learning how to write a proper lab report, and it was a fun and exciting way to explore kinematics. I loved it!
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