Physics Chapter 2: 6-8: Constant Acceleration

Homework

Reading Preparation
Key Equations
WebLecture
Study Activity
Chat Preparation Activities
Chapter Quiz
Lab Work

Reading Preparation

Text Reading: Giancoli, Physics - Principles with Applications, Chapter 2: Sections 6-8

Study Points

Section 6: Solving problems involving physical situations requires you not only to understand the math, but to visualize the actual physical situation. If the latter doesn't make sense, the math won't really be correct either.
Section 7: We can use the formula we learned for constant acceleration to solve falling body problems in the lab, since near the surface of the earth, acceleration due to gravity changes very slowly over small distances.
Section 8: The slope of a curve (y₂ - y₁)/(x₂ -x₁) and the area under a curve (x₂-x₁)*(y₂-y₁) can tell us a lot about the function that produced the curve.

Key Equations

The quadratic equation:

a x^{2} + bx + c = 0

Quadratic solution:

x = \frac{- b \pm \sqrt{b^{2} - 4 ac}}{2 a}

Web Lecture

Read the following weblecture before chat: Graphing velocity and acceleration

Study Activity

The website below will invoke the cheerpj interpreter, which runs Java applets in a safe mode. It will take a few moments to load, but the applet should then run normally in a new browser window.

Click here to start simulation: Moving Man Simulation

What happens if you change position but not velocity or acceleration (i.e., leave these set to zero)?
What happens when velocity is set to a constant, such as 2 m/s, while acceleration is set to 0?
What happens when velocity is set to a negative constant, such as -2 m/s, while acceleration is set to zero?
What happens when velocity is positive and acceleration is positive?
What happens when velocity is negative and acceleration is positive?
What happens when velocity is positive and acceleration is negative?
What happens when velocity is negative and acceleration is negative?

Physics simulation Java Applets are the product of the PHET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Chat Preparation Activities

Forum question: The Moodle forum for the session will assign a specific study question for you to prepare for chat. You need to read this question and post your answer before chat starts for this session.
Mastery Exercise: The Moodle Mastery exercise for the chapter will contain sections related to our chat topic. Try to complete these before the chat starts, so that you can ask questions.

Chapter Quiz

Required: Complete the Mastery exercise with a passing score of 85% or better.
Go to the Moodle and take the quiz for this chat session to see how much you already know about astronomy!

Lab Work

If you want lab credit for this course, you must complete at least 18 labs; you may complete more if you are preparing for the AP exam.. One or more lab exercises are posted for each chapter as part of the homework assignment. We will be reviewing lab work at regular intervals, so do not get behind!

Lab Instructions: Velocity of Falling Bodies 2

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Physics

Chapter 2: 6-8 Assignment