wat i lernd (first semester)

I have learned many things during this semester of physics (spelling was not one of them). So far we have study 6 units of physics. Some of these units covered are Kinematics, Vectors (2-D Kinematics), Forces, Newton's Laws, Momentum & Collisions, and Work & Energy. Learning all these things are important because they help us to know why certain things are the way they are. All this physics information is important, but we would not have learned them well without "life lessons" and without songs.
        Life lessons are the sort of random stories and information Mr. Blake gives us that will benefit us in certain situations. One of the first life lessons he shared with us had to do with fighting. If we were to get into a fight then we should put our keys in our hand for two reasons. The first to increase the mass of our hand so that we have more momentum so we can do more damage. The second reason was so the keys can stick in between our fingers and we can scratch up the person. If it ever came down to a situation like that I would remember this. I find these life lessons interesting and useful in the "real world".
       The songs in class are exciting yet educational. Without the songs I would not have remembered to bring my beloved calculator to class everyday, or I would not know my SohCahToa, or that weight = mass x gravity and that if you have the mass than multiply by 10! These songs are what I learned in physics this year.
        The last thing I learned this year is that procrastination is no bueno. I have learned that turning everything on time is of the utmost importance. Although I have turned in many things late, I have learned that turning it in on time will give me even more points. So...I have to stop my procrastination and finish my work before the day of class.

        The picture for this final blog of the first semester is of Chayse's and my ornament we made for the christmas tree. This ornament, named Oscar the Ornament, will forever remind me of all the things I have learned in physics this year. It will also win the ornament competition for period 6.

Blog #15

ENERGY!! The last unit we are going to work on this first semester of physics is about ENERGY! So far we only learned about 2 types of energy. Energy of Position (Potential energy) and Energy of Motion (Kinetic energy). The two formulas we can use to find potential energy are gravitational potential (PEg) = mass x gravity x height (mgh) and spring potential (PEs) = 1/2 x spring constant (N/m) x distance squared(distance stretched). The kinetic energy formula is 1/2 x mass x velocity squared. We also learned that energy in = energy out. Thus energy is conserved. Using these formulas you can find out how much potential or kinetic energy you have. When energy changes it is called work. Work is found by multiplying force by displacement (Newtons x meters). The unit for work is Joules. The rate at which work is completed (done son) is known as power. The faster you do work the more power or the more work you do the more power. If you want more power than you need to do more work, or to do work faster.

Blog #14

#EGGdrop! This week in physics we studied more about momentum and impulse. This time we needed to save the life of an egg. Chayse, Chelsey, and I used physics and modern technology to create a device to prevent the egg from cracking on impact. This next level egg-saving apparatus was made from modern technology including straws, paper and napkins/tissue. This apparatus was made in the shape of a cone with straws sticking through it and napkins/tissue filling the interior. The cone, with coins on the the tip, was made in this shape so it would fall on the nose and collapse. This part of the apparatus was designed to be destroyed in order to increase the time of contact between the ground and the egg. The napkins/tissue were used to cushion the egg within the cone to give it extra protection. The straws were used to keep the egg in the cone as well as to prevent the cone from landing flat on its side. This apparatus worked perfectly as you see in the video above. Next level Coned-shaped-egg-saving apparatus... smart!

Blog #13

          WATER BALLOON TOSS! This week in physics we learned more about momentum and impulse. We studied this by tossing water balloons across Konia field. It is possible to catch a water balloon without popping it because it absorbs most of the force from when it is caught. If this force is too great than the balloon pops and makes the catcher all wet. In order to prevent the balloon from popping you need to increase the time of contact. This decreases the impulse, the change of momentum, so that it is not too great that it would cause the balloon to experience a great amount of force thus popping it. Chayse and I were partners for this water balloon toss across Konia. We won the toss because we understood and used momentum and impulse to our advantage. SO... if you ever have a water balloon toss just remember your physics and decrease the impulse.

Blog #12

In this week of physics we focused on the changing of momentum through collisions. We experimented with cars on a frictionless track. We tested to see if mass affects momentum. When a bigger car hits a small car, the bigger car will have more momentum thus pushing both cars in the direction that the big car was going. The big car has more momentum because it has more mass.
       A KC-135 (re fueler plane) is a very large plane. It also contains a lot of jet fuel. This plane has a large mass. These planes refuel smaller planes, more specifically jets. Jets are very small and light. They have a very small mass. When these two planes meet in the sky they connect so they can transfer fuel. If the jet approaches the KC-135 too fast then it will crash into the back of the KC-135. The KC-135 would theoretically have a change in momentum because the jets momentum was transferred into the big plane. In actuality the planes would both crash.

     This picture shows the KC-135 refueling the Jet when both are going at the same uniform velocity. Its like the the cars in class when they are connected by the velcro. Same velocity and same momentum. (Click the picture to make it larger)

Blog #11

A new unit of Physics! So exciting. This new unit of physics that we are learning has to do with momentum. Momentum is a mass with a velocity. So in order to find an objects momentum you must multiply the mass of the object by its velocity. The equation looks like this P=mv. P stands for momentum, m stands for mass and v stands for velocity. Momentum is a part of Newton's first law. (An object in motion tends to stay in motion unless changed by an outside force) The point of this blog is to show physics in the real world and write about it. Well, momentum can be seen in the real world through everything that moves. Everything on earth has a mass and if it moves then it has velocity. Thus if it is a mass that is moving then it has momentum. The picture above shows momentum. After letting go of the rope i can no longer accelerate on the board. So I glide upon the water due to momentum until I hit the dock.

Blog #10

          In physics we are continuing  learning more about Newtons Laws and the forces of physics. So I made a video to show an example of physics happening right before our eyes. In this video there is a volleyball rolling across the grass. Now this volleyball has 2 different forces acting upon it. One is the weight of the ball (mass x gravity) and the second one is the normal force. (If you don't understand these forces then look at my previous blog). According to Newtons first law, this ball should theoretically roll forever because an object in motion wants to stay in motion unless there is an unbalanced force. In this example the unbalanced force is friction. The friction between the grass and the ball will be great enough to slow it down and eventually stop it.

Blog #9

This week in physics we learned more about forces and how to draw them on free body diagrams. The free body diagrams help us to understand where the forces are acting upon something by looking at it. The ball, for example, has 2 different forces acting upon it so that it may stay at rest. Gravity (is not a force) and the mass of the ball create the force known as weight (mg). The second force acting upon it is known as force normal. It comes form Newton's third law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The weight of the ball has an equal reaction from the surface it sits on. These 2 forces cause the ball to be balanced and stay in one spot.

Blog #8

                    We have recently started a new section in physics. It is Unit 4- Forces & Newton's Laws. Issac Newton's first law of motion states that objects in motion will tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside, unbalanced force. This means that if a ball were to roll across the floor it would theoretically roll forever, but it has too many unbalanced forces; like friction. So, the words "in motion" can be switched with "at rest". When a ball is at rest then it will stay at rest unless something pulls or pushes it. The picture is of a water polo ball that is at rest. It is at rest because it has two balanced forces acting upon it. The two forces that act upon it are the balls weight and the equal and opposite force from the surface it is on known as the normal force; but this information can be saved for my next blog.

Blog #6

           In physics, we have recently started to learn a new unit. This unit is about two-dimensional physics. We learned that a vector is equivalent to another if it is drawn to scale and maintains the same direction. Basically it means that in order for a pair of vectors to be equivalent that must be the same size and go in the same direction. For example, if two cars are driving on the Likelike, town bound, at the same speed then they have equivalent vectors. If one car was to heading away from town and the other heading toward town at the same speed then they would not be equivalent because they are going in different directions.

Blog #7

Once again we are learning more about Vectors. This week we learned more about solving 2-D vectors and how to use the ancient art of BEREKU. We learned how to break up the 2 vectors so that we can solve for their magnitude by using SOH, CAH, TOA. I would have liked to post a video of the song that Mr. Blake and the Science teachers sung about how to solve for different sides and angles of triangles. Instead I will post a picture of my BEREKU technique. BUT for the moment I don't know where my physics notebook is so i will repost it later when i find my book.

Blog #5

         In physics we continue to learn about kinematics. This week we focused more on objects and it being tossed into the air. In class we did a lab to collect data of a ball and its trip in the air. Three different graphs were used with the data to show the graphs relationships. The three graphs were a distance over time graph, a velocity over time graph and a acceleration over time graph. These three graphs provided proof that objects thrown in the air go fast, slow, stop at the point, then goes slow to fast again. When the object gets back to its starting point it is going as fast as it was when it was tossed up. The picture above is of me "skurfing". When doing this we can turn towards the wake and ramp up it to get into the air. The hard part about it is landing because we are hitting the water at the same speed from when I ramped up the wake. Landing at the water at that high speed makes it hard to not tumble over. The cool part about jumping the wake is that at one point we are hanging in mid-air, even though it may only be for a split second.

Blog #4

           This week in physics we continued to learn about kinematics. We started to learn more about the affects of gravity on moving objects. So for my visual media I chose to drop a ball from the top of the stairs. A simple ball being released from a hight is a part of physics. The ball starting at rest will accelerate as it is pulled by gravity until it hits the ground. The ball starts with an initial velocity of 0 meters per second because it starts at rest and it was not pushed or tossed down by me. It fell from the hight of 8 feet or approximately 2.5 meters. With a acceleration of 9.8 meters per second squared, the ball's final velocity was 7 meters per second. Knowing that the distance was 2.5 meters, the initial velocity was 0 m/s and the final velocity was 7 m/s we can tell that the time it took for the ball to hit the ground was 5/7 of a second. Isn't it cool that we can figure all this out because we know physics? It ain't anywhere as cool as the video I made.

Blog #3

      This is my 3rd blog about physics. Yes it was late due to a very exciting and no doing homework labor day weekend. Anyways, this week in physics we learned more about kinematics. As my example of kinematics in the world I chose to display a picture of a truck. This truck is an F-150 made in the year 2002 with a v8 which means it basically sucks up a lot of gas. This truck has to do with kinematics because it moves. This week we learned more about acceleration and that it can move in a positive or negative direction. For example, if this truck were mine and I drove it down the street at 20 mph then the truck would have a velocity of 20 mph. If I stepped on the gas pedal harder then the car would accelerate in the positive direction, which in this case makes the car go faster. So lets say I am going 30 mph now. If I were to step on the break then my acceleration would be going in the negative direction because I am slowing down thus changing my velocity. Since I was not going a uniform speed, my average velocity would be between 25 mph.        WOW! Physics is everywhere!

Blog #1

              For our first blogpost we were suppose to find something that relates to what we did in class this week. Well this week (or the week that this was suppose to be done on) we studied relationships. We spent most of our class time collecting data from a pendulum lab to find out which variable affects the period of the pendulum and what kind of relationship it has. From there we had to go out and look for something in the world that deals with relationships. I picked a three-prong spear. The relationship of the spear's distance to the rubber band's stretch has a direct relationship. The greater the band is stretched along the pole toward the prongs the farther the spear will move in the water. This relationship allows us to spear fish without having to throw the spear like we would on land.

Blog #2

          This week in physics we started to study kinematics. Kinematics is the study of motion. An example of this type of physics is a speedometer. A speedometer shows the speed of a vehicle. By definition, speed is the distance traveled per unit of time or how fast something goes. In most cars the speedometer shows the speed in miles per hour and also in kilometers per hour. The speedometer can also show instantaneous speed because it can give the speed of the car at any given time. The speedometer cannot show velocity or average speed. The velocity of the car is not shown by it because it doesn't show what direction the car is moving in. It doesn't show the average speed of the car on the speedometer but most modern cars have computers that calculate the average speed of a vehicle. 

Introduction

Blogpost #1

Aloha. My name is Kalamakü Akiona. I am a person who plays water polo, so I basically love water. A common weekend for me is usually spent out on the ocean or at a beach. I spend a lot of my weekends out on Kaneohe Bay. I have attended Kamehameha since the fourth grade. This will be my ninth year here. After this year I plan to go to college. I am undeceive on what college I am going to and if I want to play college polo.

I have completed BSCS biology and Chems chemistry in my high school career. I have also completed the math courses up to but not including College Algebra and Trigonometry. I am currently taking College Algebra and Trigonometry with del Prado.

A shark represents me because without water I would be dead. It can also represent me because sharks don’t like to be the center of attention, they are always there but you don’t always see them. I usually don’t like being the center of attention; I am more of the audience that gives their attention.