Unit Blog Post

In this unit I learned a plethora of information. I learned about falling through the air, I learned about free fall, and I learned that free fall and falling through the air are two different concepts. While falling through the air your body is slowed down by the force of air resistance, but while you are in free fall there is no air resistance present. I also learned about projectile motion and how you can calculate the distance and height and object travels if you know the vertical and horizontal velocities.

At first understanding air resistance was very difficult. I couldn’t process the idea that if a parachute opened up then air resistance would become greater than the force of gravity and that it made acceleration negative (slower). When acceleration was negative, that meant that object was slowing down. I also didn’t understand that when an object was at constant velocity, velocity and acceleration were equal and opposite.

My effort towards class, blog posts, group works, and keeping the class enthusiastic is superb. I try to make people laugh every once in a while to keep the mood of the class positive. I work super hard during class, group work, and labs. I try to be as insightful and show that I understand what is happening in all of my blog post. I also think I am pretty persistent. My work is completed most of the time and I come prepared and ready to participate everyday. My self-confidence in physics has skyrocketed from the last unit. I don’t know if it is because math is involved but when it comes to equations like d=1/2(g)(t²), v=d/t, and F_weight-F_air/mass= acceleration, I get super excited and feel overly confident about my work.  

I also feel like I can take down difficult physics question, which in the first unit I was sky to approach.

When it comes to solving difficult problems I draw things out now. Whether t is a chart, graph, or just a box to make things easier and clearer for my brain to process.

My communication by spoken and written words has been swell in my opinion. I feel like I make my answers very clear and understandable. I absolutely love group work. Not only do I make sure to have fun with my partner, but I do make sure our work is above average. I also love group work because it allows you to understand and get to know someone you might not have talked to before. When that happens is just makes the class tighter and stronger.

My goal for the next unit is not to miss a single HW assignment, ace every quiz, and maintain at least a 95 test average.

Physics is all around us. Projectile motion connects to football, soccer, baseball basketball, tennis, etc. The concept of falling through the air not only connects to skydiving, but also base jumping, or just jumping in general.