Thursday, October 12, 2017
12:30 - 1:45; 75 min. -
Physics:
Newton’s second Law of motion lab-
We started the class by discussing what would happen, to acceleration, if the mass of an object was changed but the Force was unchanged. We then used a ruler to control Force, and a set of balls (Ping-Pong, base, and wiffle balls). First the mass of the balls was recorded. We bent the ruler to the same degree, to control force, and slapped each ball. We observed the speed by which each ball hit the opposite wall. We compared our notes to see the higher the mass, the slower the motion. We then used a baseball and a ball made of a small amount of paper, to see how Mass affects Force. The larger ball had no problem knocking down a series of dominos, while the smaller ball had real trouble knocking them down, showing the lower the mass the lower the force, when acceleration was constant.

Monday, October 9, 2017
1:00 - 2:30; 90 min. -
Physics:
Newton’s second Law of motion-
Will was quizzed on the second law. We then discussed what would happen if parts of the equation (F=MxA) were manipulated. We increased the mass of an object, and left the acceleration alone, and Will was tasked with determining what would happen to the Force. We imagined different situations where this would happen, and how these changes would affect the outcome. We discussed Sir Isaac Newton and what he meant to the people of his time to start to understand the laws of motion, and how discovery is different from inventing. Homework: think of situations where each Law of Motion is in effect.

Friday, October 6, 17
10:00 - 11:00; 60 min. -
Physics:
Laws of Motion -
Will was quizzed on Newton’s three laws of motion. He then was tasked with finishing a crossword puzzle, which used the vocabulary associated with the three laws. Finally we used a small cart and a ramp to illustrate the second law. I showed Will that when the mass of the cart is increased the force must also be increased. We created several math problems to demonstrate that this is true.

Thursday, October 5, 2017
12:30 - 1:45; 75 min. -
Physics:
Newton’s Third Law of motion-
Will was introduced to the third law of motion, which states, “ for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.” We discussed several examples of this law in action, including a stone falling into a pond, and the water splashing up in the opposite direction of the stone. Will thought of a few examples that demonstrate this law and we talked about how this works in real life. Homework: study the three laws of motion for a quiz on Friday.

Monday, October 2, 17
1:00 - 2:30; 90 min. -
Physics:
Newton’s second Law of motion-
Will reviewed Newton’s second Law and the associated vocabulary. We also reviewed the process for converting metric units. Will was introduced to the unit of Force known as the Newton; kg X m/s2 (kilograms times meters per second squared). He was then tasked with solving several situations where the mass and acceleration was known, and Force was to be determined. In some cases the mass was in a unit that needed to be converted into kilograms. Will was also given situations where the Force and acceleration was known, and mass was left to be calculated and finally some situations where the Force and mass was known but acceleration was left to be determined.

Friday, September 29, 17
10:00 - 11:00; 60 min. -
Physics:
Newton’s second Law of motion-
Will was given a quiz on Newton’s second Law and the associated vocabulary. We then started to work on ‘Force = mass X acceleration’ problems. We discussed what Force is, what mass is and how we measure acceleration. Will was tasked with determining the acceleration in situations where a car is stopped at a light and then achieved the speed limit, or situations where the speed limit increased.

Thursday, September 28, 17
12:30 - 1:45; 75 min. -
Physics:
None
Will was not available for class today

Monday, September 25, 17
1:00 - 2:30; 90 min. -
Physics:
Newton’s Second Law of Motion-
Will and I reviewed his vocabulary from last week. We took turns thinking of examples of how force - mass x acceleration. We started with how to determine acceleration, using his recent driving experiences as examples. I quizzed him on determining the miles per hour of some imaginary trips. We then imagined a heavy box weighing 100 lbs, and trying to make the box move one kilometer in one hour. We worked together to determine the force. After the quiz, we addressed re-framing his photo, as he was concerned about some issues with the image. Homework: Study Newton’s second Law of motion and vocabulary for a test on Thursday.

Friday, September 22, 17
10:00 - 11:00; 60 min. -
Physics:
Newton’s second Law of motion-
Will was given a quiz on Newton’s first Law and the associated vocabulary. He then wrote Newton’s second Law in his notebook: Force is dependent on the mass and velocity of the item in motion (Force = mass X acceleration). He also wrote the new associated vocabulary words and definitions. We discussed how this law is manifest in his daily life. We worked on acceleration and ‘miles per hour’ concept, and also reviewed how mass can influence how much force you use to move an object. Homework: study Newton’s second Law of motion and vocabulary for possible quiz on Monday.

Monday, September 18, 2017
1:00 - 2:30; 90 min. -
Physics:
Newton’s First Law of Motion-
Will was given a list of vocabulary words to write into his science notebook. Then he wrote out Newton’s First Law of Motion. We discussed how his vocabulary words related to the law and how they work. Will conducted two activities to help him understand how an object at rest, stays at rest, and an object in motion, stays in motion, until met with an unbalanced force. First we stacked several quarters. Will exerted force against the bottom quarter with a ruler, making it vacate it’s place in the stack; noting that the other quarters did not move, other than falling down to replace the missing quarter. We discussed why the other quarters did not also move from the stack. The second activity started with a beaker with a playing card across the top. We placed a quarter on the card and then applied force to the side of the card. The card shoots across the desk, and the quarter falls into the beaker. Again we discussed why the quarter did not stay with the card and fall across the desk. Finally we selected images that described each vocabulary word to add to his notebook. Homework: study the vocabulary words and the First Law of Motion for a quiz on Friday.