Acceleration and Velocity Resource

This video showcases acceleration in the form of a launching spacecraft.  You can see, as the ship takes off, how it starts moving slowly and then picks up speed until it reaches escape velocity.  A launching space ship is perhaps the most dramatic example of sudden, violent acceleration that we have.

Constant Velocity vs. Constant Acceleration Lab.

The purpose of this lab was to teach us about acceleration, specifically about how acceleration looks first-hand.  The difference between constant velocity and constant acceleration is that velocity is closely related to speed, in that if an object has constant velocity it must have constant speed, because velocity is a combination of speed and direction.  Constant acceleration means that the objects speed is constantly increasing, moving faster and faster, even though the rate of acceleration doesn't change.  In this lab my group placed an iron marble on the counter and then rolled it along the counter.  I marked the passage of the marble with chalk every half a second.  Then we rolled the same marble along a ramp and marked it with chalk again.  In this lab, I learned the differences between speed, acceleration and velocity.  For constant acceleration use the formula V= at, and for constant velocity use the formula V= d/t.  The lines in a graph for constant acceleration looks like an exponential increase, while the line for constant velocity looks more like a strait forward line of best fit.  I used the equation of the graph to prove the formulas that we use are indeed correct (because y=mx+b is the same as distance=slope times half of the acceleration squared).  I learned how to find the equation of a graph, I learned how to apply that to physics, and I learned the difference between constant acceleration and constant velocity.

Hovercraft Post

Riding a hovercraft is a really cool experience, but it did take some getting used to.  If I get spun around a bit during the initial push, that spin would continue through the entire short journey.  I had to adjust my weight a little bit so I wouldn't be pressing part of the hovercraft down and causing it to drag along the floor, but other than that I didn't have to do much except sit (and hold the power cord in place).  I learned about inertia in a very (for lack of a better word) personal way, due to me feeling it in action.  The acceleration is entirely dependent on the initial force that propels the hovercraft along, unless some other force acts upon it and changes it's momentum.  I would expect to have a constant velocity when the hovercraft is just coasting along with no force acting on it.  The heavier members of the group were harder to stop in general because they had more mass and more force required to overcome their "resting" inertia.

Inertia Resource.

 This is a video from Bill Nye explaining momentum.   Momentum is intrinsically linked to inertia, as both momentum and inertia govern how objects either move, or how they stay at rest.

My Kind of High Hopes for This Year

This year in physics I expect to learn about all of the fundamental forces of the universe, everything from electromagnetism to gravity.  I want to know how motion works, and I especially want to know how energy works.  The thing I want to know most about physics, however, is the theoretical applications of it, from superluminal travel to harvesting power from micro-singularities.  I do have some questions about physics, such as:
-How exactly does friction work?
-Why do we take physics after chemistry, when chemistry and physics are so similar?
-Is physics separated into other specialties (such as a momentum expert, an energy expert, etc.)
My goals in physics are to always get assignments done on time, never show up late to class, and to finish the year with an A.