Week 23 Reflection

This week in physics we focused more on energy, its path, and how it can affect velocity. We began the week talking about the three modes of energy storage: elasticity (Eel), motion (Ek), and gravitational field (Eg). We learned that elasticity is the ability for an object to return to its original state and the elastic limit is the maximum amount of elastic energy that can be stored in and object and still allow the object to return to normal. We focused most of our time on the spring analogy. When the apron was at rest, it contained no energy. However, when the spring was stretched by two people, the kinetic energy of the movement of the hands stretching the spring transferred to the spring in the form of elastic energy. The more the spring was stretched, the greater the amount of elastic energy it held.

After learning the three modes of energy storage, we moved on to energy bar graphs (LOL), a graph used to show the transfer of energy in a system before and after a situation. The system is some changed event an the system is the object in question. The first L displays what type of energy (out of the three) the system started out with and what percent of energy was present. The O represents the system in question and the amount of energy either going into it or leaving it. Finally, the last L shows the energy and its amount in the spring after the situation occurred.

Today (Friday) we completed a lab relating the compression distance of the car on a ramp to the car's velocity. The displacement went from one centimeter to five centimeters. It was concluded that if you double the compression distance, the velocity is also doubled. Therefore, it proves that the greater the amount of energy, the greater the velocity.

On a separate note, the cardboard boat regatta is Monday! My group's boat has been completed, but it needs another layer of tape just to better secure it. Wish us luck! :)