Unit 1 Reflection

In this unit I learned about inertia in regards to Newton’s first law which states an object in mortion will remain in motion until an outside force is exerted upon it. I also learned about acceleration which is the change in velocity over time, speed which is how fast an object is moving and constant acceleration which is the velocity changing at a constant rate, constant speed which is when the speed remains the same, and constant velocity which is when both the direction and the speed of an object remain at a constant.

The most difficult concept to grasp is acceleration and constant acceleration. Acceleration is the change in velocity over time, and constant acceleration is the velocity changing at a constant rate. This subject became even more difficult when I learned that an object could have increasing speed and decreasing acceleration this is so because while an object may be going faster, the change is not as big.

I overcame these difficulties by thinking of it in terms of our lab. When the table was set at an incline the ½ second marks were getting bigger at a constant rate, and the speed was going faster. Lets say it began by each interval being +5 apart, and then as the ramp went on it was only +3 apart. Though the speed is getting faster the acceleration is decreasing.

For the most part I had a strong effort throughout this whole unit. I completed my homework except for two nights, however I made up for both of the nights. I also took time on my blog posts, realizing that it would be more worth it in the end to do a thorough job. My problem solving has gotten better even through this first unit because I have learned to write down all of my work rather then keep it in my head and to read the questions carefully and maybe even multiple times.

I know that my use of creativity has already improved, as it was tested when it was time to come up with themes for our podcast. My problem solving skills have improved when solving difficult problems because like I said before I have learned to write down everything rather than keep it in my head and to also relate back to your formulas and basic knowledge. My collaboration with my classmates has been tested through labs, blog comments, and podcasts. However I have learned how to be a better partner through all of these assignments.

My goal for the next unit is to study for every quiz even if I think I know the information for it. Because chances are there is something that I need to review.

One of the questions we answered was what is the point of a headrest? A headrest is something that involves everyone all day everyday. I didn’t really know why they were there concerning safety, I just thought they were there for comfort. Also studying constant acceleration made me more acquainted with speed and time, and those equations, which will help in math class. But what made this class so interesting is that we made a connection to real life in everyone of our units. Therefore it is hard to narrow it down to just a few answers.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n54MysJW88&feature=youtu.be