Science II -Week 3

 1. In the lab section for week 3, we discussed and tried to answer the question, 'What affects a rider's speed down a slide?' To answer this question, we did an experiment by making a model of a slide, and each group picked something to test. When picking what to test, we thought about different things that could impact the rider's speed on a slide. My group picked the weight of a rider to test. We did three trials and timed how fast different weights went down our model slide. At the end of our testing, we made a data table, found the average time for each weight, and then calculated the average speed with the distance of the slide. Our end result was that weight does not affect the average speed of a rider. 

2. During the lecture on Thursday, we dove a little deeper into the different things we tested in the lab. We went into a deeper discussion on how the height, steepness, surface/clothing, and rider weight affect the speed of a rider. Something big that I learned in the lecture was how big the force of gravity played in this discussion. We talked about how the force of gravity can pull something closer to the ground, but the force of the object or surface that it is on can pull it in the opposite direction, and this can affect the acceleration of an object.

3. What I learned in the textbook reading for this week was Newton's first, second, and third laws of motion. Newton's first law talks about why things move or might not move. It also talks about why things stop moving and what causes an object to move.  That is inertia. Newton's second law talks about what factors affect the force and how objects move. Lastly, Newton's third law talks about how forces always come in pairs, each acting on the two objects that are interacting and pointed in the opposite direction. 

4. Something that was helpful in the textbook reading was the simulation under Newton's first law. The simulation was a great way to demonstrate and answer the question, "Why do things move?". The net force simulation helped show precisely how, if you have equal forces on each end of an object, then the object will not move. It also demonstrated that in order for an object to move, you would need a bigger pull or force than the other one. 

5. Something that I need more information on after reading the textbook reading for this week is Newton's third law. There was information on it that was really great and informative, but I would like to know more about how objects can move without being touched. 

6. One question that I have from the textbook reading is how exactly magnets work when they repel and attract to one another without touching?