Science II- Week 4

 

1. In our lab section for week four, we talked about and answered the question, "What affects how long it takes a swing to go back and forth?". To answer this question, each group created a model and picked something to test. My group picked how to test how the length of the chain affects how long it takes for the swing to go back and forth. By using a model swing, we measured three different strings and timed how long it took the swing to go back and forth ten times, and then we divided that time by ten to get the average. The length of the chain does affect the time it takes a swing to go back and forth. Our data showed that the longer the chain, the slower it goes back and forth. 

2. Something that I learned in the week 4 lecture is the energy lens on motion. I was reminded that energy is manifested in a variety of ways like movement, light or electricity. I learned that energy can be transferred from one system to another, and it is never created or destroyed. In lecture we talked about energy in a pendulum, and I learned that the more height the pendulum had the more gravitational energy it has. We also talked about how Newtons first and second laws help to describe how things are moving. Lastly, in week 4 lecture I learned that gravitational energy can be converted to kinetic energy. 

3. What I learned in the textbook reading for week four is what a pendulum is. Before I was introduced to lecture, I did not know what a pendulum was and after reading about it in the textbook reading, I know a lot more about it. I learned that a pendulum is a weight suspended from a fixed point that can swing freely. I learned that the pendulum can be a very useful way in showing and testing potential energy, kinetic energy, and gravitational energy. A pendulum can be made in different ways. Like the model swing that we did in our lab this week. 

4. Something that was most helpful in learning the material this week was the section in the textbook that was called Galileo and Clocks. This was helpful because it explicitly told why a pendulum is important in science. This was helpful because it showed the history of pendulums and the impacts it made to society when it was introduced to the world. It also gave more examples of different types of pendulums you might see in the world around you. 

5. Something that I need more information on based on the textbook reading for week 4 is how exactly the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. There is something about that concept that I do not understand fully and would have to learn more and do further research and observations to see how it is converted. I understand that the energy is converted but I do not understand how or why the energy is converted from potential energy to kinetic energy. 

6. One comment that I have about the textbook reading for week four is that the videos helped a lot while learning this material. The videos and simulations help a lot to understand the pendulums and energy all together.