PROFICIANCY 1 LAW 1:
Experiment with and explain how Newton’s laws of motion apply to the physical world.
Experiment: what effect does the mass of the ball have on its momentum while rolling down an incline plane?
Constant Variables: Slope, surface, push, person pushing them, person timing, Wind Speed, Wind direction.
Independent Variable: mass of the ball
Dependent Variable: Momentum
Control:
Materials:
1. Work space
2. Bowling ball
3. Baseball
4. Incline plane
5. Object to measure momentum
6. Person recording momentum
Procedure: To start my experiment, the first thing that I am going to do is gather all of my materials and find a work space. Then I set up my incline planes and make sure that they have railings on the sides so the balls don’t fall of before they get to the bottom. Then I weighed each ball to make sure that they had different masses. Then I let the two different balls go at the top of the incline plane and let it roll down until it stops. Then I will see how far each ball went, I will then know which one had more momentum because the one that had less momentum stopped sooner(did not go as far). Once I recorded the results of the experiments after doing many more trials to make sure that my experiment is accurate. After that I make all o the data that I had into a data table and graph on excel to conclude my experiment.
External Variables: to make sure that I eliminated all of my external variables in this experiment I recorded how the incline plane was set up the first time so that the angle of it did not change. Because that could have made the momentum change. The second thing that I did to make sure that I consciously eliminated external variables was make sure that the conditions of the surfaces on the ground and the ramp did not change in any of our trials.
Another Thing that I had done was made sure that I started the ball at the same place and measure from the same place because that could affect the length that we have gotten and recorded for our data. Then one of the most important things that I had made sure to do was have the same force pushing each object off to roll down the incline plane in every single experiment.
The wind speed and direction of the air when our experiment is happening could also screw up the speed depending on what direction the wind is going. It could also make the ball pick up more momentum going down the ramp and could affect the results.
Conclusion: from this experiment I have learned many things and was correct in my hypothesis by saying that the greater the mass of the ball the more speed it would pick up while going down the ramp. I also think that my results are very accurate because I did this experiment over three times just to make sure it was right and accurate. I would also recommend this experiment for the whole class to use because I think that it is a very unique and reliable experiment.
PROFICIENCY 2:
How friction and gravity apply to Newton’s laws.
Problem: What affect does the texture or surface of the incline plane have on the distance that it travels?
Hypothesis: I think that the smoother that the surface of the incline plane the greater that the distance the ball will roll will be. I think this because the rougher the surface the more friction that there is, the smoother the surface the less things that will slow the ball down on.
Constant Variable: Wind speed, Angle of incline plane, amount of force the ball is pushed, mass of ball.
Independent Variable: Texture of the surface
Dependent Variable: Distance that the ball travels
Control:
Materials:
1. Workspace
2. 2 baseballs
3. Measuring tape
4. 2 incline planes
5. Person to measure distance
6. Carpet ramp
7. Wooden ramp
Procedure: The first thing that I am going to do in this experiment is gather all of my materials and find a work space. The second thing that I am going to do is weigh each ball to make sure that they have the same mass because that could screw up our results and make the experiment in accurate. Then I am going to set up both incline planes and rolls the balls down on the two different surfaces. Then I am going to measure the distance that each one traveled and record my results. I will do this 5 more times and make a data table out of all of the results and form a graph. I will know which ramp affected each distance because
External Variables: how I am going to eliminate all of my external variables for this experiment is to make sure that the ball does not flatten out or smoothen the rough textured incline plane because that could affect the results by making the acceleration go up when the ball is going down.
The second thing that I am going to do to make sure that I eliminate all of my external variables in this procedure is to make sure that the ramp degree does not change in any of my trials because that could also affect the acceleration that one of the balls pick up while going down the ramp. the third thing that I am going to do to make sure that I eliminate all of my external variables is make sure that I am measuring from the same spot every single time in my experiment because that is one of the biggest components in this experiment because that is how I determine the speed.
Conclusion: from this experiment I have found out that the smoother that the surface of the incline planes the faster that it will go because it has less bumps and ridges to go over. Which makes me right that my hypothesis did support my
Proficiency 3: The relationship between speed and acceleration
Problem: does the weight of the car affect the rate of deceleration after a toy car leaves a ramp?
Hypothesis: I think that the heavier that the car is the faster it will go because it is moving through the air quicker because it has more momentum. The short car I think will be a lot slower because it generates less force and can be moved by inertia easier. Therefore I think that the heavier car will not be slowed down as easy so I think it will be decelerating slower than the light car.
Constant variables: ramp degree, ramp surface, wind direction, timing and stopping point, surface of testing.
Independent variable: weight of the car
Dependent Variable: deceleration
Control:
Materials:
1. Track
2. Timer
3. Work space
4. Person timing
5. Two cars
6. Scale
7. Computer
8. Excel
9. Meter stick
Procedure: Fist I am going to find a good work space where nobody can mess up my experiment. Then I am going to gather all of my materials and set up the ramp, ruler, and get the timer ready. After that I am going to make a blank data table and get ready to record my results, after that I will push one of the cars down the ramp and find the rate of deceleration of that car and record my results. Once I have repeated this 3 more times I will put it all into a data table in excel and then format it into a graph. When I am done I will then clean up my work space and put the graph on my blog.
External Variables: How I will eliminate external variables in my procedure will be by making sure that I am going to be measuring from the same spot every time and making sure that the meter stick does not move. The second thing that I am going to do to make sure that I eliminate all of my external variables is to see and check every time that my incline planes angle did not move because that would affect the cars acceleration going down the ramp and then mess up my whole experiment.
PROFICIENCY 4:
Experiment with and explain how simple machines utilize mechanical advantage to transfer energy.
I am making a Rube Goldberg. how i have made my rube Goldberg is out of lego's. when the marble at the top is pushed it will go down the ramp and then hit a stick with a spinner that will then hit a tower pushing a ball onto a ramp that will then drop onto a teeter totter that will flip a coin.
PROFICIENCY 5:
Effectively explain how alternate forms of energy can be utilized to influence the
United States energy needs.
Wind turbines can be a major contributor to the United States energy needs. In the United States we are seeing more and more of these wind turbines because we are worried about how much pollution we are putting into the air and the best ways to save money. Wind energy is a non-pollutant form of energy that generates power by absorbing the wind and when the props or blades of the windmill move it generates power which can make enough energy to power about 15 houses. They are expensive but they will pay for themselves in a few years because they save you so much money on electricity.
In Wisconsin the amount of wind turbines that are being purchased just keeps going up. This is almost the perfect environment for wind turbines. I am saying this because there are so many small towns in Wisconsin and wind turbines make an enormous economic impact in these areas. Because these wind turbines provide jobs, tax payments to the county and community, including schools, and pay the landowner. The wind turbines creations will also employee at least 60 workers to put it together. Some of the people that buy these wind turbines are farmers. Farmers make up the largest percentage of people who buy small wind turbines because they have more than enough power for your home, farm and a small business.
400 watts is what the lowest energy a wind turbines makes. 20 Kilowatts is what the largest amount of electricity a large wind turbine can create. This should be surely enough for all of you buildings on your property and if you have a little extra, sell it to utility companies in a way of sharing called net-metering. Another thing that I am going to talk about is the different types of turbines. The most common type of turbine is the average rusty windmill you see on farms and TV shows that is used to make the energy to pump water. Another type of wind turbine is the vertical wind turbine. The most common is the horizontal wind turbine, which has 3 blades.
the of the most surprising things about these wind turbines is you would think that the price of these would be increasing because of how much money you save, but the price has actually decreased by about 6% in the last ten years. The only reason they cost so much is installation, and preparation is such a hassle and it makes up for about 80% of the price over all. There are also many advantages and disadvantages of having a wind turbines. The first advantage that I am going to talk about is that you will always have enough energy and you will never run out and you don’t have to worry about polluting the atmosphere. One of the disadvantages of owning a wind turbines is that you are putting most of the beautiful birds in the area in danger because every day there and birds that could have a chance of getting killed by the rotor blades of the wind turbine and many have. Another advantage is that is not a fossil fuel energy which means that it does not need manpower to work the generator instead the generator is turned by the blades which are moved by the wind. But another disadvantage is that you don’t want a turbine near you house because the noise that is made by this alternate form of energy so this problem can be easily fixed by just making sure that the location of you turbine is farther away from your house.
The most commonly used example for these wind turbines would be that they are very similar to the propellers on a plane. On a plane it moves the current air and propels it into a generator that supports the electricity of the plane. The propellers you see is the exact opposite of these wind turbines because the propellers take energy and make wind, the turbines take wind and make energy.
Bilbliography
"Advantages of Micro Home Wind Turbines." EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010.
"Renewable Energy House - Wind Turbine & Solar Panels for your home solution." Renewable Energy House - Wind Turbine & Solar Panels for your home solution. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010.
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/people/a_energy.html
