So what's the mass?

A lot of you have jumped on my comment about friction.

Good for you.

Remember:  Friction always does negative work.  In fact, if an object rolls to a stop, then the amount of work done by friction against it is equal to the energy that it had at some point prior.

Also, since there are two objects involved in this collision, it may not be all that important that you acquire actual numbers as it may be the case that variables could drop out along the way.

Lastly, since we are talking about two different carts, you have considered that they might have different coefficients of friction, right?

And just so you don't feel so alone in this quest for mass, here's an article about the happenings at CERN and the quest to find the Higgs Boson!

Welcome Back!

Click on the link provided to get your very own copy of the 2011-2012 AP Physics B course syllabus! (If you happened to still have last year's copy, then you're pretty much good to go!)

Hack.

2011-2012 AP Physics Syllabus

Free Response #1 Solution

Here is my solution to the first free response problem.  You may disregard the final part as it is not included in this trimester's content.

Free Response #1 Solution

Problems 33, 34, & 35

Hey everyone!  Here are the solutions to the problems that we worked on in class. In addition to problems 33 and 34, 35 has also been worked out and is included.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Page 103:  33, 34, & 35

Then there was 5...

And in the spirit of our current unit, dealing with forces, I give you the top 5 within whom the Force was the strongest...

1. Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader - Without Vader, there is no story.  Without the story, I'd need something else to obsess about.
2. Yoda - When you hear "Force," you think Yoda.  It's as simple as that.
3. Emperer Palpatine - Much like Yoda, he may not have flaunted it on a regular basis, but that guy knew how to bring the noise (and the lightning!)
4. Obi-Wan Kenobi - Obi-Wan may have been the only character to get a positive make-over from Ep's 1-3.  And along with Anakin/Vader, he plays a role in every film.  He also shows time and again that he's smarter than Anakin/Vader.  (Trivia fact:  Ewan MacGregor is the nephew of Denis Lawson, who plays "Wedge" in Eps 4-6.)
5. Luke Skywalker - Luke's actually quite horrible.  Bad acting, and a perfect 0-2 against anyone with even an iota of Force in their veins.  But the galaxy needs someone to be the right guy in the right place at the right time, and it's Luke.  Cleverly disguised, he's the Jar Jar Binks of the Original Trilogy.

The Ennead

Congrats to those who remain on the wall.

"...that's one for you, nineteen for me."

Hey, if the government can bump back "Tax Day" at the last minute, then so can I.  Check the calendar above for the amended schedule of events!

Elbow Room (on the wall)

Those left standing on the wall are finding themselves in rather select company.  Monday's quiz hits the "2 second" barrier.  Who will be left up there when Tuesday rolls around?

"...and that ball is Looooonnnnng Gone!"

Think your hit was pretty impressive?  Here's a great article about some of the most Herculean shots ever taken in the game of baseball.

Baseball's Longest Home Runs

Here It Is!!!

Here's the Fly Away data.  Hopefully we didn't miss any for those who were absent.

Have a great Spring Break!

Data Collection for the "Fly Away" lab.

Data collection is happening today for the "Fly Away" lab.  That being said, we will not dig into that data until the second half of this unit, so once you have it, store it somewhere safe.

As for those of you who were not with us today, don't worry.  We collected some data for you and will make sure it's in your hands as soon as we return from break.

There will be cake at the end for the winner

The names of those who have yet to miss a question on the multiplication quizzes are up on the wall.  How long can you keep your name up there?

Answers to 1-11 Odd

Great job with the questions about the homework today.  Keep up the good work, everyone!

Attached are the solutions to 1-11 Odd, in case there was something you missed.

Have a great weekend!

Giancoli 1-11 Odd

Lab Write-Ups Due Tomorrow!

Just a quick reminder on what I'm looking for in the write-ups for the Mystery Stick Lab:

Objective:  Sentence or two that describes the purpose of the procedure.
Procedure:  Written in "step form."  Include illustrations where appropriate, especially in the case of describing dimensions.
Data and Calculations:  Neat and Organized.  Include statements that describe "why" calculations are being performed.
Conclusion:  Use the included questions to guide you in writing the conclusion.

*Never conclude that a lab was "fun."*

So What's the Big Deal About Units?

Here's an article from the archives of CNN that illustrates all to well the consequences of overlooking units.

Metric Mishap Caused Loss of NASA Orbiter

New Calendar Feature!

For some assignments, clicking on the assignment will bring up a "more details" link that will provide you with a link to a solution set for that assignment.  I will try to have these up and running for all assignments that are not collected for a grade.

Clicking the "more details" link leads to this...

And the attachment is the solution set.

Congrats to the NHS Inductees and the Chem Crusaders

Note the changes that have been made to the calendar to address the rampant absenteeism that's expected for Thursday.  Hit the reading and the problem set over the weekend as we'll be going over the problems on Wednesday prior to the quiz.
Also, check back here this weekend for a copy of the lab handout and the solution set for the homework.  You'll want to be familiar with the assigned task for the lab so that you can hit the ground running on Monday.

How well do you know these?

One half of the AP Physics B exam is multiple choice and CALCULATOR FREE!
You have 90 minutes to complete 70 questions.  In order to do this effectively, you have to be light on your feet with the basic arithmetic.  If you know your multiplication tables then you can divide and even work with squares and square roots quickly and confidently.  So study up on your multiplication tables, make flash cards, test your friends.  There will be multiplication quizzes coming up in the near future!

Welcome to AP Physics!

Hey Class!

The first week will be some basics on measurements and how to handle numbers "honestly." For most of you, this should be a bit of review with significant figures and uncertainty. You can find my solution set for the Chapter One homework by clicking on the link below. The solution set includes all of the problems for that chapter so you may have to weed through it to find the particular problems that have been assigned.

Chapter 1: Solution Set