Reflection of the First Quarter

We learned so much in Physics so far it's hard to keep track. In our classes, we have covered around 3 units. Unit 1 dealt with affects on pendulums, scientific notation, and accuracy and precision. Unit 2 was about position vs time graphs, displacement, velocity, basically just kinetics. Unit 3 was a continuation of kinetics (study of motion) except we learned about different things such as Galileo's ideas, acceleration, and dropping/falling objects.
From unit 1, with accuracy and precision, the best way to explain this would probably be through a target. If there was a target being aimed at, accuracy would be the closeness in relations to the expected value (target goal) while precision would be how close a group of values are to each other. So maybe if you were to try break in to a window, if you hit it, you would need to be both accurate and precise. You should aim for the center of it where the glass is weaker, and hit in the same spot, so the cracks weaken that one area instead of multiple areas. My sister is shown in the picture, if she were to punch the glass to try break into this store, she would need to use precision in order to hit that same spot that was already hit to break the glass to get into the store. If she hits the same spot with precision, the glass should break easier than a shot taken at a different window or at a different part of the glass.

 Unit 2 introduced us to motion. Motions like speed and velocity. We learned that there is a difference between the two. Speed is the total distance traveled (scalar: value with magnitude) per time while velocity is the distance traveled from the starting point (vector: value with magnitude and direction) per time. The picture shown below was one I took when my family and I visited Maui. It is a bird watching path that you walk on and read about birds (posters on the railings) that you can see from the view you are at. As my whole family walked along the path and back down to our starting point, we all had different speeds but the same velocity. Our speeds ranged because we chose not to walk with each other but because we all returned to the origin of the bird watching path, the total displacement (distance traveled away from the starting point) was 0, which made our velocity 0 (displacement by time).

Unit 3 taught us about acceleration. With using the same example above with the bird watching path, as my family went down this path at different rates, we all got to the end point at different times. I got to the end first, because even though we all started from an initial velocity of 0 and walked with each other for a little while after that, I accelerated which got me to the end point faster. If I went at a constant positive acceleration, this means that I started off slow and sped up. My dad, who wanted to enjoy watching the birds, actually slowed down from when we all started walking as a family. He would have a negative acceleration, and arrived to the end point much slower than me.