Velocity, Positon, and Time- Oh My!

This week, we focused on three main graph types after doing the Dora Lab.

Position and Time Graph

These are easy peasy pumpkin squeezy- any simple algebra training makes these no brainers. It seems to me that everybody in class understands this- it's just simple x and y coordinate plane graphing.

Velocity and Time Graph

These can be a little trickier, though I personally am no longer having any problems with them. Velocity is on the y axis, with time on the x. Basically, what we needed to grasp is that the x axis is the reference point. If you have a positive steady velocity heading away from the reference point, it will be a horizontal line above the x axis. If you are stopped, it will be a horizontal line at the x axis. If you are heading back towards the reference point at a steady velocity, it will be a horizontal line beneath the x axis. How far below/above the axis depends on how fast/slow you're moving. My main issue was whether there can be a negative velocity, seeing as it depends on displacement yet we determined there can't be a negative displacement? Is it dependent on whether you're heading towards the reference point or away? I know now that if you're heading away from the reference point it's positive and toward it it's negative.

I know I can get the "right answer," and it feels like I do know what I'm doing, but- let me put it this way. This is harsh, but I can't help feeling like we are traveling a lot of distance right now, but our displacement is close to zero. In other words, we talk a lot, but never make any real progress. That has made physics one huge frustration for me lately. I've talked to some other people, and they feel the same way. I know this doesn't speak for the whole class, but the friends I've talked to and I just want to conclude a topic and MOVE ON. For instance last class, we were arguing for about 15 minutes, and both sides wanted the SAME. THING. I wish we would spend less time on whiteboards and get to actually doing more experiments, because that seems to help a lot of people. Actually seeing how things work. If only the people who don't really understand topics would speak up, because otherwise people who do understand are just randomly talking in circles. If we established the main concerns, people who get it could help, check back in with the people who didn't get it, and if they get it, move on and say, "What are the other concerns?" Say there were four issues people didn't understand. They throw one issue at a time out there, we resolve it, and move on. But when people don't say what they don't understand, the people who do get it don't know what to do and end up wasting the hour and a half talking about things either everybody understands or things that have nothing to do with anything or simply explaining the main concept ten thousand and two different ways, which sometimes confuses even the people who get it and then the class is over and we've made no ground (And that, my friends, is a run on sentence). Then, two whiteboards later, the people who didn't get it say, "Wait, I don't get this." This poses obvious problems. No one's going to laugh at you if you speak up! Don't pull a Melinda on us! (English reference) If you get the problems out there, we can fix them, but if you don't, well, we can't make you talk! We need a solid foundation of knowledge to continue on with other projects, but if we leave a hole in the foundation, when we try to build on it, it will just crumble!

Physics used to be fun. A class I looked forward to. Now, it's starting to be that we make no ground, and we don't have time to talk about fun topics that relate because we're behind schedule.

Sorry. I just needed to get that out there. I was planning on talking about motion maps, but that will have to be saved for another post. I hope when people read this, they either express their concerns in class, speak up when people say, "Is that it? Can we move on?," or help conclude a topic. I'm not writing this for people to just make up an issue to speak on- if we all get it, let's (say it with me now) MOVE ON.

Don't worry. I won't post depressing things too much- hopefully. ;) How about another picture of a cookie to cheer you up?

You enjoy that. Then head over to your pantry and grab one. You deserve it if you persevered through this blog post. :)