Scientific Notation

Hi everyone! This is going to be a short and simple post. I just wanted to talk about a concept that some people don't know about; scientific notation.

Scientific Notation

	If the number is 10 or greater, the decimal point has to move to the left, and the power of 10 will be positive.
	If the number is smaller than 1, the decimal point has to move to the right, so the power of 10 will be negative.  Here are some examples:  10000 = 1 x 10424327 = 2.4327 x 1041000 = 1 x 1037354 = 7.354 x 103100 = 1 x 102482 = 4.82 x 10210 = 1 x 101 1 = 1001/10 = 0.1 = 1 x 10-10.32 = 3.2 x 10-1 (not usually done)1/100 = 0.01 = 1 x 10-20.053 = 5.3 x 10-21/1000 = 0.001 = 1 x 10-30.0078 = 7.8 x 10-31/10000 = 0.0001 = 1 x 10-40.00044 = 4.4 x 10-4 If you need more help, click this link. Scientific Notation

Ultrasonic Motion Detector Lab

Hello, everyone! Today I am going to be telling you about one of the most fun labs I have conducted. I was in a group with two other people, and we were given a packet which had many position v. time and velocity v. time graphs on it. One of the graphs has a line on it and the other was blank. We had to find out how a person must move to get the graph, make a motion map (check out my last post to find out about motion maps), and show what the other graph's line looked like.

Supplies:
- Motion Detector (it makes a weird beeping noise!)
- Laptop with the Program
- Explorer (A calculator like device that is plugged into the laptop to give data)

The program on our laptop gave us both the Position v. Time graph and the Velocity v. Time graph. Each of us had to align the motion detector which was set on the table with our body. Next, we walked in a line in different ways for each graph. Sometimes we had to stand still, like when the Position v. Time graph had a straight horizontal line on it. We found that when the line on the Position v. Time had a negative slope (went downwards), a person must walk from the starting position towards the motion sensor at a constant speed. When the line on the same graph had a positive slope (going upwards), a person didn't start at the origin and walked at a constant speed in one direction. When the line on the Velocity v. Time graph was a straight, horizontal line, the person had to stay in one place and not move. The corresponding Position v. Time graph was also a straight horizontal line.

What I Thought About This Lab
Like I said before, I thought this lab was really fun and interesting. I liked having to think about how a person has to walk to match the graph. It was fun to walk it out and compare my graph results with the other people in my group. This was my favorite lab that we did so far. It was easy most of the time, but sometimes the way we walked wasn't accurate and we had to try to walk again.

~If you want more information about this, click the link below~ 

More About Motion Detectors

Motion Maps!

Hi, everyone! We have been learning about something called 'motion maps' in class. First of all, lets talk about what a motion map is.

Motion Map: Represents the position, velocity, and acceleration of an object at various clock readings.

The velocity and direction the object is moving in is represented by dots and arrows. If the object is going left, you draw the arrow to the left. If it is going right, then you draw the arrow to the right. If the points on a motion map are spaced farther apart, and the arrows are longer, then you know that the object is moving faster. If there are multiple dots in a line at one time, then you know that the object has stopped moving and is resting in that position for some time.

Reflection on Motion Maps:
I personally think that motion maps are very simple and easy. I like drawing what an object was doing and figuring out how an object is moving on a motion map. I am actually very happy that we are learning about this, because it is both fun and easy.

Are you having trouble with Motion Maps? Don't stress out. This video really helps explain the concept; you'll be a master in no time!

If you want more help and an in depth explanation on motion maps, click this link. It will really help!

More About Motion Maps!

(My next blog post is going to be about something very exciting and fun.... Motion sensors!) Hope you all have a great weekend, goodbye!

All About Graphs

In this post, I am going to revisit the topic of graphs. There are many different types of graphs and there are many ways you can describe a line on a graph.

First, lets talk about independent and dependent variables. The independent variable is the 'x' and it goes on the x-axis (horizontal axis). It is the variable that the scientist changes in the experiment. The dependent variable is the 'y' and it goes on the y-axis (vertical axis). This is the variable that changes in the experiment because the independent variable changed.

*Direct Relationship- As 'x' increases, 'y' also increases. 
*Indirect Relationship- not direct. Example; as x increases, y decreases.
*Proportional Relationship- If x doubles, y doubles. It is a linear relationship.
*Inverse- When x increases, y decreases. Y=k/x. Inverse is proportional.

If you want to know more about graphs, click here: More About Graphs!