How to study distraction free

More last minute advice:

How to study distraction free

Mr. Burk's Top 5 Places to Study in Atlanta

One more great suggestion from Study Hacks is how Adventure Studying is a great way to prepare to study.

What is adventure studying? It's finding a cool, beautiful and quiet place for you to go away and study (and adventure doesn't involve Starbucks).

Here are my top 5 suggestions in the Atlanta Area:

1. The High Museum of Art—admission is a bit pricy ($15), but the cafe across the courtyard is free, rarely crowded and a great place to sit and admire the physics of the alexander calder mobile in the front (ever wonder how it stays balanced?)

2. Chuck E Cheese. You know you loved it 5 years ago. Why not go there, work for 45 minutes and then play some skee ball to put your physics knowledge to the test? If you go, bring headphones and find a quiet corner away from all the dancing robots.

3. A local college—Agnes Scott, Morehouse, Spelman, Emory, Georgia Tech—all of these places have beautiful campuses and libraries. It can be great fun to go to a college library for the afternoon.

4. The Carter Center--Recently completely renovated, you can visit a full scale model of the Oval Office (and that's a place where you really need to understand physics--check out Physics for Future Preisdents--a real course at UC Berkeley).

5. Outside—yes, it's supposed to be a bit rainy and cold this weekend, but it it would be great bundle up, to throw some FARMIPS and and some blank paper in your backpack, and go hike to some quiet, isolated place and solve physics problems under a tree.

movies you will need to analyze for class

Ball drop and toss

how to create an online calendar for the upcoming week

I've created a google spreadsheet to help you plan out your success week to help you demonstrate your best understanding on the exam. To use it, go here

Study Plan for Finals Week

The spreadsheet is read-only, so you'll need to make a copy.

To do that, click on "File > Make a copy" as shown in the image below.

If you'd like me to see your study plan, simply share it with me via google docs (this is completely optional).

5 Mistakes to avoid during finals

Here is more great advice from study hacks:

5 mistakes to avoid during finals.

We'll talk about this a bit tomorrow, but here they are briefly

• Mistake #1: Not Having a Clear Schedule
  
  You should set up a plan for using the time you have to maximum benefit—giving yourself time to rest, and reflect so you achieve maximum understanding.
  
  
• Mistake #2: Not Purging Your Obligations
  
  Avoid letting the little things in your life keep you from having the
  time you need to seriously prepare for exams.
  
  
• Mistake #3: “Studying”
  
  Focus on specific action. Solve problems.
  
  
• Mistake #4: Social Working
  
  While it can be helpful to work with others, often, working in a noisy space with friends can be very unproductive.
  
  
• Mistake #5: Calculating Your Final Grade
  
  I'll let Cal speak for himself:
  
  

  
  Don’t do this! No good can possibly come from such a superficial focus on the numbers. It will add stress. This, in turn, will make it harder for you to execute a reasonable, specific, and efficient study plan. Also, it’s just plain crass. You don’t want to be that person…
  

  
  

LHC is on!

THe LHC produced the first collisions of protons today.

Gamma Ray Satellite may have found dark matter

Here's another great post that describes a recent discovery of what may be dark matter, which makes up 20% of our universe (regular matter is only 4%).

The excess gamma rays could possibly be coming from a hypothesized dark matter called Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), colliding with one another and annihilating themselves into pure energy.

Fermi may have spotted dark matter.

Want to conquer stress? Exercise is key

Here's a great article from the NYT about a new study on rats showing that exercise allows our brains to better handle stress.

Here's a quote:

It looks more and more like the positive stress of exercise prepares cells and structures and pathways within the brain so that they’re more equipped to handle stress in other forms,” says Michael Hopkins, a graduate student affiliated with the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Laboratory at Dartmouth, who has been studying how exercise differently affects thinking and emotion. “It’s pretty amazing, really, that you can get this translation from the realm of purely physical stresses to the realm of psychological stressors.

Posterous: another super cool tool!

Have you ever wanted to share a file, mp3, photo, or video without having to email everyone, or post an elaborate facebook status? Perhaps you have some great notes you want to share on the blog.

Well, here's the solution.

Just send an email to post@posterous.com, and attach whatever it is you want to share. Posterous will send you a link to the website you created with that attachment.

It couldn't be easier.

great career advice from the creator of dilbert

Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, has a wonderful post on his blog with some great career advice.

Here's a quote:

If you want an average successful life, it doesn’t take much planning. Just stay out of trouble, go to school, and apply for jobs you might like. But if you want something extraordinary, you have two paths:

1. Become the best at one specific thing.

2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things.

The first strategy is difficult to the point of near impossibility. Few people will ever play in the NBA or make a platinum album. I don’t recommend anyone even try.

The second strategy is fairly easy. Everyone has at least a few areas in which they could be in the top 25% with some effort. In my case, I can draw better than most people, but I’m hardly an artist. And I’m not any funnier than the average standup comedian who never makes it big, but I’m funnier than most people. The magic is that few people can draw well and write jokes. It’s the combination of the two that makes what I do so rare. And when you add in my business background, suddenly I had a topic that few cartoonists could hope to understand without living it.

Suddenly, becoming extraodinary doesn't sound so hard.

FAILCON: a conference dedicated to failing

It turns out that in the business world, just like the rest of like, of the of keys to great success is failing often and learning from one's mistakes. It can literally be worth billions. Good thing they now have a conference to teach you how...

Station 5

At station 5, there was a ring with a weight of 10N of force being pulled down from it. A 25 degree angle was being made with the spring scale (which measures 8N) and the ring. The tension force of the other string was unknown. To find this force, we drew a diagram in which all the vectors were placed together from start to finish. The displacement or resultant vector of this diagram represented the tension force of the string, and we figured out that this force equalled 10N.

Station 2

At station 2, there was a ramp that was supported by books. The number of books ranged from zero to three. About halfway down the ramp, there was a force plate that had a device hooked up to it to measure the normal force acting on the force plate. With three books supporting the ramp, our measurements included the angle of the ramp being 7°,  the force exerted on the plate (by a 2 kg mass) was 19.8N, and the height of the ramp at the tallest was 16 cm. The free body diagram had three forces, the Normal force of the ramp on the mass, the gravitational force of the earth on the mass, and the frictional force of the ramp on the mass. These three forces, when added together, equalled zero, meaning that the velocity was constant, and zero. 

Station 8

My group worked at Station 8 and we discovered that because the weight is pulling down on the ring, you do not take account for the gravitational force. There is the contact force of the weight on the ring, the tension force os the string on the rope, and the tension force of the spring on the rope. The spring pulls the ring with a force of 4.2 N and the string pulls the ring with a force of 1.5 N. The weight that is pulling the ring downwards pulls with a force of 5.3 N. When you add more weight to the ring you can see the tension forces increasing. The net force is equal to zero because when you add the forces you can make them a triangle.

Station 4

While working at station 4, our team discovered that even in a seemingly simple construction, complexity can be found. The construction conisited of a ring held beween two spring scales on ropes facing diagonally toward the ring. A 200g mass hung from the bottom of the ring. At first glance, we saw that the two cales registered 1N each, meaning that the total upward force on the ring was 2N. The mass, weighing 2N itself, showed us that the force of gravity on the ring must have been quite negligable, as otherwise, the ring would not have a constant velocity of zero. Instead, it would be moving downward. After drawing the different FBS's for the different parts of the construction, we found that the vectors created ended up creating a closed shape, meaning that we were correct in saying that the force of gravity on the ring should have been negligable. We learned that most of the time, the measurable forces will tell you what the unmeasurable or unforseeable forces will be through the process of elimination.

Sleep tips from the Mayo Clinic

Here are some great sleep tips

What is the best study break? Taking a walk in the woods

Scientists are interested in all sorts of questions, including "what is the best study break." Here's a study that tested how taking a short walk as a break from studying affected student's ability to memorize a series of numbers. It turns out that taking a walk in the woods significantly boosted student's memory compared to those who took a walk along city streets, or did not take a break at all.

What is the best way to take a study break?

Master the art of stealth studying

This is another great post from Study Hakcs on how to master the art of stealth studying.

Some tips:

1. Construct study guides on the fly.
   When taking notes — in class or while doing a reading assignment — start constructing your study guide at the same time. The easiest way to do this is to copy the questions from your question/evidence/conclusion clusters and paste them at the top of your document as you go along.
   Print study guides immediately after construction.
   This is a great way to do FARMIPS—simply write out a question during our discussion and save it for later
   
   
2. Print study guides immediately after construction.


As the professor winds down, or as you finish your reading assignment, send your notes to the nearest public printer. (Or e-mail them to yourself so you can load it up on a public computer connected to a printer). Before doing so, however, reduce the font to the smallest size you can still read. (This will prove useful later.) As you walk out of the classroom, or library, swing by the printer to grab your printout.
Review using the “10-Minute Detour” method.

As soon as you have your first study guide printed, start looking for ways to add a 10-minute detour to a walk across campus you already need to do. Make these detours pass through somewhere quiet and unpopulated. During these detours take out one of your expanded study guides and start doing a quick quiz-and-recall review. Do this out loud. As you walk. (It’s okay to do this quietly to prevent unexpected institutionalization). In 10 minutes you might knock off 2-4 questions. Some additional notes on this process:



• Get in the habit of sprinkling these detours throughout your working hours on working days. (If you’re between classes, your mind is probably already in a deep thinking mode — or a mild coma, depending on the professor).



• Try to review new material within 24-hours to help cement it while it’s still fresh.





3. Ask questions every class. Attend every office hours.

To make stealth studying work, you need to understand all the material as quickly as possible. This means you need to come to class attentive and be a question-asking fiend. When you don’t quite understand how something fits a broader point, ask. If you don’t want to keep interrupting the class, save a collection of specific, concise questions to ask the professor immediately following class. Attend office hours most weeks to discuss the topics you found most difficult. Think of this as a pain-free, advanced review session. We have no time to spare for you to re-learn this material later on before the test. If you don’t get it down the first time, we can’t get your study time down to an hour.

Class, November 5, 2009

Today in the begining of class we talked about the importance of sleep and the results of not getting enough sleep. We also discussed how losing an hour of sleep sets you back significantly without your knowing it. After our sleep discussion we worked on tons of seperate stations at which an object (at rest) was being exerted on by forces. At each station we had to answer questions about the object and forces and then draw a free-body diagram (FBD) to scale of that object.

The next scribe is Connor.

The physics of free throw shooting

Now that basketball season is here, it's a good thing that physicists have worked out the best way to shoot a free throw.

See here: The physics of free throw shooting

Some tips from the article:

First, the engineers say that shooters should launch the shot with about three hertz of back spin. That translates to the ball making three complete backspinning revolutions before reaching the hoop. Back spin deadens the ball when it bounces off the rim or backboard, the engineers assert, giving the ball a better chance of settling through the net.
Where to aim? Tran and Silverberg say you should aim for the back of the rim, leaving close to 5 centimeters - about 2 inches - between the ball and the back of the rim. According to the simulations, aiming for the center of the basket decreases the probabilities of a successful shot by almost 3 percent.

The engineers say that the ball should be launched at 52 degrees to the horizontal. If you don’t have a protractor in your jersey, that means that the shot should, at the highest point in its arc to the basket, be less than 2 inches below the top of the backboard.
Free-throw shooters should also release the ball as high above the ground as possible, without adversely affecting the consistency of the shot; release the ball so it follows the imaginary line joining the player and the basket; and release the ball with a smooth body motion to get a consistent release speed.

“Our recommendations might make even the worst free-throw shooters - you know who you are, Shaquille O’Neal and Ben Wallace - break 60 percent from the free-throw line,” Silverberg says with tongue firmly in cheek. “A little bit of physics and a lot of practice can make everyone a better shooter from the free-throw line.”

Brian Cox on Stephen Colbert

This is great. Stephen Colbert takes on the LHC, and then he interviews Brian Cox, rockstar physcist.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Big Bang Theory
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Religion

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Brian Cox
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Religion

Great Quote on Intelligence from Mindset

I think intelligence is something you have to work for ... it isn't just given to you. Most kids, if they're not sure of an answer, will not raise their hand to answer the question. But what I usually do is raise my hand, because if I'm wrong, then my mistake will be corrected. Or I will raise my hand and say, 'How would this be solved?' or 'I don't get this, can you help me?' Just by doing that I'm increasing my intelligence." -- 7th grade girl.

How do you change to a growth mindset

Here's the link to the article we talked about today

How to change to change to a growth mindset.

This is amazing

This guy is drawing the NYC skyline from memory starting two days ago, and is filling an 18 foot with his artwork, and is expected to finish Friday.

Want to see scribes at other schools?

We aren't the only class in the world with a blog and scribes who post summaries of the day's class. Take a look at these, and you might find some good ideas:

Scribes at other classes

Getting it wrong: surprising tips on how to learn

There's a GREAT article in scientific america talking about some of the latest research on how to learn.

When you have 15 free minutes you should ready this. (You probably have 15 minutes when driving to school, so why not download instapaper to your iphone, and read it on your phone).

Some highlights:

People remember things better, longer, if they are given very challenging tests on the material, tests at which they are bound to fail. In a series of experiments, they showed that if students make an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve information before receiving an answer, they remember the information better than in a control condition in which they simply study the information. Trying and failing to retrieve the answer is actually helpful to learning. It’s an idea that has obvious applications for education, but could be useful for anyone who is trying to learn new material of any kind.

By challenging ourselves to retrieve or generate answers we can improve our recall. Keep that in mind next time you turn to Google for an answer, and give yourself a little more time to come up with the answer on your own.

The article seems like it practically lifted my FARMIPS idea from today's class, but it talks about how you can adapt this method to any course—imagine making a super study guide for history, or English. How much could you rock those classes?

Class on 10/19/09

Today in class we discussed a couple of concepts.  The first concept we discussed was Newton's 2nd Law.  This law states that  a = Fnet/m.  This law is also stated as Fnet = ma.  In both of these cases m = mass and a = acceleration.  There are many ways to interpret this formula.  First of all, it is shown that mass is inversely proportional to to acceleration.  This can also be proved by showing that 1/a is proportional to m.  Also, in this formula is it shown that acceleration is directly proportional to Fnet.  All of these conclusion can be proved by breaking down the formula a = Fnet/m.

Examples:

1/a  (proportional to)  m    a  (proportional to)  Fnet  a  (proportional to)  1/m

The other concept we discussed was free - body diagrams.  We went over an exercise we completed in Minds on Physics, and discussed all possibilities with the problems given.  There were examples when we would be given a diagram, and we would have to say whether or not it was valid, and also examples when we would have to name forces given the description of an event and a valid diagram.  We then discussed free - body diagrams and what goes in them.

• They show forces that act on an object
• They only show forces (no velocity or acceleration vectors)
• They NEVER show Fnet
• All vectors start at a center point and move in the direction of the force in relation to the object
• All forces are resembled by vectors

In class, we also had time to work on our labs and have small discussion about the main ideas of the lab.  At the end we were given some time to work on homework, and put some finishing touches on our lab.

Success requires hard work (but not all in one day)

This is a nice blog post that elaborates on many of the themes we've talked about before.

Success Requires Hard Work (But Not All in One Day)


Why not start writing a book?

While success may require a lot of hard work, that doesn’t necessarily mean that work is hard to do. A book may contain 80,000 words of carefully edited content, that’s a lot of hard work. But writing 800 words almost every day for four months isn’t hard to do.

LHC rap

One of the coolest rap songs ever, the LHC rap, also does a great job of explaining the Large Hadron Collider. Check it, yo.

Rockstar physicist explains the LHC

Brian Cox, a real rock star (he was in the rock band D:Ream, which had the hit song Things Can Only Get Better--this song became the theme song for British Prime Minister Tony Blair's campaign), is a physicst at the Large Hadron Collider. He explains his the LHC and how it will help us to understand the secrets of the universe in this fantastic 15 minute talk.

what is this?

Propsicle to the first person to figure it out...

October 13

In class today we went over some notes that relate to Newton's Law Lab Part 2:

Newton's 3rd Law- If Object A exerts a force on Object B then Object B exerts a force on Object A

The 2 forces must...

1) act on different objects

2) be equal in size

3) be opposite in direction

4) be the same type of force (grav, normal...)

Newton's 1st Law- Objects want to keep their previous velocity (inertia.) If an objects velocity is constant the net force=0

This relates to #11 on the lab. We are trying to figure out that Force A (the contact force of the cart on the spring scale) is equal to Force C (the contact force of the air on the cart.) Force B is the contact force of the spring scale on the cart.

a=b; Relates to Newton's 3rd law because the forces are opposite. The contact force of cart on the spring scale and the contact force of the spring scale on the cart, by Newton's 3rd law, are always equal. Because of Newton's third law, this is always true.

b=c; Relates to Newton's 1st Law because the velocity is constant. The net force of Force B+Force C=0.

Because of the transitive property, if a=b and b=c, then a=c.

How do we find acceleration?

In a velocity vs. time graph the slope represents acceleration (a=change in v/change in t)

How do we find net force?

The force of gravity and the normal force cancel each other out, so in this instance we measure the force of air on the cart

What's it like to win the nobel prize?

Carol Greider, winner of the 2009 Nobel prize for discovering discovering telomeres bits of seemingly useless DNA on the end of each of your chromosomes that progressively get shorter as you age and your cells reproduce. As it turns out, these bits of DNA are deeply linked to the aging process.

Anay, Dr. Greider has a fantastic interview with the NYT in today's paper, and one quote is absolutely worth reading and pondering.

Q. DID YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE A BIOLOGIST?

A. My parents were scientists. But I wasn’t the sort of child who did science fairs. One of the things I was thinking about today is that as a kid I had dyslexia. I had a lot of trouble in school and was put into remedial classes. I thought that I was stupid.

I hope you'll take away the knowledge that if you struggle in science, or any subject, it is no measure of your ability to succeed in that field or your intelligence. Truly, hard work and persistence are the key to success at any level—even winning a Nobel prize.

October 8

In class today, we talked about newton's first and third laws. After that, we broke up and worked on the lab titled "Newton's law lab".

The nobel prize in physics

The Nobel prize in physics was just awarded today for the fundamental breakthroughs that led to two things you use just about every day. Fiber optics, the technology that allows light to carry gigabytes of information through optical fibers, allowing you to stream entire movies on your computer, or make a phone call to the other side of the world for pennies.

The other breakthrough was the development of the CCD, the charge coupled device, which you'll find in any camera phone, or digital camera. This discovery allowed us to convert tiny packets of light into electrical signals, which heralded digital photography. Once we started putting CCDs into telescopes like the Hubble, we could see incredibly feint objects billions of light years away, allowing us to peer at the universe as it existed billions of years ago.

NYT story on the physics nobel prizes


A great description of the discoveries from the Nobel Prize Committee

October 5, 2009

yesterday in class we did reassessment chapters 1 and 2, then we worked on our projects for ten minutes then we all presented out texting while driving projects.

How do you make dry ice?

A number of you have asked questions about how to make dry ice. Ask the internet, and it delivers:

A video worth 5 minutes--and homework

Part of your homework tonight is to watch the following video. This video is a nightline story on The Talent Code, a book written and read the article linked below

Enroll yourself in the Genius Factory

The other part of your homework is to read the article "Why Talent is Overrated."

This article summarizes the excellent book, Talent is Overrated, which goes into great detail about how top level performers like Tiger Woods use deliberate practice to improve their performance.

You should also definitely check out the website of the Talent Code, it offers tons of tips on how to unlock your talent, improve your abilities to learn, and more.

Homework: Evaluate your group

Part of your homework tonight (due Tuesday) is to complete this evaluation of your gruoup.

Want to know more about dark energy and dark matter? Check out this video.

Patricia Burchart, a particle physicist and professor at Stanford explains all we know about Dark Matter and Dark Energy. This is a great talk, in 16 minutes, it will explain our latest understandings about what our universe is made of.

A great quote you might have missed

If you didn't have a chance to read the great article in the NYT on Carolyn Porco, who heads the Casssini space probe studying saturn, I thought I'd highlight one quote from the article, which ties in nicely to what we talked about today:

To my mind, most people go through live recoiling from its best parts," Porco told The New York Times. "They miss the enrichment that just a basic knowledge of the physical world can bring to the most ordinary experiences. It's like there's a pulsating, hidden world, governed by ancient laws and principles, underlying everything around us -- from the movements of electrical charges to the motions of planets -- and most people are completely unaware of it. To me that's a shame." A shame, indeed.

Also, you might be interested in knowing a bit more about this amazing photo I linked to. Here's a description from BadAstronomy.com. Saturn-shine is a amazing concept...


That, duh, is Saturn, taken by the ever-amazing Cassini spacecraft. It’s actually 75 different exposures stitched together, and was taken on August 12, just a little over a day after Saturnian equinox, when the Sun shines straight along the rings. The illumination from the Sun is about the same everywhere, but on the left the rings are illuminated by Saturn-shine glowing down on them, making them a bit brighter.

Working in the car = Bad idea

The NYT is doing a whole series on distracted driving. This time, it's talking about people who try to get office work done in the car.

Also, props to Noah, who found a link to the Distracted Driving Summit, which is taking place now.

Texting while Driving Article/Link

I thought this was helpful if anyone wants to know....
http://www.rita.dot.gov/distracted_driving_summit/

Get 3 months in jail for texting while driving in Utah

Here's a great story from NPR that describes the efforts states are taking to stop texting while driving.

Utah Tackles Texting And Driving Problem Head-On

Interesting article on Truckers Texting

The NYT has a fascinating piece on big rig truckers insisting that they be exempt from any legislation on texting while driving.

Class: 9/24

Thursday in class we....
interpreted m. vs. t. graph into a velocity and acceleration graph, we also worked out those three types graph using only a description of what events unfolded. We also talked about negative and positive velocity, and how the term deceleration is banned from class. We were also informed that the speeding up and slowing down lab and the kinetematic graphs sheet is due monday.

More resources for studying

I've put up the unit 2 review sheet solutions. You can find them here:

Unit 2 Review Solutions

I also made a few videos that might be helpful

1. Doing the Ch3 (mislabeled) self assessment
2. Reading a position vs time graph
3. Reading a velocity vs time graph

A great bio in the NYT, and some AWESOME pics

The NYT has a wonderful feature on Carolyn Porco, head of camera team of
the Cassini space probe which was launched to study Saturn.



You've got to see some of the images (click on the image to see at full resolution):

How to review for unit 2 assessment

We're approaching an assessment this Thursday, and with no class on tuesday, you should not wait until Wednesday to begin reviewing. Here are my suggestions.

1. Begin by reading over the Unit 2 Major Concepts Sheet. Circle any concepts you are unclear on, and email questions to the blog.
2. Make sure you are comfortable solving all the problems on MOP 26—this is a nice review of constant acceleration model, which is one of the more difficult concepts in this unit.
3. Do the problems in the Unit II review. I will post solutions on wednesday.
4. After that, go back to the Major Concepts sheet and try to figure out which problems from MOP 26 and Unit 2 review test which concepts.

?

How do i get to the google doc to put in my texting data?

How to submit assignments electronically

A few of you have been emailing me assignments, and while this as been great, I'm realizing that keeping track of these assignments is difficult, given the number of emails I am getting, so I'm setting up this process for submitting work. If you plan to submit an assignment via email (and I encourage you to do so, I ask you follow these guidelines:

1. Submit a readable document (I can read all versions of word, open office, pages, excel, etc). If you write your stuff in something crazy like wordperfect 1.0, email beforehand to make sure I can read it. If I can't open the document, YOUR GRADE IS ZERO, AND WILL REMAIN THAT UNTIL YOU SUBMIT A READABLE ASSIGNMENT (AND YOU WILL SUFFER A LATE PENALTY).
   
   
2. Follow the following convention for naming your document:
   "Period number Last Name First Initial Assignment title. " So Bob Smith, submitting his texting paper from 7th period would title his document: "7 Smith B Texting Letter" without the quotes. Do not name the assignment unrecognizable things like "texting paper" or "stupid physics assignment." (you might lose points for the second one).
   
   
3. If you got an extension from me in advance, please copy and paste my response to your request into the body of your email to me.
   
   
4. Follow the same convention for your subject line that you do for naming the document. "7 Smith B Texting Letter."
   
   
5. Email your attachment, FROM YOUR WMS Account (or otherwise easily recognizable email, not laxgirl17@aol.com) to the following addresses (add these addresses to your address book):
   
   For 1st period: jburkWMS+1stper@gmail.com
   
   For 3rd period: jburkWMS+3rdper@gmail.com
   
   For 7th period jburkWMS+7thper@gmail.com
   
   

Thank you in advance for following this procedure. It will greatly simplify my record keeping, and will allow me to return assignments to you more quickly. AS a reward for submitting your assignments following this procedure, I will give +1 point bonus for all assignments submitted using these procedures (you can resubmit if you've already submitted). In the future, I might deduct points for submitted assignments that do not follow this procedure.

How to submit assignments electronically

A few of you have been emailing me assignments, and while this as been great, I'm realizing that keeping track of these assignments is difficult, given the number of emails I am getting, so I'm setting up this process for submitting work. If you plan to submit an assignment via email (and I encourage you to do so, I ask you follow these guidelines:

1. Submit a readable document (I can read all versions of word, open office, pages, excel, etc). If you write your stuff in something crazy like wordperfect 1.0, email beforehand to make sure I can read it. If I can't open the document, YOUR GRADE IS ZERO, AND WILL REMAIN THAT UNTIL YOU SUBMIT A READABLE ASSIGNMENT (AND YOU WILL SUFFER A LATE PENALTY).
   
   
2. Follow the following convention for naming your document:
   "Period number Last Name First Initial Assignment title. " So Bob Smith, submitting his texting paper from 7th period would title his document: "7 Smith B Texting Letter" without the quotes. Do not name the assignment unrecognizable things like "texting paper" or "stupid physics assignment." (you might lose points for the second one).
   
   
3. If you got an extension from me in advance, please copy and paste my response to your request into the body of your email to me.
   
   
4. Email your attachment, FROM YOUR WMS Account (or otherwise easily recognizable email, not laxgirl17@aol.com) to the following addresses (add these addresses to your address book):
   
   For 1st period: jburkWMS+1stper@gmail.com
   
   For 3rd period: jburkWMS+3rdper@gmail.com
   
   For 7th period jburkWMS+7thper@gmail.com
   
   

Thank you in advance for following this procedure. It will greatly simplify my record keeping, and will allow me to return assignments to you more quickly. AS a reward for submitting your assignments following this procedure, I will give +1 point bonus for all assignments submitted using these procedures (you can resubmit if you've already submitted). In the future, I might deduct points for submitted assignments that do not follow this procedure.

How to blog

I finally had a spare moment to put together a short jing on how to blog, and a couple of other neat features of the website. Check them out here:

How to blog (< 2min)

How to put an equation in a blog post (< 2 min)

How to search the blog and use the class calendar (< 2min)

The constant acceleration model

A key idea we learned today was how to find the constant velocity model by calculating the area in a position vs time graph.

Class 9/15/09

Today in class we took the fourth reassessment then we went over some housekeeping rules. After this we split up into our stopping distance lab groups and did activity 25 in our MOP books. We learned how to find the area of a graph with constant velocity. To find this you find the area of the rectangle by doing time multiplied by the velocity and then add the area of the triangle by doing half the time by the velocity. Then we graphed the the velocity's and areas. That was what we learned and did in class.

Links you need for the texting project

We're going to be working on the texting project in the next few days, and you will need to use these links for your work.

• Online reaction time test: use this to measure your reaction time. (you must also measure your reaction time using the ruler test). You should post your data to the google spreadsheet so that everyone in our class can see it.
  
• NYT Distracted Driving Simulator: This is a great simulation that will tell you how your reaction time is affected by texting while driving. Please enter your data into the spreadsheet.
  
• Stopping distance: Here's a table of stopping distances that might help you to get a sesne of how far a car can travel during your reaction time.
  
• Stopping distance spreadsheet: this is a useful spreadsheet for determining your stopping distance based on a number of factors.
  
• Find your legislator. Useful for writing your letter.
  
  

In class today...9/24/09

Erica accidentally posted this to the other class:

In class today, for our lab we measured the velocity of Ryan and Kyle while they were running. We placed different members of our class at different positions for 26 meters. When Kyle and Ryan passed a person, that person would record the time that it took for Ryan and Kyle to reach them. Kyle and Ryan ran in both the positive and negative direction. Once we collected all of the data we were able to make a position vs. time graph for both Ryan and Kyle. Once we graphed the position vs. time graph for each runner we created a best fit line and calculated the average velocity for Ryan and Kyle. We calculated two average velocities, one when they were running in the negative direction and one when they were running in the position direction. Because we were on a hill, the negative direction was downhill, and the positive direction was uphill.

More gold from study hacks

I've already told you exactly what you need to do to ace physics (go back and read my post about how to study for a physics assessment. But maybe acing physics isn't enough for you. Maybe you want to ace all your classes, become deeply intellectually engaged by what you're learning, and change the world. Well, Study Hacks strikes again, with a great post titled "The Definitive Guide to Acing your Schedule." The post is again more aimed at college students, but easily adapted to high school, and the advice is pure gold.

Setup a separate chat with your professor, your TA, and a student who took the same course in a previous semester.
In each chat session, ask the same question:
If you were to write an advice guide about doing incredibly well in this class, what would the chapters be?


It takes around an hour to complete this exercise. But it’s results are near magical. Gone is the guesswork about notetaking, reading, and how best to review. In its place is specific advice that is tuned to the specific challenge you face. You’d have to be a real slacker not to do well with this treasure map in hand.

Ok, so you don't have a TA, but imagine if you set up a meeting during backwork with one of your teachers and you asked him/her this question. What would you learn? You might also help your teacher to think carefully about what is necessary to ace a class.

Thursday, September 10

Today in class, we started off by taking reassessment 3. After that, we learned about acceleration. Acceleration is the time rate at which velocity changes. We looked at a velocity vs. time graph with a diagonal line with a positive slope.The slope of the graph was acceleration. The graph showed constant acceleration. We also went over the fact that if you take the are of the figure made from the line and the x axis, this figures out displacement, or change in x.
Next, we looked at the acceleration of a basketball using a motion sensor. First, we dropped the ball while the motion sensor was hanging above the board pointing down. We mad two graphs: position vs. time and velocity vs. time. We figured out the acceleration of the basketball, which was 9063 meters per second squared. Then, we threw the ball towards the motion sensor and made the two graphs. We also repeated this for the bounce of the ball.
After this, we split off into groups and did a lab involving stopping distance. We pushed a felt covered block through a photogate and took data: the velocity and the stopping distance. We measured the stopping distance by measureing the distance from the edge of the photogate to the front end of the block. We answered some questions on the lab sheet, one including knowing the difference between average velocity and instantaneous velocity.

The next blogger is Erika.

Class on Wednesday

Today in class we did Re-Assessment number 2 and got back Re-Assessment number 1 and we looked over it and asked questions we had about it. After that we finished up the photo finish follow up sheet and we corrected it and answered questions we had about it.

The next scribe is Tanner

Humorous idea for the day

Luckily, in this class pain doesn't have to be your teacher.

Are you living well or preparing to live well?

Another great post from study hacks. Here's a quote:

The happiest students are those who try to shape their life into something that’s meaningful, quality, and enjoyable right now; the type who get excited about the philosophy seminar they got into, and then spend an early Fall day outside getting acquainted with the reading. These students aren’t afraid of hard work, but they keep it carefully contained, because they know there’s a lifetime more where that came from, and if they can’t handle it well now, when will they ever?



If you’re not trying to live well now, what are you waiting for?

Remember, I'm always free during backwork (or just about any other time) to talk to you about how to put these ideas into action.

Changing Velocity Model

Thursday in class, we discussed the grading system and how school originated, all the way back to "cave school".After our discussion, we set up a photo finish between the impact carts and the buggies. We then measured and plotted the velocity of the impact carts using the motion sensor.

The next blogger is Carter

Class on Monday

Today in class, we took a re-assessment on velocity.  We then finished the lab that we started on Friday.  In that lab, we focused on instantaneous velocity, which we also learned about in class.  Actually, learning about instantaneous velocity was probably the most important thing we did in class today.

The next Scribe will be Mary Ann

Definitely worth 20 minutes of your time

No matter what your politics are, you should take 20 minutes to watch this speech by the president today about how hard work and goal setting can help you to achieve your dreams, and solve the world's problems. It's wonderful speech worth serious thought.

Videos you will need for the "Photo Finish Lab"

I've created a set of short, instructional screencasts on how to use excel. You will need these when we get started on the "photo finish" lab.

1. How to export data from logger pro

2. How to make a position vs time graph in excel.

3. How to find the instantaneous velocity using excel.

4. How to make a velocity vs time graph in excel.

Friday, August 28

In last friday's class we worked with motion sensors to locate positons of a moving person. the motion sensors send out a sound and once it hits something thats in its path it bounces back giving the position of that object. When we used the sensors they would be plugged into the computor and the computor would collect all the data using a position Vs. time graph. From there we would calcutate the constant velocity at which the person/object was moving.

chip capper

the next person has already been named but it was caroline

Class-- 8/31/09

Today in class, we started off by getting in our previous groups for the "Understanding the Motion Sensor" lab to finish what we started on Thursday. Mr. Burk went around helping each group with common problems, the most common about negative velocity. He explained that negative velocity is when an object is moving behind the origin or towards the direction the motion sensor is not facing. After talking about this lab, we all got in pairs to discuss the "Unit 1 Review" packet that Mr. Burk handed out at the beginning of class. Each pair wrote out their answers on a white board and Mr. Burk came around to check that they were correct. After this, we were dismissed.

The next blogger is.... Erika

The Big Bang Explained

Ever wonder what the big bang is all about? What a multiverse is? This 2 minute video gives a great explanation by physicist Janna Levin, who is also a fantastic author. She wrote How the Universe got is Spots, and the award wining fiction book, A Madman dreams of Turing Machines. Both are great, quirky reads.

How to study for a physics assessment

Ok, so if you check the course calendar, you'll see that you have your first assessment in physics coming up next week. How should you study? Read carefully for my step-by-step guide to demonstrating deep understanding

Big picture of what you're doing:

1. Get out your copy of the Major Concepts for Unit 1. Read these through, and circle anything that seems completely unfamiliar to you.
   
2. Remember the purpose of this assessment. I am looking to help you see how well you understand these ideas. You can help yourself tremendously, by figuring out, before the test, how well you understand these ideas and making sure you master them.
   
3. While you study, your job should be to find/create problems that test these major ideas, try them, and then trouble shoot your work until you master the concept.
   

Step by step of what you should do:

1. Get a bunch of blank sheets of white paper or graph paper (if you're making/interpreting graphs).
   
2. Copy problems that we've done in class, on homework, and on webassign onto a a sheet of paper (one problem per page). Don't copy your answer from class notes.
   
3. Try to figure out which of the Major concepts this problem is testing, and write that at the top of the page.
   
4. Solve the problem. Try to do it in as much detail as possible. If you get stuck, write out a sentence explaining what you don't understand. The check the solution, and finish the problem. Recopy this problem and put it back into your stack of problems you're working on.
   
5. Keep working through problems until you've successfully mastered one or more problems from each topic.
   
6. Check yourself for small errors, like omitting units, writing bogus numbers, calculating slope as x/t, etc. Make a note of these on the problem, and focus on not making this mistake the next time you solve a similar problem.
   
7. If you can't find a problem from your notes or homework, this is a sign your understanding of this topic is incomplete. You can find additional problems in the text, or online by googling for them. You can also email me.
   
8. If you get stuck on a problem or concept, you are welcome to email me or schedule some time during backwork or a free period. But I also encourage you to use the blog to help increase your understanding as well (see below).
   
9. When you're done, you should have a small booklet of 10-20 problems that clearly show mastery of each topic.
   
   In practice, this doesn't take nearly as much time as you might think. With five days between now and the assessment, you can spend 10-15 minutes working out problems for 3 concepts per night, and have covered all 11 concepts by Monday night, giving you Tuesday night to go back over any last remaining concepts you're slightly unclear on.
   
   

   Using the class blog to ace a physics test

   
   If you find yourself stuck on a particular concept or problem, I encourage you to use the class blog to help you find the answer. Just create a new post (label it "reflection") and describe your problem "I can't see how to solve problem 2.4," or "I don't know how to draw a position vs time graph from a velocity vs time graph." Doing so will do a number of things:
   
   
   
   1. Just explaining what you don't know will often lead to greater understanding.
      
   2. You writing about a problem will help your peers to these themselves on what they understand.
      
   3. You will be contributing to the class community, and this will positively impact your grade (both intangibly and tangibly).
      
   
   
   Likewise, if you know the answer to a question posted by a peer, I encourage you to comment and leave a response. This will positively influence your grade.
   
   More tips:
   
   1. The science of studying, from Study Hacks

The art of taking notes in science class

Have you wondered exactly how you should take notes in physics to achieve the deepest understanding? You're not the first to ask the question, and not surprisingly, the author of Study Hacks has a few things to say about the art of taking science notes.

Notice that this post talks about going over your notes, but not just re-reading them, instead, it suggests you work to recopy/add to your notes so that you can develop a set of notes that can re-teach you the material in 10 years.

This can be a LOT of work, and I would encourage you not to do this for everyday we take notes, but if there's a time when we're covering something that seems particularly difficult, it might be a good exercise to try to go back and recopy and improve your notes.

Here are a few more tips from a college professor of geology.

Beautiful time lapse of Persied Meteor shower

Sometimes, physics begins with just admiring the beauty of the world around us. Check out what you see if you spend a night taking photos of the sky during the Perseid meteor shower. To get a explanation of what you're looking at, check out the always great, Bad Astronomy. Be sure to click on the HD link to see this movie in all its glory.

If you read one thing today...

Make it this excellent post at study hacks about how to create a unsinkable organization system. Do this now as a 9th grader, and watch your grades soar through high school, college and beyond. It really is that simple.

Corrections Policy

Hi All,
Thanks again for a great class! I want to explain things a bit further on my offer of corrections.

In general, I will allow you to correct just about anything in this class. Under the following conditions:

1. You seriously should consider whether you need to do the corrections. I know this is hard, but you should ask yourself "am I doing this to raise my grade, or show I really understand an important idea?" If it's to raise your grade, I would suggest that you consider not doing corrections. You will have many, many grades in this class (more than 100 a semester, in all likelihood), and one 2/4 or even a 0/4 will have almost no effect on your final grade. Seeking perfection is a recipe for unhappiness and lack of sleep.
2. Ask yourself if you have time to do corrections. If you aren't getting 8.5 hours of sleep per night, or you're behind in something else, you probably should focus on those things first. They will have a bigger impact on your grades and happiness.

If you decide to do corrections, follow these rules:

1. Turn your corrections in within a week after the assignment (unless you make arrangements with me).
2. Re-do the ENTIRE assignment. Do not simply copy your old work--do it again, with fresh eyes.
3. When you get to parts that you missed, you should ALSO write an EXPLANATION OF WHAT YOU DID WRONG (this is essential for credit).
4. At the end of your assignment write a note specifically stating EVERYONE and EVERYTHING you collaborated with. You are forbidden from looking at another student's work if you are doing corrections. Omitting someone/something you collaborated with constitutes an honor violation.
5. Turn in both your old and new assignment. If it seems like you copied your old work, I might not give back all the points you missed.

That's it. I reserve the right to modify this policy for specific assignments, or rescind it altogether if it is being abused.

reviewing constant velocity

Today in class we got back together with our groups from the toy car assignment. We wrote down how you would make a graph, equation, and in your own words about the constant velocity of the car. The equation was x=0.45(m/s)t. The constant velocity is change in position over change in time. On a graph if the slope is constant it shows constant velocity. We talked about what things in life have constant velocity. Cornelius said Kangaroo's and we discussed how it is not constant. I said a car on cruise control has a constant velocity. Merritt said that everything in the room thats standing still has a constant velocity. In terms of it being on earth it is just standing still but the earth is turning, and moving around the sun so it does have a constant velocity. Then we did a Bogus worksheet. We had to define it and say why things were bogus. the rest was for homework.
The next blogger is.. Merritt

A physicist writes an opera!

The connections between science and art are too numerous to list, but this has to be one of the coolest and most unique I've seen. Lisa Randall, a physicist at Harvard who is researching extra dimensions and how gravity might be 'leaking' into hidden extra dimensions was asked to write a libretto (musical text) for a completely new opera. The video below features Professor Randall talking about her work. It's definitely worth watching.




You can read more about the opera here.

Graphing Motion

Today during class, we learned a lot about star trek, but most importantly, how to graph motion. We started with a star trek activity where we tried to record relevant information while Mr. Burk gave us a lecture. From that lecture, we figured out what the speed for the scenario was at a maximum impulse. We used a position versus time graph to graph the information we recorded to end the activity.

From this, we were able to move on to the buggy lab. We were split up into lab groups and were each given a meter stick, a buggy, and a stopwatch. For this sheet, we had to time how fast it took our buggy to go certain distances. Then, using what we learned from the previous activity, once we had multiple times, we each made a graph.

To end the class, we had a buggy race!! (red won!)

Kathryn
The next scribe will be Sloan Krakovsky.

Space Probes and Messages to Other Civilizations

In class yesterday, we talked about Pioneer 10, a space probe launched in 1977 to explore Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and that has now left our solar system. We also discussed that Pioneer 10 contained a plaque featuring a series of pictures designed to communicate a message from humankind in case the probe should be encountered by extraterrestrial civilizations. You can click on the image below to get a larger image.

In class, I said that Pioneer 10 was the furthest man-made object from the earth. This is untrue. That record is now head by the Voyager 1, a space probe launched a few years later. Voyager was able to pass Pioneer 10 thanks to a number of gravity assisted speed boost from passing close to the outer planets.

In addition, Voyager contained the golden record I mentioned in class that contains a message for any extraterrestrial civilization it might encounter.

You can listen to a wonderful story about the creation of this record told by Ann Druyen, widow of the great scientist Carl Sagan, whose idea it was to make the record in the first place. This story is part of the incredible Raidolab podcast, simply one of the very best shows you can listen to on your ipod.



Voyager 1 also plays a central role in the original Star Trek movie, which is a pretty funny look back to a young William Shatner 1970s imagining of the future.

So what would YOU put on a record to extraterresterials? Here's a podcast with answers from comedian Margaret Cho, composer Phillip Glass, Chef Alice Waters, and authors Michael Cunningham and Neil Gaiman.

Domino Rallies

Today in class, we discovered what photo gate timers were. They are pieces of digital technology that are shaped like arcs and connected to poles. These poles are connected to either a small weighted platform (secondary timer) or a larger thicker platform that actually records the time on a display. We then discussed what the timers can measure, what they can help measure, or how they measure. It turns out the timers measure time and not necessarily speed itself, however they can't always be used in the traditional way (to tell/take times). They only record time INTERVALS in a way that is somewhat similar to a stopwatch. The choice to either use a photo gate timer or a stopwatch needs to be made carefully. A stopwatch is used to record general time intervals, but a photo gate timer records time intervals with more precise accuracy.

To make a photo gate timer work, you choose one of the three settings (pulse, gate,
pendulum). Next, you activate one of the arcs by breaking this line of light between (one end of the arc and another end). This starts the timer, and to stop the timer, the other arc's line of light must be broken. When we got to the subject of dominoes, we brainstormed ideas for experiments/labs that would lead us to the discovery of something new. We eventually concluded on the question,"Does the spacing of dominoes affect the speed of a domino rally". We selected a set number of dominoes and spaced them using a certain length from back to front. Next, we set up the photo gate timers with one arc right behind the first domino, and the second directly over the last domino. We knocked the dominoes over, then recorded the time that appeared on the timer. We recorded data for all trials, then recorded a class table with all of our results.

After the class table was made, we discussed graphing. If you did not know, the dependent variable goes on the Y(vertical axis) and the independent variable goes on the X(horizontal axis). The dependent variable is the non constant (uncontrolled) variable, and the independent variable is the controlled variable. Always include labels, units, a title, and a line of correlation. Plot coordinates based on your data.

This is what took place in class today

The next scribe will be Kathryn

Ace Neely-Chandler (Cornelius Chandler)

Top 10 ways to know the earth is not flat, and 10 more cool things about the earth

So you've just finished setting out write in your own words why the earth is not flat. This can be a challenging assignment, because you often want to say "because it's so", or "because of gravity, the seasons, or time zones." These are all good starts at the question, but take a moment and read this post for some comparison.

Do you notice that the author tries to build logical arguments to explain why the earth is not flat? Check out how the author carefully reasons through experiments that demonstrate the earth is round...

If the earth were flat, then two sticks at different locations would produce the same shadow. (premise)

But, when this experiment is carried out, the shadows aren't equal. (experiment and evidence)

because the shadows aren't the same, we conclude the earth is not flat. (conclusion)

This type of writing is the hallmark of scientific reasoning. It doesn't simply tell the reader what we know, it tells the reader how we know.

While you're at it, check out 10 things you don't know about the earth, a fascinating post from the fantastic bad astronomy blog.

And of course, the earth is round, but technically, it's an oblate spheriod.

Also, you might want to check out the flat earth society website, notice how their explanations are filled with scientific sounding terms and explanations, but most of this is just jargon intended to confuse the reader. Compare it to the 10 reasons the world is not flat essay, and you can clearly see the power of science and the value of clear scientific writing. Wikipedia also has a nice article on the flat earth society.

Finally, here's the link to the BBC story on the flat earth conference.

Idea for the day

How is this an appropriate metaphor for our (mine and your) relationship in this class? Comments welcome.

HT (hat tip)-Dan Meyer, teacher extraordinaire.

Get Ready for the Grand Adventure

Welcome to Physics!



I hope that this image of the Saturn V (still today, 40 years later the world's most powerful rocket and complex machine) puts you in the right mindset for the adventure we're about to embark upon in this class. This class should be filled with thrilling moments, moments where you take risks, discover ideas you previously never knew, correct misconceptions you've been carrying around for years, and see the wonder of the world around you. Of course, like any astronaut will tell you, there are sure to be some scary moments from time to time, but with hard work, careful preparation, teamwork and communication, there are no limits to what we can accomplish. I'm thrilled to be your captain/mission control on this journey, so let's strap in and get started!