As I was eating dinner in the kitchen, I noticed the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I was reminded of the free body diagrams that we drew in physics for similar hanging objects. The free body diagram for the chandelier is shown in the picture, if the mass of the chain could be 0. The only two forces acting on the chandelier is weight, the mass of the chandelier*the acceleration of gravity (9.8 m/s*s), and tension. Weight is directed downwards towards the center of the earth as it always, always, always is. Because the system has no acceleration, the net force is also 0 according to the F=ma (F=net force) equation associated w/ Newton's second law. In order for the net force to be 0, the magnitudes of mg and T must be equal. This observation also relates to Newton's third law because mg and T create a force pair, being that the two forces are equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction. These forces with equal magnitudes and opposite direction allow the chandelier to hang from the ceiling rather than crash to the ground or the ceiling.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Hanging Chandelier
As I was eating dinner in the kitchen, I noticed the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I was reminded of the free body diagrams that we drew in physics for similar hanging objects. The free body diagram for the chandelier is shown in the picture, if the mass of the chain could be 0. The only two forces acting on the chandelier is weight, the mass of the chandelier*the acceleration of gravity (9.8 m/s*s), and tension. Weight is directed downwards towards the center of the earth as it always, always, always is. Because the system has no acceleration, the net force is also 0 according to the F=ma (F=net force) equation associated w/ Newton's second law. In order for the net force to be 0, the magnitudes of mg and T must be equal. This observation also relates to Newton's third law because mg and T create a force pair, being that the two forces are equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction. These forces with equal magnitudes and opposite direction allow the chandelier to hang from the ceiling rather than crash to the ground or the ceiling.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
First Post...
Wow, I can't believed I've already survived like a month of this AP Physics class. This class has been pretty challenging for me, as I imagined it would be. I'm slowly learning that this independent learning process requires keeping up with work daily, whether it be homework or labs. I have also realized that physics involves a different kind of learning from either chemistry or biology. It is important to thoroughly understand concepts in addition to memorizing and applying specific equations. As indicated by the picture, I'm a confused little penguin in this class most of the time, trying to make sense of everything I'm learning. I hope that as the year goes on I will be able to understand things better. Labs and problem sets can be especially difficult, but I find that they are easier to understand after discussing them with my classmates and/ or doc. The tests are pretty hard and I can't imagine finishing them in 1 period yet, but I seem to understand things a lot better after going over the tests. I'm excited to learn more concepts and hopefully I will continue to adjust to the fast pace of this class. I know that this class is only going to get harder, but I'm ready to keep up with the challenge.
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