Three years ago I explained how to use photographs to estimate the speed of a passing car. You can read that article at https://physbang.com/2020/08/02/keep-the-cogs-turning/. Now it is time to use a similar technique to answer a more challenging question: what is the take-off velocity of a passenger jet? Of course, the answer could be found … Continue reading Aircraft take-off velocity
Measuring Speed
This is the third part of a mini-series looking at motion and here we’ll be considering different ways to measure speed as well as some common sources of error. In theory, speed is easy; we just need a distance (measured using a ruler, for example) and a time (probably measured using a stopwatch but ideally … Continue reading Measuring Speed
Squirrel speed
How fast can a squirrel run? I'm talking here about a red squirrel (the type we have in Jersey) and I'm assuming that the creature has been startled and is dashing for cover. Think for a moment: what sort of experiment could you arrange to answer this question? At its simplest, this is a time-and-distance … Continue reading Squirrel speed
Power is the Rate of Change of Energy
There are two booklets available on physbang.com to help you revise the equations that you are expected to know by the end of Y10. These booklets were posted a few months ago (click here to read that post and download the booklets) but it has since been pointed out that one equation is missing: sorry … Continue reading Power is the Rate of Change of Energy
Keep the cogs turning!
The phenomenon of "learning loss" during the long summer holidays is well known so to keep your physics cogs turning, here's a brief challenge. I took my camera to the Five Mile Road on Saturday and photographed cars going past. The camera was set to 5fps so every sixth picture should have been recorded exactly … Continue reading Keep the cogs turning!
Speed – A Crash Course
In view of the current school closure, this post has been created to summarise the learning steps that you have already followed to gain a firm understanding of speed in terms of distance and time. You should work through this page to check and improve your knowledge. The key learning outcomes are; The units of … Continue reading Speed – A Crash Course
Acceleration
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. It is calculated by finding the change in velocity and dividing that number by the time taken for the change to occur, as shown in the word equation below; acceleration = (final velocity - initial velocity) / time taken This can be written in symbols using either … Continue reading Acceleration
Distance-Time graphs
We have covered the theory of distance-time graphs in class. If you require more information then please read p22 in your CGP Complete Revision and Practice book. It is now time for you to test your knowledge and understanding. This is a compulsory homework task that you must complete before your next Physics lesson. The … Continue reading Distance-Time graphs
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