Reflection

     I was thinking, and I was right about to go to bed.  I am exhausted.  I actually went running today for an entire hour.  (I have not went on a quality run in a month)  I am sore.  I want a cookie since Shirley mentioned one in her blog post that I saw in my notifications.  And I want to sleep.  However, something has been bugging me just a bit.  I am just going to go on a rant about classroom discussions.

     First of all, I am just going to be honest.  I am tired of physics.  I am tired of dominant voices, people holding me back or going too fast, and an hour long discussion over nothing.  I get the material before I walk in the door.  Then, right before my eyes, my entire mind gets wiped out from the face of the earth, and I am at a completely empty slate.  I have no idea what is going on.  There are declarative statements, I do not know whats right from whats wrong, who to believe, or what to do.  I get completely confused.  Then, I have to go back home, do some more online searching, and figure it out for myself.  For me, I feel the material we are learning is from 8th grade.  I feel like it is all review still.  Sure, I did get a b+ in the class.  And why did I get that grade?  Because I did not write the exact words "For every" or I used the variables x and y.  It is not that I do not understand, it is just I find class a complete waste of time.

     It is white board after white board every single class.   Some people are completely confused, but others are completely confident their write and guide the class asking "Does everyone get it? Okay, lets move on"  I don't feel like we should have a leader.  I think a problem with these discussions is everyone works at a different pace.  The problem with not a formal teacher is we can not know what exactly they need help on in a group discussion. I know I was sitting next to someone who asked a question, and the class just did not answer it and talked about something else.  She said that they completely avoided her question.  She is loss, and others are completely on top of it all and know it.  There is a large spacing between these groups and this is a huge problem.  This is the problem between student teaching and a teacher teaching.  I think a formal teaching session to review can and would be beneficial.  

     To wrap this post all up, (get my Christmas reference?  Too early?) I do have an interest in physics.  If I did not, I would not be blogging again the second time this week at 9:30 at night.  It is just I feel like the class should have a group reflection sometime next class because I think we need collaboration and a reflection to see what we can improve on as a whole.  

Read my last post to get the picture below! It is actually kinda funny.

I just thought this picture was funny.  Okay.  I am sorry. Bye.

     

Physics Joke of the week! (and a cat...)

     Now that was kind of an understatement.  I got carried away looking at physics pictures on google.  First, my thought was this joke section was somewhat useless.  I started reflecting on this section.  Then, I realized I do learn more because I look into topics that may be brought up later on.  Maybe not this year, or even next year, but doing this section is something I enjoy, and I will keep writing them.  Read the bottom attached link.  It is so interesting because there were many pictures talking about this cat... I was very curious. I looked it up.  This was an article I really enjoyed and hope you do, too.  Observation is really important and I think this article really displays that.  There is never really a for sure answer and this applies to many events.  For example, I related this to group discussions.  No one can ever be 100% sure.  From this, it is important to avoid declarative statements.  This article did include a term, quantum mechanics, that I was not familiar with.  

     This experiment about a cat in the link below has led me on to great exploration of physics.  Without this blog, I would have never researched it as much as I had.  I am researching it throughout writing this blog.  I really think blogging is very beneficial.  This is just another example of what you put in you get out from it.The link below that explains what quantum mechanics is, which relates to physics.  Quantum mechanics is, in a brief statement, a mathematical machine for predicting the behaviors of microscopic particles.  

     In conclusion, I think this blog post was a success!  Reflection/ joke/ new information/ physics unknowingly ending up wrapping up in one!!! I am really happy with this connection and how it ended up turning out.  This is so cool.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/08/130812-physics-schrodinger-erwin-google-doodle-cat-paradox-science/

http://www.pbs.org/transistor/science/info/quantum.html

Reflection/ question #3

     I am sitting at the kitchen table with calculators, pencils, papers, and binders scattered everywhere (perks of being a triplet).  It is about 67 degrees. Refreshing, but not really, as it is only 4pm on a Friday night, already in my pajamas, again writing another blog post.  The life style.  However, I did realize, and as commented by a fellow blogger, I should try to combine a reflection and a lesson.  That is my goal for today.  I also have some questions for anyone willing to answer about group discussions and how I can improve.  If you want to get to the point and skip all the serious physics and the complaining and the reflecting... oh and the rambling if you have not noticed, scroll to the bottom of this post.  It would be awesome if you could read the whole thing.  Well if you want.  It is not like I would ever find out... or will I??

     Lets cut to the chase.  First of all, I would like to talk about question 3.  The problem gave about 8-10 coordinate points of a person rollerblading, plot the points, and then ask a series of questions regarding the graph.  The first part to understanding this question is to be able to read the graph.  I remember this lesson very clearly from 8th grade.  I can understand position-time graphs.  Here is a video describing how to convert from position-time graphs to velocity-time graphs.  It uses a pretty cute squirrel as an example.

     That is a very important topic in the class right now.  It is important to note what in each graph means the change in direction, staying still, and increasing or decreasing speed. 

     The last topic I would like to focus on is a reflection.  Today the class started another group discussion and I thought the class as a whole progressed more.  However, I was probably the only one who did not speak.  I speak with my table when we go over a worksheet or something, but in class discussions, I just don't know what to ask or say.  It is not that I am afraid to say something or am nervous.  I am comfortable around the class now, but I feel like discussions are very repetitive and people dominate.  It is not a lot, but for example, someone needed help understanding something.  There was person A and B.  B was starting to help the student who needed clarification.  A decided that they should be the one to explain, and shushed the other person.  Now, I find that trying to take control, especially since person A spoke a lot and person B did not.  This is not just one example, but it happens many times. 

      Also, I feel like everything repetitive.  For example, we were trying to decide if we can run a line through the points, or would it be wrong since the speed could increase between points.  The class was probably making scenarios on what happened, but it really did not further enhance the conversation in any way.  It was a waste of time.  If we bring up a new idea, and it makes sense to me, I have no reasons to argue about it.  I just find the conversations don't really help me.  I feel like I know all of this learning material from 8th grade science or learning it myself.  So here are my questions:

1. What do I need to do to actually start participating in class discussions?
2. How should the class address the people dominating the discussion?
3. Why are we having an hour long group discussion when it really isn't necessary?

Position or Velocity?

    Position or Velocity?

     Part of the science of physics is the measurement of the motion of objects. This includes plotting an object's position, velocity, acceleration and other relevant data. The graphical representation of one form of motion can lead to the graphs of the other forms of motion. The various graphical representations of motion are related through the slopes of each graph.

     It is important to note the differences of velocity, position, and speed.  It is also important to note that each graph can relate to other graphs.  For example, a position and time graph can relate to a velocity and time graph.
     The position-time graph is used to describe the motion of an object over a period of time. The slope of the position-time graph reveals important information about the velocity of the object. The slope of a position-time graph reveals the type of velocity an object undergoes during its motion. If the slope of a position-time graph is constant, this indicates a velocity that is constant. A position-time graph with a varying slope indicates a changing velocity. This relates directly to the motion lab because that was the idea of the lab: to show how velocity and position are related, but are different.  
     The velocity-time graph of an object reveals the speed at which an object is moving at a given time and whether it is slowing down or speeding up.  The slope of the velocity-time graph reveals the acceleration of an object. If the slope of the velocity-time graph is a horizontal line, then the acceleration is 0. This means the object is either at rest or moving at a constant speed, without speeding up or slowing down. If the slope is positive, then the acceleration is increasing. If slope is negative, acceleration is decreasing. (on a motion map, a resting movement is written as multiple dots at the same position)
     It is also crucial to know speed is a scalar quantity and velocity is a vector quantity.  The difference of the 2 are dependent on one variable: direction.  Speed measures the magnitude of the quantity.  Velocity measures the magnitude, but also factors in direction.  


Well that blog was a lot of information in little time!  Here is a small review:

1. Velocity-time graph and a position-time graph relate to each other, but are not the same.
2. Velocity considers the motion and direction of an object.
3. Speed considers the motion.

Website Links:

http://www.ehow.com/info_8472236_difference-graph-position-time-graph.html#ixzz2k1urev00

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L1d.cfm

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L3a.cfm