You CAN change the world

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

--Margaret Mead

Boy, 7, raises $240,000 for Haitian Relief.

Animals Sensing Weather

I found two cool articles on animal behaviors and how their senses can help predict weather. Enjoy.

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/animals-predict-weather2.htm

http://www.unexplainable.net/artman/publish/article_1945.shtml

Thursday 1/14/10

On Thursday's class, we opened up by talking about the earthquake in Haiti and we looked at some google earth images of Haiti and how much damage has happened. When I saw all of the little black dots and figured out that each dot was a dead person, I was breathtaken. To know that over 300,000 people died from that earthquake is scary. We could make a change to improve the conditions of that poor country.
We then continued on with our Mythbuster's lab. After working out all of the kinks, they got the two bullets to land so close together, that the naked eye thinks that the bullets hit at the same time. There are variable that effect this experiment, making it impossible to get the bullets that close. One huge variable is that each bullet does not have the exact same amount of gun powder in it. We learned how if two of the same objects fall from the same height, they will reach the ground at the exact same time even if the object is shot out of a gun.

Backyard Ballistics Packet

Here is the reading from backyard ballistics that will tell you how to build a tennis ball morter, catapault, or potato cannon.

Backyard Ballistics

Burj Dubai Base Jump

Two basejumpers just set the world record for BASE jumping from the world's tallest building the Burj Khalifa (formerly called the Burj Dubai), from a height of 828 m.

Check out the video below:


Two questions:
1. Why didn't this video take the 13 seconds you calculated take an object to fall to the ground?
2. What was the average velocity of the skydiver? How does this compare to the velocity an object falling only under the influence of gravity would have when it hit the ground?

the physics of snow

Since it's on all our minds....

Why does snow make everything seem much quieter?

Can it get too cool to snow?


Designer snowflakes from the lab

Physics of snowbaording (don't expect to do much of this tomorrow).

Wednesday Summary

On Wednesday, we used a cart that shot a ball upwards while in motion to learn about projectile motion. When the spring was released and the ball was shot up while the cart was in motion, the ball didn't land on the table, it landed back in the cannon. We concluded that the X motion and the Y motion of an object are unrelated. Later, we used a contraption to release 2 balls at the same time, 1 that would drop straight down, and one that would be shot at a 90 degree angle. Surprisingly, the balls hit the ground at the same time.

Here are two links about the lesson that Mr. Burk recommended
http://www.physics.umd.edu/lecdem/outreach/QOTW/arch3/q047.htm
http://www.physics.umd.edu/lecdem/outreach/QOTW/arch1/q006.htm

Study Hacks talks about deliberate practice

Another awesome blog post on why just working at something doesn't always make you better. You have to practice in a deliberate way.

What a study of chess experts teaches us about building a remarkable life

Some highlights:

What is deliberate practice?

It’s designed to improve performance. “The essence of deliberate practice is continually stretching an individual just beyond his or her current abilities. That may sound obvious, but most of us don’t do it in the activities we think of as practice.”

It’s repeated a lot. “High repetition is the most important difference between deliberate practice of a task and performing the task for real, when it counts.”

Feedback on results is continuously available. “You may think that your rehearsal of a job interview was flawless, but your opinion isn’t what counts.”

It’s highly demanding mentally. “Deliberate practice is above all an effort of focus and concentration. That is what makes it ‘deliberate,’ as distinct from the mindless playing of scales or hitting of tennis balls that most people engage in.”

It’s hard. “Doing things we know how to do well is enjoyable, and that’s exactly the opposite of what deliberate practice demands.”

It requires (good) goals. “The best performers set goals that are not about the outcome but rather about the process of reaching the outcome.”

Now here's the kicker—since deliberate practice is so hard,

Unless you’re a professional athlete or musician, your peers are likely spending zero hours on DP. Instead, they’re putting in their time, trying to accomplish the tasks handed to them in a competent and efficient fashion. Perhaps if they’re ambitious, they’ll try to come in earlier and leave later in a bid to outwork their peers.

But as with the intermediate-level chess players, this elbow-grease method can only get you so far.

That's right—most students, athletes, aren't doing anything close to deliberate practice.

What do you think will happen when you start doing deliberate practice?

The science of Avatar

Here are a few posts that describe the physics of the movie Avatar. In your lifetime, scientists have already discovered hundreds of extrasolar planets orbiting stars throughout the Milky Way (the first extrasolar planet was discovered in 1992).

The science of Avatar

Pandora could be a reality

More science of Avatar

Curious about how we discover extrasolar planets? Here's how.

You can even play a game to discover them on your own.