1 SUMMER PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT

FRANKLIN LEARNING CENTER

NAME________________________________________________________________

PHYSICS SUMMER ASSIGNMENT

Dear Physics Student ,

You are about to embark on your study of physics – the fundamental science. It is through the lens of physics that we have been able to decode the rules that the physical world is governed by. Without physics, modern society would not exist as we know it. All of our technology owes itself to our understanding of physical reality, pioneered by those persistent enough to decipher the laws of nature.

This packet is designed to prepare you for your studies – and to give you a taste of how

physicist or engineer investigates problems. Part one of this packet is an investigation on free­falling objects. Part two is a review of the mathematical skills you will need in order to be successful in the course. It is imperative to hone your mathematical skills as physics is based heavily in mathematical relationships. A physicist or engineer uses mathematics the same way a carpenter uses a saw or a plumber uses a wrench – tools for getting the job done.

This packet will be collected on the first day of school.

It will be graded and counted as a test grade on the first marking period. SHOW ALL OF YOUR WORK TO RECEIVE FULL CREDIT!

2 SUMMER PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT

FRANKLIN LEARNING CENTER PART 1: AN INVESTIGATION ON FALLING OBJECTS Introduction : we constantly observe falling objects in everyday life. Thus, if we are to understand the laws of physics, a good place to start is with how things fall. In this experiment, you will be testing the relationship between how high something is dropped from and how long it takes to hit the ground. Question: how does the time it takes an object to hit the ground change as height is increased? Materials:

an object to drop (a ball works well) a length­measuring device (I recommend a measuring tape) timing device (stop watch or a phone timer) step stool / ladder for dropping objects

Hypothesis: form a hypothesis that predicts how the time it takes an object to fall from will change as height is increased. Will the time the ball takes to reach the ground increase or decrease the higher you drop it from? How much will it change? Will the time double as you double the height? Or will it quadruple? Or will the time be cut in half? These questions provide an example of the way a physicist approaches a problem. Think about the relationship between dropped height and time in this experiment, and write your prediction – your hypothesis – below: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Which object did you choose? Give a brief description of it below: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Now use the chart below in order to organize your data as you drop your object. Drop your object three times from the same height, taking the same measurement. (Trial 1, 2, 3). Then take the average of the three trials to get the average time. You may even want to record a video on a smart phone in order to get a more precise measurement. I would advise you find someone to help you take measurements! Height Time (trial 1) Time (trial 2) Time (trial 3) Average Time 1 meter (3.28 feet)

1.5 m (4.91 ft)

2 m (6.56 ft)

2.5 m (8.2 ft)

Table I. Data

3 SUMMER PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT

FRANKLIN LEARNING CENTER Now plot the average times from Table I on the graph below:

Do not draw lines connecting any data points.

Analysis Questions: answer the following questions using complete sentences. 1. Was your hypothesis supported or rejected? Explain.

2. How is the time between each data point changing? Is there the same amount of time between each data point, or is the amount of time increasing or decreasing?

3. What conclusions can you draw about this experiment based on the data you collected?

4. What can you do to improve the accuracy and precision of this experiment?

4 SUMMER PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT

FRANKLIN LEARNING CENTER PART 2: MATHEMATICAL SKILLS PRACTICE 2A. SIGNIFICANT FIGURES (DIGITS) PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW!!! Measurement and Significant Figures by Professor Dave Explains https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn97hpEkTiM NOTE→ You may need to download a QR scanner app to scan the code to the right. Either that, or you can manually type in the URL or Google the name of the video.

Rules for deciding which digits are significant:

1. Nonzero digits are always significant. 2. All final zeros after the decimal point are significant. 3. Zeros between two other significant digits are always significant. 4. Zeros used solely for spacing the decimal point are not significant. Examples: Using the rules above, 0.0420 mm has 3 , 690 kg has 2 , and 80,070 s has 4 significant figures. Thus, the precision of your experiment is always limited by your least precise measurement . 1. State the number of significant digits in each of the following measurements. a. 31.06 kg ________ b. 0.01 km ________ c. 5200 m ________ d. 2005 s ________ e. 2.9920 m ________ f. 5600 km ________ g. 0.00570 kg ________ h. 808 g ________ 2. Solve the following problems and give the answers to the correct number of significant digits. (All numbers must be written with the correct units.) a. 325.54 cm ­ 25.6 cm = b. 28.8 g + 300.85 g + 2.845 g = c. 82.3 m x 8.254 m = d. 2.647 m x 2.0 m = e. 5.25 cm x 1.3 cm = f. 9.0 cm + 7.66 cm + 5.44 cm = g. 10.06 g ­ 3.1 g =

5 SUMMER PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT

FRANKLIN LEARNING CENTER

2B. SCIENTIFIC NOTATION PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW!!!

Metric and Scientific Notation by Laura Ramthun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKKqlhEU_Ks

1. Convert the following values into scientific notation: a. ( example ) 21000 kg = 2.1 x 10 3 kg b. 0.000110 m = c. 5200 m = d. 2005 s = e. 29920 m = f. 5620000 m =

2. Convert the following values into standard notation: a. ( example ) 2.45 x 10 6 m = 2450000 m b. 3.94 x 10 7 kg = c. 2.98 x 10 8 m/s = d. 9.09 x 10 ­9 s = e. 6.67 x 10 ­11 m =

Prefixes :

unit­prefixes represent a power of ten. Prefix Table

3. Replace the prefixes with their multiplication factor from the prefix table. a. (example) 3.0 km = 3.0 x 10 3 m (because k = 10 3 ) b. 4.5 km = c. 8.75 nm = d. 5.67 cm = e. 300 km = f. 4.75 mg = g. 8.99 ms =

6 SUMMER PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT

FRANKLIN LEARNING CENTER

2C. DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS (UNIT CONVERSIONS) PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW!!! Converting Units with Conversion Factors by Tyler DeWitt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N0lRJLwpPI

Using the above conversion factors, convert each of the below. Show all work and unit cancellations.

1. 160 lb into kg (worked example)

2. 75 kg into lb

3. 27.5 inches into cm

4. 0.55 miles into feet

5. 45 m/s into miles/hour

6. 5.0 miles/hour into m/s

7 SUMMER PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT

FRANKLIN LEARNING CENTER

2D. ALGEBRA Algebra is an important skill used to solve problems. Physics relies heavily on algebra in order to find values of “unknowns,” given several known values. For example, speed = distance / time. If you know the speed of something and you know the time it took, you can figure out the distance. But you must use algebra to rearrange the equation and isolate the value you are looking for; in other words, we need to get “distance” all by itself.

1. Solve each of the following equations for x . a. Example: v = t

x

b. x a = c

c. x c/ = a

d. x + b = c

e. ax2 = c

f. x a 2 + b = c