Monday 8/27

Reading for 8/28: Preface to the student, Part I Overview (p. 1), 1.1-1.6, Syllabus
Demo equipment: None

Minute paper: What is physics? Take 1 minute and write down a definition.

My definition is as follows. Physics is the scientific study of matter, energy, and

interactions. There’s a lot in there, so let’s unpack it some. Physics is a science. You
probably have heard about the “scientific method” since junior high or so. In actuality,
there is not one simple scientific method, but a set of several strategies to help us
understand how the world works. A few of the major properties of scientific inquiry are:
1. Science is based on observations or measurements of real objects.
2. Science searches for general principles that can be used to explain the behavior
of those objects. By general principles, I mean that there are a few relatively
simple laws that apply in a very broad array of circumstances.
3. Scientific explanations are provisional. We always describe how things work to
the best of our knowledge. As we continue to collect information, we may have to
refine our understanding and our explanations.
4. Scientific knowledge progresses by making predictions and testing them.
Physics is a specific branch of science. The things that are studied in physics are real
material objects. You know that objects can move around and interact with each other.
For example, if two objects collide both of the objects move differently after the collision
than before. In this class, we will start out by describing motion in qualitative detail and
developing a system to describe the motion in mathematical terms. We will then look at
forces and how they can affect motion. We will then come up with an alternate
description of motion in terms of energy and momentum.

Motion diagrams
We will be spending most of this semester discussing various aspects of the motion of objects.
We need to start out by describing motion as precisely and thoroughly as possible. What does it
mean to say that something moves? It means that the position changes, i.e. that the object has a
different position at different times. A good way to think of this is using a motion picture, i.e. a
video. A video really consists of a series of photographs taken at different times. In each
photograph, an object can be at different positions. When we show the photographs in
succession, the object is at different positions at different times and it appears to move.

Vid: Up and down using LoggerPro

One way to help visualize the motion is using a motion diagram. In a motion diagram, a dot
represents the position of an object at one instant. In the next frame of the video, another dot will

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be in a different place. The pattern of the dots tells us something about the motion. Let’s build a
motion diagram.

Demo: Walking steady speed motion diagram

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The dots started on the left and moved to the right, so the motion was towards the right. The
walking speed was steady, so the dots on the motion diagram were equally spaced. How would
the motion diagram be different if I walked slower? The dots would be closer together. The
spacing between the dots seems to be related to the speed. Closely spaced dots represent slow
speed and far apart dots represent fast speed. The spacing between dots appears to be
proportional to the speed.

How would the motion diagram be different if the metronome beat twice as frequently? There
would be less time between dots, so I couldn’t move as far between dots. The dots would be
closer together even though the speed is the same. The spacing between dots appears to be
inversely proportional to the time interval between dots.

In fact, we can use the motion diagram as a way to define speed. In physics, we usually use the
term velocity instead of speed. We have determined that the spacing between dots is proportional
to the speed and inversely proportional to the time interval. To measure the speed, we can
measure the spacing between the dots using a ruler, measure the time interval using a stopwatch,
and take the ratio of the two.

Velocity-ratio of change in position to change in time

𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 Δ𝑥
𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = =
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 Δ𝑡

ConceptTest: Comparing motion diagrams

Two cars are driving down a highway in adjacent lanes. The diagram below shows motion
diagrams for the cars. Which car is driving faster?

Car A 1 9

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Car B

(a) Car A
(b) Car B
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(c) They have equal speed

C-The spacing between the dots represents the speed. Each motion diagram has equal spacing
between sets of dots, so both cars are moving with constant speed. The spacing between the dots
is the same in the two diagrams, so both cars are moving the same speed. Car A is behind car B
and they are moving forward together.

ConceptTest: Rolling downhill motion diagram

A car is parked on a hill when its parking brake fails and it begins to roll. Which of the following
motion diagrams best matches the car’s motion? Assume that the hill slants down to the right.

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(a)

1 8
(b)

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(c)

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(d)

A-When the brakes fail, the car will start out moving slowly. It will roll downhill and pick up
speed as it rolls. The speed should increase. On a motion diagram, the spacing between the dots
represents the speed. We need the spacing between the dots to be increasing; this is the case in A.
Motion diagram B represents motion with constant speed. Motion diagram C shows motion that
starts fast and slows down. Motion diagram D represents motion that starts fast, slows down,
then speeds up again.