Vectors and Projectile Motion

In Honors Physics, we just wrapped up our unit on vectors and projectile motion. To begin, I learned that a vector deals with both magnitude and direction. To draw a representation of a vector, I learned to draw an arrowed line. This line's length is drawn to the proportion of the vector quantity, and the direction of the line shows the direction of said quantity. Also, I learned that splitting the vector quantity into x and y components - representing the locations on the x and y-axis, respectively - makes it easier to solve for the vector. During this unit, I found that the component method of vector addition with more than two vectors was the most difficult. It was hard for me to focus on the problem and get it done quickly when I had to write so much information. My problem-solving skills throughout this section were fantastic, because I found solving for the x and y components, resultant and tangent to be very simple. You can see a great example of a vector in everyday life when you look at the acceleration of a car.
The second half of our unit involved projectile motion. First off, I learned how to solve for the vertical and horizontal components of a projectile. The formulas for each component were resolved into distance, velocity, and time. Similar to vectors, I used the Pythagorean Theorem to solve for my resultant velocity. In addition, I learned about projectile motion at an angle, which involves solving for x and y components like before. This section proved to be of little difficulty; The only problem I had was memorized the correct x and y formulas. It was easy for me to solve for the x and y components of the initial velocity and the position, as long as I checked my answers. Often times, I would make silly mistakes that I wouldn't have made if I'd checked over my answers first. I can relate projectile motion to everyday life by thinking about cannons, because cannons project an object at a specific angle and velocity.

Welcome to Planet Acceleration

When you think of acceleration, you probably think of, well, acceleration. It seems like an open-and-closed case, a subject you can learn and move on from, one of those things you don't bother paying attention to. This assumption is completely wrong. Whether you know it or not, acceleration is the only reason you're alive today. Okay, so maybe that's a bit drastic, but acceleration is something you need to know in order to pass Physics class. There are two kinds of acceleration: Acceleration due to gravity, and free-fall. In order to cover both of these topics, I wrote about an alien falling from outer space - free-fall - onto Earth - acceleration due to gravity. Jeremy, the alien, will explain this topic further during his adventure.