Physics Pheelings

I think that I actually expected physics to be quite hard, and I was right. I heard it was going to be fun, but like all of my science classes it has been challenging. I'm not doing as well as I'd like to right now, not by far, however, I know that it's because of my procrastination and lack of asking for extra help. I know that if I have better time management next quarter and actually make the time to get help, then I'll get it. These pictures show how I am before extra help, then how I am after. Like a monkey/gorilla/whatever that is scratching its head to a light bulb that gets it!

An anxiety I have is not being able to simulate the problems in class on a quiz or test, which always happens. However, this anxiety could be appeased easily by just going to extra help or studying more. A reservation I have is that I can't do any labs by myself, I always need help, but I actually think that that's the point of labs, that you're supposed to exchange ideas and learn from them. If we knew all of the answers to a lab without having to discuss the questions then there wouldn't be any sense in doing them.

Again, I think I could be doing way better if I put in more effort and actually asked for help when I needed it, which is pretty much all the time. I'm pretty much looking forward to a fresh start next quarter and I hope I take my own advice and go in for extra help because I need it!

Cookie Time!

So taking these pictures took many tries, with a ton of flashes and about two dog treats, but with my dad's help we got them! Because it took so much effort I'm putting four pictures up. Anyway, after playing catch with my dog, Cookie, a dalmation labrador, for how more than 7 years now I finally see that it's actually related to physics! The bright yellow tennis ball is not only an example of a projectile, as when it leaves my dad's hands its path is only affected by the force of gravity, but it is also a great example of inertia! Inertia is Newton's first law, stating that an object remains at rest, or maintains a constant velocity, unless a net external force acts upon it. If not for the force of gravity, the tennis ball would travel toward the ground at a constant velocity, however, it accelerates down to earth at -9.8 m/s^2. The ball also would have proceeded at a constant velocity toward the ground if not for Cookie catching it in her mouth. Cookie acts as another net external force that interrupts the object, in this case the tennis ball, maintaining a constant velocity. If we were playing fetch/catch in space, with no gravity, Cookie would still act as the net external force and interrupt the tennis ball's tendency to maintain a constant velocity.

I wonder if there's any physics in the different colors that are in Cookie's eyes in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pictures...Maybe I'll explore that next time! =)