Apologia Physics: Projectiles with Vernier's Video Physics App

Last Thursday we made catapults from popsicle sticks and rubber bands.  We launched a ping pong ball and video recorded the projectile's path.  Today we used Vernier's Video Physics, see below for link, to draw a graph of the trajectory including time of flight and the distance traveled in both the vertical and horizontal directions.  The students picked six points from the graph and entered the x and y coordinates into their TI83/84 calculators.  We now have the quadratic equation for the line of the trajectory.  The students' assignment for next week is to use the formulas in module five of the physics book to determine the initial velocity of the ping pong ball and also the angle of flight.








Vernier's Video Physics app

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Apologia Physics: Catapults or Projectile Motion Module 5

Module 5 topic is projectile motion.  Today we built a trebuchet and a catapult.  We fired a projectile, a ping pong ball, from the catapult and recorded the motion with Verneer's video app.  During the next class we will analyze the videos, graph the projectile movement, and separate the forces that act upon the ping pong ball, horizontal and vertical.  The paper trebuchet worked but did not send a projectile, a paper clip, more than a foot at best so we will not use that data but what we built will serve as a good model.

These are the links to the project descriptions:

Paper Trebuchet  and Craft Stick Catapult

Statistics: Graphing Absolute Zero

The Stats class used Flinn's Charles' Law Lab instructions today.  I wanted a real life example of collecting data and using the data to extrapolate.  We measured the volume of air (gas) in a syringe at different temperatures.  Basically, the syringes are in yogurt containers filled with ice water, boiling water, and room temperature water.  I had the kids mix the hot water with cold to get at least four or five data points.  We used 10 mL and 30 mL plastic, oral syringes with caps.

We found that the 30 mL syringes didn't work.  I insisted I needed 30 mL syringes--not just 10 mL syringes.  Guess what?  The 10 mL syringes worked better.  The results were surprising.


Here is one student's, Anna's, data:
Temp  (C)   Vol (change in volume mL)
19.5              5.5
13.3              5.0
9.4                5.5
63.8               7.0
30.6              6.25


Next the kids plotted, calculated, and graphed the linear regression with their TI 83/84 calculators.  Then, the kids went to the Window in the calc and extended the range: Xmin -300, Xmax 100, Ymin 0, Ymax 10.

Lastly the kids extrapolated to see the temperature at 0 volume.  Anna's 0 volume y-intercept was -360C.  Absolute zero is -273.15.  Her percent error is 32%.  Not bad at all!  We had a couple students with less than five percent error.  That was excellent and unexpected.  Remember we used syringes in yogurt cups for the water bath.

The lab coincides with Chapter 4 in Stats.  How do you collect, organize, graph, and present your data?

I'll post a lab report when the kids finish.

Statistics:Chapter 3: Part 2

The kids are working on worksheets from Chapter 3 activities from Mrs. Daniel's Stats blog.  I spent my class time explaining linear regressions and the LSRL, the least squares regression line. 

Apologia Physics: Module 4

Today, the kids did on your own problems for Module 4.  They are working on the test questions for Tuesday.  Tommy is having trouble drawing the vector.  We'll work on this skill.

Statistics: Chapter 3 Correlations

The kids worked on TI84 graphing exercises on p.186 and p.219 before class began.  (They're doing the same exercises again as homework to ensure the kids can do the exercise.)  (The variables are located in Vars Statistics or Y-Vars Functions.)  We went over half the slides in Mrs. Daniel's powerpoint 3.1--just before the formula to calculate r, correlation coefficient.  The kids can enter data in the stat function of the graphing calculator, calculate linreg, and graph linreg.  We reviewed those skills last time.  Be sure to practice entering data and graphing. 

Apologia Physics

Today the class worked on Vectors: The Vector Voyage and Walking Vectors activities.  The Walking Vectors should have been done outside, rather than in the basement. The kids ran into walls.  The point was you can shuffle the order of the vectors and still end up in the same spot.  I made five or six cards.  The kids did the activity, shuffled the cards and repeated it.  The walking did not work because, the kids ran into obstacles, such as walls and tables.  We drew the instructions from the cards on to graph paper.  That worked.

We did not begin the Vector Voyage; the kids are completing it for homework.

Statistics: Chapter 2 and Linear Regression

At the beginning of class, the kids did example 3.9 (p.200 textbook) Does Fidgeting keep you slim?  The class entered the data into L1 and L2, graphed the data, calculated the linear regression and displayed the regression with the data.  The kids learned how to turn on Diagnostic or r coefficient.

Do linear regression models frequently or the kids will forget how to enter, graph, calculate, and display linear regressions. 

We reviewed the Mrs. Daniel's WS 2.2  The homework for Tuesday is the Chapter 2 test.  Yes, the worksheet took most of the class period.

Statistics: Two new videos for the Normal Curve

One of the students took two hours to create two videos with instructions for graphing a normal curve and shading under the curve with a TI 84.  Take a look!

Statistics: Normal Curve

Update: There are two new videos with explanations how to graph the normal curve and shade under the curve here.

The first thing we did in class was graph normalpdf, normalcdf, and shadenorm with the graphing calculator.  The point was to understand how to shade different areas under the normal curve by setting upper bound, lower bound, mean, and standard deviation with these exercises or examples.    These examples have the screen shots.  This powerpoint has good instructions.

We spent about 30 minutes explaining that normalpdf (x) must be defined under y=, 1E99 or -1E99 represent infinity on the TI84, normalpdf graphing a standard curve or normal curve, shadenorm uses lower bound, upper bound, mean, and SD, and normal cdf converts a z score into a percentage.  Largely, we set the window and practiced shading.  We only spent a few minutes converting z score to a percentage or percentile.  The point was to learn how to enter the data.  The screen shots provide the answers.

For the remainder of the class, the laptop died.  We talked about a normal curve, defined z score, introduced the z score equation, talked about comparing scores with the SAT and ACT as an example of standardizing two scores with different scales.  Their homework is to complete the overview and summary and the 2.1 worksheet for Friday.


We have a back-up Thinkpad for the seemingly dead laptop up and running.  Fingers crossed it works on Friday.  I am wed to the powerpoint slideshows.