PHYSICS FIELD TRIP MODULE

Celine O. Alava IV Our Lady of Fatima

Studying physics may seem so boring because of all the formulas, definitions, and principles. Whats so great about it is that were discovering how and why things happen. Once we get to apply our lessons in different activities, we feel so intelligent because we know them. Application - thats what makes this study of matter so fun. Last November 6, 2009, the DC junior and senior high school students went to Bulacan for our educational field trip. Since the beginning, physics was there. Newtons laws of motion, particularly inertia and acceleration, were applied when we were riding our buses.

Our first destination was Barasoain Church Historical Landmark Museum in Malolos, where we witnessed the Philippine Revolution through the lights and sound presentation. Acoustics and optics, which are part of physics, were obviously applied there, but we havent discussed that in our class yet.

Next, we went to Paradise Adventure Camp in San Jose Del Monte and there, we physics was present in every activity that we performed by group. In my group, first we played a game called Toxic River where we have to cross an imaginary toxic river by using only a few pieces of wood. We were able to balance ourselves because of the center of gravity, which is the point in each ones body where mass is considered to be concentrated.

Then, we lined up to the 45-meter tower for rappelling. We wore gloves and helmets to protect our hands and heads because these things distribute the force so when there would be an impact, we wouldnt get hurt much. One example is the friction force of our hands to the rope. Another topic that I could relate is, again, Newtons law of motion, the third one, which is the law of interaction. As I moved down the rope, I pushed my feet to the wall, which pushed me back with the same force that I have exerted. Every action truly has an equal and opposite reaction.

After that, we went to the tree top corridor, where work, the amount of energy transferred by a force acting through a distance, and friction, the force that resists the motion of the feet of the person and the wood on the bridge in contact, were both applied. I wasnt able to experience it because we had to go the zip-line.

Unfortunately, there was no more time for that too. I really wanted to experience sliding down the zip-line. It would have been so much fun. A lot of topics in physics could be applied there speed, acceleration, the pull of gravity to

ones mass, kinetic energy, tension, and the pulley, which is a simple machine that uses mechanical advantage to multiply force. Though most of us werent able to experience those nerve-wracking activities, our field trip was still fun. Physics was there and so were anatomy and chemistry. I therefore conclude that life would be so boring without science, the study of life.