Scientific Method

Persian Wars (499-450 BC)

Persia (Iran) vs Greece
Series of battles, including
Thermopylae and Salami

Overlap of Ideas
Aristotle empirical science,
measurements, and observation
Al-Haytham experiment and
observation (earliest set of scientific
method steps)

Sci. Method Background

Inductive vs Deductive Reasoning

Background Contd
Objective vs Subjective
Empirical vs Anecdotal Evidence
Control vs Variable Experiment
(Francesco Redi)

Steps of Scientific Method

Make Observations
Hypothesis
Test
Conclusion
The most important aspect of these
steps is being thorough!
Observable, Measurable, Repeatable

Variables
Independent variable what you are
manipulating
Dependent variable what you are
measuring
Controlled variable make sure other
factors remain the same for better
results
Fishing example

Significant Figures
Tell us how to round and how to
appropriately measure
Tell us how precise our measurement
is
Ruler example

Significant Figures
1. Non-zero #s and zeros bt non-zero #s
are significant
2. Zeros in front of sig figs are not
significant
3. Zeros to the right of decimal and after
non-zero #s are significant
4. Zeros to the left of decimal and after
non-zero #s are not significant
5. Zeros to right of decimal but to the left
of non-zero #s are not significant

Scientific Notation
A way to organize both very large and
very small numbers
5 200 000 000 000 = 5,200,000,000,000
Step 1 : Write down the significant figures
in the problem (52) and # of zeros (11)
Step 2: Turn those sig. figs. into a # bt 1
and 10 (5.2)
Step 3: Final form sig fig x how many
10s give us the #? ( 5.2 x 10 12)

Sig Fig Arithmatic

When adding/subtracting, use same
# sig figs as given measurement
with least # decimal places
When multiplying/dividing, round to
# with least sig figs

Measurements

Volume Liter (L)

Measurement Prefixes

Conversion between Units

Intro to Physics

What is Physics
The study of fundamental
questions/processes
Explaining the natural world through
equations and measurements (equations
are the definitions of the natural world!)
Define Speed
Study of matter, energy, and how they
interact
Quantum vs Cosmological

Famous Physicists

Background skills Trigonometry

Background Skills Order of

Operations
PEMDAS
Parenthesis, Exponent, Multiply,
Divide, Add, Subtract
12x + 4y = 2y 6x + xy

Mechanics the study of

motion
Why start with motion?
Everything is moving even the cells in
your body as you sit still.
All starts with one equation. S = x/t
S = speed, x = distance, t = time
Constant no change in speed
At rest speed is 0
Instantaneous speed at a specific
moment

Speed Sample Problems

Average speed = total distance/time
Ex) If you travel 20 mi. in 0.5 hrs.,
what was your average speed?
Ex 2) If you drive at a rate of 30
mi/hr for 2 hours what is your
average speed? Total distance?

Speed vs velocity

Velocity = speed in a given direction

V = x/t
Acceleration = increase in speed
Accelerate at a rate! (If a = 5 m/s 2, your
v = 5 m/s in 1 s, v = 5+5 = 10 m/s in 2
s, v = 10 +5 = 15 m/s in 3 s, etc)
A = change in velocity
time
A = (vf v0)/t

Lets put some equations

together
How would you determine velocity if
velocity is not constant (accelerating)?
v = x/t
a = (vf v0)/t
ta = vf v0
vf = v0 + at
V0 may not be zero!

Sample Problem
You are traveling down the street at
90 km/hr. You see an accident so you
slow to 45 km/hr in 5 seconds. What
is the acceleration of your car?
1.What info. are we given?
2.What are we trying to solve?
3.Use appropriate equation

Free Fall

Means accelerating due to gravity!

g = 9.8 m/s2
Means in one second, you go 9.8 m
In two seconds, you go 19.6 m
V = at
X = 0.5at2
If acceleration is due to gravity, a=g

 Relative definition point of view or

in regards to
Think of 3 points A, B, C
Point C is 1 m distance, relative to A
Point C is 5 m distance relative to B

Solving Physics Problems

2 types of quantities scalar and
vector!
Scalar only have magnitude
Vector contain magnitude and
direction
What are two examples we have
covered in class so far in each
category?

Solving Physics Problems

Contd
Draw diagrams using vectors, which
are arrows on the page
Add the horizontal and vertical
component vectors to get the
resultant!

 When drawing vectors, keep them

proportional to each other
A vector representing 10 mph should
be smaller than one representing 100
mph

Projectiles

Pretend we are a bunch of pirates

We shoot a cannonball out of our cannon
On board, show different trajectory paths
Vertical component is force of gravity
No horizontal component
Side note, in physics, actuality vs reality
is different. Air resistance is not taken
into account

Vocab
Relative, average, instantaneous,
velocity, speed, constant,
acceleration, deceleration, vector,
component vector, resultant vector,
projectile

Equations

Speed = distance/time
Velocity = speed in given direction
Average speed = total distance/time
Acceleration = change in velocity/time
Instantaneous v = at
D= .5at2
Y=mx+b
C2=a2+b2

Next week