Alright. We’ve defined our main concepts (displacement, velocity, and acceleration) and we’ve reviewed our algebra skills. It’s time to tackle the kinematics equations.
Author Archives: Kathryn McGill
The Laws of Algebra
This week we’re exploring the laws of algebra with a guest post from my dad, Donald McGill. He majored in math back in the day and was more than happy to feed my own interest in math – and eventually physics – as I grew up. Since we’re diving into the kinematics equations next, IContinue reading “The Laws of Algebra”
Acceleration
We’re ready to discuss our final concept – acceleration! In the same way that velocity is a change in position over a change in time, acceleration is a change in velocity over a change in time.
Drawing Position and Velocity Vectors
As was the case with position, velocity is a vector. Since a vector has both magnitude and direction, it makes the most sense to draw it as an arrow. (You may even be seeing an arrow in your head every time I say the word “direction.”)
Velocity vs. Speed
In my previous post, I introduced the concepts of position, displacement, and total distance traveled. I also talked about how position and displacement are vectors, while total distance traveled is a scalar. Today we’re going to talk about another vector, velocity, and a related scalar, speed.
Where to begin?
There are a lot of ways to go about teaching physics. We could start by talking about energy, or forces, or the fancily named “kinematics” – and there are various arguments for choosing each of these approaches. Starting with kinematics is probably the most standard approach, and it’s the approach I’m going to use in this blog.
Dimensions and Units
Physics is all about mathematically describing the world around us. In order to do this effectively, we need to carefully label the different quantities we measure. Units help us to do this.
Math: The Language of Physics
This post is all about math, because in order to go beyond purely conceptual physics, you need to be comfortable with mathematics.
How do you feel about physics?
What are the primary feelings that come to mind when you hear the word, “physics”?
The Elephant in the Room
Before diving in to talking about physics, let’s address the elephant in the room: physics is not known for being a diverse field or for having a diverse history.
Scarcely Odd 