Well, now we start to learn about Energy. Our first lesson is all about potential and kinetic energy. I used a mousetrap today to help distinguish between the two. Potential energy is stored energy, ie when the moustrap is set, the energy is in the spring. Kinetic energy is moving energy. So, then the mousetrap is sprung, there is the moving mass or KE.
We also watched a short video on my childhood hero, Evil Knievel. Why he was my hero is a mystery to me--how can you be so reckless? But we looked at some of his jumps and saw that the had the most KE on the ramp before he left and the greatest GPE (gravitational potential energy) in the middle of his jump when he was the highest.
The L and O section had this lesson today, the S and W sections will have it tomorrow. They both just completed the step lab on power. Each student finds their weight in Newtons (not pounds), and uses that to see how much power they can generate. Right now Reed and Alyssa in the S section are leading. I got 163 watts today, which is ok. The faster you step the better (power is how fast the energy is delivered). I looked up trivia on Lance Armstrong--he average 223 watts in his last Tour de France win. Astounding. Ask your son or daughter to show you how we did the actual measurements and calculations--you could do this at home pretty easily. Power does not come cheap.
Sweet justice!
