9-23

The class started with a daily question, how would Aristotle explain a falling apple? The answer was that “it is a part of the earth, and that is why it falls towards the earth, because that is what it is made of.” Mr. Manning then prepared a nice presentation for us using the topic of inertia, which is the objects resist in change. He did many demonstrations for us. The first one was of two boards and a metal ball. The boards were place on the same angle and the ball was released from one side. We measured the starting point and then we measured the highest peak that the ball reached on the other board. Each time we did it, there was about 3cm less on the reaction side, which we learned is because of friction. He then did an experiment where he pulled a piece of paper out from under a water filled beaker that was on the edge of the table without the beaker moving. The beaker doesn’t move because it has inertia. Mass is proportional to inertia, that is why when we experimented ourselves we found it easier to do the task with a heavier weight rather than a lighter weight. For the last experiment he pulled out a giant knife and a banana and held the banana in the air and prepared to drop it and slice it in mid air. We learned that the earlier he swings at the banana, the better chance he has of slicing it, because the more time you let an object fall, the greater the speed is. So if you swing at it when you first drop it, it is still losing its inertia of wanting to remain still in the hand, you will have a greater chance of slicing it.