http://mrmackenzie.co.uk Mr. Mackenzie Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:19:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Here are the solutions to your last hw on forces.  We will take a good look at the cow/cliff/tractor/tension question in class and consider similar examples to help you see what is going on here. hw-forces1 http://mrmackenzie.co.uk/2008/09/30/solutions-to-hw-exercise-on-forces/ We discussed laying out of circuits today when I introduced the bicycle lights project we will be working on for your final assessment.   One of the methods for laying out a circuit is to use a breadboard.  These youtube videos are a good introduction to using breadboards in electronics.  Watch ... http://mrmackenzie.co.uk/2008/09/23/electronic-breadboards/ We've been working with the new soldering irons in class with limited success.  Now that we have solved some of the problems, I've also found a few videos that show good soldering technique.  Have a look at the clips below and think about whether you could use some of these ... http://mrmackenzie.co.uk/2008/09/23/soldering-electronic-components/ In our discussions yesterday, one of the things that cropped up was that we need to revise the material covered before the summer holidays.  I thought I would make a start on this by looking at significant figures.   You might have heard me referring to "calculator vomit" in class.  This ... http://mrmackenzie.co.uk/2008/09/12/significant-figures/ One of the things we spoke about today was the difficulty of dealing with horizontal and vertical velocities one at a time when we analyse the motion of a projectile. I have uploaded this diagram to see if it will help you see how the horizontal and vertical velocities ... http://mrmackenzie.co.uk/2008/09/11/projectiles-moving-in-2-directions-at-once/ Some of you have been asking why people are talking about the world ending on Wednesday.  Funny how this question has arisen whenever I hand out homework!  I've spoken about the Large Hadron Collider and some of you may have seen the BBC coverage on Big Bang Night last week. ... http://mrmackenzie.co.uk/2008/09/07/large-hadron-collider-lock-up-your-protons/ We had some fun in the school lift today, trying to confirm what we had read about apparent weight.  Although the effect was small, we managed to spot the same effect as was demonstrated by David jumping off a desk with a set of 100g masses hanging from a Newton balance. ... http://mrmackenzie.co.uk/2008/09/02/physics-in-a-lift/ We spent a lot of time looking at projectiles and projectile problems in class so this should be a concept that you are comfortable with.  If you are still a little unsure, there is a good summary page here.  The page contains interactive questions to check your progress - just ... http://mrmackenzie.co.uk/2008/09/01/projectile-motion-2/ We've been dealing with vectors since the very start of the Higher Physics course.  Before the holidays, we looked at displacement, velocity and acceleration as vectors.  Over the last 2 weeks, we have discussed velocity in the context of projectile motion and looked at the vector nature of forces.   Some ... http://mrmackenzie.co.uk/2008/08/31/remember-vectors/ Solutions to the hw you handed in today are available in pdf format by clicking the link below. august-hw-answers http://mrmackenzie.co.uk/2008/08/28/answers-to-hw-on-vectors-and-projectiles/