I AM A PUSH OR PULL. I AM A FORCE.
We just finished learning about
projectile motion, and have moved into electrostatics. However, with the
current knowledge of said topic, we can apply what we know into the question
that was stated. In projectile motion (2D), there are 3 main forces that act on
an object before it becomes a projectile. The force applied to it, launched at
any angle, is what turns it into a projectile; the force of gravity is the
vertical force that pulls the projectile to the ground, and the force of air
friction is what slows it down- depending on how the projectile was launched.
In shot put, like for most
projectiles, it is launched at an angle, so it can travel longer and cover more
distance. But in order for a projectile to travel far, it must be launched with
great velocity; and shot puts are thrown as so. However, in our world filled
with air, the faster something travels, the more force of air resistance
affects that projectile, resulting in a non-symmetrical parabola if it was
graphed. In a real-life situation where the wind doesn’t stay still, the wind
could blow against the shot put, thus slowing it down, or blow it further.
Learning about projectiles was
definitely fun, but no one said it was a walk in the park. What I found
difficult about this topic, was understanding the x and y factors of a force
which is at an angle. In this project, we didn’t do any physical calculations,
but more on theoretical perspectives. If the shot put was launched in a vacuum,
things would be a lot easier to understand because nothing is physically slowing
it down. But in reality, everything that moves will be affected by air
resistance, and will be slowed down. It was weird thinking about air resistance
at an angle, because of its x and y factors, but I later overcame that problem
with a little thinking.
I am
strong on the theoretical part on projectile motion, but I am stronger in the
calculations part because I can physically prove my point though math. When I
struggle to understand something through theoretical aspects, I try to punch
those bits of knowledge into equations we learned, and help myself understand
without someone giving me the answer, for example my team members. When we
thought about the whole projectile motion project with a shot put, I imagined a
freed body diagram on how it would travel, and how the forces affect it, just
to give me a clear understanding of the topic.