Methods II: Week 1 Lab

 


This week in lab, we designed a model for a race so that the racers can finish at the same time. We did this by having each racer take exactly 15 strides. This worked well because each racer had to adjust the length of their strides to get in 15 steps so they finished at about the same time. 

In lecture, we discussed a similar topic of how we can adjust the departure time when two people are traveling at different speeds in order to reach the same destination at the same time. 

Our textbook reading, "Describing and Measuring Motion", talks about the benefits and ways of measuring motion. Measuring and describing motion allows us to predict future motion as well as knowing if we understand what we see. We measure motion by describing the distance from a reference point with the direction we must travel in to get from the reference point to a new location. 
   
I learned that the US is one of the only places in the world that uses the imperial system for measurement. Something I would like more information/practice with is using the metric system to measure and describe motion and movement. 

The most helpful thing in this chapter was the description of acceleration vs velocity, speed, etc. I found this to be helpful because I always thought acceleration described a speed increase, but now I know it describes a change in speed and direction.

My only concern is not being familiar with using the metric system and trying to keep those descriptions in order, but I know I just need some more practice with it. 

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