AY Honors/Physics/Answer Key

1. Define the following:

a. Physics

A branch of science that deals with matter, energy, motion, charge, and force.

Physics uses a number of tools such as a balance, meter or ruler, clock or stop watch. Physicist also use more complicated tools as they look at more complicated events. The most important tool of physics is mathematics. You can think of Mathematis as the language of physics.

b. Mass

A quantity of matter related to weight by Newton's second law of motion represented mathematically as [math]\displaystyle{ F=m \cdot A }[/math]

c. Work

A measure of energy. If we push a heavy load, then the work that we do is how hard we push the load times how far we push the load.

[math]\displaystyle{ Work=Force \cdot distance }[/math]

d. Force

An influence on an object that causes the object to move or change direction.

e. Power

How much energy expended per unit of time. If you can do lots of work quickly, then you are using more power.

[math]\displaystyle{ Power= \frac{(Work\ done)}{(time\ it\ took\ to\ do\ the\ work)} }[/math]

f. Potential energy

The energy of an object based on its relation to other objects. For example if I lift a ball above the ground by a given distance, then the ball has the potential to fall the distance that I've raised it. The potential energy of a ball can be measured by measuring how high you raise the ball against the force of gravity on the mass of the ball.

Potential energy of the ball is given by the relationship:

(E) = Mass of ball (m) * Accelleration of gravity (g) * height we rase the ball (h)

We write this [math]\displaystyle{ E=mgh }[/math]

g is the acceleration of gravity and is 9.8 m/sec/sec or 32 feet/sec/sec

We also think of potential energy as the stored energy of a battery. The energy of a battery is stored chemically. It becomes kinetic energy in the form of heat and light when we turn on the switch of our flashlight.

g. Kinetic energy

The amount of energy that an object has based on its motion relative to other objects. Kinetic energy in it's simplest form is related to the speed of an object in relation to the observer. Kinetic energy in it's most complex form can be heat

The kinetic energy of a moving ball can be measured by knowing 2 things about the object 1) The mass of the object. (Determined using a scale.) 2) The velocity of the object (Time how long it takes to travel a given distance)

[math]\displaystyle{ \ Kinetic\ energy = \frac{1}{2} \times (Mass\ of\ object) \times (Velocity\ of\ object)^2 }[/math]

h. Weight

The force that gravity exerts upon a body. According to Newtons second Law of motion:

[math]\displaystyle{ The\ weight = (mass\ of\ object) \times (local\ acceleration\ of\ gravity) }[/math]

Weight is commonly mistaken for mass, but weight could be significantly more on a planet with larger gravity, or could be significantly less on a planet with a lower gravity. Mass on the other hand is the same in both circomstances.

i. Matter

Something that has mass. There are four states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.

j. Inertia

A property of matter that works against an external force. According to Newton's first law of motion, a body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted on by an outside force. An object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted on by a force.

k. Friction

The rubbing of surface one object against the surface of another.

At the atomic level you can think of bumpy surface like sand paper rubbing against another surface. When the two surfaces are at rest, the high spots of one surface fit into the valleys of the other surface and it takes quite a bit of force to move one over the other. Once they are moving, the two surfaces bounce from peak to peak like a skiier only hitting the tops of the moguls.

l. Wave

A disturbance traveling through a medium by which energy is transferred from one particle of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium itself.

In a guitar string for example, the string will vibrate up and down, but the particles that form the string do not move horizonally along the string. Likewise, if you throw a pebble into the water, the water goes up and down and the wave spreads out from the splash point, but there is not a flow of liquid along the surface of the water.

m. Center of gravity

The point from which all the gravitational forces within an object appear to come. This point is the same as the center of mass in a uniform gravitational field.

n. Exponential notation

Scientific notation is a mathematical notation that makes it easier to work with very large numbers or with very small numbers. In physics it is very common to have very large numbers such as the number of atoms in a drop of water, or the number of stars in a galaxy. It is also quite possible to have very small numbers such Planck's constant.

We write numbers in scientific notation by getting rid of the zero space holders.

In large numbers

[math]\displaystyle{ 1\times10^9 }[/math]=1,000,000,000

[math]\displaystyle{ 6.02\times10^{23} }[/math] = 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

[math]\displaystyle{ 2.9979\times10^8=299,790,000 }[/math]

For small numbers the exponent is negative

0.00001= [math]\displaystyle{ 1\times10^{-5} }[/math]

0.000000015=[math]\displaystyle{ 1.5\times10^{-8} }[/math]

The exponent tells us how many places we need to move the decimal point. We move it to the right for positive exponents and we move it to the left for negative exponents.

Exponential notation is used on many calculators and programming laguages. the [math]\displaystyle{ \times10 }[/math] is replaced by the letter E

We would write [math]\displaystyle{ 31E6 }[/math] instead of [math]\displaystyle{ 31\times10^6 }[/math].

o. Absolute zero

A theoretical minimum temperature at which all motion of an atom ceases.

This minimum temperature is:

0° Kelvin= -273° Centegrade = –459.67° Fahrenheit

p. Fulcrum

The support, on which a lever turns in moving a body.

The Center support of a teeter totter is the fulcrum.

2. What is the scientific method? How can the scientific method be used to study the Bible?

All science starts with observations. A biologist might observe a bird and describe its colors or actions. A chemist might note a pungent aroma. A physicist might observe an object falling. Each of these events would be an observation. We use our senses, or use machines that can increase the power of our senses.

The observation causes us to ask basic questions about the event. These questions can form the basis of a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a scientist's guess about what might explain the observations. A hypothesis is most useful if it suggests an experiment that can be done to either prove or disprove the ideas we have as to the way things work.

We do an experiment to test the hypothesis, and this leads to more observations and we start the process all over again.

We can summarize this by

observe-> hypothesis -> experiment

When an idea has been tested many times it is called a theory, and if it is tested so thoroughly that we are sure that it right it might be called a Law.

The scientific method can be applied to any field of study, and tends to be self corrective. Errors cannot stand long - when others do the experiment they will either get the same results or different results. If they get different results, then more observation, hypothoses, and experiments are needed.

The study of the Bible can be enhanced by observing a text and then experimenting based on the ideas that come from that text. For example, If you read the text in Malachi 3:10

'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it'.

Your hypothesis might be that God will bless you if you return your tithe. If you take action on these thoughts and do the experiment, you can find out if it is true.

3. What is a controlled experiment?

A controlled experiment is an experiment where you try to eliminate other factors that might affect the result. Let's look at one of the most famous Physics experiments and possibly one of the most important of all time. It will illustrate how we can deal with and control the variables. The experiment was done by an Italian Scientist by the name of Galileo Galilei.

For almost 2,000 years people believed the philosopher Aristotle who said that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects. At the time of Galileo, there was no scientific method, and so people believed Aristotle based on his authority. Aristotle's idea was more than a hypothesis, in the minds of the people this was a law of physics.

Galileo asked questions about this law. It is obvious that a feather really does fall slower than a hammer, but is this because air resistance prevents a feather from falling at full speed.

Galileo did some thought experiments similar to this. If weight really does make an object fall faster, then what would happen if we took a rock and broke it in two equal parts and tied the parts together with a string wouldn't they fall at the same speed as a rock that was equal in weight to the first rock?

4. Explain the terms in Albert Einstein's [math]\displaystyle{ E=mc^2 }[/math] equation.

Albert Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity was published on June 30, 1905. Most of the theory of special relativity has to do with the relation between moving objects and light that is passed between them.

Although light is a wave phenomenon, the Michelson Morley experiment of 1887 had shown that there is no medium needed for it to travel through space.

E - is the symbol for energy.

Energy is a unit of work in MKS system it is [math]\displaystyle{ Kg \cdot M^2/sec^2 }[/math] which is known as a Watt.

In the CGS system it is a [math]\displaystyle{ g \cdot m^2/sec^2 }[/math] which is known as an erg. Energy can take the

form of heat, and is measured in calories or Kilocalories when talking about heat.

m- is the rest mass of a particle.

This mass could be measured in Kg or grams.

c- is the speed of light.

C stands for celeritas which is latin for swiftness and is used to represent the speed of light.

299,792,458 Meters/second or 186,282.397Miles/second

2- The 2 on the right of the c represents the action known as squaring a number.

We square a number by multiplying it by itself. In this equation we are squaring a very large number which yeilds a very very large number :[math]\displaystyle{ 299792458 \cdot 299792458 = 8.98755179\times10^{16} }[/math]

What this equation indicates, is that mass and energy are interchangable. Mass can become energy and energy can turn into mass. Before Einstein, there were two laws of physics

Conservation of matter- This law stated that particles of matter are not created or destroyed

Conservation of energy- This law stated that energy is not created or destroyed it just changes form

The [math]\displaystyle{ E=mc^2 }[/math] equation says that there is only one law:

Conservation matter and energy- matter and energy are neither created or destroyed

It was not until 1938 that Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn were able to split a nucleus and see that energy was released. The energy released coresponed to the mass loss according to Einstein's equation.

It was shown that an atom with a large nucleus can break into two parts, emitting a gamma ray. If the mass of the two parts were added up some of the mass was missing. The gamma ray had no mass, only energy, but the energy was equivalent to the missing mass if we use Einstein's equation.

When we are talking about very energetic particles such as gamma rays, we often see the gamma ray becoming a pair of particles and then joining again to become a gamma ray.

A gamma ray with an energy of 1.022MEV (Million Electron Volts) can spontaneously form an electon anti-electron (Positron) pair. Each particle has mass that has the equivalent energy of .511MEV and one has a positive charge and one a negative charge. Because one is negatively charged and one is positivly charged, they are likely to be attracted to each other and recombine and form a gamma ray again. The gamma ray has no charge or mass.

5. What units of measure for mass, length, and time are used where you live?

Units of Measure

System of Measure	Length	Mass	Time
English System	Foot	Slug	Seconds
SI System	Meter	Kilogram	Seconds
Metric (MKS) System	Meter	Kilogram	Seconds
Metric (CGS) System	centimeter	gram	Seconds

Most of the world uses the SI or Système International d'Unités for all measurements. It is only in the United States of America, Myanmar, Liberia, and a few other countries that the English system is used for most activities.

From a scientific point of view, it is very surprising that the English system is still in use in any technologically advanced country. Its use in the United States led to a catastrophic failure in the NASA Mars Orbiter mission of 1999. The $125 million Mars orbiter was lost because a Lockheed Martin engineering team used English units of measurement while the NASA team used the metric system for spacecraft navigation.

6. What units of measure are used for time prophecy in the Bible? What is the chapter and verse where they can be found?

A day is used to represent a year in two places in scripture:

Ezekiel 4:6

After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.

Numbers 14:34

For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.

This is used in the prophecies of Daniel, especially Daniel 8:14

He said to me, "It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated."

Isaac Newton is known as one of the greatest physicists, but few remember that he devoted more time to the study of the Bible and alchemy than to the study of Physics, and in Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John. he wrote:

"The Sanctuary and Host were trampled under foot 2300 days; and in Daniel's Prophecies days are put for years: but the profanation of the Temple in the reign of Antiochus did not last so many natural days. These were to last till the time of the end, till the last end of the indignation against the Jews; and this indignation is not yet at an end. They were to last till the Sanctuary which had been cast down should be cleansed, and the Sanctuary is not yet cleansed."

7. List Newton's three laws of motion.

First law

An object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by a force.

Second law

The acceleration of a body is directly proportional to the force acting on it, This is written as [math]\displaystyle{ F=mA }[/math]

Third law

For every action or force there is an equal but opposite reaction

If I push on you, then you push on me with the same amount of force, but in the opposite direction

References

The people behind [math]\displaystyle{ E=mc^2 }[/math]

More explanation of [math]\displaystyle{ E=mc^2 }[/math]

Newton's Law of Motion

About the Author

--Rodneyeast 14:06, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Rodney East works with a Pathfinder Club in Glenn Ellyn Illinois, and has been involved with Pathfinder from the age of 9 when his grandmother introduced him to the stars by working on the Star honor.

He studied everything he could find on astronomy as he was growing up and finally graduated from Pacific Union College with a Bachelors degree in Physics with an emphasis in Astronomy.

He now works in the Information Technology group of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory.

Rodney and Stephanie East Produced a DVD entitled "Why Knot, an introduction to knots, rope, and splices" to help teach the knots honor. This video is available through Advent Source.