We are all excited about another year of VAMPY in the Physics class! Dr. Lee, myself, and our 15 students have hit the ground running, covering multiple topics in a day.
On Monday, we covered the basics of physics- velocity, measurements, and acceleration- with fun and interactive demonstrations, videos, and group projects. The students completed several labs, ranging from calculating the average velocity of speeding cars to racing bubbles.
Tuesday, we went further with acceleration and started learning about projectiles. We rolled ball bearings off a ramp and calculated their velocities, along with other similar labs and demonstrations. The students tested their reaction times with Dr. Lee, a fun exercise turned into a little competition.
Today, we focused on trigonometry based problems, such as horizontal projectiles, vectors, and free body diagrams, mapping our way all over the United States and determining cannon trajectory. Graphing was a main focus today; the kids learned how to do distance-time, velocity, and acceleration graphs along with free body diagrams. Giving them a preview of tomorrow’s lesson, Dr. Lee briefly discussed forces and friction.
In study hall, they have been working in their homework packets, a few pages a day, keeping up with the day’s lectures. They have been building on model airplanes once the homework has been completed, and they are almost done! They have also started working on completing worksheets for an in-class competition. Whoever finishes the most correctly wins a special prize at the end of the program.
It is a blast having all of 15 students in class, and we cannot wait to continue lessons tomorrow!