Right Triangles

Vectors involve the same principles as one-dimensional kinematics but there is a key difference. In one-dimensional kinematics, an object can only travel north or south. When vectors are incorporated with movement, an object's sense of direction is not limited. As a result, an object can move diagonally. To find the vector quantity of a diagonal movement, trigonometry is involved with the calculations. When I placed this ruler by this television, I formed the lines of a right triangle. The hypotenuse of the triangle is the vector. The legs are the vector's components. On a two-dimensional coordinate system, the vector would have a northwestern direction since the y-axis would be to the right of the hypotenuse. The horizontal leg would lie on the x-axis and it would have a negative value. Conversely, the vertical leg would be positive. 

Graphing Kinematics

During class on Thursday, everyone had to examine graphs and find how they apply to the relationships involved in kinematics. Although these two graphs appear different, they both demonstrate what happens when a ball is thrown in the air and then caught at the original position. The top graph measures the relationship between time and velocity. The line with the negative slope represents the ball's movement in the air. As the ball reaches the top of its path, its velocity slows down to 0 meters per second, which is why the line crosses the axis of time in the graph. Also, the velocity of the ball's downward path is negative because the ball changes direction but the speed going up is the same as the one going down. The bottom graph represents time's relationship with acceleration. Interestingly, the acceleration of the ball is constant while it is in the air. Although the velocity of an object may increase or decrease, acceleration will be the same because gravity will always force the object to accelerate a certain way. Only an outside influence, such as catching the object in one's hands, will affect the acceleration.

Running in Circles

This weekend, I started to train for my event for physical education. My main goal is to finish in any place except for last place. Each day, I jogged for ten minutes around my neighborhood, which consists of a set of apartments assembled in a loop. Jogging is a definite example of kinematics. When time increased, my distance increased. Since the loop is not on a flat surface, my velocity decreased whenever I had to travel up the parts that were steep. Since gravity pulls objects downward, jogging down the loop led to an increase of velocity. However, my final displacement was 0 units of length because I ended up at my origin, which in this case was my home.

Labor Day Weekend

This year, my birthday occurred last week Wednesday. As a result, Labor Day Weekend was basically a sequel to the festivities. During that Sunday, I spent more than two hours at Waikiki Beach. I am aware that Waikiki is definitely tourist central but the beach was relatively mellow that day. Of course, if it was spring break right now, I would not be saying the same thing. While I was swimming in the ocean, my movements involved the principles of kinematics. Whenever I changed directions, my acceleration and velocity also changed. At times, my acceleration was negative because I would go past my original position. As time passed, my distance would increase as I swam. However, I often spent minutes at a time in a particular part of the ocean, which means that I did not move constantly. Although the force of the waves did affect my velocity, the general factors of kinematics were still relevant.