Some updates and a suggestion

Good morning

So, I have nearly completed all the grading.  It was a lot of work but compared to years past was much more rewarding.  Maybe I am deceiving myself because I am trying a new tactic but I found examining the Prezis and reading the various blogs more enjoyable and illuminating in terms of seeing your growth and where more growth is required.  If you have any questions, please ask.

We have a few more classes on motion and then we will be moving on to energy (briefly) before launching onto (or into) astronomy.  The "big" assessment for physics will be a capstone project and a short exam that will test your knowledge of the physics concepts and skill level.  As a start, I would suggest that you spend some time reflecting on what you have learned so far.  This can be done on a blog that you share with your team partners, other students in the class or perhaps students in other classes.  For example..

Despite the many years of teaching this topic it always intrigues me - the simplicity of it but yet the complexities in the details.  Constant velocity is pretty straightforward - an object moves over regular intervals for a set period of time.  Motion diagrams show that objects are evenly spaced.  Graphs are nice and straight with the slope equal to the average velocity.  Average and instantaneous velocity are the same.  Acceleration is zero.  Now when you get to variable velocity things get all funky - distances vary with time, instantaneous velocities change, slopes are curved on distance vs time plots, final velocities need to be calculated from average velocities.  And then when we add freefall into the mix - the world becomes even more complicated.  But it started out so simple!  Next we want to add the why?  Why do objects move?  What will stop them or why do they stop.  And then if we extend our observations to the celestial sphere - what about the moon, planets, stars, they move as well?  Are motion processes on earth the same as motion processes in the stars?  Or is that the realm of gods?  Before Newton - that is what people thought.

I could continue but will stop - I strongly believe that is you take some time to do this exercise, it will improve your understanding and, not to put too fine a point on it, your performance.