I learned many wise things while in Mrs. Gende’s class in the past few months. But this time I will comment only on when I shoot things out of a cannon and all the mathematics components that go with it(a.k.a. Projectile motion and vectors).
I learned that theta the symbol for an angle, (or θ) is all about trigonometry and vectors. There are many ways to find theta, and other aspects of trigonometry and projectile motion, but almost every equation has to do with theta of some form.
Vectors are force, displacement, velocity, and acceleration. A vector is a quantity possessing both magnitude and direction. Vectors are usually indicated by the direction and the length proportional to magnitude. Where x is horizontal and y is vertical. In this unit, we mainly use the vector form of projectile motion.
Projectile motion has to do with horizontal motion and vertical motion (vertical motion has to do with gravity). I learned cool things like the fact that the velocity of horizontal motion is constant and the initial velocity of vertical motion is always zero. But only in the specific projectile motion. When it is changed to projectile motion at an angle, the initial velocity can vary.
What I found difficult is knowing when I needed to use the x-components and y-components. My problem-solving skills have developed over the course of this section and I have come to recognize which equations to use and how to use them to find the other variables. My only weakness comes to recognizing which equation is which on the equations sheet.
The connection between everyday life and what we studied is having the subconscious knowledge of how to do things like projectile motion. For example, in soccer, if I wanted to score a goal (no counting the goalie) I would think (in a matter of seconds) how hard I would need to kick the ball (velocity) and imputing the gravity (or the arc formed by Gravity), what angle I need to kick it so it will go into the goal in the air. That, in every way, is projectile motion.
