physics - Fractal Kitty

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physics

A collection of 9 posts

Space-Pigeonholes Imagined

Space-Pigeonholes Imagined

The Pigeonhole Principle merged with the contemplation of black holes today. I envisioned Fractal Kitty at the whiteboard with this one, but went without the kitty today – enjoy.

“Two-Body” Problem: Barycenter vs Waxwing

“Two-Body” Problem: Barycenter vs Waxwing

After watching the neighborhood waxwings consume their fill of berries prior to moving on, I pondered a different kind of a two-body problem:

Parabolic Beams

Parabolic Beams

I love thinking of parabolas as being formed with a directrix and focus. Coming from a background in trajectory analysis, I find the abstract relationships of the curve to the point and line beautiful. When a light shines through the focus of a parabolic mirror, the light reflected is orthogonal to

The Point? Dimensions

The Point? Dimensions

“The Point of Evolution” started as a Mathober doodle and led to this GIF. Dimensions are fun – what do you see? what do you notice? Side Note: I talk about dimensions when covering combining like terms. One analogy – A 3D banana can’t combine with a 2D banana (or whatever noun seems to go […]

black paint on paper made from a pendulum

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 49: Pendulum Labs

Pendulums are wonderful physics toys that are great for exploring periodic functions. For week 49, I encourage learners to get out some string, weights, and stop watches. Here are some ideas for playing with math and pendulums: Start with a string and a weight to observe basic pendulum motion. Nuts,

a cat in orbit around a star with a helmet on and spacesuit

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 44: Conics, Orbits, and Projectile Motion

You don’t have to be in high school math to play with conics, orbits, and projectile motion. This week (or month) learners can play with projectile motion, orbits, and conics sections with the activities below: 1.) Slicing cones Learners can mold cones with clay and slice to see the possible shapes.

two tensegrities made from legos

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 40: Tensegrities

In math we find balance and equilibrium. We balance equations. We keep balance by using properties of identity (multiply by 1 or add zero), Properties of Equality (mirroring operations), and by using the many other ways to manipulate and play with structures in math. This week’s math is about equili

a picture of an orange wave pendulum looking down the line

Makings: Wave Pendulum

I have decided to start a new category on this blog for my “makings” – items and projects that I have designed/created for classroom use, art, fiber musings, or just because. Today I decided to create an easy to store, easy to demonstrate, easy to build wave pendulum. I’ve built these in STEM classe

a motion sheet with formulas and drawings

52 Weeks of Math Activities

Week 12: Galileo and Gravity

This week we are going to take a look at applied math. Learners will be given a ramp (this can be a ruler), a ball that fits on the ramp, measurement device (ruler) and a timer. With these instruments learners can investigate the relationship between distance and time as the ball rolls down the ramp