Study Guide Questions Flashcards
(14 cards)
- Describe the differences and similarities between scientific law, scientific
theory, and scientific model.
Scientific Theory addresses a broader phenomenon, Scientific Law explains a specific relationship in a quantitative manner, and Scientific Models are visuals to explain a complex or unseen concept in a simple manner.
- Does a scientific model represent knowledge that has been tested? Explain the reasoning behind your answer.
Yes, because the model will be backed by laws and theories. The model will be produced through the scientific research process and is a tool to explain and share results.
- What are the major components in the process of “doing science” and how are they linked?
Observation Hypothesis Experiment Analysis Conclusion Communicate results
- Describe the energy transformations that occur in a simple mechanical system such as a pendulum or a mass and spring.
Pendulum: GPE KE GPE
Mass and Spring: GPE EPE KE EPE GPE
- What is thermal energy? Why is thermal energy hard to convert into other forms of energy? Why is thermal energy sometimes referred to as “The graveyard of energy”?
Thermal energy is the microscopic KE of the molecules that make up matter. Thermal energy is the motion of these molecules that we perceive as temperature. It is unorganized and difficult to convert to other forms of energy (graveyard of energy).
- For centuries, people have tried to create perpetual motion machines – devices that would do work without any input of energy. Use the laws of thermodynamics to show that such a device is not possible.
This would only be possible if no PE or KE is lost to Thermal Energy or radiated away from the system. There are no such systems that exist that 100% efficient at preventing this loss to Thermal Energy.
Law 1: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed or transferred
Law 2: Potential Energies move toward less concentrated and disorganized forms of energy, like thermal energy in the system
- In class, we talked about forces that lead to potential energy. Give an example of a force that gives rise to potential energy and an example of one that does not. What is different about these two forces?
Forces such as gravity, electrical and springs (elastic) will give rise to Potential
Energies while forces such as friction and air resistance do not give rise to Potential
Energies. The difference lies in the fact that friction and air resistance forces will
naturally convert an object’s KE to Thermal Energy (which is “lost”) while objects
that have KE that are moving against gravity, electrical or elastic forces will have
the KE transformed into a Potential Energy that is stored and can be used later.
- What are the charges that actually move to make a current flow in a wire? How do you know that?
The charges that are able to freely move as a current in a wire are the negatively
charged electrons. For metals, some of the outermost electrons are loosely bound
to the atom’s nucleus and are able to move from one atom to another while the
other charged particle (the positive proton), is tightly bound in the atom’s nucleus
and is unable to flow
- Suppose you have the circuit shown here:
a) Describe how energy is transferred and transformed for this circuit from the moment that it is turned on until the battery is dead (assume the wires have no resistance)
CPE(battery) - EPE - thermal and light
b) How would you measure the energy of the charges in the circuit above?
Voltage - energy per charge
d) What would change in the circuit and in the energy flow diagram if the wires had resistance?
If the wires had resistance then overall resistance of the series increases. Bulb current and voltage decreases. Overall power for bulb would decrease, and there is a gain in thermal energy for the wires.
- In class, we discussed how a flowchart decision block usually implies an if statement. Explain why that is the case in terms of how the if statement duplicates the branching in the flowchart.
If statements lead to yes/no branching where specific conditions can be checked against a constant. Completes a specific process to one particular branch.
- What are the three questions that need to be answered when creating a program for the Arduino?
What info needs to be stored?
What outputs need to be connected?
What inputs need to be accessed?
- What are the three main structures of an Arduino sketch? What does each structure contain?
Declarations, setup code, and main loop
Declarations: declares global variables (stuff that doesn’t change)
Setup: Board is powered. Used for tasks that need to only be preformed at the start
Loop: heart. main program resides, tells board what to do when on.
