Study guide - One-Dimensional Motion - Mechanics Ch.1

    Team 2: Section 1.3 Drag Racer:  Friction force

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      Physical Systems 1998-99
      with E.J. Zita
    1. Before reading this section of the text, try to answer the questions below based on intuition or information you already have. Write down your current understandings on a printout.
     
      (a) Do friction forces increase or decrease as speed increases?

      (b) What fundamentally limits the maximum acceleration of a very powerful racing car (apart from the engine)?

      (c) Would a heavier or lighter car accelerate better, or does it make a difference?

      (d) Does "burning rubber" help or hinder acceleration/deceleration?
       

    After you answer these questions as best you can without looking, skim the text to confirm, correct, or expand your original answers. Use a different colored pen to write in the new or corrected information. This is one way to get an overview of the material before you begin in-depth reading.

    2. Now that you have skimmed the text, you should have a better sene of the type of information presented. Please write down 3 or 4 questions you hope will be answered in this chapter.

      (a) Your questions:
          (i)

          (ii)

          (iii)

          (iv)

    Then read the text carefully to answer your questions and the study questions that follow. Some of the questions require synthesizing information, so you might want to read through the whole chapter before starting to answer particular questions.
      (b) Draw a picture, create a diagram, or write a paragraph that illustrates what the acceleration of a drag racer depends on.

      (c) Make a qualitative plot of speed versus distance, for constant acceleration.

      (d) What do these mean? vertical equilibrium - kinetic friction - normal force - lift force
      Provide some examples to illustrate your definitions.

      (e) Work through the mathematical details and derive (1.23) and (1.29)
      What techniques do you need to review to do this? What techniques are new?

      (f0 What ideas do you have for making this material clearer to your classmates?

      (g) What new questions do you have about the methods in this section?

      (h) What new questions do you have about the meanings in this section?
       

    3. If you are interested in a little outside research, find out about magnetic braking.

    4. Now that you have reaad this section and organized some of the information, decide what concepts and information are most important to convey to your classmates and plan a way to accomplish this task. Sketch out your plan in some detail. Then skim the rest of the chapter through page 19.

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