My Initial Physics Hypotheses and Questions

After being educated in the fields of biology and chemistry at the Asheville School, I have arrived at physics, what I believe to be the study of how things around us move and work.  That however, is only my initial thought.  As with other sciences, I hope to be able to further define what "physics" really implies.  I am looking forward to examining every day things, such as a basketball, or a car, and seeing how they work, as well as things that aren't just everyday items, such as a hovercraft.  I believe that the study of motion and laws is just as important as the study of living things, because if it were not for the laws of physics, our world would be much different.  Physics has also furthered the development of chemistry and the study of atoms.  I do wonder how much of physics is directly related to the environment and the anatomy of living things however.  Just as I have expectations of the class, I have expectations of myself.  I hope to improve my math skills dramatically by using them in physics, in addition to my primary math class.  I also hope to improve my lab writing skills as well as my ability to work in a group.  In the past, I have been distracted by others in my group, but this year I hope to be able to focus on the task at hand and get the job done in a timely and neat fashion.  Finally, I want to improve my test taking skills.  This does not apply solely to physics, but it is a goal of mine for every class.  I believe that my drive to accomplish my goals while studying the world of physics will lead to a great year for me, and I am excited to start.

Unit 1 Reflection

During the first unit of physics this year, I learned the concepts of inertia and motion.  While learning about that, we studied Newton's first law of motion, and applied our knowledge during the hovercraft lab which gave us a visual representation of the law.  We then moved into different forces that act on objects in the real world, such as gravity, friction, and outside forces.  I learned about the concept of net forces.  Finally, we studied velocity and acceleration, and the differences between the two, and how the relate to Galileo's study of motion with ramps and free fall.  I found it rather difficult to synthesize all the different formulas in my mind.  On a quiz, I often become confused as to which formula I need to use on a particular problem.I also found it difficult to calculate net forces on different objects.  At the start of this section, I did not find many chances to use problem solving skills, as most problems were simply common sense or conceptual.  The questions in the later area of the unit were more numerical and complicated.  The trip question was by far the most complicated problem, and I had to apply my problem solving skills thoroughly to solve it. 
I feel like this unit relates greatly to the real world, especially when talking about speed and acceleration.  There were many questions on quizzes concerning cars and driving.  Also, learning more about rates and time was beneficial to students studying algebra, as rates become a point of focus during the year.  Finally, we learned how to make graphs in excel very quickly, and this is a skill that is important in many classes.